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| Cover by Paul Swendsen |
| RAMA II Arthur C. Clarke Gentry Lee New York: Bantam Books, December 1990 |
Rating: 4.0 High |
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| ISBN-13: 978-0-553-28658-? | ||||
| ISBN-10: 0-553-28658-7 | 466pp. | SC | $5.95 | |
Rama II gives us the arrival of the second Rama spacecraft in 2196, 76 years after the first passed through our solar system on its mysterious errand. Of course a second expedition is launched. With more time to prepare, this includes two ships, one scientific, one military. The military ship carries a number of high-yield thermonuclear weapons as a contingency measure.
The two ships link up just before making rendezvous. The scientists gain access as before, and this Rama closely resembles the first. But they soon discover subtle differences — both in layout and behavior. One occurs when Rama II starts a maneuver just when the mission commander is undergoing surgery for an apparent attack of appendicitis. The robot surgeon malfunctions, and he dies. A good deal of suspicion arises from this fact, and because his exposed appendix is healthy.
Another problem soon arises: Rama has placed itself on a collision course with Earth. But impact is still weeks away, and exploration continues. Despite warnings, the scientific leader of the expedition insists on capturing one of the crab-like biots operating in the southern end of Rama. This is successful, but costs the life of a member of his team. Another scientist dies under mysterious circumstances while exploring "New York," the complex of buildings on an island in the Cylindrical Sea. And Nicole des Jardins falls into a pit while searching New York for him; the crew member who sees her fall gives a false account.
Finally, with impact time growing closer, the military team is ordered to destroy Rama with their nuclear weapons. But General Michael O'Toole, a religious man, ultimately balks at entering his activation code. The scientific team has already departed, leaving Richard Wakefield and Nicole des Jardins (now recovered from unconciousness and out of the pit) marooned in the south end.
Gen. O'Toole also goes inside Rama in hopes of resolving his moral dilemma. As he is returning to his ship, he sees Wakefield and des Jardins escape across the Cylindrical Sea. He greets them when they reach the north end; but, being overdue getting back, he finds the ship deserted. A note tells him that the other military crew have left in an escape pod after setting up an attempt to enter his activation code automatically. The three remaining on board correctly surmise that nuclear missiles are also on the way to Rama. The military ship is untrustworthy since its navigation software was purged in order to devote maximum CPU time to the program deciphering O'Toole's code. So they have a quandary: risk themselves in an escape pod designed for one, or stay aboard Rama in hopes of triggering its defenses against the oncoming missiles — defenses it may not have.
I enjoyed the second half of this novel, but the first half is more like a soap opera than science fiction. Certainly it is not the kind of tale Arthur C. Clarke would have written in his prime; it contains far too much greed and ambition — especially on the part of La Signora Sabatini (the one who lies about Nicole's fall, because she has something to hide.) At the same time, it too-explicitly endorses religion (specifically Catholicism): it is just after Nicole gets on her knees and prays to God for deliverance that the means for her to escape from the pit appears.1 As I have stated before, I like science fiction better when it presents religion in a more nebulous way — the way Clarke used to present it.
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