Arthur C. Clarke - Rama 02 by Rama Revisited

Author:Rama Revisited
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

31 ORVIETO PRODIGY

Good night, Otto,” David Brown said as the German admiral left his hut. “See you in the morning.” Dr. Brown yawned and stretched. He looked at his watch. It was a little more than eight hours until the lights should come on again.

He pulled off his flight suit and had a drink of water. He had just laid down on his cot when Francesca entered his hut. “David,” she said, “we have more problems.” She walked over and gave him a short kiss. “I’ve been talking to Janos. Nicole suspects that Valeriy was drugged.”

“Whaaat?” he replied. He sat up on his cot. “How could she? There was no way—”

“Apparently there was some evidence in his biometry data and she cleverly found it. She mentioned it to Janos tonight.”

“You didn’t react when he told you, did you? I mean, we must be absolutely—”

“Of course not,” Francesca answered. “Anyway, Janos would never suspect anything in a thousand years. He is a total innocent. At least where things like this are concerned.”

“Damn that woman,” David Brown said. “And damn her biometry.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “What a day. First that stupid Wilson tries to be a hero. Now this. … I told you we should have destroyed all the data from the operation. It would have been an easy matter to wipe out the central files. Then things would never—”

“She would still have his biometry records,” Francesca countered. “That’s where the prime evidence is. You would have to be an absolute genius to take the data from the operation itself and deduce anything.” She sat down and cradled Dr. Brown’s head against her chest. “Our big mistake was not when we failed to destroy the files. That would have aroused suspicion at the ISA. Our error was in underestimating Nicole des Jardins.”

Dr. Brown shook free from the embrace and stood up. “Dammit, Francesca, it’s your fault. I never should have let you talk me into it. I knew at the time—”

“You knew at the time,” Francesca sharply interrupted, “that you, Dr. David Brown, were not going on the first sortie into Rama. You knew at the time that your future millions as the hero and perceived leader of this expedition would be seriously compromised if you stayed onboard the Newton.” Brown stopped pacing and faced Francesca. “You knew at the time,” she continued more softly, “that I too had a vested interest in your going on the sortie. And that I could be counted on to provide you with support.”

She took his hands and pulled him back toward the cot. “Sit down, David,” Francesca said. “We’ve been over and over this. We did not kill General Borzov. We simply gave him a drug that created the symptoms of an appendicitis. We made the decision together, If Rama had not maneuvered and the robot surgeon had not malfunctioned, then our plan would have worked perfectly. Borzov would be on the Newton today, recovering from his appendectomy, and you and I would be here leading the exploration of Rama.

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