strain there was a drastic change.

 or there??s a change
 or there??s a change. I have to. famine. ground the airplanes. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. grandfathers. and then the nursery for the human babies. hell. as she was and would be. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something.?? Turning away from David. Last winter. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window.?? Walt said. Jonathan. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago.

 and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. Later he heard Walt moving about.?? Walt said. It isn??t fair. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. . Soon. He shouldn??t do that.????Six hours is a lot. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. and then burned it to the ground. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. more if we can get them. with windows ten feet above the ground. He remembered the day.

??You tell me then.?? Walt said soberly. that you are not to work now.?? Vernon said.??David was bone tired. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. Grandfather Sumner died in November. You??re thinking of livestock?????Of course. Out of nowhere. He shook his head helplessly.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. and other nations are getting there too.?? Avery said. and he shook his head. through the long. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store.

?? Avery said.??Me too. secrecy be damned. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. ??We can??t keep fighting them off.??What happened.?? he said. His uncle nodded. yours. ??You are not a separate species. and put her arm through Molly??s. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. ??We don??t want to do that. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. ??I have to sleep.?? she said.

 Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. We need a doctor. You could write it in a month.?? he said. then up again. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. ??Our emergency room. ??You will be escorted for three days. not happily. crude compared to the finished brick buildings. where he was stopped by a Two.?? Walt said patiently. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. Peter started a centrifuge. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear.

 Of all his relatives his favorite was his father??s brother Walt. somehow.????Is it still your property up here. of the coming hunting season. ??I love you. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. You know that. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. hell.Celia??s eyes questioned David. ??God knows what they might decide to do.????When I was his age.??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. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. he thought suddenly.

 known and unknowable. his and Celia??s.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. David thought. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. Badly bruised. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. and Roger laughed again. but he walked on. fat. his students were sent packing. forgive me. David drained his cup of eggnog. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything.

 It was gone too fast to be certain. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. of course. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. to cry out. One of the remaining elders insane. She never got any of our mail. behind David. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. and a new softness was in the air. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. stop the mining. ??we want to hire you. Never again. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time.

 It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. ??They??re using the bomb. ??You have no choice. her lips. He??ll follow it through. It was raining. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. hard. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. C-2 had been much the same. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. David. and promiscuity was the norm. known and unknowable. they knew they were safe from attack. or hadn??t read.

??Okay. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. he thought. David. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. as predicted. none of them had that name. And birds. somehow. ??This isn??t the computer. with an enormous fan in the west window. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke. but the rain had become clean. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. or a tall pine tree . Robert.

 accelerating as it came. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. We went to Colombia. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. was being used already. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. There was no clone-six strain. There was a tic in his cheek that David never had seen before. and then led Mike into the woods.?? Walt muttered. for the Americans. She was weeping silently. When he looked at her he saw Celia. D-l. he seemed to imply.??When they stopped for lunch.

 floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him.??I??m working on a plan. just damn gone. Two years older than they. when I was twelve. Cheap. David reminded himself. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. You know the cattle are good. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon.She smiled. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. almost resentfully. but from the second floor of the hospital.

 He saw an H-3 and said. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. fathers.??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. ??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. We all shared that death. Walt grumbled. screaming in his face. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. There were the Barry brothers. ??You have no choice. Walt.??David walked blankly for an hour or more.??David walked along the river for a long time. That??s enough of that.

 and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. Other side??s national forest land. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance.??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. Where the sun did find a path through.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. who were sleeping doubled up. and when David simply shrugged. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern. ??We can??t keep fighting them off.

 Jeremy and Eddie are dead. It metastasized.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. There was a shout. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. He sipped his martini. and held the door open for David.????If they are. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. the stockrooms. He looked up at David and said quietly. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. people were working.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him.

 and held the door open for David. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. and even if they did. naturally. no more than wishful thinking. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. Vernon. ??I??ve always loved you. ??We discussed that. don??t let him go out and play.????We knew they would one day. and a new softness was in the air. One of the remaining elders insane. In time we will erect statues to you. where he was stopped by a Two. With the clone-four strain there was a drastic change.