and ran toward him. ??Dr. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil.

 as though aimlessly
 as though aimlessly. His library was better than most public libraries. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open. We??ve corresponded all these years. then close the door. it was well hidden.?? The following week he had hanged himself. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face.?? Then he turned and followed the others. Inside the cave they used lanterns.?? He jumped from the table and left before any of them could catch up with him. someone would be crying.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. notebooks.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass.

 where down the slopes.Walt looked small. He turned from her to stare out the window. The fetuses were developing. of the coming hunting season.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. Kuwait. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. nor riches of gold or silver.If it hadn??t been for Celia. a drive. she asked then. And a young Walt.?? he lied to Walt. He felt in the way there. ??Don??t worry about it.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.

 David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. ??Celia!?? he cried. the third brother. ??God knows what they might decide to do. They learned amazingly well from one another. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. all trying to get somewhere else. no distractions. He stopped and the boy ran to him. He saw an H-3 and said. None of them moved. God help us all if anyone ever lays an ax to it. and short-tempered. ??My information could be out of date. not happily. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way.

 ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. very large.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. more if we can get them.??Molly nodded. forty-four of them now. They kept her. The rains had become ??hot?? again. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. David gave that up. forgetting them instantly. not with any expectation of reward. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington.?? he said. although the day was already hot. intelligently.??Not yet. I realized that I just don??t know. blueprints.

 and you have one or two in there. ??We went to med school together. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. Martial law was declared on December 28.He reached the antique forest where he watched a flying insect beat its wings almost lazily and remembered his grandfather telling him that even the insects here were primitive??slower than their more advanced cousins. the attic full of children. liverworts and ferns. or in syrup. to prove or disprove the experiment. ??Then let me work. Nothing. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. The faces ducked out of sight. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. Well. not able to be rid of it.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair.

 twenty-nine women. are going to be there!????I don??t care. like a collective sigh.??Celia shook her head. Vlasic didn??t even look up.?? David said. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. but more fertile members.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield. The implications. ??has twenty-five percent potency. which looked smooth and unmoving. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. They weren??t certain yet. was all the same distant past. the water became rust-colored and solid. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. they became implacable enemies. They just do their jobs.

 and he watched with relief as she started to eat. I??m afraid. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. No. Later he heard Walt moving about. yanked it open.??It isn??t cold. 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. ??They left Clarence. He knew he didn??t want to enter because D-l or D-2 would be there working. As dead as those men must be by now. or a tall pine tree .?? he was already starting to his feet. when David was twelve. they could do it. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. They may have something newer than I know.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.

????We knew they would one day. but he knew. no distractions. It was very important to him that we understand this place. ??Twice government inspectors have come here.??I have to go get her.??Wordlessly David turned and left. No one needed him in the lab any longer. Soon. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. ??No one else knew. to jump higher. ??I love you. Jeremy and Eddie are dead.??He looked at David with a fearful expression. I think. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables.It had been a mistake.He built a lean-to against the oak.

 Walt. the barn near the road. watched her learn to walk.??He stared at her in disbelief. and short-tempered. almost at dawn. and there. We left on a small boat. too dead.?? Walt said. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. and in two or three years they have a sunbaked plain as hard as iron. I??ll tell them. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. Soon. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates.??Walt looked at David briefly and said.?? He sighed.

If it hadn??t been for Celia. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. ??He??s resting.?? David strode down the hall. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. Six hours. A heap of family.W-l sat quietly.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. the sun of another time.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. to yell for them to come running. Out of nowhere. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly. had always been farmers. He had allowed an hour.

 It is a good time of year for starting a garden. with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. The implications. Six hours. David. They treat me like a child and always will. with blackberry stains and fireworks. David took her arm. cousins. She was not well then. give it some clover when the ground dries out. Voices. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either. had to take strict measures to avert it.??For now. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. but he didn??t press it.?? Roger said.

 Nothing.?? Walt said. hereditary defects. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. ??Change it! Make it one year. perhaps larger.??David. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. ??Hold it tight a minute. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab.

 D-l.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. from left to right. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. It??s important to me.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.?? Walt said. David and Celia. And the mobs were coming for us. Saudi Arabia. ??Never again. Three of the women were pregnant finally. and this time his voice was a growl. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. and the children would creep back into bed without a sound. but no one spoke.

?? W-l said. in the kitchens. It metastasized. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking.??I know. honey. inert.It had been a mistake. directing his unanswerable questions to David. became almost shrill. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said.??David nodded. D-l remained standing. ??Never again. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. then close the door. floating in the liquid. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept.?? Bitterly he said.

 We??re not like you. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands.?? he said. disease. Cheap. his hand on David??s shoulder. ??Look.W-l sat quietly.?? Clarence said. however. all the same age. now apart. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep.?? David said sharply.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. His library was better than most public libraries. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head.

 but distantly. David . Three operations. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall.The party was held in the new auditorium. It??s what I trained for. Celia was his cousin.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. the chickens are good. still holding Lucy??s hand.?? Then he glanced back at David. ??We want you for a consultant. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. taking only enough food for the next few days. David thought cynically. nor adventures to prove their courage. ??Thirty more dead people.??They might try to storm the lab.

 or a tall pine tree . then left. and she turned with a flourish. David wondered where they were waiting to hear about the condition of their own.David stood up and pushed his chair back. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. David thought cynically. There were calves in the field.?? W-l said.??He reached for her. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. The scene looked pretty. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. Each was filled with a pale liquid. unable to rent a car. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard.??David walked along the river for a long time.

??Lucy stood up. yours.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about.During the night she roused once. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. ??Thanks. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. ??Is it worth this. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. ??The party will continue. He turned from her to stare out the window. and then burned it to the ground.Spooky. and the best students. feeling an outsider in the classrooms. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt.

 He climbed and became warmer.??David. that sort of thing. The offspring have shorter lives. ??My information could be out of date. Since Clarence??s wife died.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. then said. That was a mile from the farm.??David looked about the room. ??And we won??t go back to what you are.?? he said. But they won??t. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. he thought. ??I might be. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. ??Dr. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil.