As Nicole passed Janos Tabori’s room on her way to the exercise area, she heard his unmistakable laugh. His door was open as usual. “Did you really expect me,” Janos was saying, “to trade bishops and leave your knights in command of the center of the board? Come on, Shig, I may not be a master, but I do learn from my mistakes. I fell for that one in an earlier game.”
Tabori and Takagishi were involved in their usual postprandial chess match. Almost every “night” (the crew had stayed on a twenty-four-hour day that coincided with Greenwich Mean Time) the two men played for an hour or so before sleeping. Takagishi was a ranked chess master but he was also softhearted and wanted to encourage Tabori. So in virtually every game, after establishing a solid position, Takagishi would allow his edge to be eroded.
Nicole stuck her head in the door. “Come in, beautiful,” Janos said with a grin. “Watch me destroy our Asiatic friend in this pseudocerebral endeavor.” Nicole had started to explain that she was going to the exercise room when a strange creature, about the size of a big mouse, scurried through her legs and into Tabori’s room. She jumped back involuntarily as the toy, or whatever it was, headed for the two men.
“The ousel cock, so black of hue With orange-lawny bill, The throstle, with his note so true The wren with little quill .
The robot was singing as it skipped toward Janos. Nicole dropped down on her knees and examined the curious newcomer. It had the lower body of a human and the head of a donkey. It continued to sing. Tabori and Takagishi stopped their game and both laughed at the bewildered expression on Nicole’s face.
“Go on,” said Janos, “tell him that you love him. That’s what the fairy queen Titania would do!’
Nicole shrugged her shoulders. The little robot was temporarily quiet. As Janos urged again, Nicole mumbled “I love you” to the twenty-centimeter Athenian with a mule’s head.
The miniature Bottom turned to Nicole. “Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that. And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays.”
Nicole was amazed. She reached out to pick up the tiny figure but stopped herself when she heard another voice.
“Lord, what fools these mortals be. Now where is that player I changed into an ass. Bottom, where art thou?”
A second small robot, this one dressed as an elf, leapt into the room. When he saw Nicole, he jumped up from the floor and hovered at eye level for several seconds, his tiny back wings beating at a frantic pace. “I be Puck, fair lass,” he said. “I’ve not seen thee before.” The robot dropped to the ground and was silent. Nicole was now dumbfounded.
“What in the world—” she started to say.
“Shh… ” Janos said, motioning for her to be quiet. He pointed at Puck. Bottom was sleeping in the corner near the edge of Janos” bed. Puck had now found Bottom and was spraying him with a fine light dust from a small pouch. As the three human beings watched, Bottom’s head began to change. Nicole could tell that the small plastic and metal pieces making up the asshead were simply rearranging themselves, but even she was impressed by the scope of the metamorphosis. Puck scampered off just as Bottom awakened with his new human head and started talking.
“I have had a most rare vision,” Bottom said. “I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream.”
“Bravo. Bravo,” Janos shouted as the creature fell silent.
“Omedeto,” Takagishi added.
Nicole sat down in the single unoccupied chair and looked at her companions. “And to think,” she said, shaking her head, “that I actually told the commander you two were psychologically sound.” She paused two or three seconds. “Would one of you please tell me what is going on here?”
“It’s Wakefield,” Janos said. “The man is absolutely brilliant and, unlike some geniuses, also very clever. In addition he’s a Shakespeare fanatic. He has a whole family of these little guys, although I think Puck is the only one that flies and Bottom’s the only one that changes shape.”
“Puck doesn’t fly,” Richard Wakefield said, coming into the room. “He is barely capable of hovering, and only for a short period.” Wakefield seemed embarrassed. “I didn’t know you were going to be here!” he said to Nicole. “Sometimes I entertain these two in the middle of their chess game.”
“One night,” Janos added as Nicole remained speechless, “I had just conceded defeat to Shig when we heard what we thought was a fracas in the hall. Moments later, Tybalt and Mercutio entered the room, swearing and slashing their swords at each other.”
“This is a hobby of yours?” Nicole asked after several seconds, indicating the robots with a wave of her hand.
“My lady,” Janos interrupted before Wakefield could answer, “never, never mistake a passion for a hobby. Our esteemed Japanese scientist does not play chess as a hobby, And this young man from The Bard’s home town of Stratford-on-Avon does not create these robots as a hobby.”
Nicole glanced at Richard. She was trying to imagine the amount of energy and work that was necessary for the creation of sophisticated robots like the ones she had just seen. Not to mention talent and, of course, passion. “Very impressive,” she said to Wakefield.
His smile acknowledged her compliment. Nicole excused herself and started to leave the room. Puck zoomed around her and stood in the doorway.
“If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear.”
Nicole was laughing as she stepped over the sprite and waved good night to her friends.
Nicole stayed in the exercise room longer than she expected, Ordinarily thirty minutes of hard bicycling or running in place was enough to release her tensions and relax her body for sleep. On this evening, however, with the goal of their mission now so close at hand, it was necessary for her to work out for a longer time to calm her hyperactive system. Part of her difficulty was her residual concern about the report she had filed recommending that Wilson and Brown be separated on all important mission activities.
Was I too hasty? she asked herself. Did I let General Borzov sway my opinion? Nicole was very proud of her professional reputation and often constructively second-guessed her major decisions. Toward the end of her exercise she convinced herself again that she had filed the proper report. Her tired body told her that it was ready to sleep.
When she returned to the living area in the spacecraft, it was dark everywhere except in the hallway. As she started to turn left into the corridor that led to her room, she happened to glance beyond the lobby, in the direction of the small room where she kept all the medical supplies. That’s strange, she thought, straining her eyes in the dim light. It looks as if f left the supply room door open.
Nicole walked across the lobby. The supply door was indeed ajar. She had already activated the automatic lock and had started to close the door when she heard a noise inside the dark room. Nicole reached in and turned on the light. She surprised Francesca Sabatini, who was sitting in the comer at a computer terminal. There was information displayed on the monitor in front of her and Francesca was holding a thin bottle in one of her hands.
“Oh, hello Nicole,” Francesca said nonchalantly, as if it were normal for her to be sitting in the dark at the computer in the medical supply room.
Nicole walked slowly over to the computer. “What’s going on?” she said casually, her eyes scanning the information on the screen. From the coded headings, Nicole could tell that Francesca had requested the inventory subroutine to list the birth control devices available onboard the spacecraft.
“What is this?” Nicole now asked, pointing at the monitor. There was a trace of irritation in her voice. All the cosmonauts knew that the medical supply room was off limits to everyone but the life science officer.
When Francesca still did not reply, Nicole became angry. “How did you get in here?” she demanded. The two women were only a fe
w centimeters apart in the small alcove next to the desk. Nicole suddenly reached over and grabbed the bottle out of Francesca’s hand. While Nicole was reading the label, Francesca pushed her way through the narrow space and headed for the door. Nicole discovered that the liquid in her hand was for inducing abortions and quickly followed Francesca into the lobby.
“Are you going to explain this?” Nicole asked.
“Just give me the bottle, please,” Francesca said finally.
“I can’t do that,” answered Nicole, shaking her head. “This is a very strong medicine with serious side effects. What did you think you were going to do? Steal it and have it pass unnoticed? As soon as I completed an inventory comparison I would have known that it was gone.”
The two women stared at each other for several seconds. “Look, Nicole,” Francesca said at length” managing a smile, “this is really a very simple matter. I have discovered recently, much to my chagrin, that I am in the very early stages of pregnancy. I wish to abort the embryo. It’s a private matter and I did not want to involve you or any of the rest of the crew.”
“You can’t be pregnant,” Nicole replied quickly. “I would have seen it in your biometry data.”
“I’m only four or 6ve days. But I’m certain. I can already feel the changes in my body. And it’s the right time of the month.”
“You know the proper procedures for medical problems,” Nicole said after some hesitation. “This might have been very simple, to use your phrase, if you had first come to me. Most likely I would have respected your request for confidentiality. But now you’ve given me a dilemma—”
“Will you stop with the bureaucratic lecture,” Francesca interrupted sharply. “I’m really not interested in the goddamn rules. A man has made me pregnant and I intend to remove the fetus. Now, are you going to give me the bottle, or must I find another way?”
Nicole was outraged. “You are amazing,” she responded to Francesca. “Do you really expect me to hand you this bottle and walk away? Without asking any questions? You may be that cavalier about your life and health, but I certainly am not. I have to examine you first, check your medical history, determine the age of the embryo — only then would I even consider prescribing this medicine for you. Besides, I would feel compelled as well to point out to you that there are moral and psychological ramifications—”
Francesca laughed out loud. “Spare me your ramifications, Nicole. I don’t need your upper class Beauvois morality passing judgment on my life. Congratulations to you for raising a child as a single parent. My situation is much different. The father of this baby purposely stopped taking his pills, thinking my being pregnant would rekindle my love for him. He was wrong. This baby is unwanted. Now, should I be more graphic—”
“That’s enough,” Nicole interrupted, pursing her lips in disgust. “The details of your personal life are really none of my business. I must decide what is best for you and for the mission.” She paused. “In any event, I must insist on a proper examination, including the normal pelvic internal image set. If you refuse, then I won’t authorize the abortion. And of course I’d be forced to make a complete report—”
Francesca laughed. “You don’t need to threaten me. I am not that stupid. If it will make you feel better to stick your fancy equipment between my legs, then be my guest. But let’s do it. I want this baby out of me before the sortie.”
Nicole and Francesca hardly exchanged a dozen words during the next hour. They went together to the small infirmary, where Nicole used her sensitive instruments to verify the existence and size of the embryo. She also tested Francesca for her acceptability to receive the abortion liquid. The fetus had been growing inside Francesca for five days. Who might you be? Nicole thought as she looked on the monitor at the microscopic image of the tiny sac embedded in the walls of the uterus. Even in the microscope on the probe there was no way to tell that the collection of cells was a living thing. But you are already alive. And much of your future is already programmed by your genes.
Nicole had the printer list for Francesca what she could expect physically once she had ingested the medicine. The fetus would be swept away, rejected by her body, within twenty-four hours. There could possibly be some slight cramping with the normal menstruation that would follow immediately.
Francesca drank the liquid without hesitation. As her patient was dressing, Nicole thought back to the time when she had first suspected her own pregnancy. Never once did I consider… And not just because her father was a prince. No. It was a question of responsibility. And love.
“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Francesca said when she was ready to leave. She was standing by the infirmary door. “But don’t waste your time. You have enough problems of your own.”
Nicole did not reply. “So tomorrow the little bastard will be gone,” Francesca said coldly, her eyes tired and angry. “It’s a damn good thing. The world doesn’t need another half-black baby.” Francesca didn’t wait for Nicole’s response.
16
RAMA RAMA BURNING BRIGHT
The touchdown near the entry port to Rama was smooth and without incident. Following the precedent of Commander Norton seventy years earlier, General Borzov instructed Yamanaka and Turgenyev to guide the Newton to a contact point just outside the hundred-meter circular disc centered on the spin axis of the giant cylinder. A set of low, pillbox-shaped structures temporarily held the spacecraft from Earth in place against the slight centrifugal force created by the spinning Rama. Within ten minutes strong attachments anchored the Newton firmly to its target.
The large disc was, as anticipated, the outer seal of the Raman air lock. Wakefield and Tabori departed from the Newton in their EVA gear and started searching for an embedded wheel. The wheel, which was the manual control for the air lock, was in exactly the predicted place. It turned as expected and exposed an opening in the outer shell of Rama. Since nothing about Rama II had yet varied from its predecessor in any way, the two cosmonauts continued with the entry procedure.
Four hours later, after considerable shuttling back and forth in the half kilometer of corridors and tunnels that connected the great hollow interior of the alien spaceship to the external air lock, the two men had finished opening the three redundant cylindrical doors. They had also deployed the transportation system that would ferry people and equipment from the Newton to the inside of Rama. This ferry had been designed by the engineers on Earth to slide along the parallel grooves the Ramans had cut into the walls of the outer tunnels unknown ages ago.
After a short break for lunch, Yamanaka joined Wakefield and Tabori and the three of them constructed the planned Alpha communications relay station at the inside end of the tunnel. The patterns of the arrayed antennas had been carefully engineered so that, if the second Raman vehicle was identical to the first, two-way communication would be possible between cosmonauts located anywhere on the stairways or in the northern half of the Central Plain. The master communication plan called for the establishment of another major relay station, to be called Beta, near the Cylindrical Sea; the pair of stations would provide strong links everywhere in the Northern Hemicylinder and would even extend to the island of New York.
Brown and Takagishi took their positions in the control center once the operation of the Alpha relay station was verified. The countdown to interior drone deployment proceeded. Takagishi was obviously both nervous and excited as he finished his preflight tests with his drone. Brown seemed relaxed, even casual, as he completed his final preparations. Francesca Sabatini was sitting in front of the multiple monitors, ready to select the best images for real-time transmission to the Earth.
General Borzov himself announced the major events in the sequence. He paused for a dramatic breath before issuing the command to activate the two drones. The drones then flew away into the dark emptiness of Rama. Seconds later the main screen in the control center, whose picture came directly from the drone being commanded by David Brown, was flooded with lig
ht as the first flare ignited. When the light became more manageable, the outline of the first wide-angle shot could be seen. It had always been planned that this initial picture would be a composite of the Northern Hemisphere, covering all the territory from the bowl-shaped end where they had entered down to the Cylindrical Sea at the midpoint of the artificial world. The sharp image that was eventually frozen on the screen was overwhelming. It was one thing to read about Rama and to conduct simulations inside its replica; it was quite another to be anchored to the gigantic spaceship near the orbit of Venus, and to be taking a first look inside…
That the vista was familiar barely lessened the wonder of the image. In the end of the crater-shaped bowl, starting from the tunnels, a complex of terraces and ramps fanned out until they reached the main body of the spinning cylinder. Trisecting this bowl were three wide ladders, resembling broad railroad tracks, each of which later expanded into enormous stairways with more than thirty thousand steps each. The ladder!stairway combinations resembled three equally spaced ribs of an umbrella and provided a way to ascend (or descend) from the flat bottom of the crater to the vast Central Plain wrapped around the wall of the spinning cylinder.
The northern half of the Central Plain spread out to fill most of the picture on the screen. The huge expanse was broken into rectangular fields that had irregular dimensions except immediately around the “cities.” The three cities in the wide-angle image, clusters of tall slim objects, resembling manmade buildings, that were connected by what looked like highways running along the edges of the fields, were immediately recognized by the crew as the Paris, Rome, and London named by the first Raman explorers. Equally striking in the image were the long straight grooves or valleys of the Central Plain. These three linear trenches, ten kilometers long and a hundred meters wide, were equally spaced around the curve of Rama. During the first Raman encounter these valleys had been the sources of the light that had filled the “worldlet” shortly after the melting of the Cylindrical Sea.
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