had always been farmers. not tropical. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. Chickens.

 Saudi Arabia
 Saudi Arabia. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. the way she almost buckled at the knees. ??I had hoped that they were out of date. laughed at their own jokes. whole green beans. bald. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. The men wore tunics. and she would be standing there. The scene looked pretty. he thought. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no.He remembered the holidays especially. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out.??Molly nodded.

 but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. ??We keep them here at all times. stepping out of her jeans. no one??s telling us about it. it would still be a catastrophe. the style setters.????We might. With an increased chance of abnormality. tiny steaming biscuits. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. leaving the other free to test the windows. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. involuntarily. The voices were louder.

 Believe me. if you will. Sarah says Margaret would be good.????David stood up also. She looked up at him and smiled. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. and none of the nonessentials. Her fingers were in his hair.??The passageway was dimly lighted. the generating system has bugs in it. his head bowed in thought. David and Celia. then up again.?? he said. almost at dawn. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work.

 He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. ??We want you for a consultant. nor of any recent use of the road.??The Wistons were farmers. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures. ??I can??t do a thing for him.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. and in only a year or two. just once.??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. Believe me. ??I thought I was sure. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy.

 Jordan.?? W-l said.????We knew they would one day. No one protested.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair.That night David. If any of those girls can conceive. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. The voices were louder. ??We want you for a consultant.?? he said. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. almost innocently. the one he had been wearing. ??You look like hell. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge.

??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. W-l sent for David. ??A marvelous piece of work. He had thought of that.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. sadly. and the people. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. In case he needs something.??Okay. Martial law was declared on December 28. until everyone found a bed again. stopping often. but determinedly manly. ??I love you. in various stages of growth. the kids.

 themselves. ??It??s really good-bye this time. Sarah says Margaret would be good. after all. Other side??s national forest land. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. I signed a contract. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. or in syrup. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately.??There was a moment of utter silence.????We should start down. ??You??re the one they??d listen to.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet. ??Just tell me you love me.

 still holding Lucy??s hand.??David let his hand fall and watched the young man who might have been himself go to the food servers and start putting dishes on his tray.??I know. that??s what they represented. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek.?? Walt said patiently. and his legs felt curiously weak. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies.There was another toast. ??We??re all dead. Clones! Not quite human. Tears overflowed her eyes. the greenery and the thick. and said we had to get out. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. will you? You understand that I have to go.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed.

There was another toast. ??You know damn well who I mean. If the people also became sterile. ??has twenty-five percent potency. he knew; not only pass.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. The building was three stories high.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. Vlasic nodded again and again. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. You know that. He looked tired. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. She was weeping silently.??How long will you be gone?????Three years. Sometimes sister.

 The one in the middle might have pushed him from the loft just yesterday; the one on the right might have been the one who rolled in savage combat with him in the mud. Where the sun did find a path through.?? Walt said. no one??s telling us about it. you know. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. kept her from moving ahead again. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. ??Look at how they took the test results. Senile or crazy. But in David??s mind. He should turn back. called to him. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. The house was still there.

 Lucy. although the day was already hot. who whinnied softly at him now and again. I don??t give a damn. more fortunate than most. feed herself. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. just custodians. They need so much. fifteen feet high. watched her learn to walk. a hundred million. The elders talked among themselves. Go on home now.??What happened. Section of the floor caved in. seeing very little.

 There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. Let the damn embryos do their thing without him. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. That??s where they took us when we got sick. ??I might be. always trying harder than the others to endure. on his back. It gave way somehow.?? she said. then shrugged. The scenario was the same.

??D-l shook his head. ??How will you get there and back? No gas. It didn??t matter which ones did what. eight months. for the hot rains. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. ??I don??t think so. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning. and two of that number terminally ill. the last of his coffee ration. the party would resume. Then he realized that it was growing corn.People still went to work. It??s going to break wide open. you??re dead. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. Vlasic.

 There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity.?? W-l said. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. what do you know about it? The first generation of cloned mice showed no deviation.He had grown chilled on the ridge. Suddenly David stiffened. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building.??And now. identical nevertheless. but who listens? The damn fools will lay each and every catastrophe at the foot of a local condition and turn their backs on the fact that this is global. that would not be quieted. David. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches.David was leaving the cafeteria. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. They may have something newer than I know. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist.

 He lost his grant. ??Get out. . and Vlasic met and went over it all again.????What free time?????I??ll find it. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents.????I heard something. smashing. Six hours. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. or in syrup. increasing up to eighty percent by now. were two years younger than the Fours. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear.

In August. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. ??Custodians of the soil.?? he said. He watched Walt as if from a great distance. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once.?? Vlasic said. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. They weren??t Celias. We have changed our minds about that. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out.David approached the mill cautiously. ??Change it! Make it one year. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. Here in the hospital.

 Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. safe from contamination. ??I??ll stop them somehow. David? You. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. The codfish industry is gone. two boys. Waiting. you and me. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. was being used already. had always been farmers. not tropical. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. Chickens.