My First Meeting with Rama 47"Why so far away from civilization? This is the middle
of nowhere."
"There are several reasons." She looked at me for a
moment. "You're still puzzled and confused, aren't you,
Chacho?" she said softly.
"No shit, Sherlock. You're very observant, aren't
you," I said, feeling somewhat annoyed by the way she
could penetrate my thoughts and feelings.
Sensing my agitation, she said, soothingly, 'Td like
you to be relaxed. After aiL you're been taking all this
very well. And even if you don't believe a word of what
I'm saying, I'd still like to tell you more. I'm quite serious.
And remember you asked me to tell you the truth, and
nothing but. There's no reason why you should feel the
least bit uncomfortable. Now, I'll explain to you why we
choose to be in these mountains."
"Yes, I'm very curious about your preference for the
wilderness rather than city life."
"The location is the most important thing. This place
is inaccessible. Not too many people in their right minds
would come this far looking for flying saucers. You
definitely couldn't walk to this place. Regular planes are
out of the question. In short, only a very specialized kind
of aircraft could navigate around here. A kind of aircraft
not yet known in this world you live in."
She started walking, gesturing me to follow. 'There's
something I'd like to show you. We can't see it from here,
but if you come with me to the top of a hill, we will be
able to see one of the most beautiful sunsets one will
ever view."
We both rode on my bike to the base of a steep hill.
Rama indicated I should stop. We left the bike there and
started climbing. The higher we climbed, the more I
complained. My heart was pounding rapidly, my breath
was short. This altitude wa s tiring me quickly. She
wasn't even winded. Obviously she was in much better