Rama Revealed(Rama IV)

THE EMERALD CITY Chapter 11
Richard bounced out of bed .with more than his usual enthusiasm and began jabbering at Nicole. "Wish me luck," he said as he dressed. "Archie said that we'll be gone all day."

Nicole, who always woke up very slowly and intensely disliked frenetic activity of any kind in the early morning hours, rolled over and tried to enjoy the last few moments of her rest. She opened one eye slightly, saw that it was still dark, and closed it again.

"I haven't been this excited since I made those two final breakthroughs on The translator," Richard said. "I know that the octospiders are serious about putting me to work. They're just trying to find the right task for me."

Richard left the bedroom for several minutes. From the noises in the kitchen, the half-asleep Nicole could tell that Richard was preparing breakfast for himself. He returned eating one of the large pink fruits that had become his favorite. He stood beside the bed, chewing noisily.

Nicole opened her eyes slowly and looked at her husband. "I assume," she said with a sigh, "that you are waiting for me to say something."

"Yes," he said. "It would be nice if we could exchange a few pleasantries before I leave. After all, this could be the most important day for me since we arrived in the Emerald City."

"You're certain," Nicole said, "that Archie intends to find a job for you?"

"Absolutely," Richard replied. "That's the whole purpose of today. He is going to show me some of their more complex engineering systems and try to ascertain where my talents can best be used. At least that's what he told me yesterday afternoon."

"But why are you leaving so early?" Nicole asked.

"Because there's so much to see, I guess. Anyway, give me a kiss. He'll be here in a few minutes."

Nicole kissed Richard dutifully and closed her eyes again.

The Embryo Bank was a large rectangular building located far to the south of the Emerald City, very close to where the Central Plain ended. Less than a kilometer from where the bank had been built, a set of three staircases, each with tens of thousands of individual steps, ascended the south polar bowl. Above the Embryo Bank, in the near darkness of Rama, loomed the imposing, buttressed structures of the Big Horn and its six sharply pointed acolytes, each larger than any single engineering construction on the planet Earth.

Richard and Archie had mounted an ostrichsaur on the outskirts of the Emerald City. Together with an escort and a trio of fireflies, they had passed through the Alternate Domain in only a matter of minutes. Out. in the southern reaches of the octospider realm there were very few buildings. Despite the occasional fields of grain, most of the territory through which diey traveled on their southerly trek reminded Richard, even in the dim light, of the Northern Hemicylinder in Rama II, before the two habitats had been built.

Richard and his octospider friend entered the Embryo Bank through a pair of extra-thick doors that took them directly into a targe conference room. There Richard was introduced to several other octospiders, who were obviously expecting his visit. Richard used his translator and the octos read his lips, although he had to speak slowly and distinctly because they were not nearly as skilled in the human language as Archie.

After some brief formalities, one of the octospiders led the pair to a series of control panels housing the equivalent of keyboards made from octo color strips. "We have almost ten million embryos stored here," the lead octospider said in her introduction, "representing over a hundred thousand distinct species and three times that many hybrids. Their natural life spans range in duration from half a tert to several million days, or about ten thousand of your human years. Their adult sizes range from a fraction of a nanometer to behemoths nearly as large as this building. Each embryo is stored in what are believed to be near-optimal conditions for its preservation. In fact, however, only about a thousand distinct environments, combinations of temperature, pressure, and ambient chemicals, are needed to span the range of required conditions.

"This building also houses an immense data management and monitoring system. This system automatically tracks the conditions in each of the distinct environments and monitors the early development of the several thousand embryos that are always in active germination. The system has some automatic fault detection and correction, a dual-parameter warning structure, and also drives the displays which can exhibit status andIor catalog information, both on the walls here or in any of the research areas on the upper floors."

Richard's brain went into overdrive as he began to understand more clearly the purpose of the Embryo Bank. What a fantastic concept, he thought. The octospiders store

here all the seeds of other plant and animal species that might ever he needed for any purpose.

"...Testing is continuous," the lead octospider was saying, "both to ensure the integrity of the storage and preservation systems and to provide specimens for the genetic engineering activities. At any given time approximately two hundred octospider biologists are actively engaged in genetic experiments here. The goal of these many experiments is to produce altered life-forms that will improve the efficiency of our society - "

"Can you show me an example," Richard interrupted, "of such a genetic experiment?"

"Certainly," the octospider replied. She shuffled over to the control panel and used three of her tentacles to press a sequence of colored buttons. "I believe you are familiar with one of our primary methods of power generation," she said, as a video appeared on the wall. 'The basic principle is quite simple, as you know. The circular marine creatures generate and store electric charge in their bodies. We capture this charge along a wire mesh, against which the animals must press to reach their food supply. Although this system is quite satisfactory, our engineers have pointed out that it could be improved substantially if the behavior of the creature could be altered somewhat.

"Look at this fast-motion close-up of half a dozen of the marine creatures that generate the power. Notice that during this brief motion picture each of the animals will go through three or four charge-discharge cycles. What feature of these cycles would be of primary interest to a system engineer?"

Richard watched the video carefully. The sand dollars are dim after their discharge, he thought, hut regain their full glow in a comparatively short period of time.

"Assuming that the glow is a measure of the stored charge," Richard said, suddenly wondering if he was undergoing some kind of a test, "the system could be made more efficient by increasing the feeding frequency."

"Exactly," the lead octospider responded. Archie flashed a quick message to the host octo that was completed before Richard had even had a chance to aim the telescope on his translator. Meanwhile, a different picture appeared on the wall. "Here are three genetic variants of the circular marine creature that are currently under test and evaluation. The leading replacement candidate is the one on the left. This prototype eats roughly twice as frequently as the component currently being used; however, the prototype has a metabolic imbalance that increases significantly its susceptibility to communicable diseases. All factors are being weighed in the current evaluation."

Richard was taken from one demonstration to another. Archie accompanied him at all times, but at each venue a different set of octospider specialists joined them for the prepared minilecture and the group discussion that always followed. One of the presentations was focused on the relationships between the Embryo Bank, the large zoo that occupied considerable territory in the Alternate Domain, and die barrier forest that formed a complete annulus around Rama, slightly less than a kilometer north of the Emerald City. "All living species in our realm," the presenter said, "are either in active symbiosis, temporary observation in an isolated domain-in the zoo, the forest, or, in your specific case, in the Emerald City itself-or undergoing experimentation here at the Embryo Bank."

After a long walk down many corridors, Richard and Archie attended a meeting of half a dozen octospiders evaluating a recommendation to replace an entire symbiotic chain of four different species. The chain was responsible for the production of a gelatin that cured a specific octospider lens malady. Richard listened with fascination as the test parameters of the proposed new symbiosis-resources consumed, reproduction rates, octospider interactions required, fault coefficients, and behavior predictability-were compared with the existing system. The outcome of the meeting was that in one of the three manufacturing "zones," the new symbiosis would be installed for several hundred operational days, after which time the decision would again be reviewed.

In the middle of the workday Archie and Richard were scheduled to be alone for half a tert. At Richard's request, they packed their lunches and drinks, remounted the ostrich-saur, commandeered a pair of fireflies, and wandered out into the cold and dark of the Central Plain. When he eventually dismounted, Richard walked around with his arms outstretched and gazed up into the vastness of Rama.

"Who among you," Richard asked Archie, "worries about, or even tries to figure out, the significance of all this?" He waved his arms in a circular motion.

The octospider replied that he didn't understand the question. "Yes, you did, you sly thing," Richard said, smiling. "Except that this time period was obviously set aside by your optimizers for a different kind of conversation between us. What I want to discuss, Archie, is not in which specific engineering department in your Embryo Bank I would like to work so that I can make my 'contribution' that will justify the 'resources' necessary to sustain me... what I want to talk to you about is what is really going on here? Why are we-humans, sessiles, avians, and you with all your menagerie-on this huge, mysterious spacecraft bound for the star we humans call Tau Ceti?"

Archie did not respond for almost thirty seconds. "Members of our genus were told while they were at the Node, just as you were, that some higher intelligence is cataloging life-forms in the galaxy, with a special emphasis on spacefarers. We assembled a typical colony, as requested, and established it inside this Rama vehicle so that the required detailed observations of our species could take place."

"So you octospiders don't know anything more about who or what is behind this grand scheme than we humans do?"

"No," Archie replied. "In fact, we probably know less. None of the octospiders who spent time at the Node is still part of our colony. As I told you, that octospider contingent on Rama II was a different, inferior species. The only firsthand information about the Node that exists on board this spacecraft comes from you, your family, and whatever compressed data may reside inside that small volume of sessile material we are still keeping in our zoo."

"And that's it?" Richard said. "None of you asks any more questions?"

"We are trained as juveniles," Archie answered, "not to waste time on issues for which we are unable to obtain any significant data."

Richard was momentarily silent. "How do you know so much about the avians and the sessiles?" he then asked abruptly.

"I'm sorry, Richard," Archie said after a brief pause, "but I cannot talk with you about that subject now. My assignment for this lunch period, as you surmised, is to ascertain whether or not you would be pleased to accept an engineering assignment in the Embryo Bank and, if so, which of the many areas you have seen today seems most interesting to you."

"It's a hell of a commute," Richard said, laughing. "Yes, Archie," he then added, "everything is fascinating, especially what I call the encyclopedia department. I think I would like to work there-that way I could expand my meager knowledge of biology. But why are you asking me this question now? Aren't we going to have more 'demonstrations' after lunch?"

"Yes," Archie said. "But this afternoon's schedule has been included primarily for completeness. Almost half of the Embryo Bank is devoted to microbiology. Management of that activity is more complex and involves communication with the midget morphs. It is difficult for us to imagine your working in any of those departments."

Underneath the primary microbiological laboratory was a basement that could only be entered with special credentials. When Archie mentioned that large quantities of flying image quadroids were produced in that Embryo Bank basement, Richard virtually begged to observe the process. His official tour was halted and Richard stood idlv around for several fengs while Archie obtained permission for them to visit the quadroid "nursery."

Two other octospiders guided them down a sequence of long ramps to the subterranean area. "The nursery has been purposely built far below ground level," Archie told Richard, "for extra isolation and protection. We have three other similar facilities scattered around our domain."

Holy shit, Richard said to himself when he and his three octospider companions walked out on a platform overlooking a large rectangular floor. His recognition was instant. Several meters below them, about a hundred midget morphs were scattered around the facility, performing unknown functions. Hanging down from the ceiling were eight rectangular lattices, each about five meters long and two meters wide, that were symmetrically placed around the room. Directly underneath each of the lattices was a large oval object with a hardened exterior. These eight objects resembled huge nuts and were surrounded by thick viny growths or webbing.

"I have seen a similar layout before, many years ago," Richard said excitedly. "Underneath New York. It was just before my first personal encounter with one of your cousins. Nicole and I were both scared out of our wits."

"I think I read something about that incident," Archie replied. "Prior to our bringing Ellie and Eponine to the Emerald City, I studied all the old files on your species. Some of the data were compressed, so there were not many specifics - "

"I remember that incident as if it were yesterday," Richard interrupted. "I had placed a couple of miniature robots on a small subway and they had disappeared into a tunnel. They came into an area like this one and, after climbing through some of that webbing, were chased and captured by one of your cousins."

"Doubtless the robots had stumbled into a quadroid nursery. Those octos acted to protect it. It's really very simple." Archie signaled their guide engineer that it was time for his explanation.

"The quadroid queens spend their gestation periods in special compartments that are just off the main floor," the octo engineer said. "Each queen lays thousands of eggs. When several million eggs have been laid, they are collected together and placed in one of those oval containers. The inside of the containers is maintained at a very high temperature, which markedly reduces the development time of the quadroids. The thick webbing around the containers absorbs the excess heat so that the working conditions are acceptable for the midget morphs who oversee the nursery..."

Richard was partially listening, but his real focus was on a moment many years earlier. Now it is all clear, he said to himself. And that tiny subway was for the midget morphs.

"...monitoring probes inside the containers identify exactly when the quadroids are ready to swarm. The lattices above are soaked with the proper chemical agents a few fengs prior to the automatic opening of the ovals. The new queens fly first, attracted to the lattice elements. The frenzied hordes of males follow, making visible black clouds despite their minuscule size. The quadroids are harvested from the lattice and go immediately into mass training."

"Very elegant," Richard said. "But I have a simple question. Why do the quadroids take all those pictures for you?"

"The short answer," Archie replied, "is that they have been genetically engineered over thousands of years to be receptive to our direction. We-or rather our midget morph specialists-speak the chemical language the quadroids use to communicate with each other. If they do what is asked of them, the quadroids are given food. If they perform satisfactorily over a long period of time, they are allowed the pleasures of sex."

"Out of a given litter, or swarm, what percentage of the quadroids follow your directions?"

"The failure rate for first picture is about ten percent," the octospider engineer answered. "Once the pattern has been established and the reward cycle reinforced, the failure rate drops dramatically."

"Pretty damn impressive," Richard said appreciatively. "Maybe there's more to this biology stuff than I ever considered."

On the ride back to the Emerald City, Richard and Archie discussed the comparative strengths and weaknesses of biological and nonbiological engineering systems. It was mostly an esoteric, philosophical conversation with few definitive conclusions. They did agree, however, that the encyclopedia function, which was primarily the storage, manipulation, and presentation of vast amounts of information, was more optimally handled by nonbiological systems.

As they drew near to the domed city, the green glow was suddenly extinguished. Night had come again to the center of the octospider domain. Soon thereafter, an additional pair of fireflies appeared to give their ostrichsaur extra light.

It had been a long day and Richard was tired. When they entered the outskirts of the Alternate Domain, Richard thought he saw something flying in the darkness off to his right. "What has happened to Tammy and Timmy?" he asked.

"They have both mated," Archie replied, "and have several offspring. Their young hatchlings are cared for in the zoo."

"Could I see them?" Richard said. "You told me once, a few months ago, that someday it might be possible."

"I guess so," Archie replied after a short silence. "Even though the zoo is a restricted zone, the avian compound is very close to the entrance."

When they reached the first large structure of the Alternate Domain, Archie dismounted and went inside the building. When he returned, the octospider said something to the ostrichsaur. "We are only cleared for a brief visit," Archie said as their mount turned off the main path and ^ began to thread its way through the smaller lanes of the community.

Richard was introduced to the zookeeper, who drove them in a cart to a compound only about a hundred meters inside the zoo entrance. Both Tammy and Timmy were | present. They recognized Richard immediately, and their jabbers and shrieks of pleasure filled the darkened skies. Tammy and Timmy introduced Richard to a new group of avian hatchlings in the compound. The juveniles were very shy around Richard, and would not let him touch them. However, Tammy and Timmy still loved to have their soft underbellies stroked by the man who had raised them from infancy. Richard felt powerful emotions as he recalled the days when he had been their sole protector in the lair underneath New York.

He said good-bye to his wards and boarded the cart with Archie and the zookeeper. Halfway back to the zoo entrance he heard a sound that jolted him into alertness and made his skin crawl with goose bumps. He sat perfectly still and concentrated. The sound repeated just before the silent cart came to a stop.

"I could not possibly be mistaken," Richard insisted to Nicole. "I heard it twice. There is no other sound like the cry of a human child."

"I'm not doubting you, Richard," Nicole said. "I'm just trying to exclude logically all other possible sources for the sound you heard. Juvenile avians do have a particular shriek that can sound a little like a baby crying... and you were, after all, in a zoo. It could have been another animal."

"No," said Richard. "I know what I heard. I have lived with enough children and heard enough cries in my life."

Nicole smiled. "Now the shoe is on the other foot, isn't it, darling? Do you remember your response when I told you I had seen a woman's face in that mural the night we went to see the octospider play? You scoffed at me and told me that I was 'absurd,' if I remember correctly."

"So what's the explanation? Did the octospiders somehow kidnap some other humans from Avalon? And the incident was never reported? But how could they have - "

"Did you say anything to Archie?" Nicole asked.

"No. I was too stunned. At first I was amazed that neither he nor the zookeeper made any comment, and then I remembered that the octospiders are deaf."

They were both silent for several seconds. "You^weren't supposed to hear that cry, Richard," Nicole then said. "Our nearly perfect hosts have made a nonoptimal slipup."

Richard laughed. "Of course, they are recording this conversation. By tomorrow they will know that we know."

"Let's not say anything just yet to the others," Nicole said. "Maybe the octos will decide to share their secret with us. By the way, when do you start to work?"

"Whenever I want," Richard replied. "I told Archie I had a few tasks of my own to finish first."

"Sounds as if you had a fascinating day," Nicole said. "Everything was mostly quiet around here. Except for one thing. Patrick and Nai have set a date for their wedding. Three weeks from tomorrow."

"What?" Richard said. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Nicole laughed. "I didn't have a chance. You came in here talking nonstop about cries in the zoo, and avians, and quadroids, and the Embryo Bank... I knew from experience that my news would have to wait until you wound down."

"Well, mother of the groom," Richard said a few seconds later, "how do you feel?"

"Considering everything," Nicole said, "I'm very pleased. You know how I feel about Nai. It just strikes me as a strange time and place to start a marriage."