Rendezvous with tomorrow

Rendezvous with Rama

Arthur C. Clarke

[ Published by Orient Books]

It is a science fiction.

By the year 2130, a very large, almost like the Jupiter a metal cylindrical alien object is detected which is coming towards the Sun. it is spinning at its axis slowly. It was christened as 'Rama' by humans. A spacecraft, named 'Endeavour' is sent to it under the leadership of Captain Norton. After landing near its axis, Norton with his deputy goes on exploring it. They find three airlock system through which they may go inside it. After airlocking these locks they find three staircases going upward or downward as it is. But inside there is no light. Descending further through those staircases they find a cylindrical sea which is frozen. Moreover, they find five clusters of tall building like structures. But the buildings have no doors or windows or any system of entrance. Suddenly, six tube like things begin to act as brilliant sun. naturally, the interior of Rama begin to warm and air expands, so a cyclone is raised. Meanwhile the ice of the sea is melted and the waves are seen in the sea. The exploring party cannot go beyond the sea which they named South Pole. Another young crew solved that problem by going there alone on a sort of flying bike. On his return journey he is gripped by a strong electrical wind which causes the collapse of his flying bike. So he crashlands. There he is first encountered with the living thing. A crab like animal, indeed far larger which has no mouth and which chopped his flying machine and dropped in into the sea. Ultimately he is rescued with the help of a raft. Meanwhile, the whole Rama is burst with several types of creatures----which are later recognized , not the real creature but 'biot', programmed to execute some particular function.

On the other hand, inhabitants of Mercury send a missile towards Rama, fearing that it would come near their planet. Thinking that this is unlikely to happen, a certain crew defused the bomb taking a great risk. So far Norton and his crew do not meet any real 'Ramans'. And Rama is approaching the Sun very fast. Suddenly a change of atmosphere is felt inside Rama. Every biots jump into the sea and are decomposed as it appears. Therefore Norton and his crew have to leave it quickly. It increases its spin and changes its orbit and is seen approaching the Sun directly. Somedays later it is observed that it goes inside the Sun, takes its energy and mass and then goes to its destiny. It seems, it is using the Sun merely as a refuelling station.

So, what is inside Rama is known, but wherefrom does it come or what is its purpose is not known yet.

It is a very remarkable, mind-boggling science fiction. The most notable thing about it is its sense of suspense and the you-never-know-what-happen-next type of attitude. Once you set to read it you cannot put it down help finishing it. And the most remarkable thing about it is based very much on some scientific theory which gives it a surrealistic impression. You will always think that this type of thing can quite plausibly happen. This is a superb fiction in its finest term.

Brighton Rock By Graham Greene: A Thriller with a Difference

Brighton Rock

Graham Greene

[ Published by Penguin (Fiction)

ISBN: 0 14 000 4424]

This book is set in the form of a thriller.

The protagonist of this novel is Pinkie, a boy gangster in the pre-war Brighton underworld., a Catholic, dedicated to evil and damnation. He is often referred to in the book as the Boy. He inherited the gang from Kite after his death. Spicer, Cubbit and Dallow are some of his close friends. They first got suspicious about a reporter, Hale, who was then at Brighton on a promotional activity for his newspaper. From the very first moment Hale also got the intuition that he was going to be murdered. In order to save his life he badly wanted company. At last Ida Arnold, a lady with big bosom agreed to give him company. But Hale's sense of self-respect hold him to reveal the real cause for being panicked to Ida. The boys followed him everywhere. At a moment, when Ida went to ladies' room he was led to some place and ultimately became dead out of terror. The police thought his death natural. But Ida did not take this for granted. She in the process realized that Pinkie was the real cause of Hale's death. She was prepared to do anything to avenge her friend's death. She began her own investigation. The only witness were Rose, innocent Catholic girl of sixteen, working as waitress in a restaurant and Spicer. Pinkie got panicked by this investigation. He pushed Spicer from the staircase and made him dead. He determined to marry the young girl Rose because a wife, cannot give evidence against her husband. On the other hand Pinkie was losing ground Collonec, another Don, who is rich and also powerful. Ida was also closing in. He married Rose. She was devoted to him to the extreme. Cubbit left him and told in detail about the murder of Hale to Ida. Pinkie became desperate. He even planned to murder Rose. He went far away from the town with Rose. He made her write a suicide note and thrust a revolver into her hands for this purpose. At the last moment Ida intervened. Rose was saved. But Pinkie put Vitriol into his face to die. This ends the process of avenging Hale's death. But Rose did not repent for marrying him, she rather wished to be damned as well. At last she left with hope of bearing Pinkie's child who would eventually pray for the sin of his father.

The sense of suspense prevents us from leaving the book unread for long. Greene's portryal of the Brighton scene made us see the scene. He left no detail. This blending of suspense with Virginia Woolf like minute detail made it a classic work.