Chapter 62 Chapter 62: The Last Moment

No one made a sound for 5 minutes, and the three astronauts sat there, lost in their mixed thoughts.They understood that the arrival of the first missile was less than an hour away. Richard flicked through the images from all the sensors for any sign that Lamarr had taken any defensive measures. "Damn it." He cursed under his breath while staring at a close-up shot of a missile getting closer. Richard came to the corner where Nicole was sitting and said calmly, "We must have failed, nothing has changed." Nicole rubbed her eyes and said, "I wish I wasn't so tired so I could do something interesting for the last 50 minutes." She smiled reluctantly, "Now I experience what it's like to be on death row." It’s like waiting to die.”

General O'Toole came across, holding two small black balls in his left hand.He said: "You know what? I often think: In the last moment before I die, what will I do. No, now it is, I only have one thing on my mind." "What's that?" Nicole asked. "Have you both been baptized?" he asked. "What?" Richard asked with a surprised smile. "I don't think you're gone," O'Toole said. "And you, Nicole?" "No, Michael," she answered. "My father was a catholic not a ceremonial Catholic." "Very well," said the general stubbornly, "now I will baptize you."

"Here? Now?" Richard was taken aback. "Did my ears hear me wrong, Nicky? I heard the general say that we would spend the last hour of our lives baptizing us." "It doesn't take much..." O'Toole said. "Why not, Richard?" Nicole interrupted, and she stood up smiling, "What else can we do? It's better than sitting here and waiting for that big fireball." Richard laughed too, and said, "That's brilliant!" He cheered up, "The last thing I, Richard, an atheist, did on an alien spaceship, Baptized. I like the idea!"

"Remember what Pascal said?" Nicole teased him. "Oh, yes," Richard replied, "one of the greatest thinkers in the world, and he worked out the simplest logical matrix: 'Maybe there is a God, maybe there is no God; I may or may not believe it. My only possible loss is that there is a God and I don't believe in it. So I'll minimize my risk by believing in Him.'" Richard chuckled, "But I don't agree with believing in God, Just willing to be baptized." "So you agree?" Nicole asked. "Why not?" he replied, imitating Nicole's tone just now, "that way, perhaps, I'd be spared the limbo of Hell among decent heretics and unbaptized children. He smiled at O'Toole. "Well, we're all at your command, General. Come on, let's get started."

"Now, listen up, TB," Richard said, "you might be the only robot to be christened in a human pocket." Nicole nudged Richard lightly in the waist.General O'Toole waited patiently for him to quiet down.After another moment, he began the christening ceremony. At Richard's insistence, they left the crypt and came to the Circus, because Richard liked "the sky with Rama over his head". While O'Toole was getting ready, Nicole went to the Cylindrical Sea to fill a small bottle of water for baptism.The American general was serious, but he didn't care about Richard's joking.

Nicole and Richard knelt before O'Toole.He sprinkled water on Richard's head and said, "Richard Colin Walkerfield, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." He whispered again: "Richard, can you kneel a little longer? I want to say a short prayer." "What's that for?" said Richard, "baptism and prayer." Nicole gave him a look and motioned him to obey. "Well, I guess I'll just have to finish it off." "Almighty Lord, please listen to our prayer." The general also knelt down, his eyes were closed, his hands were clasped on his chest, and his voice was firm and powerful, "The three of us are here, maybe we will come to you soon We will meet, but we beg you, please consider that if we continue to live, we will serve you with all our hearts; if we must die, please spare us our pain and fear. Amen..."

At this time, Rama's lights suddenly went out, and another day in Rama passed. Nicole and Richard remained obediently on their knees until their friends finished their prayers.Then they turned on the lights. Nicole thanked the General for his kindness, and embraced him gently. "Okay, here we are," Richard said nervously, "the last twenty-seven minutes. We've been baptized, we've said our prayers, what now? Anyone have any last thoughts, I mean last Yes, delightful. Shall we sing? Dance? Play games?" "I just want to be alone for a while," O'Toole said solemnly, "to face death in confession and prayer. I think you'd rather be alone, too."

"Well, Nicky," said Richard, "where are we going for the last kiss? To the shore of the Columbus? Or back to the White Room?" Nicole hadn't slept for 32 hours straight and was very tired.She threw herself into Richard's arms and closed her eyes. Just then, a flicker of light pierced Rama's new night. "What's this?" O'Toole asked in surprise. "It must be 'Big Horn'." Richard replied excitedly, "Quick, let's go and see." They ran towards the south of the island, and gazed at the majestic and mysterious southern vault.

Thin, silky rays of light whirled among the six "little horns" surrounding the great central horn; yellow arcs seemed to hiss in the air.They gently undulate at the tip of the "little horn" like waves, connecting them into arcs of electric light.The sound of crackling accompanies this stunning landscape. "Amazing," O'Toole said, shuddering with awe. "Absolutely incredible." "Looks like Rama is going to adjust course," Richard said.He couldn't help hugging Nicole, hugging O'Toole, and kissing Nicole again. "Ahoo!" he yelled, and danced along the wall.

"But, Richard," Nicole asked, chasing after him, "is it too late? How can Rama escape in such a short time?" Richard folded back. "You're right," he said out of breath, "and these damned missiles probably have terminal guidance." He started running again, this time toward the square, "I got the information from the radar scanner. Go up and observe." Nicole glanced back at General O'Toole. "I'll come," he said, "but I've had a day's work, and now I have to enjoy the view. If you want to hurry, you go with him first."

Nicole waited for him.The two walked quickly towards the square. O'Toole thanked Nicole for allowing him to baptize. "Don't be silly," said Nicole, "I should be the one thanking you." She patted him on the shoulder. Nicole thought: "The baptism itself is not important, but it is clear that you care about the salvation of our souls. We would like to show you our respect." Nicole smiled to himself. "At least , I think so..." The ground under his feet began to shake violently, and General O'Toole stopped in his tracks, a little panicked. "It must be a change of track," said Nicole; they stood firm, helping each other. "It happened to me last time, too, but I fell down the well and didn't see the whole story." "Does that flame indicate that Rama is about to start moving?" "Maybe. That's why Richard is so excited." With difficulty they opened the door of the crypt, and as soon as they entered, Richard suddenly appeared on the steps. "They're starting!" he cried, "They're starting!" He gasped.O'Toole and Nicole watched him. "They put up something like a net, I don't know how to describe it, it's about 600 meters to 800 meters thick, and it covers the entire spaceship." He turned around, "Come and see." He said Then, three steps and one step rushed down. In spite of his fatigue, Nicole, infected by his excitement, was excited.She ran down quickly after Richard, and came to the White Room.Standing in front of the black screen, he was adjusting the images back and forth, observing the new material wrapping Rama and the missile swarm that was speeding towards him. "They must have understood our warning." Richard lifted Nicole into his arms and kissed her heartily. "It worked, honey." He cheered, "Thank you, oh, thank you." Nicole was also excited, but she wasn't yet sure that Rama's measures would save the ship from destruction.When General O'Toole came in, Richard explained to him what he saw on the screen.With the last nine minutes left, Nicole began to tremble with nervousness. The ground trembled, and Rama continued to change its course. Obviously, the missile has the capability of terminal guidance. Although Rama has changed its orbit, the missile group is still flying straight towards Rama.A close-range scanning observation shows that 16 missiles are arranged in an array and distributed in an orderly manner. It is estimated that the time for all the missiles to attack Rama will be within one hour. Richard was agitated, striding up and down the room.He suddenly took TB out of his pocket, put it on the ground, and started talking to the little robot like an old friend.One moment he told TB to prepare for the impending explosion, and the next he explained to it how Rama would miraculously escape those incoming missiles. General O'Toole tried to keep quiet, but there was nothing he could do with Richard walking around the house like a maniac.He wanted Richard to be quiet, thought about it, changed his mind, and went out of the room into the corridor. When Richard paused for a moment, Nicole walked over, grabbed his hand, and said, "My dear, relax, we have nothing to do at this time." Richard took one look at his sweetheart, embraced her, and kissed her passionately.The two sat down on the violently shaking ground. Richard pulled her to sit next to him and said, "I'm scared, Nicole." His body was shaking. "I'm really scared. It's terrible to wait like this." "I'm scared too," she said softly, taking his hand again. "Michael is scared too." "But you're not panicking," said Richard, "and I'm running around here like a fool." "We are all afraid, but each person will behave differently when facing death, which is a characteristic of human personality." Nicole said. Richard began to calm down.He looked at the big screen, then at his watch, and said, "There are still more than three minutes before the first contact." Nicole took his lids with her hands and kissed his lips lightly. "I love you, Richard Walkerfield," she said affectionately. "I love you too," he said too. Richard and Nicole were sitting on the ground; General O'Toole, who had returned to the room thirty seconds before, was standing in the doorway behind them.Everyone's eyes were fixed on the black screen, watching the first missile hit the dense protective netting outside Rama. The missile penetrated into the depths of the protective net, but the impact force was weakened and slowed down; at the same time, the protective layer closed at an astonishingly high speed, rotating and wrapping the missile densely, like a cocoon.All this happens in the blink of an eye.Just 200 meters away from Rama's shell, the nuclear warhead of the tightly wrapped missile exploded.It can be seen from the screen that Rama's mesh protective layer rolled over, but the people in the white room hardly felt any vibration. "Whoa!" said Richard first, "do you see that?" He jumped up and walked quickly towards the screen.Nicole got up too, followed him, and said, "It all happened so quickly." General O'Toole murmured prayers and thanked God, and also came to the front of the screen. "How do you think they did it?" he asked Richard. "I don't know," Richard replied, "but the 'cocoon' must have contained the explosive force. It must be a very wonderful substance." He adjusted the scanned image, "Let's see what happens next The next one, here, how many..." A bright light flashed, and then the screen went black.At this time, a force struck and threw them to the ground.The lights in the white room went out suddenly, and the ground stopped trembling. "Is everyone all right?" Richard asked, grabbing Nicole's hand in the dark. "I guess it's okay," O'Toole replied. "I hit my elbow and my back against the wall, that's all." "I'm fine, dear," Nicole replied, "but what happened?" "Obviously, it was an explosion. The missile must have exploded before it touched the protective net. It was its shock wave just now?" "I don't understand," O'Toole said. "The bomb explodes in a vacuum. Where did the shock wave come from?" "It's not the shock wave we usually call it." Then the lights came on and the ground started shaking again; Richard got up, "Hey, look, the great Rama scored again. Are you all right? ' he asked Nicole.She wobbled as she stood up. "My knee hurt, but nothing serious," she said. While adjusting the scanned image, Richard continued to explain to O'Toole: "The nuclear bomb shattered and vaporized its own rocket, and the hot gas and debris scattered at a very high speed and hit us. The protective net The strength of the shock wave has been greatly reduced." Nicole went to the wall and sat down and said, "I gotta get ready for the next bomb." "I wonder how many times Rama can take a hit like that," Richard said. General O'Toole sat down beside Nicole and said, "Two times, and fourteen more." All three laughed.At least, they're all still alive. A few minutes later, Richard observed with another scanning sensor. "Ho!" he said. "Unless I'm mistaken, the last bomb must have gone off many kilometers away. We were lucky. Just hope the remaining missiles didn't go off right next to Rama." Two more missiles slammed into it again, but they got entangled again in Rama's protective net.All three stared nervously at the screen. Richard stood up and said, "We have a short gap now, maybe three minutes until the next collision - and four missiles." Nicole stood up too.Seeing General O'Toole rubbing his hands on his back, she asked, "Are you sure you're all right, Michael?" He nodded, eyes still on the screen. Richard came to Nicole and took her hand.A minute later, they sat down in the corner again, waiting for the next bombardment. Not long after, there was a second violent explosion, much stronger than the first.The lights went out again, and the ground stopped shaking again. Nicole heard O'Toole's labored breathing in the dark. "Are you hurt, Michael?" Hearing no answer, Nicole started crawling in his direction.Just then, the third explosion happened.She hit the wall without any support and was slammed on the side of her head. O'Toole stayed by Nicole's side to guard her while Richard went to "New York" to investigate Lamarr's injuries. After a while, Richard returned, and the two men were talking softly. Richard said there was only minor damage to Rama's interior. Thirty minutes after the last nuclear bomb fell into the cocoon, the lights in Rama came back on and the ground began to tremble again. "You see," Richard said with a weary smile, "I said we'd be fine. They always come three times for important things." Another hour passed before Nicole woke up from the coma.For the first few minutes, she felt only tremors in the ground and conversations from across the room.Nicole slowly opened her eyes. She heard Richard saying, "The net effect is to speed up the hyperbolic orbit, so that we will cross its orbit before the Earth, much faster than we expected." "How far will we be from Earth?" "Not close. It depends on when it ends its orbit adjustment. If it stops now, we will pass within 1 million kilometers of the Earth, which is a little more than twice the distance between the Earth and the Moon." Nicole sat up, and she greeted them cheerfully: "Good morning." Two men came to her side.Richard asked with concern: "How are you, dear?" "I think it's all right." Nicole replied, touching the bump on her head, "I might have a headache for a while." She looked at the two men. "How are you, Michael? Remember the Looks like something happened to you before the big bang." "The second explosion terrified me," O'Toole replied. "It's okay, I was prepared for the third one. My back is fine now." Richard explained to her what he had finally figured out from his observations in the Rama scanner. "I've heard what you just said." Nicole said, "I guess we're going to miss our chance to go back to Earth now too." Richard helped her up, "So where are we going now?" Richard shrugged and said, "I don't see any planets or objects as the current destination. The orbital velocity is increasing. If nothing else changes, it will eventually rush out of the solar system." "Become a star traveler," Nicole said quietly. "If we live that long," the general added. "In my opinion," Richard smiled amusedly, "don't worry about what's going to happen next, at least not yet. I'm going to celebrate our survival from the horrors of the nuclear bombing first, and propose to introduce Michael to Our new friends, should we introduce them to Ai Yunniao, or to eight-legged spiders?" Nicole smiled, shook her head, and said, "You're really bad, Walkerfield. Come on, anyway, don't make me..." "Don't make me— To discover the true meaning of love, It never makes sense. At this time, TB suddenly interjected. The three astronauts were stunned for a moment, looked down and saw that it was a little robot, and couldn't help laughing. "...Love doesn't exist anymore, At that time, the situation has changed, the times have changed, the stars have moved, When the years pass, and the autumn wind rises again, Oh no!It's going to be an eternity..." Richard picked up the TB and switched it off. Nicole and Michael were still laughing. Richard put his arms around their shoulders, held the little robot in front of his eyes, and said, "I don't know what it's like to travel with three people as a companion, but anyway, this is our future life."