Rama Omnibus by Arthur C Clarke & Lee Clarke & Gentry Lee

Author:Arthur C Clarke & Lee Clarke & Gentry Lee [Clarke, Arthur C & Clarke, Lee & Lee, Gentry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Anthologies, Science Fiction, Classics
ISBN: 9780575096868
Published: 2012-12-13T13:00:00+00:00

It was Nicole’s turn to be the tour guide when they arrived at the lair. She personally showed each person his or her quarters. There was one room for Max and Eponine, another for Ellie and Robert, and a room divided by a partition for Patrick and Nai. The large nursery had been subdivided to provide space and privacy for Benjy, the three children, and the two avians. Richard and Nicole had also decided to use the small area adjacent to their bedroom as a common dining room for the entire group.

While the adults unpacked the meager belongings they had loaded into backpacks, the children had their first experience with Tammy and Timmy. The avians did not know what to make of the little humans, especially Galileo, who insisted on pulling or tweaking anything he could touch. After about an hour of such treatment, Timmy scratched Galileo lightly with one of his talons as a warning, and the boy raised an incredible din.

“I just don’t understand it,” Richard said to Nai in apology. “The avians are really very gentle creatures.”

“I do understand,” Nai replied. “Galileo was almost certainly up to some mischief.” She sighed. “It’s amazing, you know. You raise two children exactly the same way, and they turn out so differently. Kepler is so good he’s almost an angel—I can hardly teach him to defend himself. And Galileo pays almost no attention to anything I tell him.”

When everyone had finished unpacking, Nicole completed the tour, including the two bathrooms, the corridors, the suspension tanks where the family had stayed during the period of high acceleration between the Earth and the Node, and finally the White Room, with the black screen and keyboard, which was also Richard and Nicole’s bedroom. Richard demonstrated how the black screen worked by requesting, and receiving about an hour later, some new and simple toys for the children. He also gave Robert and Max each a copy of a short command dictionary that would allow them to use the keyboard.

The children were all asleep soon after dinner. The adults gathered in the White Room. Max asked questions about the octospiders. In the course of describing their adventures behind the black screen, Nicole mentioned her heart irregularities. Robert insisted on examining her right away.

Ellie helped Robert with the examination. Robert had brought as much practical medical equipment as he could fit in his backpack, including all the miniaturized instruments and monitors necessary to do a full electrocardiogram, or EKG. The results were not good, but not as bad as Nicole had privately feared. Before bedtime Robert informed the rest of the family that the years had definitely taken their toll on Nicole’s heart, but that he didn’t think she would require surgery in the immediate future. Robert advised Nicole to take it easy, even though he knew that his mother-in-law would probably ignore his prescription.

When everyone was asleep, Richard and Nicole moved the furniture to make room for their mats. They lay side by side, holding hands.

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