Rama: The Omnibus

by Arthur C. Clarke

  His emotional outburst was so strong, and so sudden, that all the nepps in Johann’s vicinity scurried away. Next to the remaining flail vat, the nepp leader was watching him curiously. Johann made a few apologetic gestures. The nepp leader then raised its forelegs and motioned to Johann again.

  When he was standing next to the chief nepp, the animal made a short chattering speech that brought an immediate noisy reaction from the entire nepp contingent. Several seconds later, the nepp leader dipped its two forepaws into the remaining vat of slime and began rubbing the gooey material on Johann’s bare chest. The sudden stench was too much for Johann. He gagged twice and then turned and hurled the contents of his stomach into the ocean water. When he turned back to face the nepp leader, the creature grabbed Johann’s hands and placed them in the slimy vat. Johann understood. For the next five minutes, as two hundred nepps watched in fascination and trepidation, Johann and the nepp leader rubbed ackyong slime on every square centimeter of each other’s body.

  The nepp leader and Johann then walked down a difficult path to a small beach area west of the mesa. Looking out into the water, Johann could see a dozen of the sperdens no more than a hundred meters away They were eagerly eyeing Johann and the chief nepp. On the mesa above, white balls were actively moving in four hundred crescent eyes.

  The nepp leader did not pause. It dove directly into the water and started swimming toward the sperdens. Johann, his adrenaline at its peak level, followed the nepp, even passing it after twenty or thirty of his powerful armstrokes. The sperdens waited, anticipant, until the first wave of the slime odor reached them. They turned their heads, ululating in chorus, and began swimming away Yes, Johann shouted to himself, swimming even faster toward the serpents. Oh, yes yes yes.

  SEVEN

  THEY WERE ALL waiting for him on the shore as Johann took his final strokes in the ocean water, let his feet touch the sandy bottom, and walked slowly toward them.

  “Unbelievable,” Vivien said, rushing forward to give him a hug.

  Siegfried was not far behind. “It worked,” he shouted with uninhibited exuberance. “You were right.”

  Only twenty minutes earlier they had been begging Johann not to go into the water. Four huge sperdens had been swimming directly offshore, feeding on the plethora of sea life filling the ocean. They had also been watching the gathered humans with idle curiosity. Vivien had rubbed Johann’s body with the foul-smelling slime, unable to fight back her tears of fear.

  “Don’t worry,” Johann had said with a comforting smile. “I told you, I did this with the nepp leader. The sperdens are completely repulsed by the smell.”

  They had watched him swim directly toward the sperdens, seen the serpents become agitated and prepare to attack, and had expected the worst. But just as Johann had predicted, when he was almost within striking distance, the uncontested kings of the ocean had swum away, no longer interested in what had appeared to be an exciting prey.

  Siegfried was still carried away by his excitement. “Can I try it now, Father?” he said. “I want to know what it feels like to swim in the ocean without fear.”

  “No, son,” Johann answered. “We don’t want to waste the slime. We have barely enough to cover everybody on double full moon night.”

  They walked as a group back to the village, where dinner preparations had been interrupted so that Johann could perform his demonstration. When they reached the kitchen area, everyone sat down in his customary place. “That was indeed impressive,” Ravi said, breaking the silence. “Your observation of the nepps certainly did not turn out to be wasted time.”

  “We have twenty-six days left,” Johann said, still exhilarated from his swim. “That should be enough time for virtually all of us to get into some kind of shape, provided we start right away. I know that Vivien, Siegfried, and Beatrice swim well enough to make it out to the island on their own. What about the rest of you? Ravi, how good of a swimmer are you?”

  “Actually, Johann, I’m a terrible swimmer,” Ravi said. “I nearly drowned once in India when I was a boy… But that’s not the only issue here. There are other considerations.”

  Johann looked perplexed. “From my point of view,” Ravi continued gently, “all that has been established is that there exists a repellent that will keep the sperdens from attacking. But that does not necessarily mean that the correct course of action for all of us is to try to swim out to that island on the night of the double full moons.”

  “What are you trying to say?” Johann asked. “That you still doubt the apparition?”

  “There are many, many unanswered questions,” Ravi said, “the legitimacy of the apparition and its prophecy being at the top of the list. But in addition, since you can’t talk to the nepps, there’s no way you could know for certain that they are preparing to flee en masse when the moons are full. There could be many other possible explanations for the scenes you witnessed. Maybe there is some kind of annual pilgrimage out to the island, for example, for purposes we will never ascertain.”

  Johann struggled to control himself.

  “Then there is the whole question of this ‘horrible danger’ mentioned by Sister Beatrice in your apparition,” Ravi continued. “What could that danger possibly be? We have been living here now for over three years and have not encountered anything, except perhaps the sperdens, that threatens our survival. What is it that is so terrible we should all risk a certain danger, from drowning or perhaps from other sea creatures that we have not yet encountered, to escape? Is the sky suddenly going to fall on us on double full moon night?”

  There was a long, tense silence after Ravi finished speaking. In Johann’s head he heard Beatrice’s voice. Tell them it’s a matter of faith, Brother Johann.

  “I guess,” Johann said somewhat dejectedly, “that the critical issue here is faith. You either believe that my visitation from Sister Beatrice was real, and that her warning should be taken seriously, or you don’t.”

  Ravi nodded. “Anna and I have been discussing this very point since you first left to observe the nepps. For your information, she also is a very poor swimmer, and is afraid of the water. Our daughter, Serentha, as far as we know, has never even put her head under water. We think it would be unlikely, even with help from you and Siegfried and no attacks from sperdens or other sea animals, that we would all survive the swim out to the island and back.”

  He hesitated and sighed heavily. “Johann, we love and admire you, but after weighing all the factors, including this latest information about the nepps and the repellent slime, Anna, Serentha, and I have decided to forgo the swim and take our chances here on double full moon night.”

  “I see,” Johann said, surprised at the strength of the emotion he was feeling. “And the rest of you?” he asked, looking around the group.

  “I will be at your side, darling, wherever that is,” Vivien said.

  “I’m going with you, Father,” Siegfried said.

  “I’m afraid I agree with Ravi and Anna, Uncle Johann,” Beatrice said. “I feel certain I could survive the swim, but what for? I can’t imagine anything happening here that could be that dangerous.”

  “Then I guess it’s settled,” Johann said. “Vivien, Siegfried, and I will go into training immediately, and the rest of you will continue with your normal lives.”

  “I would like to try to make the swim,” the normally taciturn Serentha said as the group started to break up. “I just hope, Uncle Johann, that you can teach me enough in the next thirty days that I have a chance.” She looked over at her parents. “Is that all right with you?”

  “As your mother and I told you last night:’ Ravi said. “This has to be your decision.”

  “YOU MUST BE crazy; old man:’ Eric said, “hiking all the way over here to try to convince us to swim out to an island to escape some unknown danger a ghost told you about.”

  Johann had not expected a positive reaction in the East Village, but he could not have been content with himself if he hadn’t mad
e the effort. “The slime we have really does repel the sperdens,” he said. “I can show you if you like.”

  “That’s not really the issue:’ Maria said. “We believe that part of your story. It’s the rest that seems so preposterous to us. To tell you the truth, when Jomo first told us about your having had another visitation from my mother, we all burst out laughing… Besides, Johann, what you are suggesting is not practical. We have two babies here. How could we transport them safely across the water?”

  “I could carry them,” Johann said. “One on either side of my head and neck. I could swim breaststroke the entire way.”

  “Dear Johann,” Maria said, leaning forward, “we all know what a champion swimmer you were. But that was years and years ago.”

  On another planet. In another lifetime, Johann thought.

  He stood up. “Okay,” he said. “At least I tried.” He glanced over at Maria. “Could I have a word with you in private before I go?”

  Maria shrugged. “I guess so,” she said.

  The two of them walked out of the village toward the ocean. When they reached the sand Johann reached over and took Maria’s hand. “Do you remember,” he asked, “the night of your eighth birthday, when that ribbon appeared and left you a perfect white figurine of your mother?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I do.”

  She turned toward him and put her arms around his waist. “And do you also remember,” Johann continued, “when we were surrounded by the nozzlers out in the middle of the lake, and the ribbons came out of nowhere and saved our lives?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Johann, just as I remember your always being there for me and being the center of my life until you married Vivien and changed my life forever.”

  Johann ignored Maria’s comment. “Your mother’s ghost or angel or whatever it was really did appear, Maria,” he said, “right over there on Black Rock Promontory, the night after I left you the last time. If what she told me is true, then none of you will survive double full moon night. After what you have already seen, can you stand there and tell me that you think the apparition could not have happened?”

  She took her hands off Johann’s waist and looked out at the ocean. “It may have happened,” she said wistfully, “but it doesn’t really matter.”

  Maria turned and looked at him again. She certainly was a beautiful young woman. “If I were your wife, Johann, and even the prospective mother of your children, then I would be at your side, soaked in slime, swimming out to your island. But I am not, and never will be. I am trapped in a life with no real hope of happiness. If whatever danger my mother predicted comes to pass, and I should die, then so be it. I am not afraid.”

  “But what about Stephanie?” Johann asked, not willing to give up. “Surely you must be concerned about her?”

  “I don’t want to talk about her now,” Maria said. She put her arms around Johann’s back. “Now grant me one last favor,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “Kiss me please, as a man kisses a woman.”

  He leaned down and touched his lips to hers. They kissed first softly, then eagerly, before Johann broke the kiss and hugged her tightly. “I have always loved you, Maria,” he said.

  “And I love you, Johann,” she replied.

  “NO, SERENTHA,” JOHANN shouted.”You can’t stop swimming altogether when you breathe. Otherwise you’ll tire yourself out too much. Try to keep swimming while you take a breath.”

  “She’s not going to make it, is she, Father?” Siegfried asked quietly from beside him on the shore of the lake. “It’s only eight days more now.”

  On the far side of the lake, Vivien finished her fifty laps and walked toward them, shaking the water out of her gray hair. “Whew,” she said as she came over, “I’m tired, but certainly not like I felt last week.”

  “You’re going to be fine,” Johann said, still watching Serentha out in the water. She leaned her head to the side to breathe and swallowed a mouthful of water. She came up coughing and sputtering. “I just can’t do it, Uncle Johann,” she said. “I don’t have enough time.”

  Johann turned to Siegfried as Serentha slowly emerged from the water. “You know those dark trees with the large circular leaves in the second section of the Eastern Hills?” he said. “They are the lightest wood on this island. I want you to go over there today, this morning, and bring me back the thickest trunk you can find.”

  “What for?” Siegfried asked.

  “I have an idea for Serentha,” Johann said. “But we have to make certain first that the wood is light enough to provide some buoyancy… Since Ravi, Anna, and Beatrice are not going to swim with us, we should have enough ackyong slime to cover a small support.”

  Serentha was near tears when she walked up beside Johann and Siegfried. Johann put his arms around her. “You’re doing great, young lady,” he said. “Every day you’re getting better.”

  VIVIEN FOUND JOHANN working on the floor in their hut, finishing the carving of the two cylindrical objects that had one opening on the top and room for two little legs on the bottom. “So that’s your version of a papoose?” she asked.

  He laughed. “It’s the best I could do in the short time,” he said. “Any Native American would probably turn up his nose, but I think these will do the job.”

  Vivien sat down beside him and shook her head. “You still believe that after towing Serentha all the way out to the island on that contraption Siegfried and you made, you will have the strength to go back for Stephanie and Kwame?”

  “There is no other acceptable option,” Johann answered. “And what makes you think they’ll entrust their children to your care?” Vivien asked.

  Johann shrugged. “They probably won’t. But how can I ever forgive myself if I don’t make the effort?”

  Vivien was silent for a long time. “And what if something terrible happens to you while you’re trying to help everyone else?”

  “That’s an outcome I have already accepted in my heart,” Johann said. “I have lived a full and amazing life.”

  Johann had not once stopped working during the conversation. While he was continuing to refine the elements of the papoose, Vivien restrained him with both her hands. “Stop for just a moment, giant Johann,” she said, “and give your wife a kiss.”

  He put down his tools and reached over for her, but she scrambled back toward their mats. “Before we make love,” she said, starting to undress, “tell me how you’re going to feel if absolutely nothing out of the ordinary takes place on double full moon night.”

  Johann laughed again. “Like an idiot,” he said, grabbing for her leg. “But then nobody’s perfect.”

  EIGHT

  THE DAY PRECEDING double fill moon night was unusually clear, without a cloud in the sky Johann checked the ocean soon after dawn and was delighted to discover that it was quite calm. All their preparations had been finished the night before. His plan was for the four of them to leave early, just after breakfast in fact, so that he would have time to rest before doubling back to rescue the two infants at the East Village.

  Siegfried and Serentha rubbed each other carefully with the ackyong slime. To reduce the tension, Vivien and Johann made a game out of covering themselves with the foul-smelling goo, Vivien even insisting that the area inside Johann’s trunks be drenched with slime for extra protection. During all this activity, Ravi, Anna, and Beatrice stood by and watched without comment. Only Beatrice seemed concerned that perhaps she had made the wrong choice. Ravi, a bemused look upon his face, told the foursome when they entered the water that he would see them about noon the following day.

  Siegfried acknowledged that he was nervous as he helped Johann ease Serentha and her “swimming contraption” into the ocean. A long plank of light, buoyant wood had been tied to the front of her bathing suit, extending from just under her neck to her hip region, but leaving both her arms and legs completely mobile. Two long, thick, sturdy pieces of twine were anchored to the plank near her armpits and this twine was attached, a
t the other end, to a belt wrapped around Johann’s waist.

  They had practiced with the contraption the day before at the lake and everything had worked perfectly. Serentha had trailed Johann by about eight meters and had been able to provide additive thrust when she used her arms and legs. As a test, Johann had swum ten laps with Serentha essentially acting as a dead weight. He announced afterward that pulling her had been surprisingly easy.

  There was a herd of seven sperdens just offshore, in the path they were going to take to the distant island. As an extra precaution, Johann rubbed ackyong slime on Serentha’s plank as well. He was a strange-looking figure when he started to swim. In addition to the twine trailing from his waist to Serentha’s apparatus, he was wearing the pair of papooses strapped to his back and a tight necklace containing two carefully sealed jars of ackyong slime.

  The first frightening moment for the swimmers came as they neared the herd of sperdens. As planned, Siegfried was swimming behind Serentha (in case anything happened to her), and Vivien slightly off to the side of the three of them. As it happened, Johann’s speed through the water pulling Serentha, at least for the first half kilometer or so, was roughly the same as Vivien’s. So they were a closely bunched group as they approached the sperdens.

  The serpents could hardly believe their good fortune. They saw four huge animal meals heading toward them, well away from the safety of the shore, and their clucking conversations and ululations changed to feeding-frenzy cries when Johann and his troupe were within fifty meters. One large deep-green creature, its neck already bent down close to the water’s surface, raced directly toward Vivien with its mouth open and its powerful teeth exposed.

  Vivien was too frightened to continue swimming. Unfortunately, she was also too far away from the serpent for it to sense the ackyong slime. As Vivien treaded water in the small waves, the sperden seemed to be toying with her, making leisurely wide circles around her position and uttering occasional frenzied shouts.