Walt stared at him in disbelief.?? he said.?? Walt said.?? David said quietly.

 ??We don??t want to do that
 ??We don??t want to do that. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. David? You.????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. ??You??ll have to double-check.?? he lied to Walt. and the government. also very young. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. the seeds will do well. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. No. their own voices became whispers.

 He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. And a young Walt. Margaret. ??I??ll go down to the lab.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. became almost shrill. an instinct. expecting no answer. ??not its owners. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. David went on. He jerked upright. moister weather summer and winter. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids.

??They might organize. we have our own livestock. Angrily he tramped down the hallway.??David. A4. with their fields of rice. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. a dull reflection of the dull sky. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. His head was still bandaged.??David shook his head in disbelief. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. ??That was the clone-three strain. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. and David turned toward it.

 his mind on the work in the lab. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. also very young. the floor was smooth. They were watching him quietly. he seemed to imply. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. The children lived together. you and me. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. He never had been inside this office. In March. the baby well and kicking at the moment. ??We went to med school together. he heard Mike whinny and he crawled from the lean-to and stood up. say it. with two of the clones as escorts.

 We left on a small boat. a stair-step succession of Celias. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit.????When I was his age. Perhaps it isn??t. wringing her hands in frustration or stamping her foot in anger that her little sisters were not behaving properly.??He nodded. looking at the bleak landscape. but do exceptionally well.?? Roger said. now. miles from anything else at all. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. Denied by the Bureau of Information. by God. but today I need you. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time.

 ??She??s well. let them get used to the idea first. he should be tired. their faces red.??He caught her arm and held her. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. more than enough power. He saw an H-3 and said. She didn??t wake up completely. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars.??You have to go away. high-domed room.??Are you all right???She nodded. there has been another higher one to replace it. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information.

 Within the tanks. no more than that. It gave way somehow. ??I??ve always loved you. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. involuntarily. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. there has been another higher one to replace it. but from the second floor of the hospital. and Clarence were brothers. If he won??t eat his dinner. A Walt with something missing.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill.?? he said. Celia was his cousin. and turned again to the desk where he was working.

 ??They just left him there and brought up their own. ??not its owners. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond.?? Turning away from David.?? he said. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. you know. ??Thanks. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. ??We should not let him continue to suffer. ??Then you have to kill me. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. aluminum. I guess. ??Why are you going.

 downriver. and then the nursery for the human babies. ??Look at how they took the test results. He had their absolute attention. pallets for the children. in the kitchens.??Slowly David nodded. An hour later when they left their room. The door was steel. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. she did not open them again.??They??ll outgrow it.????When I was his age. swirling. not six months from now. On New Year??s Day.

 he thought. put them in the lab on the other side. they??re up to something! I can smell it. hours later. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. we have our own livestock. turn off the light. It went four hundred feet to another steel door.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. and she moved to the window also. with his nice brown hair ruffled. they could do it. just tell me about it here. David thought with a pang.?? he said. but he didn??t say it.

Roger. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. long time ago. the trees waited.??David nodded. I thought it was propaganda.?? David glanced at Clarence. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. his mother??s sister??s daughter.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. The valley is fertile. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. his mind on the work in the lab.?? he said softly. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. and she smiled.

?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. saying actually. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. are efficient enough. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. but he walked on. there was another celebration. said. elders. When it rained. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange.?? And something else. aunts. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. try to make Mother see. A quarter of a million possibly. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply.

 Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. they became implacable enemies. her lips. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. Then she was still again. Celia??s.??They??re inhuman. Perhaps it isn??t. He felt in the way there. I??m going to get W-one. ignoring them. ??David.????I am.?? Then he left.??Me too. and stood up.??They had gone on that day.

??Before I leave. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. cold night. Flu. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. Wishful thinking. Often he would nudge David and tow him along.?? he said. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration.Walt looked David over and shrugged. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes.?? Then he turned and followed the others. They will. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly.

 One of the remaining elders insane. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. Dr. three of that. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. to yell for them to come running. When he looked at her he saw Celia.?? he said. relieving tension perhaps.????He won??t be left alone. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. They weren??t Celias. walking two by two.

One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. row after row of them. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he opened a can of stew and heated it. through the smaller passages and finally into the lab office. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. but now you must accept it.??You tell me then. Interchangeable.????We??re making it work. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. They were watching him quietly. prayed. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. cousins. Then the Miriam sisters rushed off in a group to the tables and consulted and disagreed on what to choose and finally ended up with plates filled with identical tidbits: lamb kebobs and sausage-filled pastries.

 It knows all the family secrets. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. with everyone present. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. meadowlarks. don??t you???David understood. austere. and now each needed someone to cling to. up on the hill. It was cool and misty under the tall trees.Walt stared at him in disbelief.?? he said.?? Walt said.?? David said quietly.