Rama Revealed

Plot summary

The narrative continues directly after The Garden of Rama, following Nicole Wakefield's escape from captivity. Humans have encountered two alien species: the octospiders and the myrmicats.

The octospiders were originally simple but were transformed into biological wizards through genetic enhancements after contact with a space-faring species, eventually forming a utopia. The myrmicats, named by Richard Wakefield from the Greek word for ant and the English word cat, are a heteromorphic species whose final form is a sentient mesh that interfaces with human brains via body fibers, entering symbiosis with an avian species. Through this connection, Richard learns of a threat from violent colonists and leaves with myrmicat eggs for preservation.

As the human colony deteriorates, Nicole's family escapes to the region called New York and reunites with Richard. Colony police pursue them, forcing a flight to the octospider city. The human leader bombs the octospider city under a false pretext, and the octospiders retaliate. Rama's controlling intelligence intervenes, sending all humans into hibernation until the journey's end, while the surviving myrmicats continue their daily life.

The Rama spacecraft reaches a Node, a huge tetrahedron near Tau Ceti, designed to study intelligent spacefaring life. Humans are split into two groups based on xenophobia; one group stays at the Node for study, while xenophobes are segregated from aliens. Before dying of old age, Nicole accesses Raman technology and gains universal insights.