The ribbon was now almost directly over their heads. As always, Maria could not stop watching the motion of the sparkling, dancing particles moving to and fro inside the glowing, changing structure.
At that moment the Beatrice began to walk toward them in a gracious, flowing movement. Her face broke into a magnificent smile as she approached Johann and Maria.
“As you have seen,” the Johann said, “none of the other preserved figurines have been endowed with any of the characteristics that made them human. But Beatrice’s smile, the wondrous blue of her eyes, and the grace of her body movement have all been retained for posterity. And one more thing—”
The ribbon reached down and touched the Johann, interrupting what he was saying. He stared intently at the ribbon and then turned to Maria. “Your time is up,” the Johann said. “The shuttle that will carry you back to the Node is waiting outside.”
Maria glanced back and forth from the ribbon to Johann. “It talked to you,” she said incredulously. “And you understood it?”
Johann laughed again. “Yes,” he said. “But that should not surprise you. I am not an exact resurrection of the Johann who was your grandfather or great-grandfather. I have been given some additional capability.”
Maria looked at the ribbon again. “But I’m not ready to go yet,” she protested. “I have so many more questions.”
“You really have no choice,” Johann said.
Maria shrugged. The ribbon remained in place, hovering over both of them. When Johann didn’t say anything else, Maria bent down and picked up the Beatrice figurine. “May I keep this?” she said. “She’s so beautiful.”
Johann nodded and started walking across the room. On the far side, around a corner, the upright capsule with the transparent window that had been Maria’s space vehicle a few days before was waiting for her. Its door was open.
When they reached the capsule, Maria turned to the Johann. “Then I guess this is good-bye,” she said with difficulty. She gazed up at the re-creation of the man who had been her grandfather or great-grandfather and forced herself not to be sad. She walked over to him and put her head against his chest and her arms around his back.
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much.”
He hugged her silently for several seconds and then gently pulled away Johann took the Beatrice figurine from Maria’s hand and held it at eye level.
“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” he said. “I loved Beatrice with a passion beyond any feeling I ever experienced in my life. She was beyond my wildest expectations as a friend, a companion, and a lover. I never really recovered from her death.”
Maria was astonished to see tears running down the Johann’s cheeks. “She also had the most beautiful singing voice I ever heard in my entire life. The first time I heard her sing, just before Christmas on Mars—”
The figurine in his hand, no more than a meter from Maria’s face, opened its mouth and began to sing. “‘Oh Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining… It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth… Long lay the world…’”
Goose bumps swept up Maria’s arms and tears spontaneously flooded her eyes. She could not believe that any human being who had ever lived could possibly have had such a beautiful voice. She stood and stared, trembling and stupefied, as the tiny Beatrice continued her song.
“‘Fall on your knees… Oh hear, the angels’ voices… Oh Night, Divine… Oh Night, when Christ was born.’”
Maria and Johann both wept silently and separately until Beatrice was finished. Then Maria collapsed into Johann’s arms, allowing her sobs to give vent to the myriad of emotions that were overwhelming her.
“So beautiful.” she said softly “So unbelievably beautiful.”
Johann squeezed her tightly. She reached up and gently wiped the tears off his face.
“You must go now,” he said softly.
“I know,” she said.
He handed her the Beatrice figurine, which Maria lovingly cradled in her hands. Waving good-bye, she backed into the capsule. An instant later the equatorial lips of the giant sphere parted slightly and Maria’s chamber hurtled out into space. The red sphere and the red corridor were still there. The Eagle and the shuttle that looked like a flying saucer were parked on the far side of the red corridor.
Maria’s space suit was lying at the end of the red corridor. Placing the Beatrice gently on the floor beside her, she put on her suit and helmet. After checking her equipment and adjusting it, she picked up the figurine and walked right through the end of the red corridor into the shuttle.
Maria mechanically put her seat belt around her.
“How was it?” the Eagle asked pleasantly.
Maria could not answer. There were no words she could find that could do justice to what she had experienced. She simply nodded her head up and down.
The Eagle noticed the figurine in her hand. “What’s that?” he said.
Maria stared at her alien companion. “A miracle,” she said at length. “Another of the miracles of life.”
Rama: The Omnibus Page 257
