Chapter 47 Chapter 47: Breaking the Maze

Nicole said to Richard: "I've never seen anything so horrible in my life." Two astronauts sit with their backs against the wall of a skyscraper.The building is built around the West Plaza.They were still gasping for air.The frenzied running just now had exhausted them.Nicole took a long gulp of water. "At that point, I was just out of breath," she continued, "and I heard you behind, and the voice was gone. I decided to stop at the museum and wait for you. It didn't occur to me that we were on the 'other line' In the tunnel. "Of course, it was obvious that the exit was on the other side. But at the time, I didn't have time to think about it... Anyway, I went into the cave, the light came on, and there he was, less than 3 meters away from me. I wanted my heart At that moment it was completely..."

Richard thought of Nicole crying in his arms in the aisle. "That's the tall bank... stuffed like a deer or a tiger... placed on the right side of the cave." She convulsed with fear.After a while, she calmed down. The two astronauts walked over together.Richard was shocked to see, opposite the entrance of the cave, standing tall and straight, the Newton's astronaut Takashi.Just like the last time they'd seen him at Camp Beta, he was in his flight suit, with a happy smile on his face and his hands at his sides. "What the hell is this place?" Richard said, blinking.His curiosity held back his fear and dread.

Nicole opened her eyes.Although it was the second time for her to see the specimen of Gao An's body, she still felt that he was alive. They were in the hall for a minute.Next to the high bank hangs from the dome a stuffed bird with a broken wing.Behind Gao An, against the wall, was the small tent that Richard and Nicole had lost the day before.The hexagonal electronic board on Newton's portable science workstation rests on the ground near the foot of the high bank.Not far away, was a creature that looked like a bulldozer; replicas of other creatures were scattered throughout the hall.

Richard began to study the various biological exhibits placed here.At this time, they heard the familiar sound of metal scraping coming from the corridor behind them.This time they didn't delay and ran away.They ran up the chute in one breath, stopped at the sink, and refilled the bottles with fresh water. "Dr. Takagishi is a gentle, sensitive man," Nicole told Richard, "with a passion for his work. I visited him in Japan before we launched. He told me that he A lifelong ambition has been to investigate the second Rama ship." "It's sad that he died in such an unpleasant way," said Richard sullenly. "I suppose the eight-legged spider, or another of its kind, must have dragged him down." After that, specimens were made immediately, and they couldn't wait to be exhibited.

"I don't think they killed him, though," said Nicole. "Perhaps I'm being too naive. I don't see any evidence of contempt in his . . . his statue." "You think they just scared him to death?" Richard demanded sarcastically. "Yes," Nicole said firmly, "at least it's possible." She spent five minutes explaining the condition of Takagishi's heart to Richard. "You astonish me, Nicole," said Richard, after listening to her carefully. "It seems I was all wrong about you before. I thought you were a prim lady, a prim lady. Man, everything is played by the rules. I never thought you would have your own way, let alone such strong sympathy."

"From this example, it's never easy to know what to do. If I had followed the rules honestly, Takagishi would have been alive and is now with his family in Kyoto." "At the same time he would lose the only personal experience of his life. . . This reminds me of an interesting question. You must understand, dear doctor, that we are sitting here with little chance of escape either. We may never see another human face die here, so what do you think? Does it matter where you die and how you die? These can all be factored into your plans in?" Nicole looked at Richard, surprised at his subject.She couldn't read his meaning from his expression. "I don't regret dying, if that's what you mean," she replied carefully. "As a doctor, I've been exposed to dying a lot. My mother died when I was very young." Well, at that time, I was forced to face this problem."

She paused, then added: "For myself, I would certainly like to live to see my daughter grow up. In that case, I could be her child's grandmother. But just being alive is not the most important thing." thing. Life must be of quality, of value. For that quality, we must be willing to take some risks... I didn't make it clear, did I?" Richard laughed. "No, I appreciate your basic point. You mentioned the most crucial point: quality... Have you ever thought about suicide?" he asked abruptly. "No." Nicole shook her head. "Never. There's just so much to do in life, it's so alluring."

She thought to herself: "He must have some reason for asking this question." She asked him, "What about you?" After pondering for a moment, she asked again, "During those painful days with your father, did you ever think about committing suicide?" "No. Strange enough," he replied, "my father's beatings never made me lose my zest for life. There's so much to learn in this world, and I know I'll grow up eventually, I have a future beyond him." He was silent for a long time, and then added, "But there was a time when I did seriously consider suicide. At that time, my pain and anger were so intense that I thought forever It can't be calmed down either."

He remained silent again, lost in thought.Nicole waited patiently.Finally, she took his hand lightly and said softly, "Well, my friend. Maybe you'll tell me sometime. Neither of us is used to sharing our deepest secrets. Maybe one day We can learn this. Now I'm going to tell you why I believe we won't die; why I think the next step should be to search around East Square." Nicole never told anyone, not even her father, about her "adventures" when she was a little "Paro".Now, not only did she tell Richard those things, but she also told in detail about her grandfather's visit to Rome, and what she had seen at the bottom of the well after drinking the water in the bottle.

Richard could not utter a word.This series of stories was nothing more than a fairy tale to him, and his mathematical head didn't know what to do.He stared at Nicole with wonder and awe.Finally, she said awkwardly: "I don't know what to say..." Nicole put her finger on his lips: "You don't need to say anything. I can see you from the expression on your face." We'll talk about that tomorrow, and then you'll have plenty of time to think about what I've told you." Nicole yawned and looked at his watch.She took her sleeping mat out of the pack and spread it out on the floor. "I'm tired," she said to Richard. "There's nothing more exhausting than horror. I'll see you in four hours."

"We've been searching for an hour and a half." Richard was a little impatient. "Look at these maps. We've searched within 500 meters of the square at least twice." "Then, there must be something wrong," Nicole replied. "There are three heat sources in my vision, at least logically it should be so." Richard frowned. "Why are there three squares, but only two underground caves? You also said that the Rama people are always very organized." They stood in front of a dodecahedron facing the East Square.Richard roared angrily: "Also, what are these nasty polyhedrons for? Each small area faces one side, and the other three large ones face the square. Wait!" He said, his eyes following the dodecahedron. Looking in the direction opposite to one side of the wall, there is a skyscraper on the opposite side.He turned his head quickly, his eyes scanning the square for a week. "Is that so?" he said aloud. "Impossible." He asked himself and answered, "It's impossible." Richard saw Nicole staring at him incredulously. "I have an idea," he said excitedly, "maybe it's just wild thinking... Do you remember Dr. Padolini and his array, and his dolphins... Are the Ramas here too?" New York's left some graphics in the city? The square is different from the square, and the neighborhood is different from the neighborhood, and the changes are very subtle... You see, this is not far-fetched!" At this time, Richard had already knelt on the ground, carefully studying the map of "New York". "Can I use your computer?" he said to Nicole a few minutes later. "It can be done faster that way." Richard sat at two computers and worked for hours, talking to himself now and then, trying to decipher the mystery of "New York".During the meal, under Nicole's persistent questioning, he explained that if the geographical relationship between the polyhedron, the square, and the skyscrapers in the nine districts facing each side of the polyhedron were clarified, it would be possible to Find the location of the third cave. Two hours before dark, Richard made a quick trip to a neighboring complex to measure a unique set of data that they didn't have on their computer. It was dark, but he was still working without rest.Rama's night was fifteen hours long, and during the first half of the night Nicole slept.When she woke up five hours later, Richard was still busy.Nicole cleared his throat, but he didn't hear.She sat up, put her hand on his shoulder and said, "You must sleep, Richard." "It's almost over," he said, turning away, and Nicole saw his eyes were bloodshot. "There's less than an hour to go." Nicole was back on the sleeping pad.After a while Richard woke her up excitedly.He opened his mouth and smiled and said, "You wouldn't think of it, there are three possibilities, each of which fits the graph." He walked slowly, thought for a minute, and then pleaded, "We can now Go and see? I don't think I can sleep until I figure it out." None of the three possible crypts identified by Richard were near the square.The first one is 1,000 meters away, on the edge of the city of "New York" facing the North Column Sea.He and Nicole found nothing there. They then walked for 15 minutes in the dark to a second possible location.This is next to the southeast corner of the city.Richard and Nicole walked down the street and found the crypt cover exactly where Richard expected. Richard yelled and cheered: "Long live math!" and immediately put a sleeping mat on the side of the manhole cover. "Grandpa bless you," said Nicole to herself.She no longer wanted to sleep, but she also didn't want to be alone in the dark exploring any new places.Lying on the sleeping mat with her eyes open, she wondered, "What guides us? Intuition or math? Is it our thought patterns that help us figure out the truth? Or do we know the truth first and then use the math?" found it?" It was dawn again and they all woke up. "Another day goes by," Richard said to Nicole. "The days are starting to get shorter, but Rama's day is still 46 hours, 40 minutes, and 14 seconds." "How many days until we reach Earth?" Nicole asked as she stuffed her sleeping pad into her bag. "Twenty days and three hours," he replied using the computer. "We're going on another expedition. Are you ready?" She nodded. "I thought you knew where to find the control panel to open the lid." "No," he said confidently, "but I bet it won't be hard to find. When we find it, the alien crypt will be ours, because we already have All topographical maps." Ten minutes later, Richard pressed a metal plate, and the lid of the third crypt unscrewed.The wide staircase stretches deep underground, with platforms appearing from time to time in the middle. Richard took Nicole's hand and walked down the stairs.They light the way with their lamps.This time, no lights in Rama's crypt were lit to illuminate them. Like the other two crypts, the water room is still in its old place.Going down from the steps, there are horizontal corridors at two different heights, but there is no sound at all inside. Richard said, "I don't think anyone lives here." "At least not yet," Nicole added.