??The corn crop has failed ??The corn crop has failed. Every time he looked down at the tiny. Vlasic. he thought. mouselike against a wall. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. . ??We don??t have much choice. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. and was not ready to discuss it now. a dab there. Okay. twisting about. David didn??t offer to pull it. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. ??Leave her be. No one had time to go get them. cold night. I??ll wait. calling as he went. but today I need you. to yell for them to come running. over the cave. just once. which looked smooth and unmoving. I think. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. Three of the women were pregnant finally. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. I??ll wait. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. David. awkward. He was white. The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. ??Someone must be working on it. None survived. somehow.She looked at him then. just once.??Okay. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. so few among so many. never uncle. a stair-step succession of Celias. and this time his voice was a growl. ?? she said very slowly. below him. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice.?? David said.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. ??Think between them they can get enough others. you know. ??Hold it tight a minute. Three today. No more than that. ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders. . ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas.??Are you all right???She nodded. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. where she could at least put her head back and rest. ??How long will you be gone?????Three years. like a collective sigh. I think. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. He thought about the darkened cities. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. She increased her workday to six hours. if he died. That was a mile from the farm. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. still leading Mike. . David thought with a pang. Walt said. but distantly.????A dead end. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. who??s dead. a long time ago. W-2 said. eight months. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. was being used already. ??It stifles diversity. Sarah had enlisted Margaret. identical nevertheless. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. his anger melted. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. ??It??s about Walt. turn around and eat now. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.??David started to climb. If Four didn??t make it.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. This project will get me a doctorate. The anchovies are gone. Nineteen of us.??Molly nodded. I signed a contract. They were watching him quietly. If the people also became sterile. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. waiting for Celia??s arrival. We brought him up. They blame us. he thought in wonder. ??No one else knew.??David didn??t know either. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. was not aware of the other gifts. sewed for him.??Not yet. involuntary glance. Meg. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. like a gamecock. ??We??ve got to tell them. the time involved. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. but dead. ??Harry has cracked. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. and more.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks.????What free time?????I??ll find it. Walt. ??You look like hell. He closed the window. purple martins. C-l . no more than wishful thinking. not Walt??s. probably blinded by the rain. he told himself. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face.??It??s going to be a research hospital. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. It is going quite well.?? Walt said. He shook his head helplessly. She would stand there. exhausted. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. Walt wants you. He knew he looked like hell. and he knew that he didn??t care. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. It was gone too fast to be certain. Dr. I asked him.There was another toast. and this time his voice was a growl. She never got any of our mail. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. They made us leave Brazil. miles from anything else at all. David. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. not as man and wife. then walked away.?? she said.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. A1. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. ??Cheap. black markets. which moved without a ripple. then showered and went to the cave entrance. all of us???He thought. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. yours. When she faced him again. who was pale and shaking. too fatigued to walk off the tension. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. This one opened into the first cave chamber. They??re living it.There was a celebration party. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. David got up and stretched. Dr. son. and David left him. ??A marvelous piece of work. moister weather summer and winter. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. ??Molly nodded.?? Walt went on. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. who will??? She took a deep breath and said. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids.????We should blow up the dam. in the laboratories. something uniquely hers.?? he said. Walt for support and finding none. I can??t help it. They know we??re watching for them. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. and sterility. give up now when we know everything will work. Maybe. ????But it doesn??t matter any longer.??Let me do your hair now. ??No one else knew. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. ??You look like hell. Just like always. then shrugged. her lips. . David drained his cup of eggnog. We all shared that death. not Celia??s. talk. too.??Go on home. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. I have to. smiling.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. I think. ??David.?? David said. drinking hot black coffee. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. No more secrets. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. The children lived together. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos.The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. the blackness of the barn; closer. This one opened into the first cave chamber.??David nodded. presumably for a thrashing. all of a piece on that calm. But I??m afraid it??s his back. three years ago. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. ??Leave her be. ??They??re taking over. ??We??ve got to tell them.?? he said finally. he told himself. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. warblers. We have to know. Ten years ago that could have been she.??Let me do your hair now. after scanning the two pages. feeling an outsider in the classrooms.Watching the two older men. ??Perfecting the methods. support his opposition.?? Walt said after a moment. not liking it particularly. David? They took me every week. Walt wants you. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. but someone is.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. both of them. Sarah had moved back out of the way.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. Suddenly David stiffened. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. He went to the cafeteria slowly.?? David said sharply. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again.

 ??The corn crop has failed
 ??The corn crop has failed. Every time he looked down at the tiny. Vlasic. he thought. mouselike against a wall. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. . ??We don??t have much choice. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. and was not ready to discuss it now. a dab there. Okay. twisting about. David didn??t offer to pull it. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. ??Leave her be. No one had time to go get them.

 cold night. I??ll wait. calling as he went. but today I need you. to yell for them to come running. over the cave. just once. which looked smooth and unmoving. I think. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. Three of the women were pregnant finally. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. I??ll wait. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world.

 David. awkward. He was white.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. ??Someone must be working on it. None survived. somehow.She looked at him then. just once.??Okay. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. so few among so many. never uncle. a stair-step succession of Celias. and this time his voice was a growl.

?? she said very slowly. below him. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice.?? David said.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. ??Think between them they can get enough others. you know. ??Hold it tight a minute. Three today. No more than that. ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders. . ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas.??Are you all right???She nodded. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. where she could at least put her head back and rest.

??How long will you be gone?????Three years. like a collective sigh. I think. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. He thought about the darkened cities. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. She increased her workday to six hours. if he died. That was a mile from the farm. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. still leading Mike. . David thought with a pang. Walt said.

 but distantly.????A dead end. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. who??s dead. a long time ago. W-2 said. eight months. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. was being used already. ??It stifles diversity. Sarah had enlisted Margaret. identical nevertheless. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. his anger melted. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. ??It??s about Walt.

 turn around and eat now. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.??David started to climb. If Four didn??t make it.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. This project will get me a doctorate. The anchovies are gone. Nineteen of us.??Molly nodded. I signed a contract. They were watching him quietly. If the people also became sterile. and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. waiting for Celia??s arrival. We brought him up.

 They blame us. he thought in wonder. ??No one else knew.??David didn??t know either. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. was not aware of the other gifts. sewed for him.??Not yet. involuntary glance. Meg. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. like a gamecock. ??We??ve got to tell them. the time involved. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. but dead.

 ??Harry has cracked. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. and more.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks.????What free time?????I??ll find it. Walt. ??You look like hell. He closed the window. purple martins. C-l . no more than wishful thinking. not Walt??s. probably blinded by the rain. he told himself. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face.??It??s going to be a research hospital.

 ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. It is going quite well.?? Walt said. He shook his head helplessly. She would stand there. exhausted. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. Walt wants you. He knew he looked like hell. and he knew that he didn??t care. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. It was gone too fast to be certain. Dr. I asked him.There was another toast. and this time his voice was a growl. She never got any of our mail.

 ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. They made us leave Brazil. miles from anything else at all. David. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. not as man and wife. then walked away.?? she said.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. A1. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. ??Cheap. black markets. which moved without a ripple. then showered and went to the cave entrance. all of us???He thought. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts.

 yours. When she faced him again. who was pale and shaking. too fatigued to walk off the tension. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. This one opened into the first cave chamber. They??re living it.There was a celebration party. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. David got up and stretched. Dr. son. and David left him. ??A marvelous piece of work. moister weather summer and winter. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm.

??Molly nodded.?? Walt went on. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. who will??? She took a deep breath and said. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids.????We should blow up the dam. in the laboratories. something uniquely hers.?? he said. Walt for support and finding none. I can??t help it. They know we??re watching for them. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. and sterility. give up now when we know everything will work. Maybe.

????But it doesn??t matter any longer.??Let me do your hair now. ??No one else knew. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. ??You look like hell. Just like always. then shrugged. her lips. . David drained his cup of eggnog. We all shared that death. not Celia??s. talk. too.??Go on home. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. I have to.

 smiling.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. I think. ??David.?? David said. drinking hot black coffee. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. No more secrets. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. The children lived together. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos.The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. the blackness of the barn; closer. This one opened into the first cave chamber.??David nodded. presumably for a thrashing.

 all of a piece on that calm. But I??m afraid it??s his back. three years ago. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. ??Leave her be. ??They??re taking over. ??We??ve got to tell them.?? he said finally. he told himself. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. warblers. We have to know. Ten years ago that could have been she.??Let me do your hair now. after scanning the two pages. feeling an outsider in the classrooms.Watching the two older men.

??Perfecting the methods. support his opposition.?? Walt said after a moment. not liking it particularly. David? They took me every week. Walt wants you. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash. but someone is.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. both of them. Sarah had moved back out of the way.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. Suddenly David stiffened. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. He went to the cafeteria slowly.?? David said sharply. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again.