Chapter 21 Chapter 21 After the Storm

As they made their way through the familiar corridors of the intricate airtight chamber, Newton wondered if those left behind might become careless out of impatience.They had been waiting aboard Endeavor for 48 hours—two precious days—and made everything ready to fly away immediately if necessary.But nothing happened, and the various instruments left in Lamari did not detect any abnormalities.It's just that the TV camera at the hub of the axis is covered by fog, and the visibility is only a few meters away. The fog is only now beginning to recede. As they passed through the final airtight chamber, the first change Newton felt was light.It was no longer that harsh blue, but softened, reminding him of sunny days on Earth.

The entire interior of Rama is surrounded by clouds.Only the central part was free of clouds, like a tunnel, and he could directly see the far South Pole.Because the upper boundary of the cloud layer is clear and tidy, forming a cylinder five or six kilometers wide, as if a section of pipe is encased in a larger rotating pipe. This huge cloud tube is illuminated from the inside by the six "artificial" suns of Rama.For the three in the northern continent, their positions can still be distinguished through the diffuse light bands.And the ones on the side of the cylinder Hainan continent turned into a continuous ray of light.

What's going on under the clouds?Newton thought to himself.At least the storm died down.Apart from other accidents, it seemed safe to go down. Every member, including Dr. Myron, the professor, and the staff sergeant, was now physically fit for the requirements of Lieutenant Colonel Ernst's military surgeon.In this way, for this return visit, the selection of the first batch of members of the advance team who went deep into Rama is both qualified and more appropriate. Newton watched Messer, Cafu, and Myron slide down the stairs confidently and swiftly, and he couldn't help but think of the changes before and after.The first time they descended into cold darkness, now they are descending into warm light.Yet in all previous visits they were certain that Rama was dead.From a biological point of view, this may still be true.But something is already stirring, in the words of Boris Rodrigo: the "god" of Rama has awakened.

When they descended to the platform at Step Foot, Messer performed routine assays of the atmosphere there.He never takes it for granted.Even before opening his own helmet, he always stopped to test the air when those around him were already breathing in complete comfort without the device.When people asked him if his caution was worth it, his answer was: "Because humans don't feel good enough, that's why. You can feel good, but the next time you take a deep breath, you're likely to fall head-on." He looked at the instrument and said, "What happened!" "What happened?" Cafu asked.

"The instrument is jacked up and the reading is too high. Strange, I've never had anything like this happen to me. I'll check again with the respirator." He plugged the tiny analyzer into his oxygen supply, and pondered for a moment.His colleagues watched him with concern, and anything that disturbed Messer had to be taken seriously. He unplugged the analyzer, used it to probe Rama's atmosphere again, and called thru-hub post. "Captain! Could you please take the value of 1O2?" After a long time, Newton replied by radio: "I'm afraid there is something wrong with my instrument."

Messer smiled slowly, and he asked, "Really?" "Yes, what does that mean?" "That means we don't have to wear helmet visors, which is much more convenient, doesn't it?" "I'm not sure, it's too good to be true." Like all astronauts, Newton was skeptical of things that were too good to be true. But how?The increase in humidity is no problem, but the dramatic increase in oxygen content is inexplicable.After giving the order to descend, Messer began a series of mental calculations.When entering the clouds, he has not yet come to a satisfactory result.

The interruption of their decline is a comic experience.They had been sliding in clear air, holding lightly on the smooth metal handrails so as not to slide too quickly in this quarter of gravity.Suddenly they rushed into the thick fog, and the visibility was only a few meters away.Messer braked so hard that Cafu almost ran into him, but Myron had hit Cafu, nearly knocking him off the rail. "Take it easy," Messer said. "We've got to keep just enough distance to see each other. Be careful not to speed up, or I might come to a sudden stop." In uneasy silence they slid through the mist.Cafu could only see Messer's vague shadow 10 meters away. He looked back, and Myron kept the same distance behind him.It was weirder than going down in the dark of Rama night, when at least the beams of the searchlights were shining ahead of you, but this time it was like diving down in the sea with poor visibility.

It's hard to say how far they have slid. It is estimated that when they were near the fourth platform, Messer stopped with his hand. When they slid together, Messer whispered: "Listen! Do you hear anything?" Myron listened for a while, then replied, "It sounds like wind." Cafu was not sure. He tried to find the direction of the source of the sound, but he couldn't make out anything in the fog. They slid down again, and after reaching the fourth platform, they slid to the fifth platform.The voice was getting louder - and it sounded strangely familiar.Then Messer called out, "Now can you tell what it is?"

They should have heard it long ago, but they had never heard such a sound on any other world than Earth.From an indescribable distance in the fog, the rumble of water crashing was clearly heard. After a few minutes, the cloud disappeared as abruptly as it had begun.They rushed into Rama's daylight, which was bright from the reflection of the low-hanging clouds.The familiar slightly curved plain is easier to accept psychologically.Because the clouds blocked the line of sight, the entire ring could no longer be seen, and it was not difficult to imagine that it was in a wide valley. At the fifth platform they stopped and reported what they had seen under the clouds.Till now they could not tell what had changed in the plain, but here, on the arches at the northern end of Rama, there was a new miracle.

That was the source of the voice they heard.Three or four kilometers away, a waterfall gushed out of the clouds, and they stared straight at it for a few minutes in silence, unable to believe their eyes.Although logic tells them that in a spinning world, no free-falling body moves vertically, the waterfall, curving sideways, looks horribly unnatural, falling at a point much smaller than its source. Deviated several kilometers. "If born in this world," Messer said at last, "it would drive him mad to establish those laws of dynamics." "I can understand him," said Cafu, "I'm going crazy now anyway. Doesn't it bother you, Professor!"

"How?" Myron said. "This is the most intuitive demonstration of the Coriolis effect. I wish I could show it to my students." Messer looked at the arc of water in the Cylindrical Sea thoughtfully and said, "Did you notice any difference in the water?" "What—oh, it's not as blue as it used to be, it's pea green, so what does that mean?" Cafu said. "Maybe it's like what happened to Earth. Laura used to call that seawater an organic soup, waiting to evolve into life." "Just in two days! You know, this process takes millions of years on Earth." "According to the latest estimate, it is 375 million years. So that's where the oxygen comes from. Rama's process from anaerobic microorganism stage to photosynthetic plant is 48 hours. I really don't know what will be conjured up tomorrow Something coming?" ----------------------------- Notes: