Rendezvous with Rama
Author	Arthur C. Clarke
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Rama series
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication date	1972
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-553-28789-9
Followed by	Rama II

Rendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1972. Set in the 22nd century, the story involves a thirty-mile-long cylindrical alien starship that passes through Earth's solar system. 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. Rama book cover [1] This image is a book cover. ... Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, Sri Lankabhimanya (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British (lived in Sri Lanka since 1956) science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which led also to... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Rendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1972. ... Some notable science fiction novels, in alphabetical order by title: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke 334 by Thomas M. Disch An Age by Brian Aldiss The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Harcourt Trade Publishers is a U.S. publishing firm, and one of the worlds largest publishers of textbooks. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN redirects here. ... Rama II is a novel by Gentry Lee and Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1989. ... Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, Sri Lankabhimanya (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British (lived in Sri Lanka since 1956) science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which led also to... See also: 1971 in literature, other events of 1972, 1973 in literature, list of years in literature. ... One of the fictional ships called the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, one of the most famous fictional starships. ... This article is about the Solar System. ...

This novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards upon its release, and is widely regarded as one of the cornerstones in Clarke's bibliography. It is considered a science fiction classic, and is particularly seen as a key hard science fiction text. The 2005 Hugo Award with base designed by Deb Kosiba. ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years (see rolling eligibility below). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. ...

Plot summary

The "Rama" of the title is the starship, which is initially mistaken for an asteroid and named after the Hindu deity Rama. (By the 22nd century, we are told, scientists have run out of Greek and Roman mythological figures to name astronomical bodies after.) Asteroid 31/439 is detected by astronomers in the year 2131 while still outside the orbit of Jupiter. Analysis of its trajectory reveals that it it is moving very quickly (100 000 km/h) and in fact comes from interstellar space. Rama apparently comes from a nearby variable star which it left 200,000 years ago. Even more remarkable is its extremely rapid 4 minute rotation period and relatively large size. Rama's artificial origin is confirmed by an unmanned space probe — "SITA" — launched from the Mars moon Phobos which makes a rapid 200 000 km/h flyby after a seven week voyage. The photographic images show a cylindrical object 16 kilometres wide and 50 kilometres long. For other uses, see Asteroid (disambiguation). ... Rama ( in IAST, in DevanāgarÄ«) or Ramachandra is a legendary or historical king of ancient India. ... A head of Minerva found in the ruins of the Roman baths in Bath Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... For other uses, see Jupiter (disambiguation). ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed. ... In Greek mythology, Phobos is one of the sons of Ares (Mars) and Aphrodite (Venus). ...

A quick decision is made to launch the manned solar survey vessel "Endeavour" towards Rama, since it happens to be in the correct position and the necessary additional rocket propellant can be transferred from three other nearby vessels. But the plan is only barely feasible since Rama is rapidly approaching the inner solar system. Rama will leave the solar system forever after passing less than 20 million kilometres from the Sun. Endeavour nonetheless manages to rendezvous with Rama one month later, while the giant alien spacecraft already is within Venus orbit. The 20+ crew led by commander Norton manages to enter Rama and explore its vast interior, but the nature and purpose of the starship and its creators remains enigmatic throughout the book. Endeavour is finally forced to leave a few weeks later as Rama moves closer and closer to the Sun. Rama then is flung out of the solar system to places unknown by the slingshot action of the Sun's gravity.

The book was meant to be a stand-alone, although the final sentence of the book hinted that there would be at least two sequels:

And on far-off Earth, Dr. Carlisle Perera had as yet told no one how he had wakened from a restless sleep with the message from his subconscious still echoing in his brain: The Ramans do everything in threes.

Clarke, however, denied that this sentence was meant to hint at the continuity of the story — according to his foreword in the book's sequel, it was just a good way to end the book, and was added during a final revision.

Design and geography of Rama

Main article: Rama (spacecraft)

A 3D artist's impression of the interior of Rama.

Interior view of an O'Neill cylinder showing alternating land and window stripes

Rama contains a body of water, the Cylindrical Sea, which wraps around the cylindrical interior "surface" of Rama about halfway between the ends. In the centre of the Cylindrical Sea is an island of mysterious purpose, named 'New York' by the astronauts due to its tall towers and visual similarity to Manhattan. The Sea divides Rama into Northern and Southern Hemicylinders; beyond these are the North and South Poles, which are circular walls capping the interior space. The North Pole contains Rama's airlocks; the South Pole contains its drive systems. Rama is a mysterious extraterrestrial vessel that is the subject and setting of the science fiction novel Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, and the later sequel trilogy by Clarke and Gentry Lee: Rama II, Garden of Rama, and Rama Revealed. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1884x1479, 1034 KB) Color-corrected version of Image:Spacecolony3. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1884x1479, 1034 KB) Color-corrected version of Image:Spacecolony3. ... A pair of ONeill cylinders The ONeill cylinder is a space habitat design proposed by physicist Gerard K. ONeill in his book, The High Frontier. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ...

Rama is, in design, similar to an O'Neill habitat, with a large cylindrical interior that rotates to provide approximately one g of artificial gravity. Unlike most O'Neill habitat designs, however, Rama is equipped with several space drives, giving it maneuvering capability. A pair of ONeill cylinders The ONeill cylinder is a space habitat design proposed by Gerard K. ONeill in his book The High Frontier. ... The term g force or gee force refers to the symbol g, the force of acceleration due to gravity at the earths surface. ... Artificial gravity is a simulation of gravity in outer space or free-fall. ... A remote camera captures a close-up view of a Space Shuttle Main Engine during a test firing at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi Spacecraft propulsion is used to change the velocity of spacecraft and artificial satellites, or in short, to provide delta-v. ...

Other collections of "buildings" are found on the "surface", arbitrarily named Rome, Peking, Paris, Moscow, London, and Tokyo. For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Peking redirects here. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ...

Project Spaceguard

The initial search program that detects Rama in the first two chapters of the book, Project Spaceguard, is a program to detect near-Earth objects on Earth-impact trajectories. It was initiated after a fictional disastrous asteroid strikes Italy on September 11, 2077, destroying Padua and Verona and sinking Venice. A real Spaceguard project, named after the project in Rendezvous, was initiated some years later. After interest in the dangers of asteroid strikes was heightened by a series of Hollywood disaster films, the United States Congress gave NASA authorization and funding to support Spaceguard. Near-Earth objects (NEO) are asteroids, comets and large meteoroids whose orbit intersects Earths orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger. ... In ordinary language, a trajectory is the path followed by a body moving through space, for instance, the path taken by a falling body or the orbit of a planet. ... Padua, Italy, (Italian: IPA: , Latin: Patavium, Venetian: ) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, the economic and communications hub of the region. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... The term Spaceguard loosely refers to a number of efforts to discover and study near-Earth objects (NEO). ... ... With the release of The Poseidon Adventure (1972), the Disaster film officially became a movie-going craze. ...

Books in the series

Facing pressure, Clarke paired up with Gentry Lee for the remainder of the series. Lee did the actual writing, while Clarke read and made editing suggestions.^[1] The focus and style of the last three novels are quite different from those of the original with an increased emphasis on characterization and more 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. Gentry Lee is a NASA engineer and science fiction writer. ... Characterization is the process of conveying information about characters in fiction or conversation. ...

• Rendezvous with Rama (1972) ISBN 978-0-553-28789-9
• Rama II (1989) ISBN 978-0-553-28658-8
• The Garden of Rama (1991) ISBN 978-0-553-29817-8
• Rama Revealed (1993) ISBN 978-0-553-56947-6

Gentry Lee also wrote two further novels set in the same Rama Universe. See also: 1971 in literature, other events of 1972, 1973 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Rama II is a novel by Gentry Lee and Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1989. ... See also: 1988 in literature, other events of 1989, 1990 in literature, list of years in literature. ... The Garden of Rama (1991) is a novel by Gentry Lee and Arthur C. Clarke. ... See also: 1990 in literature, other events of 1991, 1992 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Rama Revealed (1993) is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. ... See also: 1992 in literature, other events of 1993, 1994 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Gentry Lee is a NASA engineer and science fiction writer. ...

• Bright Messengers (1995)
• Double Full Moon Night (1999)

The year 1995 in literature involved some significant events and new books. ... See also: 1998 in literature, other events of 1999, 2000 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

In the early 2000s, actor Morgan Freeman expressed his desire to produce a film based on Rendezvous with Rama. After a drawn-out development process — which Freeman states has been due to difficulties in procuring funding^[2] — it now appears this will indeed be happening. IMDb, as of August 2007, upgraded the status of the project to "announced" with an estimated release date in 2009.^[3] The film is to be produced by Freeman's production company, Revelations Entertainment. David Fincher stated in a December 31st, 2007 interview that he is still attached to direct.^[4] Dawsons Creek director, see Morgan J. Freeman. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) [1] is an online database of information about actors, movies, television shows, television stars and video games. ... August 2007 is the eighth month of that year. ... Revelations Entertainment is an independent movie production company founded by actor Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary in 1997. ... David Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director and music video director known for his dark and stylish films, particularly Fight Club and Se7en. ...

The novel is also known to have influenced the movies Alien and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.^[4] This article is about the first film in a series. ... Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Paramount Pictures, 1979; see also 1979 in film) is the first feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series and is released on Friday, December 7. ...

Other media

A graphic adventure computer game with a text parser based on the book was made in 1984 by Telarium (formerly known as Trillium) and exported to systems such as the Apple II and 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. 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. Adventure is a genre of video game typified by exploration, puzzle-solving, interaction with game characters, and a focus on narrative rather than reflex-based challenges. ... In an Adventure game, a text parser takes typed input (a command) from the player and simplifies it to something the game can understand. ... Project Visitor has been recognized as the first massively multiplayer online game with both first-person shooter and real-time strategy elements. ...

Sierra Entertainment created RAMA in 1996 as a point and click adventure game in the style of Myst. Along with highly detailed graphics, Arthur C. Clarke also appeared in the game as the guide for the player. This game also featured characters from the sequel book Rama II. Sierra Entertainment is an American computer game developer and publisher headquartered in Los Angeles, California. ... Rama ( in IAST, in Devanāgarī) or Ramachandra is a legendary or historical king of ancient India. ... This article is about the Myst franchise. ...

Awards and nominations

The novel was awarded the following soon after publication

• Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1974
• Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973
• Jupiter Award for Best Novel in 1974

The 2005 Hugo Award with base designed by Deb Kosiba. ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years (see rolling eligibility below). ... The Jupiters were an annual award presented to science fiction writing infrequently between 1974 and 1978. ...

References