Chapter 20 Chapter 20 The Apocalypse

Whenever his members addressed him as "Lieutenant Colonel," or worse, "Mr. Newton," there was clearly something out of the ordinary.He couldn't remember Boris ever calling him that. "What's the matter, Boris?" he asked after closing the door of his cabin. "Lieutenant Colonel, I request permission to use our ship's direct communications priority to Earth." This is unusual, though not without precedent.Regular communications are via relay stations on the nearest planet—at the moment they are relayed by Mercury—and usually take five to six hours from sending to receiving.In ninety-nine per cent of cases this is good enough; but in an emergency the captain is entitled to a more direct and expensive communication channel.

"Of course you understand, you'll have to give me a good reason. All of our available channels are now filled with data transmissions. Is it a personal emergency?" "No, Colonel. Much more important than that. I'm sending a message to our Head Church." Aha, how do I handle something like this?Newton asked himself. "I'd be glad if you could explain it," he said. This is not only due to Newton's curiosity.If Newton approved Rodrigo's use of priority, he had to be sure of his intentions. "It's about Rama's purpose, Lieutenant Colonel. I believe I've discovered it."

"Say it." "Look at what's happening now. It's a completely empty, lifeless world—yet it's habitable. It has water, and it has air we can breathe. It's coming from the depths of space, and it's heading precisely to the solar system— — if it were purely by chance, it is highly implausible. Not only does it appear to be new, it appears to have been completely unused." We have discussed this issue ten times, Newton thought, what new ideas does Rodrigo have? "Our faith tells us to look forward to such a visitation, though we do not know what form it will take. It is hinted at in Scripture. If this time is not the Second Coming, it is the Second Judgment; the story of which is First time. I believe Rama is a ship, sent to save those who are worth saving."

There was a long silence in the captain's cabin, not because Newton couldn't find anything to say, but because he had too many questions on his mind, and he didn't know which one to ask first. At last he said, in the flattest tone possible: "That's an interesting idea. Though I don't share your beliefs, it's an entertaining answer." He didn't mean flattery; The religious overtones of Rodrigo's theory were at least as convincing as the half dozen others he had heard.What if some catastrophe was about to befall humanity, and a benevolent being with a higher intelligence knew all about it?Doesn't this perfectly explain all of this?Although there are still several problems.

"Ask some questions, Boris. Rama will reach perihelion in three weeks, and then it will leave the solar system as fast as it came. There is not much time left to do the Armageddon and bring those, eh, electors over .” "Exactly. So when Rama reaches perihelion, it will slow down and enter a parked orbit, probably just at aphelion in Earth's orbit. Here it shifts speed again to rendezvous with Earth." It's bewilderingly convincing.If Rama is going to stay in the solar system, it should be done.The most effective way to slow down is to get as close to the sun as possible and do a braking motion there.If there is any truth to Rodrigo's theory, it will soon be tested.

"One more thing, Boris. What's running Rama now?" "There is no indication of this in the dogma. It could be just robots. It could be - gods. That would explain why there is no trace of biological life-forms." "Let's do it, Boris!" he said with resolution.He was eager to end this difficult conversation, thinking he had found a good compromise: "Can you whittle down your comments to no more than... oh, a thousand?" "Yes, I think it can be done." "Okay, if you can write it down as a straightforward scientific theory, I'll send it to the Rama Committee by Urgent Mail, with an attachment to your church, and everyone will be happy."

"Thank you, Colonel. I really appreciate it." "Oh, I didn't do it to save my conscience. I just wanted to see how the committee would deal with it. Although I don't share your beliefs, you may have revealed something important." "Very well, we'll find out in the near future, won't we?" "Yes, we'll find out by the end of the day." After Rodrigo left, Newton called the cockpit and gave the necessary instructions.He himself thought that he had dealt with the matter just now; and what if Rodrigo was right! He may thus increase his chances of being saved.

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