Rendezvous with Rama

Rendezvous With Rama explores what could happen if humankind ever comes across evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations without meeting the aliens who created it. The novel’s characters reckon with the implications of this premise, especially since it suggests that the Ramans’ purposes are beyond human comprehension. The Ramans’ apparent indifference to the existence of humanity underscores the vastness of the universe. The novel reveals that Rama’s passage through the solar system is simply a serendipitous event that affords humanity the chance to glimpse the Ramans’ lives but not the chance to know them.

Exemplifying this theme is the character arc of protagonist William Norton, who begins the novel having lost his sense of wonder about the universe. The novel drives this dilemma by emphasizing that he’s a frequent flyer through a solar system in which humans have extended their grasp. The solar system no longer feels like a mystery to explore because humanity has conquered and settled it. When Norton records messages for his wives, the fact that they live on different worlds is a simple matter. Clarke knows that to readers, this seems incredible, far different from the world that he and his readers live in. Norton finds nothing to marvel over in his society.