"Kate Wilhelm - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wilhelm Kate)

said it was flu. Grandfather Sumner died in November. David learned for the first time that he and
Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. And the estate
was in cash. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two
years.
In December the members of the family began to arrive, leaving the towns and villages and
cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings.
Rationing, black markets, inflation, and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. And the
government was freezing all assets of every businessтАФnothing could be bought or sold without
approval. The army was occupying the buildings, and government employees were overseeing the
strict rationing that had been imposed.



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The family brought their stocks with them. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in
four truckloads. Eddie Beauchamp brought his dental equipment. DavidтАЩs father brought all that he
could from his department store. The family had diversified, and there were representative
supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor.
With the failure of radio and television communication, there was no way for the government
to cope with the rising panic. Martial law was declared on December 28. Six months too late.
There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came, and the
original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. In the cities the toll
had been much higher.


David studied the fetal pig he was getting ready to dissect. It was wrinkled and desiccated,
its bones too soft, its lymph glands lumpy, hard. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline?
Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly, then walked away, his head bowed in thought. Not even he could
come up with any answers, David thought, almost with satisfaction.
That night David, Walt, and Vlasic met and went over it all again. They had enough livestock
to feed the two hundred people for a long time, through cloning and sexual breeding of the third
generation. They could clone up to four hundred animals at a time. Chickens, swine, cattle. But if
the livestock all became sterile, as seemed indicated, then the food supply was limited.
Watching the two older men, David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question.
If the people also became sterile, how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said,
тАЬWe should isolate a strain of sterile mice, clone them, and test for the reemergence of fertility
with each new generation of clones.тАЭ
Vlasic frowned and shook his head. тАЬIf we had a dozen undergraduate students, perhaps,тАЭ he
said drily.
тАЬWe have to know,тАЭ David said, feeling hot suddenly. тАЬYouтАЩre both acting like this is just a
five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. What if it isnтАЩt that at all? Whatever
is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. We have to know.тАЭ
Walt looked at David briefly and said, тАЬWe donтАЩt have the time or the facilities to do any
research like that.тАЭ
тАЬThatтАЩs a lie,тАЭ David said flatly. тАЬWe can generate all the electricity we can use, more
than enough power. We have equipment we havenтАЩt even unloaded yet. . . .тАЭ
тАЬBecause thereтАЩs no one who can use it yet,тАЭ Walt said patiently.
тАЬI can. IтАЩll do it in my free time.тАЭ