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''Rendezvous with Rama'' is a 1973
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novel by British writer
Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...
. Set in the 2130s, the story involves a
cylindrical A cylinder () has traditionally been a Solid geometry, three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a Prism (geometry), prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may ...
alien
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...
that enters the
Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
. The story is told from the point of view of a group of human explorers who intercept the ship in an attempt to unlock its mysteries. The novel won both the Hugo and
Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
awards upon its release, and is regarded as one of the cornerstones in Clarke's bibliography. The concept was later extended with several sequels, written by Clarke and
Gentry Lee Bert Gentry Lee (born March 29, 1942) is an American scientist, space engineer, and science fiction author. Space career Lee was director of science analysis and mission planning during the Viking program, Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s. ...
.


Plot

An asteroid strikes Italy in 2077, prompting the creation of the
Spaceguard The term Spaceguard loosely refers to a number of efforts to discover, catalogue, and study near-Earth objects (NEO), especially those that may impact Earth ( potentially hazardous objects). Asteroids are discovered by telescopes which repeated ...
system to track
potentially hazardous object A potentially hazardous object (PHO) is a near-Earth object – either an asteroid or a comet – with an orbit that can make close approaches to the Earth and which is large enough to cause significant regional damage in the event of impact. Th ...
s in space. In 2131, Spaceguard detects an
interstellar object An interstellar object is an astronomical object in interstellar space that is not gravitationally bound to a star. Applicable objects include asteroids, comets, and rogue planets, but not a star or stellar remnant. This term can also be appli ...
entering the Solar System, designating it "31/439" before naming it
Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...
after the
Hindu god Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. Julius J. L ...
. A space probe reveals that Rama is a perfectly smooth cylinder long and in diameter, indicating that it was constructed by intelligent beings. ''Endeavour'' is sent to study Rama, being the only ship close enough to do so. The crew navigates through a triple
airlock An airlock is a room or compartment which permits passage between environments of differing atmospheric pressure or composition, while minimizing the changing of pressure or composition between the differing environments. An airlock consist ...
system and descends one of three identical staircases. Inside Rama, they discover two plains that stretch across the interior circumference, divided by a frozen body of water they name the Cylindrical Sea. They identify several city-sized clusters of geometric structures, which they name after major cities on Earth. The United Planets follows their progress closely, and scientists are assembled to form a Rama Committee that considers theories and advises Commander Norton. As Rama drifts closer to the sun, the Cylindrical Sea melts, the temperature shift causes a storm, and three massive lights activate on each plain to illuminate the world. Boris Rodrigo, a crewman who adheres to a space-inspired sect of Christianity, suggests that Rama is a new Noah's Ark that will change course to begin orbiting the sun. The crew floats across the Cylindrical Sea on a raft to reach an island they name New York, and a sample of the water reveals the presence of microorganisms. The structures in New York are positioned in patterns of three, without any openings, and their purpose is unidentifiable. The crewman Jimmy Pak approaches Norton to admit that he smuggled a sky-bike onto their ship and offers to fly it above a cliff to reach the southern plain. He flies to the other end of Rama, which is defined by a large spike several kilometers in length and surrounded by smaller spikes. Pak realizes that a static field is building around the spikes, which then emits a concussion that knocks his sky-bike out of the air and destroys it, stranding him in the southern plain. As he recovers from the crash, a crab-like creature arrives to disassemble the sky-bike and dispose of its parts. Pak is unable to determine whether the creature is biological or robotic. Pak explores the patchwork terrain of the southern plain while he waits for rescue. He finds a single alien flower, which he takes. A rescue crew arrives on the raft, and Pak jumps from the cliff into the Cylindrical Sea so they can pull him aboard. A course change by Rama triggers a series of large waves, but Sergeant Ruby Barnes navigates them to safety. They see a damaged starfish-like creature emerge from the sea, and shark-like creatures arrive to disassemble it. After returning to their camp, a spider-like creature with three eyes and three legs studies all of their equipment. More arrive, and one falls from a higher platform to its destruction. Ernst takes the opportunity to dissect the creature and finds that it is both biological and robotic, so they conclude that the creatures were designed by the Ramans and begin referring to them as
biot The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...
s. The government of Mercury, having decided that Rama is too dangerous, launches a nuclear weapon to destroy it. Rodrigo intercepts the missile and disarms it, taking advantage of the 12-minute time lag for radio communication between it and Mercury. The crew prepares to evacuate as Rama gets too close to the sun. For their final expedition, they visit a city with a laser and cut a hole into the side of a structure. Inside they find a collection of holograms that provide details on various Raman artefacts, including a suit designed for a three-legged humanoid. As they leave, the biots return to the sea to be disassembled and the lights begin to dim. The crew boards ''Endeavour'' and leaves Rama. Rama changes course to move directly toward the sun and moves alongside it to gather energy. It then activates a
space drive Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. In-space propulsion exclusively deals with propulsion systems used in the vacuum of space and should not be confused with space launch or atmospheric e ...
to propel itself out of the Solar System in the direction of the
Large Magellanic Cloud The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a dwarf galaxy and satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At a distance of around , the LMC is the second- or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, Sagittarius Dwarf ...
. After Rama leaves, a member of the Rama Committee considers that the Ramans do everything in threes.


Reception

John Leonard of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', while finding Clarke "benignly indifferent to the niceties of characterization", praised the novel for conveying "that chilling touch of the alien, the not-quite-knowable, that distinguishes sci-fi at its most technically imaginative". Other reviewers have also commented on Clarke's lack of character development and overemphasis on realism.


Awards and nominations

The novel received the following awards: *
Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; ...
in 1973 *
British Science Fiction Association Award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, ...
in 1973 *
Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year by the World Science Fiction Society for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is ava ...
in 1974 * Jupiter Award for Best Novel in 1974 * John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1974 *
Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. Originally a poll ...
for Best Novel in 1974 *
Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fic ...
for Best Foreign Language Novel in 1980


Design and geography of Rama

The interior of Rama is essentially a large cylindrical landscape, dubbed "The Central Plain" by the crew, 16 kilometres in diameter and nearly 50 long, with
artificial gravity Artificial gravity is the creation of an inertial force that mimics the effects of a gravitational force, usually by rotation. Artificial gravity, or rotational gravity, is thus the appearance of a centrifugal force in a rotating frame of ...
provided by its 0.25 rpm spin. It is split into the "northern" and "southern" plains, divided in the middle by a 10-km wide expanse of water the astronauts dub the "Cylindrical Sea". In the center of the Cylindrical Sea is an island of unknown purpose covered in tall, skyscraper-like structures, which the astronauts name "New York" due to an imagined similarity to
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. At each end of the ship are North and South "Poles". The North Pole is effectively the bow and the South Pole the
stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
, as Rama accelerates in the direction of the north pole and its drive system is at the South Pole. The North Pole contains Rama's airlocks, and is where the ''Endeavour'' lands. The airlocks open into the hub of the massive bowl shaped cap at the North Pole, with three 8-kilometre long stair systems, called Alpha, Beta, and Gamma by the crew, leading to the plain. The Northern plain contains several small "towns" interconnected by roads, dubbed London, Paris, Peking, Tokyo, Rome, and Moscow. The South Pole has a giant cone-shaped protrusion ("Big Horn") surrounded by six smaller ones ("Little Horns"), which are thought to be part of Rama's reactionless
space drive Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. In-space propulsion exclusively deals with propulsion systems used in the vacuum of space and should not be confused with space launch or atmospheric e ...
. Both ends of Rama are lit by giant trenches (three in the northern plain and three in the south), equidistantly placed around the cylinder, effectively functioning as giant strip lighting.


Books in the series

Clarke paired up with
Gentry Lee Bert Gentry Lee (born March 29, 1942) is an American scientist, space engineer, and science fiction author. Space career Lee was director of science analysis and mission planning during the Viking program, Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s. ...
for the remainder of the series. Lee wrote while Clarke read and made editing suggestions. The focus and style of the last three novels are quite different from those of the original with an increased emphasis on
characterisation Characterization or characterisation is the representation of characters (persons, creatures, or other beings) in narrative and dramatic works. The term character development is sometimes used as a synonym. This representation may include dire ...
and clearly-portrayed heroes and villains, rather than Clarke's dedicated professionals. These later books did not receive the same critical acclaim and awards as the original. * ''Rendezvous with Rama'' (1973) ' * ''
Rama II Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father R ...
'' (1989) ' * '' The Garden of Rama'' (1991) ' * ''
Rama Revealed ''Rama Revealed'' (1993) is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. It is the last in a four-book series of Clarke's ''Rendezvous with Rama'' by these authors and reveals the mysteries behind the enigmatic ''Rama'' spa ...
'' (1993) '
Gentry Lee Bert Gentry Lee (born March 29, 1942) is an American scientist, space engineer, and science fiction author. Space career Lee was director of science analysis and mission planning during the Viking program, Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s. ...
also wrote two further novels set in the same ''Rama'' Universe. *''Bright Messengers'' (1995) *''Double Full Moon Night'' (1999)


Adaptations


Video games

A
graphic adventure An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an Interactive storytelling, interactive story, driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus ...
computer game of the same name with a
text parser {{Refimprove, date=August 2007 In adventure games, a text parser takes typed input (a command) from the player and simplifies it to something the game can understand. Usually, words with the same meaning are turned into the same word (e.g. "take" a ...
based on the book was made in 1984 by
Trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
and ported to other systems such as the Apple II, Commodore 64. Despite its primitive graphics, it had highly detailed descriptions, and it followed the book very closely along with having puzzles to solve during the game. In Spain there was an official adaptation for the 2nd generation
MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...
computers called ''Cita con Rama'' that took advantage of the MSX's ability to produce (at the time) high-quality graphics. It was adapted from the Clarke novel in 1983 by Ron Martinez, who went on to design the massively multiplayer online game ''10Six'', also known as ''Project Visitor''.
Sierra Entertainment Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1979 by Ken Williams (game developer), Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is ...
created ''
Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...
'' in 1996 as a point and click adventure game in the style of ''
Myst ''Myst'' is a 1993 adventure video game developed by Cyan and published by Broderbund for Mac OS. In the game, the player travels via a special book to a mysterious island called Myst. The player interacts with objects and traverses the ...
''. Along with highly detailed graphics, Arthur C. Clarke also appeared in the game as the guide for the player. This game featured characters from the sequel book ''Rama II''.


Radio adaptation

In 2009,
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
produced a two-part radio adaptation of the book as part of a science-fiction season. It was adapted by Mike Walker, and was broadcast on 1 March 2009 (Part 1) and 8 March 2009 (Part 2).


Film

In the early 2000s, actor
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...
expressed his desire to produce a film based on ''Rendezvous with Rama.'' The film has been stuck in "
development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...
" for many years. In 2003, after initial problems procuring funding, it appeared the project would go into production. The film was to be produced by Freeman's production company,
Revelations Entertainment Revelations Entertainment is an independent movie production company founded by actor Morgan Freeman and business partner Lori McCreary in 1996. Its mission statement, to "reveal truth," drives the company to produce thought-provoking entertain ...
.
David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. Often described as one of the preeminent directors of his generation, David Fincher filmography, his films, of which most are psychological thrillers, have collectiv ...
, touted on Revelations' ''Rama'' web page as far back as 2001, stated in a late 2007 interview that he was still attached to helm. By late 2008, David Fincher stated the movie was unlikely to be made. "It looks like it's not going to happen. There's no script and as you know, Morgan Freeman's not in the best of health right now. We've been trying to do it but it's probably not going to happen." In 2010, Freeman stated in an interview that he was still planning to make the project but that it has been difficult to find the right script. He also stated that it should be made in 3D. In January 2011, Fincher stated in an interview with
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
that he was still planning to make the film after he had completed work on his planned remake of ''
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may inclu ...
'' (which was scheduled to begin production in 2012 but has since been scrapped). He also reiterated Freeman's concerns about the difficulty of finding the right script. In an interview with
Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysics, astrophysicist, author, and science communication, science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia Univ ...
in February 2012, Freeman indicated an interest in playing the role of Commander Norton for the film, stating that "my fantasy of commanding a starship is commanding Endeavour". Tyson then asked, "So is this a pitch to be ... that person if they ever make that movie?" to which Freeman reaffirmed, "We ''are'' going to make that movie." In response to a plea to "make that come out sooner rather than later", Freeman reiterated that difficulty in authoring a high quality script is the primary barrier for the film, stating "... the only task you have that's really really hard in making movies, harder than getting money, is getting a script ... a good script". In December 2021, it was announced that the film was in development at
Alcon Entertainment Alcon Entertainment, LLC is an American indie film and television production company, founded in 1997 by film producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Since its establishment, Alcon Entertainment has developed and financed films that ar ...
with
Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...
set to direct. Morgan Freeman and
Lori McCreary Lori McCreary is an American film producer. She is CEO of the production company Revelations Entertainment, which she co-founded with actor Morgan Freeman. Early life McCreary grew up in Antioch, California. She graduated from Antioch High ...
are on the production team because their Revelations Entertainment previously owned the rights. Alcon co-CEOs
Broderick Johnson Broderick Johnson is the co-founder and co-CEO of Alcon Entertainment Alcon Entertainment, LLC is an American indie film and television production company, founded in 1997 by film producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Since its ...
and
Andrew Kosove Andrew A. Kosove is an American film and television producer who has been a producer or executive producer on 35 films. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the film '' The Blind Side''. Alongside his producing partner, Broderick Johnson, ...
will produce. As of February 2024, Villeneuve was in the process of writing the script.


Non-fictional aspects

Clarke created the space study program which detects Rama, Project Spaceguard, as a method of identifying
near-Earth objects A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit aro ...
on Earth-impact
trajectories A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete traje ...
; in the novel it was initiated in 2077. A real project named
Spaceguard The term Spaceguard loosely refers to a number of efforts to discover, catalogue, and study near-Earth objects (NEO), especially those that may impact Earth ( potentially hazardous objects). Asteroids are discovered by telescopes which repeated ...
was initiated in 1992, named after Clarke's fictional project and "with the permission and encouragement of Clarke". After interest in the dangers of asteroid strikes was heightened by a series of Hollywood
disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, offensive (military), military/terrorism, terrorist att ...
s, the United States Congress gave NASA authorisation and funding to support Spaceguard. By 2017, there were a number of different efforts to detect potentially dangerous asteroids. On 19 October 2017 an incoming interstellar object was discovered by
Pan-STARRS The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS1; List of observatory codes, obs. code: IAU code#F51, F51 and Pan-STARRS2 obs. code: IAU code#F52, F52) located at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, US, consists of astronomical ...
, a system similar to Spaceguard. Like Rama, the object had an unusually elongated shape. Before the official Hawaiian name
ʻOumuamua Oumuamua is the first confirmed interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. Naming of comets#Current system, Formally designated 1I/2017 U1, it was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakalā O ...
was selected by the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
, a popular choice was ''Rama''.


See also

* O'Neill cylinder * McKendree cylinder *
Generation starship A generation ship, generation starship or world ship, is a hypothetical type of interstellar ark starship that travels at sub-speed of light, light speed. Since such a ship might require hundreds to thousands of years to reach nearby stars, the o ...


References


External links

* *
''Rendezvous with Rama''
at Worlds Without End {{DEFAULTSORT:Rendezvous With Rama
Rama series ''Rendezvous with Rama'' is a 1973 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. Set in the 2130s, the story involves a McKendree cylinder, cylindrical alien starship that enters the Solar System. The story is told from the point o ...
1973 British novels 1973 science fiction novels Biorobotics in fiction British science fiction novels Hard science fiction Hugo Award for Best Novel–winning works Novels about impact events John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel–winning works Large Magellanic Cloud in fiction Nebula Award for Best Novel–winning works Novels about extraterrestrial life Novels by Arthur C. Clarke Novels set in the 2130s Space exploration novels Fiction about trans-Neptunian objects Victor Gollancz Ltd books Fiction about megastructures Fiction about xenoarchaeology Locus Award–winning works