Arthur Clarke - Rama Revealed

She was crawling on her bare knees in a dark underground cement pipe. Her knees had begun to bleed. I’m over here, Katie’s voice said. Where are you? Nicole asked, frustrated. I’m behind you, Mama, Benjy said. Water began to fill up the pipe. I cannot find them. I cannot help them.

Nicole was swimming, with difficulty. There was a strong current in the pipe. It swept her away, carried her outside, became a creek in a forest. Nicole’s clothes caught on a bush that overhung the creek. She stood up and brushed herself off. She began walking on a path.

It was night. Nicole could hear a few birds and see the moon above her through the occasional breaks in the tall trees. The path wound back and forth. She came to a junction. Which way should I go? Nicole asked herself in the dream. Come with me, Genevieve said, emerging from the forest and taking her hand,

What are you doing here? Nicole said. Genevieve laughed. I could ask you the same thing.

A young Katie was coming toward them on the path. Hello, Mother, she said, reaching out for Nicole’s other hand. Do you mind if I walk with you? Not at all, answered Nicole.

The forest thickened around them. Nicole heard footsteps behind her and turned around while she was still walking. Patrick and Simone returned her smiles. We’re almost there, Simone said. Where are we going? Nicole asked. You must know, Mrs. Wakefield, Maria answered. You told us to come. The girl was now walking beside Patrick and Simone.

Nicole and the five young people entered a small clearing. In the middle was a burning campfire. Omeh walked around from the other side of the fire and greeted them. After they formed a new circle around the fire, the shaman threw his head back and began to chant in Senoufo. As Nicole watched, Omeh’s face began to peel away, revealing his frightening skull. Still the chant continued. No, no, said Nicole. No. No.

“Mama,” Benjy said. “Wake up, Mama. You’re having a bad dream.”

Nicole rubbed her eyes. She could see a light on the other side of the room. “What time is it, Benjy?” she said.

“It’s late, Mama,” he answered with a smile. “Kepler has gone to breakfast with the others. We wanted to let you sleep.”

“Thank you, Benjy,” Nicole said, moving slightly on her mat. She felt the pain in her hip. She glanced around the room and remembered that Patrick and Nai were gone.

Forever, Nicole thought briefly, fighting the return of her sorrow.

“Would you like to take a shower?” — Benjy asked. “I could help you undress and carry you over to the stall.”

Nicole looked up at her balding son. I was wrong to worry about you, she thought. You would do fine without me. “Why, thank you, Benjy,” she said. “That would be very nice.”

“I’ll try to be gentle,” he said, unbuttoning his mother’s gown. “But please tell me if I hurt you.”

When Nicole was completely naked, Benjy picked her up in his arms and started to walk toward the shower. He stopped after he had taken two steps. “What’s wrong, Benjy?” Nicole asked.

Benjy grinned sheepishly. “I didn’t think the plan through very well, Mama,” he said. “I should have adjusted the water first.”

He turned around, set Nicole back down on her mat, and crossed me room to the shower. Nicole heard the water running.

“You like it medium hot, don’t you?” he called out.

“That’s right,” Nicole answered.

Benjy returned and picked her up a few seconds later. “I put two towels down on the floor,” he said, “so it wouldn’t be too hard or too cold for you.”

“Thank you, son,” Nicole said.

Benjy talked to her while Nicole sat on the towels on the floor of the shower and let the refreshing water pour over her body. He brought her soap and shampoo when she requested them. When she was finished, Benjy helped his mother dry off and dress. Then he carried her over to her wheelchair. -

“Bend down here, please,” Nicole said as she settled into her chair. She kissed him on the cheek and squeezed his hand. “Thank you for everything, Benjy,” she said, unable to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes. “You have been a marvelous help.”

Benjy stood beside his mother, beaming. “I love you, Mama,” he said. “It makes me happy to help you.”

“And I love you too, son,” Nicole said, squeezing his hand again. “Now, are you going to join me for breakfast?” “That was my plan,” said Benjy, still smiling.

Before they were finished eating, the Eagle walked up to Nicole and Benjy in the cafeteria. “Dr. Blue and F will be waiting for you in your room,” the Eagle said. “We want to give you a thorough physical examination.”

Sophisticated medical equipment had already been set up in the apartment when Nicole and Benjy returned. Dr. Blue injected additional microprobes directly into Nicole’s chest and later sent another set of probes into her kidney region. The Eagle and Dr. Blue conversed in the octospider’s native color language throughout the half-hour examination. Benjy assisted his mother when she was asked to stand or move around. He was completely fascinated by the Eagle’s ability to speak in color.

“How did you learn to do that?” Benjy asked the Eagle at one point in the examination.

“Technically speaking,” the Eagle replied, “I didn’t learn anything. My designers added a pair of specialized subsystems to my structure, one that would allow me to interpret the octospider colors and the other to make the color patterns on my forehead.”

“Didn’t you have to go to school or anything?” Benjy persisted.

“No,” the Eagle said simply.

“Could your designers do that for me?” Benjy asked several seconds later, when the Eagle and Dr. Blue had resumed their discussion of Nicole’s condition.

The Eagle turned around and looked at Benjy. “I’m a very slow learner,” Benjy said. “It would be wonderful if someone could just put everything into my brain.”

“We don’t quite know how to do that yet,” the Eagle said.

When the examination was over, the Eagle asked Benjy to pack all of Nicole’s things. “Where are we going?” Nicole asked.

“We’re going for a ride in the shuttle,” the Eagle said. “I want to discuss your physical condition with you in some detail and take you where any emergency could be quickly handled.”

“I thought the blue liquid and all those probes inside me were enough—”

“We’ll talk about it later,” the Eagle said, interrupting her. He took Nicole’s bag from Benjy. “Thank you for all your help,” the alien said.

“Let me make certain that I have understood this last half hour of discussion,” Nicole said into the microphone of her helmet as the shuttle neared the halfway point between the starfish and the Node. “My heart will not last more than ten days at most, despite all your medical magic; my kidneys are currently undergoing terminal failure; and my liver is showing signs of severe degradation. Is that a fair summary?”

“It is indeed,” said the Eagle.

Nicole forced a smile. “Is there any good news?”

“Your mind is still functioning admirably, and the bruise on your hip will eventually heal, provided the other ailments don’t kill you first.”

“And what you are suggesting,” Nicole said, “is that I should check into your equivalent of a hospital today over at the Node and have my heart, kidneys, and liver all replaced by advanced machines that can perform the same functions?”

“There may be some other organs that need to be replaced as well,” the Eagle said, “as long as we are performing a major operation. Your pancreas has been malfunctioning intermittently, and your entire sexual system is out of spec. A complete hysterectomy should be considered.”