Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Storm Warning

"I called this council meeting," His Excellency the Ambassador of Mars announced to the United Planets, "because Dr. Perilla had something important to tell us. He insisted that we must use our priority communication channel and get in touch with Captain Newton immediately. Get in touch. Dr. Perilla's presentation will be highly technical, so we'd better summarize what's going on. Dr. Blaise is ready. Oh, yes, there are a few who won't be able to attend - Luis Sanders The Lord has to return to Earth to preside over a meeting, and Dr Taylor has asked for a leave of absence."

He was somewhat pleased with the latter's absence.The anthropologist, who had quickly lost interest in Rama when it became apparent that he wouldn't be given much of a chance, was, like many people, disappointed to find out that this little flying world was dead.Others might still unearth bones or artifacts, but that didn't appeal to Conrad Taylor.Perhaps only the discovery of such an overtly obscene fresco as "Sira and Pompey" would have caused him to hurry back. Shoma Blaise is different. She likes to dig up ruins and can conduct scientific research without emotion.The Mediterranean seabed was ideal—at least until urban planners and landscaping artists came to interfere with her work.Rama, aside from the irritating detail that it was a hundred million kilometers away and she would never be able to visit it in person, would have been perfect.

"As you all know," she began, "Captain Newton has traveled almost thirty kilometers undisturbed. He surveyed that strange trough marked on your maps as the Straight Valley. Its effect It's not clear yet, but it's undoubtedly important. "The group then turned left, or east, to 'Paris'. In this photograph taken with a telescopic lens from the central hub, we can see clusters of hundreds of buildings and broad streets. "These pictures were taken on site by Captain Newton's team. If 'Paris' were a city, it would be the strangest one. Note that none of the buildings have windows, not even doors! They are plain, rectangular shapes Buildings, generally 35 meters high, and they seem to be extruded from the ground, with no seams or joints. Please see this close-up photo of the wall foundations, which are integrated with the ground.

"I don't think this place is a residential area, but a warehouse or supply depot. These few photos bear out that perception. "These narrow slots, about five centimeters wide, run down all the streets and lead up to the foundations of every building. They're very much like tram tracks in the early 20th century, and they're clearly part of some kind of transit system. "We never thought that public transport needed to go directly to every house, it would be economically ridiculous, people could walk hundreds of meters at any time. But if these buildings are used to store heavy goods, it makes some sense. "

"Can I ask a question?" asked the Earth Ambassador. "Certainly, Lord Lobut." "Has Captain Newton never entered a building?" "No, when you heard his report, you could tell how upset he was. He thought every building could be accessed underground, but once he found out about those trough systems for transport, he changed his mind." "Has he ever tried to break into a wall?" "He can't do it, he has neither explosives nor heavy tools, and he won't do it until all else fails." "There!" Dennis Solomon interrupted suddenly, "Cocoon!"

"What, please say it again." "That's a technology that was developed 200 years ago," the historian continued. "When you want to preserve something, you put it in a Ziploc bag and inject it with an inert gas. This method was first used to preserve military supplies during war, and at one point even an entire ship. Now some spaces A limited number of museums are still using it." Patience is not one of Perilla's virtues.He was eager to release his bomb, and he couldn't help it anymore: "Mr. Ambassador! These are very interesting, but I feel that my intelligence is more urgent."

"If there is no other argument - then very well, please, Dr. Perilla." Unlike Taylor, the exobiologist didn't see Rama as a disappointment, and while he no longer expected to find life, he would surely find traces of the creatures that built this fantastical world sooner or later.The survey has just begun, and although the time is extremely limited, Endeavor will soon be forced to leave. But now, if his calculations were correct, the period of human contact with Rama would be shorter than he had feared.A detail was overlooked and no one ever noticed it. "According to the last information we have," began Perilla, "a detachment is on its way to the Sea of ​​Cylinders, while Captain Newton is sending another detachment to establish a supply station at the foot of the Alpha Staircase. He sent two reconnaissance teams to work around the clock at the same time. He hoped to use the limited manpower with the highest efficiency.

"It's a very good plan, but I'm afraid there is no time to execute it. In fact, I will recommend that Alert Level 1 be declared immediately, and that all preparations be made for a general evacuation, to be carried out at twelve hours' notice. Please let me Explanation. "It's surprising how little has been said about an apparent anomaly in Rama. It's already deep in the orbit of Venus, it's still frozen inside, and in its position, a sunlit The temperature of the object should be above 500°C! "The reason, of course, is that Rama hasn't had enough time to warm up. It must have been cooled to near absolute zero during its journey through interstellar space—-270°C. Now that it's close to the sun, its shell should resemble molten lead So hot. But inside, it was cold until the heat penetrated the 1,000-meter-thick rock formation.

"There's a famous dish that's hot outside and filled with ice cream—I forget what it's called—" "... very popular at U.P. banquets." "Thank you, Lord Lobbutt. This is how Rama is at the moment, but it won't last long. The sun's heat has been seeping in for weeks and we can expect a jump in temperature within hours. ...but that's not a problem yet, because Endeavor will have to leave before then, and it won't be hotter than Earth's tropics by then." "So, what's the problem?" "Mr. Ambassador, I can answer in one word: hurricanes."

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