Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Intermission

"Please," Captain Newton answered absently to the soft knock on the door. "There's good news for you, Bill. I'd like to tell you first before the crew gets around to it and makes a move," said the military doctor, Ernst, as soon as he entered the door. "And, at least, it's a matter of my department. " It seems that Newton's mind is still far away.Lying with his hands folded under his head, his eyes half-closed and the cabin lights dimmed, he did not seem to be dozing, but lost in some pleasant reverie or private dream. He blinked, then sat up abruptly.

"Sorry, Laura, I don't understand. What's the matter?" "Don't say you forgot!" "Don't tease people, you wicked woman. I've been thinking a little bit lately." Ernst pulled out a camp chair and sat down beside him. "While interplanetary events have come and gone, the bureaucratic wheels of Mars are still turning steadily. But I guess, it was Rama who helped us, fortunately without the approval of the Mercurians." The lights came on, and Newton said, "Oh, it's the Port Lowell visa permit and we're in!" "Better than that. Preparations for port entry have already begun." Laura glanced at the note in her hand and said, "Also, special call," she read, "maybe at this moment your new son has been Pregnant. Congratulations."

"Thanks. I hope he doesn't mind waiting so long." Like every astronaut, he was sterilized before entering the line.For a man who would live in space year round, radiation-induced mutations were a sure danger.Now, on Mars, 200 million kilometers away, the semen that has been frozen for 30 years has just delivered its genetic factors and is waiting for its fate. Newton didn't know if he would be able to make it back when he gave birth. He had the longest and best rest, recreation, normal family life, and family fun that an astronaut could hope for.Now that the mission is practically complete, he has begun to loosen the chains and ponder his future and that of his two families.Yes, it's nice to be home for a while, to make up for lost time, and in many ways.

"I came to see you," Laura declared somewhat feebly, "on a purely business matter." "After all these years," Newton replied, "we should know each other much better than that. Besides, you're not on duty now." This situation, he knew, was undoubtedly being repeated throughout the ship.Although they're only a few weeks away from home, this "carnival in orbit" is always in full swing after a mission. "Now, what are you thinking?" Laura asked after a while. "I hope you're not emotional?" "It's not about us, it's about Rama. I'm starting to miss it."

"Thank you so much for the compliment." Newton's arms held her tighter.One of the best things about weightlessness, he used to think, was that you could hold someone all night without stressing out the circulation.Some even complained that it was too cumbersome to do that at one g, and they no longer thought it was fun to do it. "It's a well-known fact, Laura, that men, unlike women, tend to think both ways. But seriously -- well, seriously -- I kind of lost something. a feeling of." "I can understand that." "Don't be so diagnostic, that's not the only reason. Oh, forget it. Never mind." It wasn't easy to explain, and he gave up, even to himself.

He has exceeded all reasonable expectations and accomplished this mission.What they found in Ramari will keep scientists busy for decades.More importantly, he did it with the luck of no casualties. Yet the nature and purpose of the Rama people remain a complete mystery.But it can also be said that he failed.People will go on and on and on, they use the solar system as a gas station, a booster station, you name it, but they completely ignore the solar system in the middle of their bigger business. .They may not even know that humans exist.Such extreme indifference is worse than any deliberate insult.

When Newton cast a last glance at Rama, it was already a small star, speeding outward behind Venus.He knew this part of his life was gone forever.He is only fifty-five years old, but he feels that his youth has been left on the central plain, along with the mysteries and wonders, mercilessly disappearing beyond the reach of human beings.No matter what achievements and accolades he may achieve in the future, the rest of his life will be haunted by a sense of anticlimactic and knowingly missed opportunities. He felt he should have been smarter and more capable. On a distant earth, Dr. Carlisso Perilla, who has not yet told anyone, how he woke up from a restless sleep subconsciously echoed the message in his mind:

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