Rama 3 – The Garden of Rama by Clarke, Arthur C.

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“They don’t have many women with my kind of figure in these old magazines,” Katie persisted after a short silence. She was holding up her electronic notebook, but Nicole was no longer paying attention. “You know, Mother,” her daughter then said, “I think that the Eagle made some kind of mistake with the controls in my berth. I think I must have received some of the hormones that were meant for Patrick or Benjy.”

“Katie, darling,” Nicole replied, finally realizing that her daughter was obsessed with her figure, “it is virtually certain that you have become the person your genes were programmed to be at conception. You are a lovely, intelligent young woman. You would be happier if you spent your time thinking about your many excellent attributes, instead of finding an imperfection in yourself and wishing to be somebody different.”

Since they had awakened, many of their mother-daughter conversations had had a similar pattern. To Katie, it seemed that her mother did not try to understand her and was too ready with a lecture and/or an epigram. “There’s far more to life than just feeling good” was a regular refrain that resounded in Katie’s ears. On the other hand, her mother’s praise for Ellie seemed effusive to Katie. “Ellie is such a good student, even though she started so late,” “Ellie is always helpful without our asking her,” or “Why can’t you be a little more patient with Benjy, like Ellie is?”

First Simone and now Ellie, Katie said to herself as she lay naked in bed late one night after she and her sister had quarreled and her mother had reprimanded only her. I’ve never had a chance with Mother. We’re just too different. I might as well stop trying.

Her fingers roamed over her body, stimulating her desire, and Katie sighed in anticipation. At least, she thought, there are some things that I don’t need Mother for.

“Richard,” Nicole said one evening in bed when they were only six weeks away from Mars.

“Mmmrnm,” he responded slowly. He had been almost asleep.

“I’m concerned about Katie,” she said. “I’m happy

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with the progress the other children are making—especially Benjy, bless his heart. But I have real worries about Katie.”

“What exactly is it that’s bothering you?” Richard said, propping himself up on one elbow.

“Her attitudes, mostly. Katie is incredibly self-centered. She also has a quick temper and is impatient with the other children, even Patrick, who absolutely adores her. She argues with me all the time, often when it’s a nonsensical dispute. And I think she spends far too many hours alone in her room.”

“She’s just bored,” Richard replied. “Remember, Nicole, physically she’s a young woman in her early twenties. She should be dating, asserting her independence. There’s really nobody here who is a peer. . . . And you must admit that sometimes we treat her like a twelve-year-old.”

Nicole did not say anything. Richard leaned over and touched her arm. “We’ve always known that Katie was the most high-strung of the children. Unfortunately, she’s a lot like me.”

“But at least you channel your energy into worthwhile projects,” Nicole said. “Katie is as likely to be destructive as constructive. . . . Really, Richard, I wish you would talk to her. Otherwise I’m afraid we’re going to have big problems when we meet the other humans.”

“What do you want me to say to her?” Richard replied after a short silence. “That life is not just one excitement after another? And why should I ask her not to retreat into her fantasy world in her own room? It’s probably more interesting there. Unfortunately there’s nothing very exciting for a young woman anywhere in New Eden at the present time.”

“I had hoped you would be a little more understanding,” Nicole replied, slightly miffed. “I need your help, Richard . . . and Katie responds better to you.”

Again Richard was silent. “All right,” he said finally in a frustrated tone. He lay back down in the bed. “I’ll take Katie waterskiing tomorrow—she loves that—and at least ask her to be more considerate of the other members of the family.”

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“Very good. Excellent,” Richard said, finishing his reading of die material in Patrick’s notebook. He switched off the power and glanced over at his son, who was sitting somewhat nervously in the chair opposite Richard. “You have learned algebra quickly,” Richard continued. “You are definitely gifted in mathematics. By the time we have other people in New Eden, you will be almost ready for university courses—at least in mathematics and science.”

“But Mother says I’m still way behind in my English,” Patrick replied. “She says that my compositions are those of a young child.”

Nicole overheard the conversation and walked in from the kitchen. “Patrick, darling, Garcia #041 says that you do not take writing seriously. I know that you cannot learn everything overnight, but 1 don’t want you to be embarrassed when we meet the other humans.”

“But I like math and science better,” Patrick protested. “Our Einstein robot says he could teach me calculus in three or four weeks—if I didn’t have so many other subjects to study.”.

The front door suddenly opened and Katie and Ellie breezed in. Katie’s face was bright and alive. “Sorry we’re late,” she said, “but we have had a big day.” She turned to Patrick. “I drove the boat across Lake Shakespeare by myself. We left the Garcia on the shore.”

Ellie was not nearly as ecstatic as her sister. In fact, she looked a little peaked. “Are you all right, dear?” Nicole said quietly to her younger daughter while Katie was regaling the rest of the family with her tales of their adventure on the lake.

Ellie nodded and didn’t say anything.

“What was really exciting,” Katie enthused, “was crossing over our own waves at high speeds. Bam-bam-bam, we bounced from wave to wave. Sometimes I felt as if we were flying.”

“Those boats are not toys,” Nicole commented a few moments later. She motioned for everyone to come to the dinner table. Benjy, who had been in the kitchen picking at the salad with his fingers, was the last to sit down.

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“What would you have done if the boat had capsized?” Nicole asked Katie when everyone was seated.

“The Garcias would have rescued us,” Katie answered flippantly. “There were three of them watching us from the shore. . . . After all, that’s what they’re for. Besides, we were wearing life vests and I can swim anyway.”

“But your sister can’t,” Nicole replied quickly, a critical tone in her voice. “And you know she would have been terrified if she had been thrown into the lake.”

Katie started to argue, but Richard interceded and changed the subject before the conflict escalated. In truth, the entire family was edgy. Rama had gone into orbit around Mars a month earlier and mere was still no sign of the contingent from Earth mat they were supposed to meet. Nicole had always assumed that their rendezvous with their fellow humans would take place immediately after Mars orbit insertion.

After dinner, the family went out into Richard’s small backyard observatory to look at Mars. The observatory had access to all the external sensors on Rama (but none of the internal ones outside of New Eden—the Eagle had been very firm about this particular point during their design discussions) and could present a splendid telescopic view of the Red Planet for part of each Martian day.

Benjy especially liked the observing sessions with Richard. He proudly pointed out the volcanoes in the Tharsis region, the great canyon called Valles Marineris, and the Chryse area where the first Viking spacecraft had landed over two hundred years before. A dust storm was just forming south of Mutch Station, the hub of the large Martian colony that had been abandoned in the fitful days following the Great Chaos. Richard speculated that the dust might spread across the entire planet since it was the proper season for such global storms.

“What happens if the other Earthlings don’t show up?” Katie asked during a quiet point in their Martian observations. “And Mother, please give us a straight answer this time. After all, we’re not children anymore.”

Nicole ignored the challenging tone in Katie’s comment. “If I remember correctly, the baseline plan is for us to

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wait here in Mars orbit for six months,” she replied. “If there is no rendezvous during that time, Rama will head for Earth.” She paused for several seconds. “Neither your father nor I know what the procedure will be from that point forward. The Eagle told us that if any of the contingency plans are invoked, we will be told at the time as much as we are required to know.”