Rendezvous with Rama, society and question of origins

In Rendezvous with Rama, the society has evolved a lot for more freedom. The main character, the commander Norton, has two wifes - that know each other - on two different planets, whereas some woman crew is part of a trio, with two men. So, when the commander wants to send a message to his families, he begins by saying generic things, that can apply to both families (using "son" or "love" instead of first names). Then he adds a specific part for each family.

 Moreover, the space crews can't have children naturaly (for health reasons : space travel increases risks of mutations and so of genetic disease) so they have to use artificial insemination. But there is rules and they can't have children whenever they want : they need an authorisation. At the end of the book, Norton earns the right to have one children more, because of his services to the government.

But Rendezvous with Rama is a lot less a book about society than about how we feel in front of unknown, and about the question of origins. In front of Rama, humans show a lot of reactions. Most of them are amazed and curious. But these two reactions can have opposite consequences : discovering new things comes often at a price : they have to dissect the biots to understand them, but this isn't very respectful - they see themselves as guests on Rama.

There are also other reactions, those of fear and hope. Some of them see it as a divine sign, whereas the others think it is a dangerous object, that's why they want to destroy it. So during all the novel, the characters ask themsleves what is the purpose of Rama and its link with the solar system. But at the end, Rama just vanishes. This shows that Rama wasn't aimed at the solar system at all, and gives a humility lesson to human kind.