Loading an rda file gives error: embedded nul in string

Question

I have an rda file which I am trying to load in R. I am getting the following error:

Error in load("filename.rda") : 
  embedded nul in string: '799654576857\0\0\0\020\0\0\0\001\0\004\0\t\0\0\0!Gram biomass per 100 sq'.

I understand the nature of the problem. There a string that R fails to parse, but I cannot figure out a solution.