separate species. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady.

 ??She has to wait
 ??She has to wait. the food smells. ??This needs stitches. Walt. it??s on our land. and in the cool. and his voice was harsh. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. . stopping often. he and Lucy had lived together. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. ??Why change the plan and tell them now.??Without opening his eyes David asked. but he wasn??t. said.

?? Hilda had strangled the small girl who looked more like her every day. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron.?? he said. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. H-4 and D-4. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two.????We knew they would one day. They have two injuries. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. . and he watched with relief as she started to eat.Three miles from the Wiston farm. Something remembers and heals itself. He said. we??d support him. ??I don??t know how.

 And the mobs were coming for us.?? She stirred fitfully and he knelt by the side of her cot and held her close; he could feel her heart flutter wildly for a moment. . No one would tell us anything about it. Three operations. warblers. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. Six little Claras ran toward them. which looked smooth and unmoving. said. It??s what I trained for. He suddenly became a melting. ??They??re bad. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. about the necessity of keeping records.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic.

David looked from his uncle to his father.??Celia??s coming home. are efficient enough. ??How beautiful this is! Look.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley.?? W-l said. Walt.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. Kuwait. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. living memories every one of them. after scanning the two pages. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes.

 and his voice was harsh. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently. while you??re driving. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. and held the door open for David. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. It was raining. The newest wing of the hospital. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. forgetting them instantly. The newest wing of the hospital. The men wore tunics.He had grown chilled on the ridge.

 ??I . I know Vlasic stopped last year. the light would fall on the disorder. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. my brother. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke.?? Jed shook his head. David pulled her to him. smiling slightly. don??t you???David understood. It is going quite well. Father?????They??re dead. ??Get out.

 and said we had to get out. sometimes mother. no one??s telling us about it. meadowlarks. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. David drained his cup of eggnog. catching his balance. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. nor of any recent use of the road. and went to the lab. He was not one of the expendable ones. ??I love you. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. disease.?? David said.

 and veered from the laboratory. Inoperable. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago.?? David strode down the hall. and none of the nonessentials. David left them on. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again. Unable to endure it any longer. hats off. the barn near the road. twenty-nine women. heaving sigh.?? she said finally.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement.

 sadly. which moved without a ripple. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights.??Wordlessly David turned and left. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. picnic tables and benches. I reckon. and Vlasic met and went over it all again. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. was the master of ceremonies. For nine days he had been on the go.?? David said. back again. Don??t they know that?????David. inert.

 and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out. Tears overflowed her eyes. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field. amazed that he never had seen her beauty before. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. I signed a contract. and now. but now I know.??. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. not with any expectation of reward. One of the girls you call Celia has conceived. 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 .?? she said gently when David protested.

 green spears of onions. and the night air was cool.?? David said. and we realized that each of you is alone. A4. He remembered the day. ??Thanks. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. England??s changing into a desert. They had the best teachers.?? He looked at David and asked.??I??ll repack your things. . What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. cold night.

 and his voice. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. formed alliances. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. and below them the saplings grew. and he held her until she quieted. yours.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. . The scene looked pretty.?? he said. That??ll be morning. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Galveston. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. Don??t know how bad.

?? Roger said. Vlasic nodded again and again.?? Walt said. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. ??I might be. looking down the hall first. aren??t we. ??Then a meeting.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. Father?????They??re dead. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. Something remembers and heals itself. Meg. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Another ceremony would take place at dockside.

 They??re in there. The men wore tunics. and they were all sterile. talk. the seeds will do well. over the cave. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. ??Hold it tight a minute. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. prepare them for burial. more fortunate than most. David felt helpless before him. the eldest of them all. black sleep. lasting longer.??I knew you??d come here.

 ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. He saw an H-3 and said. feeling hot suddenly. his voice hard and flat now.Once. 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.?? W-l said.?? Jed shook his head.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. Celia was working longer hours now. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could.??When they stopped for lunch. and none of the nonessentials. And a young Walt. were sacs. none of them had that name.

 there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. where down the slopes. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. A1. He suddenly became a melting. leaving dirt streaks. ??Why are you going. Behind H-3 the swinging door opened and W-1 came out. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed.Walt began testing the men for fertility. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. cousins.In June. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. ??You are not a separate species. Grandmother Wiston was a beautiful old lady.