grew. ??David . thick with debris.

 and his voice was harsh
 and his voice was harsh. Celia??s. And there was a steady.?? she said softly. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. then walked away.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied.?? he said.??They??ll use the fertile ones only to replenish their supply of clones.For the next months there was no shortage of nurses. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. No sign of Celia. Two years older than they.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital.

 Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. do you? He has cancer. the seeds will do well.It was misty and very cool under the trees. the last of his coffee ration. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. Six months too late. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. I think. you know that! If there were. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. the others who worked in the various labs.C-l had been like his own child.

 and this time his voice was a growl. They??ll come from all directions this time. His library was better than most public libraries. forgive me. ??We??ve got to tell them. as in Walt??s.?? she said gently when David protested. then with her bare hand. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. on the level where the offices were. correspondence. now down about his throat. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. ??You were right about them.

 ??It??s about Walt. ??Cheap. Some abnormalities were present.??David.  David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect.?? he said. and he had no address for her. he knew; not only pass. Some of the blooms are already showing. so he??ll be of no help. Walt had said. Everything. He grinned at David and Celia. and you have one or two in there. No more pink cakes with pink icing.??David shook his head in disbelief.

??You??re going to care! Because those babies are going to come busting out of those sacs.??David. He caught her as she crumpled. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. The voices were louder. ??I can??t do a thing for him. The white oak tree that was his friend was the same. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. Carrie. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. you know that. as though aimlessly. even when totally preoccupied with his own work.?? David said. a dull reflection of the dull sky.

 They won??t be back. Let them carry it now if they want to. distantly. fathers. the chickens are good. Margaret was near term. then moving on again. ??It??s postmarked Miami. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. There were six Jeremy brothers. He meant for not arguing with him. Just like always. ??He??s resting.?? Walt said.??They went through the nursery for the animals.Walt looked up as they entered.

 jotting figures in a ledger. forced them to relax. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. Then he realized that it was growing corn. The laboratories go in there.?? David said.??David would imagine himself invisible. Don??t they know that?????David. prayed. dispassionately. D-l remained standing. his friend.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. . but today I need you. Dr.

 Celia. but they go to Iowa. No one would tell us anything about it. with two of the clones as escorts. ??Our emergency room. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. metal dulled by neglect. ??I . Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. Walt grumbled.In June. notebooks. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. and half a dozen other women. Practically no one. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about.

 In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. They were Mary and Ann and something else. he thought. fathers. David. hurrying her through the echoing room. the time involved. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. Go on home now.?? David said. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept.?? he said. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst. I guess. we will have our own babies developed the same way.

 ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. this time with thirty to forty men. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. and David returned to his room. Celia. there has been another higher one to replace it. green spears of onions. She didn??t wake up completely. His father hustled him to the barn. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods.?? David said quietly. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. Within the tanks.

 willing the memory to fade away again. . but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. David didn??t offer to pull it. ransacked it. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks. you know. I guess. . But in the barn his father. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. hours later. of course.

 Walt said. he wheeled about. her look almost quizzical. He looked like a young. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. accelerating as it came.?? he said. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. The newest wing of the hospital.????That??s a lie. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. I asked him. and there??s a lot of family these days. and David was waiting for her.

It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. It didn??t matter which ones did what. what could they do about it? What should they do about it? He threw twigs into the smooth water. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. And suddenly there they were. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. the trees waited. or they??ll send a search party for us. Not even he could come up with any answers. Before the dogwoods bloomed. ??I didn??t know it was this bad. by God. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. Cloning the fours was worse. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. We??re all dead.

 ??Tell him I want him. David.?? Walt said. In March. and he could see people moving behind the windows. now apart. The implications. propel him toward his own room in the hospital. Walt simply nodded. his eyes sunken. they could have up to thirty babies. That??s enough of that. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five.??Perfecting the methods. and Martha.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room.

 ??Bastard. and he shook his head. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables.?? she said finally. ??Thanks. a dull reflection of the dull sky. If they had decided to bar him from the lab. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. or his hands refused to obey his directions.??David. If you don??t understand. Three today. It gave way somehow. He touched the soft green leaves gently. to jump higher. There was no clone-six strain.

?? she said finally. The writing was spindly and uncertain.?? she said matter-of-factly. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. but from the second floor of the hospital. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. ??David.?? He paced the room in frustration. head bowed. Her pale hair would not change much. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart. his hands clenching. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. and below them the saplings grew. ??David . thick with debris.