Rama: The Omnibus

by Arthur C. Clarke

  'Thanks, Archie," Nicole said, patting the octospider on the shoulder and almost smiling, "for reading my mind. You're beginning to know us too well."

  "We have a difficult time with truth in our society also," Archie commented. "One of our fundamental guidelines for new optimizers is to tell the truth at all times. It is acceptable to withhold information, the policy says, but not to pass falsehoods. The youngest optimizers are very zealous about telling the truth, without regard for the consequences. Sometimes truth and compassion are not compatible."

  "I agree with you, my wise alien friend," Nicole said with a heavy sigh. "And now, after what I can definitely say was one of the worst days of my life, I face not one, but two very difficult tasks. I must tell Max that he will not be able to leave the Emerald City, and I must inform my husband, Richard, that his favorite daughter is a dope addict and a manager of whores. I hope that somewhere in this old and exhausted human is the strength necessary to handle those two duties properly."

  10

  Richard was asleep when Nicole arrived at home. She was thankful that she did not need to explain anything right away. Nicole slipped into her nightgown and climbed gently into bed. But she could not fall asleep. Her mind kept jumping back and forth between the horrible images she had seen during the day and thoughts about what she was going to tell Richard and the others.

  In her twilight state Nicole suddenly saw herself sitting in the bleachers in Rouen beside her father, in the square where Joan of Arc had been burned to death eight hundred years earlier. Nicole was a teenager again, as she had been when her father had actually taken her to Rouen to see the conclusion of the Joan of Arc pageant. The oxcart carrying Joan was coming into the square and the people were shouting.

  "Daddy," the teenage Nicole said, yelling to be heard above the din, "what can I do to help Katie?"

  Her father had not heard the question. His attention was completely focused on the Maid of Orléans, or rather the French girl who was playing Joan. Nicole watched as the girl, who had the same clear and piercing eyes attributed to Joan, was tied to the stake. The girl began to pray softly as one of the bishops read her death sentence.

  "What about Katie?" Nicole said again. There was no response. The audience around her in the bleachers gasped as the piles of wood surrounding Joan were set on fire. Nicole stood up with the crowd as the flames spread quickly around the base of the huge wooden stake. She could clearly hear the prayers of St. Joan, invoking the blessing of Jesus.

  The flames moved closer to the girl. Nicole looked at the face of the teenager who had changed history and a cold shudder ran down her back. "Katie," she screamed. "No! No!"

  Nicole tried desperately to find some way out of the bleachers, but she was blocked on all sides. There was no way she could save her burning daughter. "Katie! Katie!" Nicole screamed again, flailing wildly at the people around her.

  She felt arms around her chest. It took a few seconds for Nicole to realize that she had been dreaming. Richard was staring at her with alarm. Before Nicole could speak, Ellie walked into the bedroom in her robe.

  "Are you all right. Mother?" she asked. "I was up checking on Nikki and I heard you scream Katie's name."

  Nicole glanced first at Robert, then at Ellie. She closed her eyes. She could still see Katie's anguished face, contorted in pain, just above the flames. Nicole opened her eyes again and looked at her husband and daughter. "Katie is very unhappy," she said, and then she burst into tears.

  Nicole could not be consoled. Each time she would start to tell Richard and Ellie the details about what she had seen, she would start crying again. "I feel so frustrated, so helpless," Nicole said when she could finally control herself. "Katie is in dire straits and there is absolutely nothing any of us can do to help her."

  Summarizing Katie's life without omitting anything except some of the more kinky sexual escapades, Nicole abandoned her tentative plan to soften her report. Both Richard and Ellie were stunned and saddened by the news.

  "I don't know how you managed to sit there and watch for all those hours," Richard said at one point. "I would have been out of there in a few minutes."

  "Katie's so lost, so utterly lost," said Ellie, shaking her head. A few minutes later little Nikki wandered into the bedroom looking for her mother. Ellie embraced Nicole and took Nikki back to their room.

  "I'm sorry I was so distraught, Richard," Nicole said a few minutes later, just before they went back to sleep.

  "It's understandable," Richard said. "The day must have been absolutely horrible."

  Nicole wiped her eyes for the umpteenth time. "I can only remember one other time in my life when I cried like this," she said, managing a tiny smile. "Back when I was fifteen. My father told me one day that he was thinking about proposing to this Englishwoman he was dating. I didn't like her—she was a cold and distant woman—but I didn't think it was proper for me to say anything negative to my father. Anyway, I was devastated. I picked up my pet mallard Dunois and raced down to our pond at Beauvois. I rowed out into the middle of the pond, brought the oars into the boat, and cried for several hours."

  They lay in silence for a few minutes. "Oh, Jesus," Nicole suddenly said, "I almost forgot. Archie also told me today that none of us would be permitted to return to New Eden. He said it was a security issue. Max will be furious."

  "Don't worry about it now," Richard said softly. 'Try to get some sleep. We'll talk about it in the morning."

  Nicole snuggled into Richard's arms and fell asleep.

  "For see-cur-i-tee reasons?" Max yelled. "Now, just what the fuck does that mean?"

  Patrick and Nai both rose from the breakfast table. "Just leave your food," Nai said, motioning for the children to follow her. "We can have some fruit and cereal in the schoolroom."

  Both Kepler and Galileo were reluctant to leave. They sensed that something important was going to be discussed. Only when Patrick came around the table toward them did they push back their chairs and rise.

  Benjy was allowed to remain after he promised Nicole he would not repeat any of the conversation to the children. Eponine left the table to nurse the waking Marius in one of the corners of the room.

  "I don't know what it means," Nicole said to Max after the children had departed. "Archie would not elaborate."

  "Well, this is just god-damn wonderful," Max said. "We can't leave, but those slimy friends of yours won't even tell us why. Why didn't you demand to see the Chief Optimizer right there on the spot? Don't you think they owe us some kind of explanation?"

  "Yes, I do," Nicole replied. "And perhaps we should all ask for another audience with the Chief Optimizer. I'm sorry, Max, but I didn't handle the situation very well. I was prepared to watch the videos of Katie and, quite frankly, Archie's pronouncement caught me off guard."

  "Shit, Nicole," Max said, "I don't blame you personally. Anyway, since Ep, Marius, and I are the only ones who still want to return to New Eden, it's our job to appeal this decision. I doubt if the Chief Optimizer has ever seen a two-month-old baby human in the flesh."

  The rest of the breakfast conversation was mostly about Katie and what Nicole had seen the day before in the videos. The family explained the gist of Katie's unhappy life without too many specifics.

  When Patrick returned, he reported that the children were already busy with their lessons. "Nai and I have been talking about a lot of things," he said, addressing everyone at the table. "First, Max, we would like to ask you to be a little more careful in front of the children with your negative comments about the octospiders. They are now quite fearful when Archie or Dr. Blue are around, and their reactions must be based on what they have overheard in our conversations."

  Max bridled and started to reply. "Please, Max," Patrick added quickly, "you know that I'm your friend. Let's not argue about it. Just think about what I've said and remember that we may all be staying here with the octospiders for a long time.

  "Second," he continued, "Nai and I both feel, especially
in view of what we learned this morning, that the children should be learning the octospider language. We want them to start as soon as possible. We think we need Ellie or Mother, plus an octospider or two … not just to teach, but also to familiarize the children again with their alien hosts. Hercules has been gone for a couple of months now. Mother, will you talk to Archie about this, please?"

  Nicole nodded and Patrick excused himself, saying that he needed to return to the classroom. "Patrick has become a good teacher," Benjy volunteered. "He is very patient with me and the children."

  Nicole smiled to herself and looked across the breakfast table at her daughter. Considering everything, she thought, our children have turned out fine. I should be thankful for Patrick, Ellie, and Benjy. And not worry myself sick about Katie.

  In one of the corners of her bedroom, Nai Watanabe finished her meditation and said the Buddhist morning prayers that had been part of her daily routine since she was a small child in Thailand. She crossed into the living room, heading for the other bedroom to wake the twins, and found, much to her surprise, that Patrick was asleep on the couch. He was still dressed and her electronic reader was lying on his stomach.

  She shook him gently. "Wake up, Patrick," she said. "It's morning… You've slept the whole night here."

  Patrick awakened quickly and apologized to Nai. As he was leaving, he told Nai that he had several issues to discuss with her—about Buddhism, of course—but he guessed that they could wait until a more convenient time. Nai smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek before telling him that she and the boys would be over for breakfast in half an hour.

  He is so young and earnest, Nai said to herself as she watched him walk away. And I do enjoy his company. But can anyone ever replace Kenji as my husband?

  Nai recalled the previous night. After the twins had fallen asleep, Patrick and she had had a long and serious talk. Patrick had pressed for an early marriage. She had replied that she would not be hurried, that she would agree to a specific date only when she fell entirely comfortable with the idea. Patrick had then awkwardly inquired about the possibility of what he called "more physical involvement" while they were waiting. Nai had reminded Patrick that she had told him from the beginning that there would be nothing but kisses until their wedding. To assuage his feelings, Nai had reassured Patrick that she found him very attractive physically and was definitely looking forward to lovemaking after they were married, but for all the reasons they had discussed a dozen times, Nai insisted that their "physical involvement" remain constrained for the time being.

  Most of the rest of the evening the pair had talked about either the twins or Buddhism. Nai had expressed concern that their marriage might have a bad impact on Galileo, especially since the boy often cast himself in the role of his mother's protector. Patrick told Nai that he did not believe that his frequent clashes with Galileo had anything to do with jealousy. 'The boy just resents all authority," Patrick had said, "and resists discipline. Kepler, on the other hand…"

  How many times in the past seven years, Nai thought, has someone started a comment with the phrase "Kepler, on the other hand"? She remembered when Kenji was still alive and the boys were just starting to walk. Galileo was constantly falling down and running into things. Kepler, on the other hand, was careful and precise in his steps. He almost never fell.

  The giant fireflies had still not brought dawn to the Emerald City. Nai continued to let her mind roam freely, as she often did after a peaceful meditation. She noted to herself that she had been making a lot of comparisons recently between Kenji and Patrick. That's unfair of me, she told herself. I cannot marry Patrick until that process has completely stopped.

  Again she thought of the previous night. Nai smiled when she recalled their ardent discussion about the life of Buddha. Patrick still has a child's naïveté, a pure idealism, Nai said to herself. It's one of the things about him I love the most.

  "I admire both Buddha's basic philosophy and his approach," Patrick had said. "I really do. But I have a few problems. How can you worship a man, for example, who leaves his wife and son and goes off to be a beggar? What about his responsibility to his family?"

  "You're taking Buddha's action out of its historical context," Nai had replied. "First, twenty-seven hundred years ago, in northern India, being a wandering mendicant was an acceptable way of life. There were some in every village, many in the towns. When a man wanted to seek 'the truth,' his normal first step was to disavow all material comforts. Besides, you have forgotten that Buddha came from a very wealthy family. There was never any question about whether or not his wife and child would have food, shelter, clothing, or any other essential…"

  They had talked for two hours or so, and then kissed for a while before Nai had gone alone to her bedroom. Patrick had already returned to his reading about Buddhism by the time Nai had whispered good night from her doorway.

  How difficult it is, Nai mused as the firefly dawn burst upon the octospider city, to explain the relevance of Buddhism to someone who has never seen the Earth. Yet even here, in this strange alien world among the stars, desire still causes suffering and human beings still search for spiritual peace.

  11

  Richard bounced out of bed .with more than his usual enthusiasm and began jabbering at Nicole. "Wish me luck," he said as he dressed. "Archie said that we'll be gone all day."

  Nicole, who always woke up very slowly and intensely disliked frenetic activity of any kind in the early morning hours, rolled over and tried to enjoy the last few moments of her rest. She opened one eye slightly, saw that it was still dark, and closed it again.

  "I haven't been this excited since I made those two final breakthroughs on the translator," Richard said. "I know that the octospiders are serious about putting me to work. They're just trying to find the right task for me."

  Richard left the bedroom for several minutes. From the noises in the kitchen, the half-asleep Nicole could tell that Richard was preparing breakfast for himself. He returned eating one of the large pink fruits that had become his favorite. He stood beside the bed, chewing noisily.

  Nicole opened her eyes slowly and looked at her husband. "I assume," she said with a sigh, "that you are waiting for me to say something."

  "Yes," he said. "It would be nice if we could exchange a few pleasantries before I leave. After all, this could be the most important day for me since we arrived in the Emerald City."

  "You're certain," Nicole said, "that Archie intends to find a job for you?"

  "Absolutely," Richard replied. "That's the whole purpose of today. He is going to show me some of their more complex engineering systems and try to ascertain where my talents can best be used. At least that's what he told me yesterday afternoon."

  "But why are you leaving so early?" Nicole asked.

  "Because there's so much to see, I guess. Anyway, give me a kiss. He'll be here in a few minutes."

  Nicole kissed Richard dutifully and closed her eyes again.

  The Embryo Bank was a large rectangular building located far to the south of the Emerald City, very close to where the Central Plain ended. Less than a kilometer from where the bank had been built, a set of three staircases, each with tens of thousands of individual steps, ascended the south polar bowl. Above the Embryo Bank, in the near darkness of Rama, loomed the imposing, buttressed structures of the Big Horn and its six sharply pointed acolytes, each larger than any single engineering construction on the planet Earth.

  Richard and Archie had mounted an ostrichsaur on the outskirts of the Emerald City. Together with an escort and a trio of fireflies, they had passed through the Alternate Domain in only a matter of minutes. Out. in the southern reaches of the octospider realm there were very few buildings. Despite the occasional fields of grain, most of the territory through which they traveled on their southerly trek reminded Richard, even in the dim light, of the Northern Hemicylinder in Rama II, before the two habitats had been built.

  Richard and his octospider fri
end entered the Embryo Bank through a pair of extra-thick doors that took them directly into a large conference room. There Richard was introduced to several other octospiders, who were obviously expecting his visit. Richard used his translator and the octos read his lips, although he had to speak slowly and distinctly because they were not nearly as skilled in the human language as Archie.

  After some brief formalities, one of the octospiders led the pair to a series of control panels housing the equivalent of keyboards made from octo color strips. "We have almost ten million embryos stored here," the lead octospider said in her introduction, "representing over a hundred thousand distinct species and three times that many hybrids. Their natural life spans range in duration from half a tert to several million days, or about ten thousand of your human years. Their adult sizes range from a fraction of a nanometer to behemoths nearly as large as this building. Each embryo is stored in what are believed to be near-optimal conditions for its preservation. In fact, however, only about a thousand distinct environments, combinations of temperature, pressure, and ambient chemicals, are needed to span the range of required conditions.

  "This building also houses an immense data management and monitoring system. This system automatically tracks the conditions in each of the distinct environments and monitors the early development of the several thousand embryos that are always in active germination. The system has some automatic fault detection and correction, a dual-parameter warning structure, and also drives the displays which can exhibit status and/or catalog information, both on the walls here or in any of the research areas on the upper floors."

  Richard's brain went into overdrive as he began to understand more clearly the purpose of the Embryo Bank. What a fantastic concept, he thought. The octospiders store here all the seeds of other plant and animal species that might ever be needed for any purpose.