Chapter 15 Chapter Fifteen

There were now more than twenty men and women entering Rama, six on the plains and the rest carrying equipment and consumables down airlocks and stairs.Except for the necessary personnel on duty, there is almost no one on the spacecraft.A joke went around that the Endeavor was now run by monkeys, with Arkin (Newton's favorite) as acting captain. For the first few surveys, Newton established several ground work regulations.Each group must have one experienced member, but no more than one, so that everyone has the opportunity to learn as quickly as possible. Therefore, the first group sent to the Sea of ​​​​Cylinders was led by Lieutenant Colonel Laura Ernst, a military doctor, and among its members was Boris Rodrigo, a "one time" veteran who had just returned from "Paris".The third member was Sergeant Pete Rousseau, who was supposed to be a reserve at the hub.He's an expert in space reconnaissance instruments, but on this mission he's had to rely on his own binoculars and pocket telescope.

It is exactly 15 kilometers from the foot of the Alpha Steps to the sea, or considering Rama's low-key state, it can be considered to be equivalent to 8 kilometers of the earth.Laura Ernst knew she was maintaining her normal standards, moving at a brisk pace.They took a 30-minute break in the middle of the journey and completed the journey without incident in a total of 3 hours. Walking through the echoless darkness of Rama in the searchlight circle was tedious.As they moved forward, the spots of the floodlights gradually stretched into a long and narrow oval.This change in beam projection is the only sign that progress is being made.

If it is not for the observer at the hub to report the mileage to them at any time, they will not know whether they have traveled one thousand meters, five kilometers or ten kilometers.They are just on the seamless metal surface, walking through the long night of millions of years.Finally, they approached the sea. "Only 100 meters away," said the hub post observer, "better slow down." There's really no need to slow down, but they actually did.From the ground of the plain to the surface of the sea—if it is the sea, not another mysterious crystalline substance—there is a vertical drop of 50 meters at once.Although Newton had emphasized to everyone that it was dangerous to take anything for granted in La Mali, it was still believed that the sea was indeed made of ice.But the cliff on the south bank of the sea is as high as 500 meters, and the cliff on the north bank is 50 meters. What is the reason?

As if they were approaching the edge of the world, the oval light spot illuminating them was suddenly cut off in front and became shorter and shorter.But far away on the sea their distorted shadows reappeared, and every movement was heightened and exaggerated.These shadows, which had accompanied them every step like companions as they advanced under the beams, now seemed cut off by the edge of the coastal cliffs and no longer seemed a part of themselves.Rather, they are creatures of the cylindrical sea, waiting to deal with intruders who offend their domain. Because they were now standing on the edge of a 50-meter-high cliff, they were aware of Rama's curvature for the first time.But no one had ever seen a frozen lake curved upward into a cylindrical surface; this was obviously disturbing and unacceptable, and the eye then sought some other and better explanation.In Dr. Ernst's opinion, she had at one time studied optical illusions, which enabled her to think, half the time, that she was looking out over a curved, horizontal bay, rather than a surface rising into the sky.This is an absurd fact that requires a deliberate effort of will to accept.

Normality is maintained only in a straight line directly ahead, parallel to the axis of Rama.Only in this direction is vision and logic consistent.Here, at least for a few kilometers, Rama looked flat.In the distance, behind their distorted shadows, at the limit of the outer rim of the beam, stood the island that ruled the Cylindrical Sea. "Hub Post," Dr. Ernst radioed, "please cast light on 'New York'." The long night of Rama suddenly enveloped them as the oval halo slid across the sea.The cliff could not be seen under their feet, so they couldn't help but take a few steps back.Then, like the wonderful transformation of scenery on the stage, the tall buildings of "New York" were displayed in their vision.

Similar to old Manhattan, but only superficially.Although this interstellar product is reminiscent of Earth's past, it still has its own characteristics.The more Dr. Ernst stared at it the more certain it was not a city at all. The real New York, like all human settlements, was never built, let alone planned.But the place has overall shape and symmetry, albeit in an incomprehensibly complex form.It was obviously conceived and planned by some kind of advanced intelligent creature, and then processed and manufactured completely according to a certain purpose.Once it's built, it's impossible to expand and change.

Searchlights swept slowly across the distant towers, arches, globes, and intersecting pipes.Now and then a flicker of light bounced back to them, as if signaled to them by someone on that strange island out there. But there's nothing more to see here than a detailed shot from the hub.After a few minutes, they retracted the light beam and walked eastward along the cliff shore. It stands to reason that there must always be something like a ladder to let people go down to the surface of the sea.One of the crew, who had been an able sailor, proposed an interesting idea. "Wherever there is a sea," said Staff Sergeant Rube Barnes, "there will always be docks, docks, and ships. Depending on how ships are built, you will know all about this civilization." Her colleagues thought this idea A somewhat narrow, but instructive point of view.

When Dr. Ernst almost gave up searching, Rodrigo found a narrow staircase.In the darkness of the cliff shadows, the staircase was easily overlooked because it had no handrail and no signage.Along the vertical wall, it extends into the sea 50 meters below at a steep angle. They put their helmet lights together and looked down, no apparent danger.Dr. Ernst got Lieutenant Colonel Newton's permission to go down, and a minute later she was on the surface. The soles of the feet were so smooth that there was hardly any friction, and the substance felt exactly like ice.It's ice! When she hit it with the hammer, splinters flew off.She can easily collect the pieces, as many as she wants.She took some out of the sample tray and held them up to the light, and some of them had started to melt.The liquid was like slightly cloudy water, and she sniffed it carefully.

"Is this safe?" Rodrigo couldn't help shouting worriedly. "Believe me, Boris," she replied, "if there is a pathogen nearby, it won't escape my detector. It's water, but I don't want to drink it, it smells of musty seaweed. I really want to put it away immediately." Take it to the lab." "Can you walk on ice?" "Yes, hard as a rock." "Then we can go to 'New York'." "Can we, Pete? Have you ever walked 4,000 meters on ice?" "Oh—I see what you mean. Imagine how surprised the warehouse would be if we offered them skates—and even if there were skates on board, few people would be able to skate!"

"One more question," interjected Rodrigo, "don't you think the temperature has risen above zero? It won't be long before the ice will melt. How many astronauts can swim 4,000 meters? Certainly not here.” Dr. Ernst returned to the edge of the cliff, holding up her vial triumphantly. "It's come a long way just for these few milliliters of dirty water, but it can teach us more about Rama than anything we've found so far. Let's go home!" Only once, on their way back, did Dr. Ernst seem to feel a breeze on her cheek, and never again, and she soon forgot about it.