''Rama Revealed'' (1993) is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by Arthur C. Clarke and

Gentry Lee Bert Gentry Lee (born 1942) is an American scientist, space engineer, and science fiction author. He is currently chief engineer for the Planetary Flight Systems Directorate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Space career Lee had engineering o ...

. It is the last in a four-book series of Clarke's '' Rendezvous with Rama'' by these authors, and as the title suggests reveals the mysteries behind the enigmatic ''Rama'' spacecraft.

Plot summary

The book picks up the story immediately after the end of '' The Garden of Rama''. The book follows the story of Nicole Wakefield and her escape from imprisonment left at the cliffhanger of the previous book. At this point, the humans had already come into contact with two alien species known as "octospiders" and "myrmicats". The octospiders were a simple species until a space-faring species made contact with them and forever changed their society. By undergoing genetic enhancements, the octospiders became biological wizards and were eventually able to form a utopia of sorts. The myrmicats (named by Richard Wakefield, a combination of the Greek word for ant, myrmex, due to their ant-like appearance, and the English word "cat" due to their feline size and running gait) were a naturally heteromorphic species whose final form was a large, interconnected sentient mesh which was able to directly interface with the human brain through a network of fibers connected to the body; while entering a symbiosis with another sentient "avian" species. Through this medium, it was able to communicate to Richard the threat posed to the species by the violent colonists, and at the request of the myrmicats he leaves their habitat carrying some of their eggs for preservation. As the human colony continues to degenerate with respect to living conditions and human rights, the members of Nicole's family escape to the region nicknamed "

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

", where they used to live in ''Rama II,'' and are eventually reunited with Richard. Before long, the human colony police come after Nicole's family in "New York" and they flee to the octospider city. After the human colony leader starts bombing the octospider city under a made-up pretext and the octospiders retaliate, the situation becomes dire enough that Rama's controlling intelligence intervenes to end the conflict caused by the humans aboard, by sending everybody into hibernation until the end of the journey, except for the surviving myrmicats which are allowed to lead their daily life. The Rama spacecraft rendezvous with another Node, an enormous

tetrahedron In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the o ...

near the star Tau Ceti, designed to research any intelligent life capable of spaceflight. The humans are divided into two groups based mainly on the degree of

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

they had exhibited during the journey. One group will stay at the Node to be studied; the xenophobes are segregated and never allowed to see another alien again. To some of the more adaptable group, the purpose of the universe is revealed by the Nodal intelligence, to create universes and search through their galaxies for lifeforms that could make up a completely harmonious universe.

Books in the series

*'' Rendezvous with Rama'' (

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

) *''

Rama II Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai ( th, พระพุทธเลิศหล้านภาลัย, 24 February 1767 – 21 July 1824), personal name Chim ( th, ฉิม), also styled as Rama II, was the second monarch of Siam under the Chakri ...

'' (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

) *'' The Garden of Rama'' (

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

) *''Rama Revealed '' (

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

) Gentry Lee also wrote two further novels set in the same Rama Universe. *'' Bright Messengers'' (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

) *'' Double Full Moon Night'' (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

)

External links

* {{Footer The Novels of Arthur C. Clarke 1993 British novels 1993 science fiction novels British science fiction novels Collaborative novels Novels by Arthur C. Clarke Rama series Fiction set around Tau Ceti Sequel novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books