Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Summary Meeting

Outside the meeting room is the training ground.Under the strong camera light, Taburi sat in the audience, facing Frances Sabatini's tiny camera lens, explaining: "The bionic is just at the limit position of the manipulator. After trying twice, I couldn't reach it, so Dr. Brown decided to change the helicopter to manual control, so as to get closer to the wall. Just at this time, a strong wind blew..." The door of the meeting room opened, and a ruddy face appeared. This was General O'Toole, and he said pleasantly, "I'm waiting for you! I think General Posov is already a little anxious."

Frances turned off the lights, put the camera in the pocket of her flight suit, and said with a smile: "Well, my Hungarian hero, stop here, our leader doesn't like to wait for people." She walked over and put her arm gently. On the small man's shoulder, patted his bandaged shoulder: "I'm glad you're all right." A handsome black man in his forties has been sitting on the other side, writing something on the keyboard.He also followed Frances and Tabrie into the conference room. "I'm going to write a feature article on the design of this remote-controlled manipulator," Reggie Wilson whispered to Tabry as they sat down. "There's a lot of readers interested in this kind of technology."

"I'm glad you're finally here," Posov said sarcastically. "I was just thinking, is it a demanding meeting for you?" He pointed at Wilson again. "Wilson, you are a member of the flight team first. , followed by reporters. Have you ever thought about it, you should take that damn thing away and listen to our meeting. The following content is not allowed to be recorded." Wilson quickly put the laptop into his briefcase. Bosov paced back and forth while speaking. The table in the meeting room is elliptical, 2 meters wide at its widest point, and has 12 seats. Each seat is equipped with a computer, which can be covered when not in use.The grain of the lid is exactly the same as the high-grade simulated wood of the table.

As usual, European Admiral Otter Heilmann (hero of the government meeting and mediator of the Caracas crisis), U.S. Air Force General Michael O'Toole, and General Posov sat at one end of the table.Others, as usual, had no fixed positions casually, which annoyed Admiral Hellman and Commander Posov, who always liked neatness and order. Many times, these "unruly laymen" among the members will gather at the other end of the table, forming a buffer zone in the middle, where the astronauts who graduated from the "space military academy" sit. Through nearly a year of media reports, the public has been able to easily distinguish the three types of players.The first kind of people are the so-called "laymen", they are two scientists and two journalists; the second kind of people are the military commanders known as the "troika"; The five astronauts who did most of the technical work.

On this day, the atmosphere was a bit abnormal, and the laymen and astronauts sat together in a completely random manner. The author of the book "Rama Atlas", Japanese scientist Takagishi is the world's most outstanding expert on the first Rama expedition more than 70 years ago. His map is also a must-read for all those who participated in this operation material.Now he is sitting in the middle of the table with Russian aviator Elena Tugeeva and British astronaut and electrical engineer Richard Walkerfield; across from him sits life scientist Nicole Dejardin, she is a woman of mixed African and French descent, with a beautiful and dignified face like a sculpture; beside Nicole, there are Japanese pilot Hiroshi Yamanaka, who is as quiet as a robot, and the glamorous and charming Frances Sabatini.Facing the commanders were the American reporter Wilson, the nagging Taburi, and Dr. David Brown. Dr. Brown was full of documents in front of him, with a very serious expression.

On the wall behind the commanders hung a large map of Rama and various charts about Rama. "It's unbelievable." Bosov said while striding, "I have to admit that judging from the situation of today's simulation training, I doubt that you can complete the task. Gentlemen, don't forget that this is the first time in history. Humanity's most important operation, and you are honored to be selected." "People think that this Rama is a copy of its predecessor, and the biological intelligence in it is mediocre. Based on the data collected by radar in the past three years, I admit that it is the same size and shape as Rama 1. Maybe Rama is just a A dead ship whose owners may have died thousands of years ago, but this operation remains the greatest event of our lifetimes. I think Rama deserves the best of each of you."

General Posov paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.Taburi wanted to ask a question, but Posov interrupted him and continued his rapid-fire speech: "This training, everyone's performance was terrible. Yes, some of you are very good, of course you know Who am I referring to, but not self-assessment. I'm sure there are two or three people out there who haven't even read the "how to do it" that was sent to you before training. Of course, this kind of stuff is kind of boring , but why did you agree to read it and follow the terms when you accepted the mission ten months ago? Not to mention that some people have no flying experience at all."

Posov stopped in front of the huge map.This is a corner of the "New York" city inside "Rama 1", where many tall buildings stand, and people call it "Manhattan".The famous Sea of ​​Columns surrounds the city of "New York", making it an island city.People who visited it for the first time painted this part. "In six weeks we'll meet Rama again. But remember, it's another Rama ship, and maybe it has a city like this one, maybe it doesn't. We are representatives of all Earthlings We can't predict what we will encounter. Therefore, no matter how careful and meticulous preparation is, it is not enough. Only proficiency, re-proficiency, perfection, and more perfection can make the action a "program" that is automatically completed. Our brains are equipped to deal with new and unpredictable situations that may arise."

Commander Posov sat down: "Today's practice was a disaster. We almost lost three teammates and one of the most expensive helicopters in history. I would like to remind everyone again that according to the International Space Agency and' In the action guidelines approved by the government meeting, the safety of personnel must be guaranteed first. Secondly, possible hazards to the people on earth must be analyzed and identified. Only after it is determined that Rama is harmless can we talk about it Capture those creatures." Posov stared directly at Brown across the table; "I also want to remind General Posov," David Brown immediately retorted loudly, "that not everyone agrees with the so-called 'priority principle', which is just a cliché. In the eyes of scientists, those The importance of biology cannot be overstated. As I have said repeatedly at astronaut conferences and on the TV news, if Rama 2 behaves exactly like Rama 1, then , it will ignore whether we exist or not. Our progress is so slow, if we can’t even catch a Rama creature, we will lose this opportunity in vain, and we will not be able to explain to the world.”

Posov wanted to say something, but Dr. Brown stood up, waved his hand vigorously and said, "No, no, listen to me, you accused me of being incompetent in command today, and I have the right to answer!" He waved his hand at Posov A few computer printouts in the "Here is some data related to today's events, provided by your engineers, I think you have forgotten. Let me remind you a few basic points: First, the capture activity is Arranged at the end of the exploration operation, at that time, the 'Rama 2' will have long been confirmed to be harmless to the earth, otherwise, the capture activity will be cancelled; secondly, the previous Rama expedition found that the Rama Creatures act alone, never in groups."

David Brown could see from the expressions of other people that his speech was approved by everyone.He took a deep breath and continued: "I'm sure, after knowing all this, everyone will agree that this particular exercise simulated the only chance to capture Rama's creatures. I have been thinking, when the year 2130 What would it mean if our astronauts could bring back one or a few of these Rama creatures when they landed on Rama for the first time? You know, in the history of our humanity, that is the only A real contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. "Unfortunately, we should have learned more from that contact. I admit that the first investigation provided us with a wealth of information, including Dr. Laura Ernst's observation of the famous 'spider' ——The report written after the autopsy of the Rama creature. However, the only artifact brought home by the astronauts was the little flower that was grown in a certain biomechanical way. It is a pity that people have not had time to get it Knowing its mysterious mechanism, it has withered and deteriorated and can never be restored. To be clear, no souvenirs were recovered from this 'excursion', no ashtrays, no glasses, and no equipment from it We may not be able to pull a chip out of a chip, but these things can tell us a lot about Rama engineering. Now, we are lucky to have a second chance." Dr. Brown looked up at the circular vault above his head, and his voice was full of passion: "If we can find a way to capture two or three Rama creatures back to the earth for research and analysis, and to reveal their secrets, there is no doubt that our actions will have great impact. It is an epoch-making event in human history. Only when we have a deep understanding of the thought of Rama engineering can we truly realize contact with the Rama people.” As usual, David Brown used his eloquence to turn the tables and take a partial victory. Posov was also infected by his passion and decided to change tactics: "Pause." Taking advantage of Brown's pause, Posov interrupted his eloquence with a moderate voice, "Anyway, in action Personal safety must not be neglected, and our people must not be put in danger." He looked around at the others, "Like you, I also want to bring back some Rama creatures and other specimens from Rama, but I must point out: 'Rama Is Rama 2' a tourist paradise like Rama 1? This is a big question. Is there any evidence that the Rama people are full of good intentions? What kind of creatures are they? We have no Any answer! Therefore, it is dangerous to rush to capture Rama creatures." "However, Commander, there is really no way of ascertaining whether what is being done is safe." Richard Walkerfield interjected, "even if we are sure that 'Rama 2' and 'Rama 1' are Exactly the same, but still can't predict what will happen when we go to capture a Rama creature. I mean, what if, as Dr. Brown said, the spaceship is a very complex and sophisticated automaton from the other side of the galaxy , their masters built them millions of years ago. Even if the masters were dead, how do we predict how these creatures would respond to hostile behavior? What would they do? They were imported What? Are they part of some sort of more basic recognition system at Rama? Although they appear to be mere machines, they may be programmed to defend themselves and respond naturally in some way to defend themselves. When hostile When it behaves, it will trigger a chain of reactions on the spacecraft. It is entirely possible. I am reminded of a book I once read about a robot that crashed into the ethane sea of ​​the Titan satellite in 2012, triggering a chain of events , these causally related events depend on..." "Pause!" Tabry interrupted him with a friendly smile, "This mysterious story of early robot exploration in the solar system does not seem to be on the agenda of today's hunting party." He turned to Posov, "Captain, my shoulder is injured , my stomach is empty, I am exhausted from today's exciting training. Everyone's speeches are very good, but if there is nothing else to attend to, please allow me to make a disappointing suggestion: can the meeting be dismissed early , so I have some time to pack up." Heilman leaned forward and said, "Cosmonaut Taburi, General Posov is in charge of this meeting, whether it's over or not is up to him..." The Russian commander waved to Heilman: "Okay, Ott, I think Tabri is right, and today is really enough. Everyone has worked hard during the 17 days of high-intensity training. Wait for everyone to recover." Maybe it’s better to talk about those issues later.” Bosov stood up: "Okay, the meeting will end here. The short-range aircraft will leave after dinner. I want everyone to think about Rama. We only have two weeks of simulation training time. The last chance for us to correct our movements in the training center. It is followed by the holiday at the end of the year. After the holiday, intense launch preparations will begin. I hope everyone will realize the importance of this operation and go all out to complete the work."