Chapter 12 Chapter 12 God's Ladder

The beams of the searchlight completely disappeared in the clean atmosphere of Rama, only a 100-meter elliptical light spot illuminated a section of the giant staircase 3,000 meters below the central hub.It seemed to be a bright oasis in the darkness, sweeping slowly towards the plain 5,000 meters below; in its center, three ant-sized human figures cast long shadows in front of them. It was a completely accident-free descent, as they had expected.They took a short break on the first platform, and Newton walked several hundred meters on either side of the narrow curved walkway before descending to the second level.Here they ditched their oxygen masks for the strange comfort of being able to breathe without the aid of mechanical devices.Now they are freed from the greatest dangers people face in space, and can forget about the worries about space suit equipment and oxygen storage, etc., and be exposed to comfort.

Before they reached the fifth level, there was only a distance to go, and the gravity had reached almost half of its value on Earth.Rama's rotation was at last unleashing its true power; they were now surrounded by the unrelenting force that ruled all planets, and every misstep had a price to pay.It is still easy to go down now; but thinking of the return journey, the thought of climbing up the thousands of steps is already tormenting their hearts. The staircase had long since ceased its dizzying plunge and was now leveling off towards the horizon.The slope is about 1:5; at the start it was 5:1.Normal walking was now physically and psychologically acceptable; only the slightly lowered sense of gravity reminded them that they were not descending some grand staircase on Earth.Newton had visited the ruins of an ancient temple, and the sensations he had experienced then came back in his mind now—magnified a hundred times.There's that same awesome sense of mystery and that melancholy sense of an irrevocable past here.But here the scale of time and space is much larger, so that it is difficult to treat it correctly in the mind at once; after a while, the large scale seems to get used to it.Sooner or later, even a place like Rama would take Newton for granted.

There is another point that is completely incomparable with the ruins on the earth.Rama is hundreds of times older than any structure on Earth including the Great Pyramids.But everything looked absolutely new, with no signs of wear and tear. Newton pondered this strange phenomenon for a long time, and then came to a provisional solution.Parts of what they've seen so far have been emergency backup systems, rarely actually used.He couldn't imagine those Ramas—unless they were physically uncommon on Earth—walking up and down this incredible staircase, or two other identical staircases currently unseen, in his Stretching out above the head, the ladder just forms a Y.Perhaps they were only used for the construction of Rama and have not been used since those distant days.For the time being, the theory seemed to make sense; but he always felt wrong, as if something was wrong.

In the last 1,000 meters, they no longer slipped, but walked down slowly with two steps and one step at an easy pace.Newton believes that this is a good opportunity to exercise the muscles that will be used soon.Suddenly, there were no more steps, and they had reached the plain.The fading spot of the searchlight disappeared into the darkness hundreds of meters away. Newton turned his head and followed the light beam to look at the light source at the axis 8,000 meters away.He knew Mercer must be watching them through binoculars, so he waved to him. "Here the captain is talking," he reported over the radio, "everyone is in good shape - no problem. We are proceeding as planned."

"Very well," Messer replied, "we'll watch." There was a pause, and a new voice broke in: "This is the vice-captain speaking from the ship. Captain, that's not enough for you. You know, those news agencies have been chasing us all week. I don't expect What is immortality described, but can't you say something more?" "I'll give it a try," Newton said with a chuckle, "but remember, there's nothing to see yet. It's like...how should I put it...on a huge, dark stage with just one floodlight .The plain appears to us to be flat, with imperceptibly small curvature in the visible range. That's about it."

"Would you like to share some impressions?" "Well, it's still cold in here—below freezing, and it's quieter than I've ever known on Earth or in space, where there's a bit of noise. All sound is drowned out here. The space that surrounds us is too Big, too big to have an echo. It's supernatural, but I hope we get used to it." "Thank you, Captain. Who else has something to say? Joe, or Boris?" Joe Cafu was never without words, and he happily accepted. "I can't help thinking that this is the first time we're finally walking on another world, breathing its natural atmosphere, and maybe the word 'nature' shouldn't be used in such a place. However, Rama must be following it Our own spaceship is a small Earth. Although it is difficult to make accurate statistics with only two examples, this does not mean that all intelligent life forms are oxygen absorbers. Is it? From what we have seen of their works, the Ramas are human, though perhaps fifty per cent taller than we are. Do you agree, Boris?"

Is Joe teasing Boris?Newton asked himself, I'll see how he will answer. Of all his colleagues, Captain Boris Rodrigo is an incredible figure.The quiet, dignified telegraph officer was popular among his peers, but always a little out of sorts. He is a devout member of the Astronaut Fifth Christian Church.Newton has never been able to figure out what happened to the first four, nor did he know anything about the canons and rituals of the current church.But its basic tenets are well known.Its believers believe that Jesus is a visitor from the universe, and all teachings are based on this assumption.

Among the members engaged in the aerospace industry, the proportion of its believers is not small.At work they are competent, responsible and absolutely reliable.They are therefore respectable, even a little bit cute, not least because they never try to convince others.But they always seem a little weird.Newton couldn't understand how anyone trained in advanced science and technology could believe this. While waiting for Boris to answer Joe's weighty questions, the captain suddenly discovered his original inner motives.He chose Rodrigo as the third member of the group because he is physically fit, technically qualified and utterly reliable.At the same time, had not the slightest, almost mischievous curiosity in him led him to pick the captain?How would people of this religion react in the awe-inspiring reality of Rama?Should he encounter certain circumstances that negate his Shinto doctrine or what if it confirms it?

But Rodrigo, with his usual prudence, would not be easily stumped. "They're oxygen-breathers, that's for sure, and they might have human traits too. But let's wait and see. If we're lucky, we might find out what they look like. In those cities, maybe There are pictures and sculptures and even bodies, if those are really cities." "And the nearest is only 8,000 meters away," Cafu interjected hopefully. Yes, Newton thought so too.But that would also mean an 8,000-meter return journey—plus the hapless steps to climb back.Can we take the risk? A quick assault on the "city" named Paris had been part of his advance plan, but it was still up to him to decide.Water and food are sufficient to supply 24-hour needs; they are also always within sight of the reserve team that stays at the central hub.At present there is no foreseeable danger other than excessive physical exertion.They can easily reach Paris.Maybe before returning, they can take some pictures, maybe even collect some artifacts?

It's worth risking even the rare chance of being surprised.Because there is so little time.Rama is getting closer and closer to the sun, and Endeavor will soon be overwhelmed. However, some things are not up to him to decide.In the ship above, Dr. Ernst was monitoring the output of a biosensor attached to him.If she put it, there is no way. "Laura, what do you think?" "Rest for 30 minutes, then a 500-calorie energy unit. Then, you can go." "Thank you, doctor," put in Jo, "and now I'm dead. I've always wanted to see Paris. Notre-Dame, here we come!"

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