Chapter 3 third quarter

May 26, 2201 Something unexpected happened to Ramari five hours ago.We were sitting around compulsively eating "roast beef," "potatoes," and "salad," deluding ourselves that they were delicious.In fact, the so-called "roast beef" is nothing more than a chemical combination rich in protein, while "potatoes" are mainly carbohydrates.Suddenly, there was a whistling sound in the distance, which made us put down the tableware in our hands. Michael and Richard quickly got up and climbed up the cave.The whistling sound came again, I picked up Simone, wrapped her tightly in a blanket, grabbed my thick coat and followed closely behind them, walking towards the cold upper air.

The whistling sound heard outside the cave was clearer, coming from the south.There was darkness all around Rama, we couldn't see anything, we could only move forward by groping.With the help of the faint light reflected from the metal surfaces of the surrounding tall buildings, we curiously climbed towards the south where the sound came from.When we reached the shore of the Column, a light pierced the darkness.Brilliantly colored arcs of light emanated in all directions, illuminating the southern corner of Rama's cylinder.Yellow, blue, and red lights intertwine to form a beautiful rainbow in the dark, and the infant Simone was also fascinated by this radiance.After the light lasted for an hour, it suddenly disappeared, and the surrounding area fell into a vast darkness again.By the light of flashlight Jane we set off back to the cave.

As we walked, we were discussing the wonder we had just seen, when suddenly the scream of some kind of creature interrupted our conversation.It was this voice, this creature that helped Richard and I escape New York last year.We all paused to discern the sound, which was the call of an ivy bird.After escaping from New York, we haven't heard any Aiyun birds.Richard and I were thrilled to hear the call again after such a long time.Richard had been to the Aiyun Bird Cave several times, yelling at the bottom of the cave, but there was no response from the cave.Richard had told us a month earlier that he believed all the ivans had left New York.Just tonight, the unmistakable call of a bird made it clear that we were surrounded by at least one bird friend who had rescued us.

When we were about to discuss whether we should go to the direction of the bird calls, we heard a familiar voice again, which frightened us.Thankfully the sound wasn't coming from around us or from our cave.I sprinted back with Simone in my arms, and we made it back to the cave as best we could.The sound of the octopus outside was getting closer and closer. Richard shot his flashlight into the east passage, and two big black octopus were moving towards us. Usually we go to sleep two or three hours after dinner, but tonight is an exception.All three of us were so excited about the flashes of light, the chirping of the birds and seeing the octopus up close for the first time that we couldn't sleep.Richard was certain that something was to come, and reminded us that the previous flashes of light at Rama's South Cape had indicated Rama's collision with Earth, and had warned all members of the Newton of the impending doom.Tonight's flashes, however, baffled Richard.

"Are the octospiders Rama?" Michael asked. "If they really are Rama, why did we escape tonight? Their technology is much more advanced and superior than ours. If they want, they can easily Take any action against us." "The octospiders are nothing more than passengers on this alien spaceship," Richard said quickly. "They, we, and the iyunbirds are all passengers on this spaceship. The octospiders may think that we Rama people, but not sure. Aiyun birds are a mystery, they are unlikely to be space travelers, but how did they get here? Are they the most primitive life form of Rama people ?”

Instinctively I hugged Simone beside me.Too many questions and too few answers.I suddenly thought of poor Dr. Takagishi, swollen like a tiger in the octospider museum. "Where would we go if we were passengers on this alien spaceship?" I asked quietly. Richard sighed and said, "I did some calculations and the results were not very encouraging. We are moving very fast relative to the sun, but very slow relative to our galaxy. If our orbit and speed do not change, we will leave the solar system, move in the direction of Barnard's planet, and arrive at Barnard's galaxy in a few thousand years."

Simone cried, it was too late, she was too sleepy.The two men were still watching the display on the black screen to see if they could determine what was going on.I said "goodbye" to them and went to Michael's room to feed Simone.Simone was fidgety and hurt me once while nursing.Simone is usually a very quiet, sweet child, and today was a bit of an anomaly. "You feel our fear too, don't you?" I said softly to her.I've read once that babies can sense the mood changes of the adults around them, and that might be true. Simone was sleeping comfortably on her rug, but I couldn't sleep.I have a hunch that what happens tonight will change our lives in Ramari.Richard's calculations that Rama could travel through interstellar space for more than a thousand years didn't excite me.It was hard to cheer me up at the thought of spending the rest of my life in such surroundings, it was too dull for Simone.I pray to God, to the people of Rama, to anyone who has the power to change our future, that the changes that are about to take place in Rama will make my beloved little daughter's future life more colorful.

May 28, 2201 Tonight we heard another long whoosh followed by another spectacular flash at Cape Raman.Simone and I stayed in the cave and didn't see it, and Richard and Michael didn't meet the other residents of New York tonight.Richard said that the duration of the flash this time was about the same as the first time, but the shape and color of the light had changed a lot. The light tonight was mainly blue, while two days ago it was yellow. Richard was adamant that the Ramas liked the number three, and he believed there would be another flash.The day and night in Rama are close to twenty-three hours, and Richard calls it Rama's day.My wise husband came to this conclusion four months ago and entered it in his astronomical almanac for me and Michael.Richard predicted to us that there will be a third flash of Rama within two Earth days.We all hope that something extraordinary will happen after the third flash.

May 30, 2201 Four hours ago, Rama, the giant cylindrical alien ship, began to accelerate.Richard was so excited that he couldn't control himself.He stared intently at the data on the black screen, holding his favorite laptop in his hand, and entered the data on the screen into the computer from time to time.He murmured and repeated his thoughts on the ongoing acceleration and orbital change. To enter Earth orbit, Rama corrected its orbit.Correcting the orbit caused strong vibrations.Richard said the previous shocks were nothing compared to the present.Currently, the floor shakes up and down frequently and strongly, making it difficult to move around.We couldn't put Simone on the floor or in the cradle, the strong vibrations would have freaked her out, so I held her tightly in my arms at the start of the acceleration and tried to keep her balance so she wouldn't fall.Richard and Michael have already fallen twice, and if I do, Simone will be hurt.

Our humble furniture dangled to and fro in the room.Half an hour ago, a chair jumped out of the room and hit the corridor.At first, we rearranged the furniture every 10 minutes, but now we don't care about that anymore. It was an incredible time, and then there was another flash at Raman South Point.Richard went out alone before dark, and returned a few minutes later, agitated, and took Michael away.They were both very excited to return, especially Michael, who seemed mysteriously hit by a ghost. "Octospiders," cried Richard, "there are countless octospiders along the east coastline for a full two kilometers."

"We had no way of knowing how many there were, and the flashes disappeared after a few seconds of watching," Michael said. "I've been looking longer than you," Richard went on. "I looked carefully through the binoculars. At first it was only a cluster the size of a hand, but it quickly swarmed and they formed an array. I saw a A large octospider with red and blue stripes on its head stood at the head of the line as leader." I looked at them suspiciously. "I didn't see that big red and blue spider and the procession you were talking about," Michael said, "but I did see a lot of dark-headed creatures with black and gold tentacles. They were looking south, probably waiting Look at the flash." "We also saw aiyun birds," Richard said to me, turning to Michael, "how many?" "Twenty or thirty," Michael replied. "They're flying screeching over New York, heading north over the Sea of ​​Cylindrical Sea," Richard continued after a pause. "I think those stupid birds have been through this before, and they know what's going on." I started wrapping Simone in a blanket. "What do you do?" Richard asked me.I explained that I didn't want to miss the last flash.I also reminded Richard that he had assured us that octospiders were only at night, which was not the case. "It's just a special situation." He said confidently, when there was another whistling sound. I have a hunch that tonight's flash has a special meaning, and the color of the flash is different from the previous two.A fiery red arc streaked across the night sky, forming a hexagon in the sky.Half an hour after the flash appeared, Michael suddenly shouted: "Look quickly." Looking towards the coastline in the direction of his finger, there was another octopus they had just seen. Several light spheres rose in the air more than 50 meters away from the frozen cylindrical sea surface, illuminating the frozen sea surface about one square kilometer below.We were about to take a closer look when a mass of dark octospiders was moving south across the ice.At the end of the flash, Richard handed me the binoculars, and I could make out the spiders: most had colored stripes on their heads, and were a dark charcoal gray like the one that chased us through the cave. .Black and gold tentacles and body shapes confirm that these creatures are the same species as the one we saw last year.Richard is correct, they do exist in large numbers. Rama started to speed up again, and we quickly returned to the cave.It was dangerous to stay outside when the shaking accelerated, and occasionally a small piece of the surrounding building was shaken off and fell to the ground.Simone was so frightened that she couldn't stop crying when the shaking started.We had a hard time getting down to the cave.Richard checked our terminal sensors, observed planets and planetary positions, and made calculations based on observations.Michael and I took turns hugging Simone and curled up against the wall, talking about all this magic.Only the solid corner can give us a sense of security. About an hour later, Richard announced to us the preliminary results of his orbit calculations.He used the solar system as a reference to calculate our hyperbolic orbit data before the orbit change and the dramatic new data after the acceleration.Richard is telling us in shorthand the dramatic change that took place in the first three hours when the orbit changed direction.After all the oddities we've seen, we're no longer surprised by such absurd changes. Michael asked Richard, "Are you sure?" "Quantitative results allow for a wide margin of error," replied Richard, "but the fact that orbits vary cannot be denied." "So we're getting faster out of the solar system, aren't we?" Michael asked. "Yes," Richard nodded, "Our speed is increasing. After the orbit changed direction, our speed has increased by many kilometers per second." "Amazing!" Michael replied. I see Richard's point, that if we had ever had any illusions of a miraculous return to Earth during the long, long journey, all hope has now been shattered.Rama is leaving the solar system faster than we can imagine.Richard is excited by the current rapidity of progress.I fed Simone and started worrying about her future again.I think we will eventually leave the solar system and go to another unknown place.Will my daughter and I really witness another world?My daughter, is Rama really your forever home? The floor continued to vibrate violently.Richard said that the rate at which we are leaving the solar system is still accelerating.I took comfort in the thought of the inevitable passage into a distant new world.Good guy, speed up, the faster the better, the farther the better.Take us into a whole new world!