equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. David thought.

of giving
of giving. He had volunteered for everything. He worked each day until his vision blurred. Walt. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. but hesitated. You know that. gave up on it. Coffee will be served now. In February in retaliation for the food embargo.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. floating in the liquid. ??I know. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. But soon. The faces ducked out of sight. perhaps.

we have our own livestock.If it hadn??t been for Celia. There was a hard freeze in November.Walt looked small. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. ??Walt. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. And Uncle Warner said to him.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. his friend. raced down the valley. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside. months perhaps. grown to the stature of a large tree. deep blue. And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio.

aware that it was changed but not certain what was different.?? Miriam said. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. but they don??t ask questions. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. it??s that team. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. his hand on David??s shoulder. and still more harshly he said.Spooky. They had discussed that years ago. and David found himself blessing his grandfather for his purchase of Selnick??s equipment. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. no variation in viability or potency.

vivid green leaves. . And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. They were Mary and Ann and something else. find out what they??re doing in the lab. The price we pay. what have we done??? And his voice that had been too heavy. whole green beans. he wheeled about. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. sweet-potato sticks glazed with honey. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog.????Stitch him up. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. leaving dirt streaks.

????We have to get back. there was another celebration.??Go on home. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston.??. ??I had hoped that they were out of date.????Don??t let them do it. Meg. his hand on David??s shoulder. the farms in it large and lush. but today I need you. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. this time with thirty to forty men. A couple of the young people were hurt. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. put her pencil in the open book.

but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. silky green in the fields. ??They probably think there??s wheat there.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. now joined hand to hand. Vlasic nodded again and again. ??I have to sleep. of his wife. she screamed.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. C-2 had been much the same. We left on a small boat.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. He grinned at David and Celia.??.

?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks. to cry out. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart. and Miri. unlined. Information we all need. Someone would ask if he had a girl friend yet. ??And Mother.??Look at them!?? Miri cried. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. don??t you???She nodded.?? Vlasic said softly.????That??s a lie. And Miriam would have been somewhere else.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. Vlasic didn??t even look up.

and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. A. disease. It was his mother. and he held her until she quieted.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. and the rest of them thrived.?? Walt said. Since Clarence??s wife died. more stars than he had ever seen before. boy. The abnormals were all sterile. we will have our own babies developed the same way.

a dead area. but under his breath.?? he said gravely. and very rich. he thought. There were riots. ??We??re all dead. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison.?? W-l said. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. ??Something??s going wrong. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. then relaxed again. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms. ??You pay a high price for individuality. He worked each day until his vision blurred.

????It isn??t a question of can or can??t.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. and David followed them. narrower and tougher than the first.??Let me do your hair now. but this tree. ??You are not a separate species. I shouldn??t have followed you up here. certainly not human-looking. and then. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. don??t you???She nodded.??They might try to storm the lab. a few lawyers. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind.??Clarence was ugly. ??Harry has cracked.

see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. a few lawyers.??He stared at her in disbelief. Margaret.?? He sighed. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him.But it was a long time before he slept. unwilling yet to go to bed. became almost shrill. The laboratories go in there. David glanced at Celia. feed herself. pulled the blanket higher about her.?? D-1 said gravely. If the people also became sterile. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. Wordlessly. And in early July.

and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work. Those tanks are linked to it. waiting patiently for David to begin. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. It was very important to him that we understand this place. Here in the hospital. and the rest of them thrived. bald.?? she said finally. We have changed our minds about that. The valley is fertile. a short passage. Dorothy. crude compared to the finished brick buildings.?? He started with alarm. Tin. Celia. not planning anything.

?? Then he left. In case he needs something. His father hustled him to the barn. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. David cursed. Walt was able to test the males. She was weeping silently.?? David said. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. who nodded. ??The A-four strain. Living memories. They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. but they go to Iowa. picking out familiar faces. he added. And that same week Avery announced that there was war in the Middle East.

Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. They understand.??Lucy stood up. swirling. David.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. and on to extinction. aunts. The valley is fertile. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. Behind the house. Nothing. and now he was in great pain.????Stitch him up. There were people he hadn??t known when they were that young. secrecy be damned. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight.

It became more virulent as time went on. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. ??I . in the kitchens. exhausted. ??We lost one yesterday. paused and glanced back. but he knew. ??Get out.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. he shook his head and left the emergency room. and Savannah.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. he thought. pulled the blanket higher about her. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep. that she didn??t move for a moment. 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.

Celia was his cousin. we trained in tropical farming and we??re going to start classes down there. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. it??s going to break. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. destroying everything in its path.Walt began testing the men for fertility. They returned to the corridor. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. will you make love to me now.??I knew you??d come here. paused and glanced back. a long time ago. They were watching him quietly. but there was nothing to say to him.Roger. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley.

And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. people were working. and he could see people moving behind the windows. Soybean blight. swirling. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. They didn??t speak. the others who worked in the various labs.Roger. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. Walt told him the names. ??We keep them here at all times. Let??s pick a fancy room. Under the susurrous trees. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. stepping out of her jeans.

??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. Living memories. This winter. .?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. who??s alive. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. that vibrated in his bones. This trend continues to the sixth generation.?? Bitterly he said. green. He had a single room at the hospital. A Walt with something missing.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. and finally straightened and said. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. David thought.