Rendezvous with Rama

The Rama Committee reconvenes in the wake of Rama’s hurricane. Despite his correct forecast, Perera is sheepish because he overlooked the melting of the Cylindrical Sea. He makes more conservative predictions now that Rama’s weather has stabilized, though he points out that the temperature will continue to rise as Rama veers toward perihelion.

The Hermian ambassador proposes that the Endeavour’s crew reenter Rama. He believes that Rama’s revitalized systems may threaten humanity. Early detection will allow humanity to initiate self-defense procedures. Taylor disagrees with the ambassador’s insinuation that the Ramans had nefarious intentions in building their vessel. The Hermian ambassador elaborates that Mercury is currently at the greatest risk of threat from Rama, considering that the vessel has already entered its orbit. The committee members generally consider the Hermians belligerent but understand that an initial Raman attack on the Hermians would jeopardize Mercury and the sun’s abundant resource and energy stores.

The committee asks Perera about Rama’s navigational capabilities. Perera posits that Rama has a “Space Drive,” a propulsion system that relies on antigravity instead of rocket power to move from one location to another. Because this defies Newton’s laws of physics, Davidson is skeptical. Solomons adds that antigravity would make it difficult to hold down everything inside as the vessel is pushed from one direction to another.