by Arthur C.
“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.”
Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT
CONTENTS
RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA
1 SPACEGUARD
2 INTRUDER
3 RAMA AND SITA
4 RENDEZVOUS
5 FIRST EVA
6 COMMITTEE
7 TWO WIVES
8 THROUGH THE HUB
9 RECONNAISSANCE
10 DESCENT INTO DARKNESS
11 MEN, WOMEN AND MONKEYS
12 THE STAIRWAY OF THE GODS
13 THE PLAIN OF RAMA
14 STORM WARNING
15 THE EDGE OF THE SEA
16 KEALAKEKUA
17 SPRING
18 DAWN
19 A WARNING FROM MERCURY
20 BOOK OF REVELATION
21 AFTER THE STORM
22 TO SAIL THE CYLINDRICAL SEA
23 NY, RAMA
24 DRAGONFLY
25 MAIDEN FLIGHT
26 THE VOICE OF RAMA
27 ELECTRIC WIND
28 ICARUS
29 FIRST CONTACT
30 THE FLOWER
31 TERMINAL VELOCITY
32 THE WAVE
33 SPIDER
34 HIS EXCELLENCY REGRETS…
35 SPECIAL DELIVERY
36 BIOT WATCHER
37 MISSILE
38 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
39 COMMAND DECISION
40 SABOTEUR
41 HERO
42 TEMPLE OF GLASS
43 RETREAT
44 SPACE DRIVE
45 PHOENIX
46 INTERLUDE
RAMA II
RAMA REVISITED
1 RAMA RETURNS
2 TEST AND TRAINING
3 CREW CONFERENCE
4 THE GREAT CHAOS
5 AFTER THE CRASH
6 LA SIGNORA SABATINI
7 PUBLIC RELATIONS
8 BIOMETRY
9 DIASTOLIC IRREGULARITY
10 THE COSMONAUT AND THE POPE
11 ST. MICHAEL OF SIENA
12 RAMANS AND ROMANS
13 HAPPY NEW YEAR
14 GOOD-BYE HENRY
15 ENCOUNTER
16 RAMA RAMA BURNING BRIGHT
17 DEATH OF A SOLDIER
18 POSTMORTEM
19 RITE OF PASSAGE
20 BLESSED SLUMBER
21 PANDORA'S CUBE
22 DAWN
23 NIGHTFALL
24 SOUNDS IN THE DARKNESS
25 A FRIEND IN NEED
26 SECOND SORTIE
27 TO CATCH A BIOT
28 EXTRAPOLATION
29 THE HUNT
30 POSTMORTEM II
31 ORVIETO PRODIGY
32 NEW YORK EXPLORER
33 MISSING PERSON
34 STRANGE COMPANIONS
35 INTO THE PIT
36 IMPACT COURSE
37 MAROONED
38 VISITORS
39 WATERS OF WISDOM
40 ALIEN INVITATION
41 A FRIEND INDEED
42 TWO EXPLORERS
43 EXOBIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
44 ANOTHER LAIR
45 NIKKI
46 THE BETTER PART OF VALOR
47 PROGRESSIVE MATRICES
48 WELCOME EARTHLINGS
49 INTERACTION
50 HOPE SPRINGS
ETERNAL
51 ESCAPE HARNESS
52 FLIGHT 302
53 TRINITY
54 ONCE A HERO
55 THE VOICE OF MICHAEL
56 AN ANSWERED PRAYER
57 THREE'S COMPANY
58 HOBSON'S CHOICE
59 DREAM OF DESTINY
60 RETURN TO RAMA
61 ENDANGERED SPACECRAFT
62 THE FINAL HOUR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE GARDEN OF RAMA
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NICOLE'S JOURNAL
1
29 December 2200
2
6 January 2201
3
26 May 2201
28 May 2201
30 May 2201
4
5 June 2201
8 June 2201
10 June 2201
5
19 June 2201
22 July 2201
31 July 2201
6
20 June 2202
15 March 2203
18 May 2203
7
1 April 2204
6 January 2205
13 March 2205
8
7 May 2205
13 May 2205
9
14 December 2205
1 March 2206
10
30 August 2206
13 March 2207
8 March 2208
11
30 January 2209
4 February 2209
12
13 April 2209
1 May 2209
18 August 2209
6 January 2210
13
30 June 2213
8 July 2213
1 September 2213
8 September 2213
AT THE NODE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
RENDEZVOUS AT MARS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
EPITHALAMION
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
THE TRIAL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
RAMA REVEALED
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PROLOGUE
ESCAPE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
THE RAINBOW CONNECTION
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
THE EMERALD CITY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
WAR IN RAMA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
RETURN TO THE NODE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
BRIGHT MESSENGERS
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE GREAT CHAOS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
VALHALLA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
THE DIVINE COMEDY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
DOUBLE FULL MOON NIGHT
DEDICATION
PROLOGUE
JOHANN AND MARIA
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SISTER VIVIEN'S TALE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
THE MASKETS
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR