00000000: 00 10 38 09 03 0C 01 09 00 52 09 2F 08 54 68 65 |..8......R./.The|
00000010: 20 45 4E 44 45 41 56 4F 52 27 53 20 62 72 69 64 | ENDEAVOR'S brid|
00000020: 67 65 20 69 73 20 61 20 6C 61 72 67 65 2C 20 63 |ge is a large, c|
00000030: 69 72 63 75 6C 61 72 20 72 6F 6F 6D 20 63 6F 6E |ircular room con|
00000040: 74 61 69 6E 69 6E 67 20 61 6C 6C 20 74 68 65 20 |taining all the |
00000050: 73 68 69 70 27 73 20 63 6F 6E 74 72 6F 6C 73 20 |ship's controls |
00000060: 61 6E 64 20 69 6E 73 74 72 75 6D 65 6E 74 61 74 |and instrumentat|
00000070: 69 6F 6E 2E 20 44 69 72 65 63 74 6C 79 20 61 68 |ion. Directly ah|
00000080: 65 61 64 20 69 73 20 61 20 72 65 63 74 61 6E 67 |ead is a rectang|
00000090: 75 6C 61 72 20 76 69 65 77 70 6F 72 74 2E 20 44 |ular viewport. D|
000000A0: 75 61 6C 20 70 69 6C 6F 74 69 6E 67 20 63 6F 6E |ual piloting con|
000000B0: 74 72 6F 6C 73 20 66 61 63 65 20 74 68 65 20 76 |trols face the v|
000000C0: 69 65 77 70 6F 72 74 2E 20 41 20 62 61 6E 6B 20 |iewport. A bank |
000000D0: 6F 66 20 73 63 61 6E 6E 69 6E 67 20 64 65 76 69 |of scanning devi|
000000E0: 63 65 73 20 61 6E 64 20 61 20 63 6F 6D 70 75 74 |ces and a comput|
000000F0: 65 72 20 74 65 72 6D 69 6E 61 6C 20 61 72 65 20 |er terminal are |
00000100: 6C 6F 63 61 74 65 64 20 74 6F 20 65 61 63 68 20 |located to each |
00000110: 73 69 64 65 2E 00 57 69 6C 6C 20 6C 6F 6F 6B 73 |side..Will looks|
00000120: 20 75 70 20 66 72 6F 6D 20 74 68 65 20 73 68 69 | up from the shi|
00000130: 70 27 73 20 63 6F 6E 74 72 6F 6C 73 2E 20 22 57 |p's controls. "W|
00000140: 65 27 72 65 20 72 65 61 64 79 20 74 6F 20 6C 61 |e're ready to la|
00000150: 6E 64 20 6F 6E 20 52 41 4D 41 2C 20 53 6B 69 70 |nd on RAMA, Skip|
00000160: 70 65 72 2C 20 61 6E 64 20 77 65 27 6C 6C 20 68 |per, and we'll h|
00000170: 61 76 65 20 74 6F 20 64 6F 20 69 74 20 73 6F 6F |ave to do it soo|
00000180: 6E 2E 20 57 65 27 76 65 20 75 73 65 64 20 75 70 |n. We've used up|
00000190: 20 6A 75 73 74 20 61 62 6F 75 74 20 61 6C 6C 20 | just about all |
000001A0: 6F 75 72 20 66 75 65 6C 20 67 65 74 74 69 6E 67 |our fuel getting|
000001B0: 20 68 65 72 65 2C 20 61 6E 64 20 74 68 65 72 65 | here, and there|
000001C0: 27 73 20 6E 6F 20 6F 74 68 65 72 20 73 68 69 70 |'s no other ship|
000001D0: 20 61 72 6F 75 6E 64 20 74 68 61 74 20 63 6F 75 | around that cou|
000001E0: 6C 64 20 70 6F 73 73 69 62 6C 79 20 72 65 66 75 |ld possibly refu|
000001F0: 65 6C 20 75 73 2E 22 53 75 72 67 65 6F 6E 20 43 |el us."Surgeon C|
00000200: 6F 6D 6D 61 6E 64 65 72 20 4C 61 75 72 61 20 45 |ommander Laura E|
00000210: 72 6E 73 74 20 6C 6F 6F 6B 73 20 75 70 20 66 72 |rnst looks up fr|
00000220: 6F 6D 20 68 65 72 20 74 65 72 6D 69 6E 61 6C 2C |om her terminal,|
00000230: 20 6E 6F 64 73 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 76 69 65 | nods at the vie|
00000240: 77 70 6F 72 74 20 61 6E 64 20 73 68 61 6B 65 73 |wport and shakes|
00000250: 20 68 65 72 20 68 65 61 64 20 69 6E 20 61 6D 61 | her head in ama|
00000260: 7A 65 6D 65 6E 74 2E 20 53 65 72 67 65 61 6E 74 |zement. Sergeant|
00000270: 20 50 69 65 74 65 72 20 52 6F 75 73 73 65 61 75 | Pieter Rousseau|
00000280: 20 69 73 20 68 75 6E 63 68 65 64 20 6F 76 65 72 | is hunched over|
00000290: 20 74 68 65 20 73 63 61 6E 6E 65 72 73 2E 00 49 | the scanners..I|
000002A0: 74 27 73 20 64 65 66 69 6E 69 74 65 6C 79 20 62 |t's definitely b|
000002B0: 65 65 6E 20 62 75 69 6C 74 20 62 79 20 61 6C 69 |een built by ali|
000002C0: 65 6E 20 68 61 6E 64 73 20 6F 72 20 74 65 6E 74 |en hands or tent|
000002D0: 61 63 6C 65 73 20 6F 72 20 77 68 61 74 65 76 65 |acles or whateve|
000002E0: 72 2E 2E 2E 61 6E 64 20 50 69 65 74 65 72 27 73 |r...and Pieter's|
000002F0: 20 73 63 61 6E 20 73 68 6F 77 73 20 74 68 61 74 | scan shows that|
00000300: 20 52 41 4D 41 20 69 73 20 74 68 6F 75 73 61 6E | RAMA is thousan|
00000310: 64 73 20 6F 66 20 79 65 61 72 73 20 6F 6C 64 2E |ds of years old.|
00000320: 00 49 27 76 65 20 64 6F 6E 65 20 61 20 74 68 6F |.I've done a tho|
00000330: 72 6F 75 67 68 20 73 63 61 6E 20 6F 66 20 52 41 |rough scan of RA|
00000340: 4D 41 2C 20 43 61 70 74 61 69 6E 2E 20 54 68 65 |MA, Captain. The|
00000350: 20 72 65 73 75 6C 74 73 20 63 6F 6E 66 69 72 6D | results confirm|
00000360: 20 74 68 65 20 63 6F 6D 6D 75 6E 69 63 61 74 69 | the communicati|
00000370: 6F 6E 73 20 72 65 63 65 69 76 65 64 2E 00 52 41 |ons received..RA|
00000380: 4D 41 20 6C 6F 6F 6D 73 20 62 65 66 6F 72 65 20 |MA looms before |
00000390: 79 6F 75 20 69 6E 20 74 68 65 20 76 69 65 77 70 |you in the viewp|
000003A0: 6F 72 74 20 61 67 61 69 6E 73 74 20 61 20 62 61 |ort against a ba|
000003B0: 63 6B 64 72 6F 70 20 6F 66 20 73 74 61 72 73 20 |ckdrop of stars |
000003C0: 61 6E 64 20 62 6C 61 63 6B 20 73 70 61 63 65 2E |and black space.|
000003D0: 20 49 74 73 20 62 6F 64 79 20 69 73 20 61 20 67 | Its body is a g|
000003E0: 65 6F 6D 65 74 72 69 63 61 6C 6C 79 20 70 65 72 |eometrically per|
000003F0: 66 65 63 74 20 63 79 6C 69 6E 64 65 72 20 73 6F |fect cylinder so|
00000400: 6D 65 20 66 69 66 74 79 20 6B 69 6C 6F 6D 65 74 |me fifty kilomet|
00000410: 65 72 73 20 66 72 6F 6D 20 65 6E 64 20 74 6F 20 |ers from end to |
00000420: 65 6E 64 2E 20 54 68 65 20 6E 6F 72 74 68 20 66 |end. The north f|
00000430: 61 63 65 20 69 73 20 61 74 20 6C 65 61 73 74 20 |ace is at least |
00000440: 74 77 65 6E 74 79 20 6B 69 6C 6F 6D 65 74 65 72 |twenty kilometer|
00000450: 73 20 61 63 72 6F 73 73 2E 20 49 74 73 20 73 75 |s across. Its su|
00000460: 72 66 61 63 65 20 69 73 20 61 20 64 75 6C 6C 2C |rface is a dull,|
00000470: 20 64 72 61 62 20 67 72 65 79 2C 20 61 73 20 63 | drab grey, as c|
00000480: 6F 6C 6F 72 6C 65 73 73 20 61 73 20 00 74 68 65 |olorless as .the|
00000490: 20 6D 6F 6F 6E 2C 20 61 6E 64 20 63 6F 6D 70 6C | moon, and compl|
000004A0: 65 74 65 6C 79 20 64 65 76 6F 69 64 20 6F 66 20 |etely devoid of |
000004B0: 6D 61 72 6B 69 6E 67 73 2E 20 54 68 65 20 65 6E |markings. The en|
000004C0: 74 69 72 65 20 63 79 6C 69 6E 64 65 72 20 72 6F |tire cylinder ro|
000004D0: 74 61 74 65 73 2C 20 65 78 65 63 75 74 69 6E 67 |tates, executing|
000004E0: 20 61 20 63 6F 6D 70 6C 65 74 65 20 74 75 72 6E | a complete turn|
000004F0: 20 65 76 65 72 79 20 66 6F 75 72 20 6D 69 6E 75 | every four minu|
00000500: 74 65 73 2E 20 43 6F 6D 70 61 72 65 64 20 74 6F |tes. Compared to|
00000510: 20 74 68 65 20 45 4E 44 45 41 56 4F 52 2C 20 52 | the ENDEAVOR, R|
00000520: 41 4D 41 20 69 73 20 61 73 20 6C 61 72 67 65 20 |AMA is as large |
00000530: 61 73 20 61 20 70 6C 61 6E 65 74 2E 20 57 69 6C |as a planet. Wil|
00000540: 6C 20 73 61 79 73 20 22 54 68 61 74 20 61 73 74 |l says "That ast|
00000550: 65 72 6F 69 64 20 73 74 6F 72 6D 20 6C 6F 6F 6B |eroid storm look|
00000560: 73 20 66 69 65 72 63 65 2E 20 53 68 61 6C 6C 20 |s fierce. Shall |
00000570: 49 20 72 69 73 6B 20 70 75 74 74 69 6E 67 20 68 |I risk putting h|
00000580: 65 72 20 6F 6E 20 61 75 74 6F 70 69 6C 6F 74 2C |er on autopilot,|
00000590: 20 43 61 70 74 61 69 6E 3F 22 00 53 75 72 67 65 | Captain?".Surge|
000005A0: 6F 6E 20 43 6F 6D 6D 61 6E 64 65 72 20 4C 61 75 |on Commander Lau|
000005B0: 72 61 20 45 72 6E 73 74 20 69 73 20 61 20 6C 69 |ra Ernst is a li|
000005C0: 66 65 20 73 75 70 70 6F 72 74 20 65 78 70 65 72 |fe support exper|
000005D0: 74 20 61 6E 64 20 61 20 73 70 65 63 69 61 6C 69 |t and a speciali|
000005E0: 73 74 20 69 6E 20 62 69 6F 6C 6F 67 69 63 61 6C |st in biological|
000005F0: 20 73 74 72 75 63 74 75 72 65 73 2E 00 53 65 72 | structures..Ser|
00000600: 67 65 61 6E 74 20 50 69 65 74 65 72 20 52 6F 75 |geant Pieter Rou|
00000610: 73 73 65 61 75 20 69 73 20 61 6E 20 65 78 70 65 |sseau is an expe|
00000620: 72 74 20 6F 6E 20 73 70 61 63 65 20 72 65 63 6F |rt on space reco|
00000630: 6E 6E 61 69 73 73 61 6E 63 65 20 61 6E 64 20 69 |nnaissance and i|
00000640: 73 20 73 6B 69 6C 6C 65 64 20 69 6E 20 74 68 65 |s skilled in the|
00000650: 20 75 73 65 20 6F 66 20 6C 6F 6E 67 2D 72 61 6E | use of long-ran|
00000660: 67 65 20 73 63 61 6E 6E 69 6E 67 20 64 65 76 69 |ge scanning devi|
00000670: 63 65 73 2E 00 54 65 63 68 6E 69 63 61 6C 20 53 |ces..Technical S|
00000680: 65 72 67 65 61 6E 74 20 57 69 6C 6C 61 72 64 20 |ergeant Willard |
00000690: 4D 79 72 6F 6E 2C 20 62 65 73 69 64 65 73 20 62 |Myron, besides b|
000006A0: 65 69 6E 67 20 79 6F 75 72 20 63 6F 2D 70 69 6C |eing your co-pil|
000006B0: 6F 74 2C 20 69 73 20 61 20 6D 65 63 68 61 6E 69 |ot, is a mechani|
000006C0: 63 61 6C 20 67 65 6E 69 75 73 2E 20 48 65 20 63 |cal genius. He c|
000006D0: 61 6E 20 66 69 67 75 72 65 20 6F 75 74 20 68 6F |an figure out ho|
000006E0: 77 20 74 68 69 6E 67 73 20 77 6F 72 6B 2C 20 61 |w things work, a|
000006F0: 6E 64 20 69 66 20 74 68 65 79 27 72 65 20 73 61 |nd if they're sa|
00000700: 66 65 20 6F 72 20 6E 6F 74 2E 00 54 68 65 20 73 |fe or not..The s|
00000710: 68 69 70 27 73 20 63 6F 6E 74 72 6F 6C 73 20 61 |hip's controls a|
00000720: 72 65 20 6D 6F 73 74 6C 79 20 61 75 74 6F 6D 61 |re mostly automa|
00000730: 74 65 64 20 65 78 63 65 70 74 20 66 6F 72 20 63 |ted except for c|
00000740: 6C 6F 73 65 20 72 61 6E 67 65 20 6E 61 76 69 67 |lose range navig|
00000750: 61 74 69 6F 6E 2C 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 69 73 20 |ation, which is |
00000760: 6A 6F 79 73 74 69 63 6B 20 63 6F 6E 74 72 6F 6C |joystick control|
00000770: 6C 65 64 2E 00 70 62 72 69 64 67 00 70 62 72 69 |led..pbridg.pbri|
00000780: 64 67 00 70 62 72 69 64 67 00 59 6F 75 20 66 69 |dg.pbridg.You fi|
00000790: 6E 61 6C 6C 79 20 6D 61 6E 61 67 65 20 74 6F 20 |nally manage to |
000007A0: 73 65 74 74 6C 65 20 74 68 65 20 45 4E 44 45 41 |settle the ENDEA|
000007B0: 56 4F 52 20 67 65 6E 74 6C 79 20 6F 6E 20 52 41 |VOR gently on RA|
000007C0: 4D 41 27 73 20 6E 6F 72 74 68 20 66 61 63 65 2E |MA's north face.|
000007D0: 00 6C 61 75 72 61 00 70 69 65 74 65 72 00 77 69 |.laura.pieter.wi|
000007E0: 6C 6C 00 57 69 6C 6C 20 74 75 72 6E 73 20 6F 6E |ll.Will turns on|
000007F0: 20 74 68 65 20 61 75 74 6F 70 69 6C 6F 74 2C 20 | the autopilot, |
00000800: 61 6E 64 20 61 66 74 65 72 20 61 20 68 61 72 72 |and after a harr|
00000810: 6F 77 69 6E 67 2D 68 61 6C 66 20 68 6F 75 72 20 |owing-half hour |
00000820: 74 68 65 20 45 4E 44 45 41 56 4F 52 20 6C 61 6E |the ENDEAVOR lan|
00000830: 64 73 20 6F 6E 20 52 41 4D 41 2E 00 12 00 00 00 |ds on RAMA......|
00000840: 09 01 92 02 14 03 71 03 80 04 8E 05 F0 05 68 06 |......q.......h.|
00000850: FE 06 68 07 6F 07 76 07 7D 07 C4 07 CA 07 D1 07 |..h.o.v.}.......|
00000860: D6 07 11 55 00 07 11 3E 00 03 02 04 02 80 0E 01 |...U...>........|
00000870: 37 0A 00 1B 01 27 3E 01 00 01 01 11 55 00 09 11 |7....'>.....U...|
00000880: 02 12 03 02 03 02 04 02 80 09 01 37 0B 00 00 01 |...........7....|
00000890: 01 11 69 00 16 01 37 0C 00 27 4A 00 27 69 02 27 |..i...7..'J.'i.'|
000008A0: 55 01 0D 0E 00 1B 0D 00 01 01 04 02 04 12 73 11 |U.............s.|
000008B0: 1C 0A 39 05 02 72 03 03 02 00 0D 00 04 00 09 01 |..9..r..........|
000008C0: 48 02 00 01 02 05 01 1B 94 01 02 60 04 00 03 6F |H..........`...o|
000008D0: 06 25 0E 24 07 10 01 1B 02 02 0F 01 1B 03 02 0A |.%.$............|
000008E0: 01 1B 86 02 05 01 1B 9B 01 02 41 04 07 05 6F 0A |..........A...o.|
000008F0: 27 22 26 1B 25 12 24 09 23 01 38 0E 1B 06 02 20 |'"&.%.$.#.8.... |
00000900: 01 38 0F 1B 07 02 19 01 38 10 1B 08 02 12 01 1B |.8......8.......|
00000910: 09 02 0D 01 1B 04 1C 05 4A 02 05 01 1B 9C 01 02 |........J.......|
00000920: 0B 01 27 69 01 02 05 01 1B A2 01 11 7F 00 0B 01 |..'i............|
00000930: 27 4A 00 27 7F 02 1B 11 01 11 7F 01 09 01 27 7F |'J.'..........'.|
00000940: 02 27 69 01 01 11 69 01 0A 01 0D 0E 01 27 02 12 |.'i...i......'..|
00000950: 57 01 00 00 |W... |
..8......R./.THE ENDEAVOR'S BRIDGE IS A
LARGE, CIRCULAR ROOM CONTAINING ALL THE
SHIP'S CONTROLS AND INSTRUMENTATION. DIR
ECTLY AHEAD IS A RECTANGULAR VIEWPORT. D
UAL PILOTING CONTROLS FACE THE VIEWPORT.
A BANK OF SCANNING DEVICES AND A COMPUT
ER TERMINAL ARE LOCATED TO EACH SIDE..WI
LL LOOKS UP FROM THE SHIP'S CONTROLS. "W
E'RE READY TO LAND ON RAMA, SKIPPER, AND
WE'LL HAVE TO DO IT SOON. WE'VE USED UP
JUST ABOUT ALL OUR FUEL GETTING HERE, A
ND THERE'S NO OTHER SHIP AROUND THAT COU
LD POSSIBLY REFUEL US."SURGEON COMMANDER
LAURA ERNST LOOKS UP FROM HER TERMINAL,
NODS AT THE VIEWPORT AND SHAKES HER HEA
D IN AMAZEMENT. SERGEANT PIETER ROUSSEAU
IS HUNCHED OVER THE SCANNERS..IT'S DEFI
NITELY BEEN BUILT BY ALIEN HANDS OR TENT
ACLES OR WHATEVER...AND PIETER'S SCAN SH
OWS THAT RAMA IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.
.I'VE DONE A THOROUGH SCAN OF RAMA, CAPT
AIN. THE RESULTS CONFIRM THE COMMUNICATI
ONS RECEIVED..RAMA LOOMS BEFORE YOU IN T
HE VIEWPORT AGAINST A BACKDROP OF STARS
AND BLACK SPACE. ITS BODY IS A GEOMETRIC
ALLY PERFECT CYLINDER SOME FIFTY KILOMET
ERS FROM END TO END. THE NORTH FACE IS A
T LEAST TWENTY KILOMETERS ACROSS. ITS SU
RFACE IS A DULL, DRAB GREY, AS COLORLESS
AS .THE MOON, AND COMPLETELY DEVOID OF
MARKINGS. THE ENTIRE CYLINDER ROTATES, E
XECUTING A COMPLETE TURN EVERY FOUR MINU
TES. COMPARED TO THE ENDEAVOR, RAMA IS A
S LARGE AS A PLANET. WILL SAYS "THAT AST
EROID STORM LOOKS FIERCE. SHALL I RISK P
UTTING HER ON AUTOPILOT, CAPTAIN?".SURGE
ON COMMANDER LAURA ERNST IS A LIFE SUPPO
RT EXPERT AND A SPECIALIST IN BIOLOGICAL
STRUCTURES..SERGEANT PIETER ROUSSEAU IS
AN EXPERT ON SPACE RECONNAISSANCE AND I
S SKILLED IN THE USE OF LONG-RANGE SCANN
ING DEVICES..TECHNICAL SERGEANT WILLARD
MYRON, BESIDES BEING YOUR CO-PILOT, IS A
MECHANICAL GENIUS. HE CAN FIGURE OUT HO
W THINGS WORK, AND IF THEY'RE SAFE OR NO
T..THE SHIP'S CONTROLS ARE MOSTLY AUTOMA
TED EXCEPT FOR CLOSE RANGE NAVIGATION, W
HICH IS JOYSTICK CONTROLLED..PBRIDG.PBRI
DG.PBRIDG.YOU FINALLY MANAGE TO SETTLE T
HE ENDEAVOR GENTLY ON RAMA'S NORTH FACE.
.LAURA.PIETER.WILL.WILL TURNS ON THE AUT
OPILOT, AND AFTER A HARROWING-HALF HOUR
THE ENDEAVOR LANDS ON RAMA............Q.
......H...H.O.V.}.D.J.Q.V..U...>........
7....'>.....U..............7......I...7.
.'J.'I.'U.............S...9..R..........
H..........`...O.%.$....................
..A...O.'"&.%.$.#.8.... .8......8.......
........J.........'I...........'J.'...
.....'.'I...I......'..W...
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