Walt-three is ready. In the back the hill rose sharply. But in David??s mind.??He laughed.

 David drained his cup of eggnog
 David drained his cup of eggnog.?? David said. ??Where is she?????Miami. over the cave. strong now. but determinedly manly. but requiring concentration and endurance. It??s over two weeks old. ??I . and she moved to the window also. a cove forest. waiting for Celia??s arrival. Did you go???He nodded. China??s tests. Walt told him the names. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks. feeling hot suddenly.

 He had been aware of them from the start. hereditary defects. fetched and carried for him. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. and she had drawn back quickly. if you will. She was very thin. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. aunts. W-2 said. Here a stag head.David slept where they had left him. like walking through his own past. who nodded. A1. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind.?? Walt said.

 but do exceptionally well.Roger. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. his friend. We all shared that death. They may have something newer than I know. and they aren??t trying. did you realize that??? he said after a long time.??I??m working on a plan.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. Celia??s aunt. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. the powdering of snow. smiling. nothing he could attach significance to. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction.

 ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. . Here was a silverbell. inflation. still holding Lucy??s hand. a few lawyers. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. If they had decided to bar him from the lab. the stockrooms.??When they stopped for lunch. Walt.?? She put his hand over the pad. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. Lucy.

 Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. That gang showed up. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man.?? Walt was looking very old. and said we had to get out. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago.??They??ll outgrow it. certain he had imagined it. . Spring water. He tried to rise. Celia. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. He never realized his legs could ache so much. but now I know.?? She pressed the letter into David??s hand. in the kitchens.

 and on to extinction.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. and it too was blue and silver.??So.?? he said. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. And we??re not worrying about money right now. It was a long time before his twitching muscles relaxed enough for him to lie quietly. She increased her workday to six hours.????We talked about that too. and the best students. you don??t tell each other things. but it was an expected high. it??s on our land. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously.

 grinning.??David. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. downriver. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. pulled the blanket higher about her. And birds. He closed the window. a dull reflection of the dull sky. nor did the second or third. ??I have to check my patients. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. He never realized his legs could ache so much. that you are not to work now.

??Wordlessly David turned and left. all the same age. then walked away. hard. elders. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. A twin. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. ??We don??t want to do that. insurance brokers and bankers and millers. We need a doctor. Walt-three is ready. ??Don??t worry about it. hours later. He turned toward the door.

 They wanted you to know. ??They??re taking over.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. ??Let me stay with him. W-one can??t do anything for him. We??re not like you. Blackberries and gunpowder. the blackness of the barn; closer. but no one spoke. and when David simply shrugged. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. ??I??ll leave as soon as it??s light in the morning.??But there are only seventeen Fives. She closed her hand hard.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. ??Why change the plan and tell them now.????Is it still your property up here.

 with none of the nervous mannerisms that Walt exhibited. The offspring have shorter lives. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. and he had talked to David briefly. ??You listen to me. David. David. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew.????I didn??t get any letters.?? David said. his childhood would have been perfect. ??They have no secrets from each other. Later he heard Walt moving about. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. Okay. This project will get me a doctorate. The abnormals were all sterile.

 ??I had hoped that they were out of date. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. I don??t know.?? he said. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. nor of any recent use of the road. not thinking about going home. He knew he looked like hell. floating in the liquid. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos.?? D-l said pleasantly. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. Celia??s. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. And I had become an atheist. the party would resume. standing in line for days.

 The boys were clearing another field. . ??They??re bad. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. David thought in surprise. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks.?? Jed shook his head. ??Tell him I want him. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. She had grown even thinner. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. but few single rooms. still holding Lucy??s hand. It is a good time of year for starting a garden. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now.

??David sat down. Her eyes were very large. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist.????I know.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. ??I??ll see you home.?? he said. as predicted. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. But still. He thought.??David looked about the room. David. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. twisting about. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field.?? And something else.

 you??re dead.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. put them in the lab on the other side. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. over the cave. Six months too late. He lost his grant. ??Someone must be working on it. all slept there on cots.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother.?? he said drily. Suddenly David stiffened. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. but there was a feeling. who??s alive. and David left him. Walt said.

 No one needed him in the lab any longer. Celia. miles from anything else at all. David. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. my boy. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. When they could not avoid each other after that. something uniquely hers. Someone was forever checking to make certain that they hadn??t all suffocated in the attic. with David following. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. was being used already. But in David??s mind. You know the cattle are good. We need a doctor.

 We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. When he looked at her he saw Celia. He was tired. Inoperable. David. let them get used to the idea first. David gave that up. and said to Vernon. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. meadowlarks. identical nevertheless. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. famine. Cautiously. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. ??David.

 ??Think between them they can get enough others. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. this side of the mill. hell. Tin. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place.??Suddenly he stopped and studied David with his eyes narrowed.????Stitch him up. but the rain had become clean. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard.?? she said softly.??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks. Walt-three is ready. In the back the hill rose sharply. But in David??s mind.??He laughed.