who created the architects of the Node must surely be amused by our pathetic attempts to define Him in terms we humans can readily understand.”
Nicole was fascinated by the Node. Even from this distance, as it turned slowly around, the different aspects presented by the tetrahedron were hypnotizing. As she watched, the facility moved into a position where one of the four equilateral triangles forming its empty faces was in a plane perpendicular to the flight path of the shuttle. The Node looked entirely different, as if it had no depth. The fourth vertex, which was in reality some thirty kilometers beyond the plane on the other side from Nicole, appeared to be a nexus of light in the center of the facing triangle.
When the shuttle abruptly changed direction, the Node was no longer visible. Instead, off in the distance, Nicole could see a solitary light yellow star. “That’s Tau Ceti,” the Eagle said to her, “a star very much like your sun.”
“And why, if I may ask,” Nicole said, “is this Node here, in the neighborhood of Tau Ceti?”
“It is an optimum temporary placement,” the Eagle answered, “to support our data-acquisition activities in this part of the galaxy.”
Nicole nudged Dr. Blue. “Do your engineers sometimes speak meaningless gobbledygook in color?” she said with a smile. “Our host just gave us a non-answer.”
“We are more humble as a species than you are,” the octospider replied. “Again, it’s probably because of our relationship with the Precursors. We don’t pretend that we should be able to understand everything.”
“We have spoken very little about your species, during the time since I awakened,” Nicole said to Dr. Blue, suddenly feeling self-centered and apologetic, “although I do remember your telling me that your former Chief Optimizer, her staff, and all those who prosecuted the war had all been terminated in an orderly manner. Is the new leadership working out all right?”
“More or less,” Dr. Blue answered, “considering the difficulty of our living situation. Jamie works at the lower echelon of the new staff, and he is busy almost every waking hour. We have not really been able to reach anything like an equilibrium in our colony because there is constant outside friction.”
“Most of which is caused by the humans on board,” the Eagle added. “We haven’t discussed this subject before, Nicole,” he continued, “but now is probably a good time. We have been surprised by the failure of your fellow beings to adapt to interspecies living. Only a very few of them are comfortable with the idea that other species may be as important and capable as they are.”
“I told you that soon after we met years ago,” Nicole said. “I pointed out to you that for a variety of historical and sociological reasons, there is a vast range in the way that humans respond to new ideas and concepts.”
“I know you did,” the Eagle replied, “but our experience with you and your family misled us. Until we woke up all the survivors, we had reached the tentative conclusion that what happened in New Eden, with the aggressive and territorial humans seizing control, was an anomaly, to be explained by the particular composition of the colonists. Now, after watching a year of interactions at the Grand Hotel, we have concluded that we did indeed have a typical collection of humans inside Rama.”
“It sounds as if I may be entering an unpleasant situation,” Nicole said. “Are there other things that I need to know before we arrive?”
“Not really,” the Eagle said. “We now have everything under control. I’m certain your colleagues will share with you the most important details from their experiences. Besides, the current situation is only temporary, and this phase is almost over.”
“At first,” Dr. Blue said, “all the survivors from Rama were scattered throughout the starfish. In each ray there were some humans, some octospiders, and a few of our support animals that were permitted to survive because of their critical role in our social structure. That was all changed a few months later, primarily because of the continued aggressive hostility of the humans. Now the living quarters for each species are concentrated in a single region.”
“Segregation,” Nicole said ruefully. “It is one of the defining characteristics of my species.”
“Interspecies interaction occurs now only in the cafeteria and other common rooms in the center of the starfish,” said the Eagle. “More than half the humans, however, never leave their ray except to eat, and they studiously avoid interaction even then. From our point of view, human beings are astonishingly xenophobic. There are not many examples in our data base of spacefarers who are as sociologically backward as your species.”
The shuttle turned in a new direction and again the magnificent tetrahedron filled their view. They were much closer now. Many individual light sources could be resolved, both inside the spheres and in the long, slender transportation lines that connected them. Nicole gazed at the beauty in front of her and sighed heavily. The conversation with Dr. Blue and the Eagle had depressed her. Maybe Richard was right, Nicole thought to herself. Maybe humanity cannot be changed unless its entire memory is wiped clean and we begin anew, in afresh environment, with an upgraded operating system.
Nicole’s stomach was churning as the shuttle approached the starfish. She told herself not to worry about silly things, but she nevertheless felt uncomfortable about her appearance. Nicole looked in the mirror as she touched up her makeup. She was not able to mitigate her anxiety. I am old, she thought. The children will think I’m ugly.
The starfish was not nearly as large as Rama had been. It was easy for Nicole to understand why it was so crowded inside. The Eagle had explained to her that the intercession had been a contingency plan and that Rama had arrived at the Node, as a result, several years earlier than originally scheduled. This particular starfish, an obsolete spacecraft that had somehow been spared the recycling process, had been remodeled into a temporary hotel to house the occupants of Rama until they could be moved elsewhere.
“We have given strict orders,” the Eagle said, “that your entry should be as smooth as possible. We don’t want your system taxed any more than necessary. Big Block and his army have cleared the halls and common areas leading from the shuttle station to your room.”
“So you will not be going with me?” Nicole asked the Eagle.
“No,” he replied. “I have work to do over at the Node.”
“I will accompany you through the observation deck, as far as the entrance to the human ray,” Dr. Blue said. “Then you will be on your own. Luckily your quarters are not far from the ray entrance.”
The Eagle remained in the shuttle while Nicole and Dr. Blue disembarked. The alien birdman waved good- bye to them as they entered the air lock. When, a few minutes later, they moved into a large dressing room on the other side of the air lock, Nicole and Dr. Blue were greeted by the robot known as Big Block.
“Welcome, Nicole des Jardins Wakefield,” the giant robot said. “We are glad that you have finally arrived. Please put your space suit on the bench to your right.”
Big Block, who was just under three meters tall, almost two meters wide, and constructed of rectangular blocks similar to those played with by human children, looked exactly like the robot that had supervised the engineering tests Nicole and her family had undergone at the Node near Sirius years earlier, before their return to the solar system. The robot hovered over Nicole and the smaller octospider.
“Although I am certain,” Big Block said in his mechanical voice, “that you will not cause any problems, I want to remind you that all commands given by me or one of the similar, smaller robots are to be followed without hesitation. It is our purpose to keep order in this spaceship. Now follow me, please.”
Big Block turned around, pivoting on the joints in its midsection, and rolled forward on its single cylindrical foot. “This large room is called the observation deck,” the robot said. “Ordinarily it is the most popular of our common rooms. We have emptied it temporarily tonight to make it easier for you to reach your living quarters.”
Dr. Blue and Nicole stopped for a minute in front of the huge window facing the Node. The view was indeed spectacular, but Nicole could not focus her attention on the beauty and order of the superb extraterrestrial architecture. She was anxious to see her family and friends.
Big Block remained on the observation deck while Nicole and her octospider companion walked along the wide hallway that encircled the spacecraft. Dr. Blue explained to Nicole how to locate and identify the places where the small trams stopped. The octospider also informed Nicole that the humans were in the third ray, moving in either direction from the shuttle station, with the octospiders in the two rays immediately clockwise from the station. ‘The fourth and fifth rays,” Dr. Blue said in color, “are designed differently. All the other creatures live there, as well as those humans and octospiders who have been placed under guard.”
“Is Galileo, then, in some kind of prison?” Nicole asked.
