We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

Book 3: Chapter 74: Pav Announcement

Book 3: Chapter 74: Pav Announcement

Jacques

April 2257

HIP 84051

The cargo doors opened and I stepped out. Not surprisingly, a squad of Pav militia awaited me, weapons held at ready. I sighed and shook my head. It was entirely possible that the Pav military would never warm to the Bobs.

I couldn’t really blame them, of course. Every interaction reminded them of the technological gulf between us, and of their complete helplessness if we ever started making demands. Not a comfortable situation for a military mind.

I walked up to the group, being careful not to appear aggressive. They probably wouldn’t haul off and shoot me, just because, but why take chances?

The squad leader took a half step forward, and I addressed him. “Hazjiar is expecting me.”

The sergeant, or whatever equivalent, looked like he wanted to frisk me. Or maybe handcuff me, or just give me a good beating. But I was obviously not carrying anything of a technical nature, so he settled for glaring at me and showing his teeth for a moment.

I gave him a close-lipped smile in return and looked meaningfully in the direction of Hazjiar’s house.

This whole performance could have gone on for a few more minutes, if Hazjiar hadn’t picked that moment to walk out onto her porch. She made a gesture to the soldiers, and they motioned to me with their weapons.

I settled into a chair, bobbed my head to Hazjiar, and waited for her to speak.

I popped into PRP. The Pav Reclamation Project had a dedicated VR, hosted in Bill’s Moot station. I looked around the room; a half-dozen Bobs watched video windows or operated drones on the planet’s surface. Ferb stood at the edge of the room, watching the activity.

“Hey, Ferb.” I walked over to join him. “How’s it going?”

“Slow but steady, Jacques. We’ve been able to produce at least a few of everything that we have samples for. Genetic diversity may be an issue for a while, but we should be able to bring back about seventy-five percent of the planet’s ecosystems, eventually.”

I nodded, watching a few of the video windows. “And the other thing?”

Ferb motioned toward a whiteboard with a number of items listed. “We’ve found some good candidate planetoids in nearby systems. Bill’s asteroid-movers will handle them easily.” ꭆaΝŎbЕṨ

I nodded, satisfied. “So, eventually we’ll be able to offer the Pav their home system back. With a supply of metals.”

“Maybe a few decades, yet, buddy, but yeah. That’ll be good.”

We watched the activity in the room, enjoying the moment. One less thing to feel guilty about.