Will nodded. “No disagreement, Hersh. But don't you find it curious that all the civilizations we found are or were at about the same age, give or take a few hundred to a few thousand years? No K-2’s or anything at that level? Don't you wonder why that is?”
“Not necessarily. The local stars are all of similar type, similar age, with similar metallicity. There is really only a billion year or so window when life can develop, so-”
“I know where you're going, but I'm talking about a window of a few thousand years. That's a lot more coincidental, and nothing more advanced out to as far as we can see.”
“The Dyson dilemma?”
“Will, there's a simple solution to that. With Casimir power sources, civilizations don't have to cluster around their suns.”
“Except the Others, who had a biological imperative.”
“Yeah yeah, but still. Nothing. You don't think we’re the pinnacle of knowledge, do you?”
I laughed. “No, of course not! But it's a pyramid, by necessity. The most advanced civilizations at the top will be the smallest group.”
“Not good enough,” Will shook his head. “At least I don't think so. There’s something more at play.”
“But there’s no conflict, Hersh. your motivation and minor compatible. Either way, we both want to get humanity more spread out, and while it's laudable that you're going to found a colony or two on the way out, this is still very much a one-way trip for you too, isn't it?”
“Look, I can’t speak for Phineas, or Ick and Day, or any of the other Bobs. But for me, the problem is that I can't shake myself loose. You know why I'm still our rep in the UFS?”
I laughed. “Because everyone knows if no one else volunteers you’ll keep doing it.”
Will chuckled, a little ruefully. “I didn’t think it was that obvious, but yes, I have this outsized sense of duty. It's my replicative drift, I guess. But they can't expect me to continue to carry it if I'm not around.”
“Wow.” I shook my head and thought for a moment. “To be honest, I'm coming around to the idea that this may be isn’t some kind of sinister urge taking us over. Bob-1 was looking forward to the adventure when he left Sol that first time. I distinctly remember the feeling. Maybe this is what we've all always wanted, but have gotten distracted out of.”
“Not all of us. I doubt you could get Howard to budge, or the Gamers, or Bill for that matter. Yes, they found something else to dedicate themselves to. Original Bob had a strong sense of responsibility as well. You're not that far removed in that way, Will. But in the absence of anything to tie us to one spot, I guess there’s a little wanderlust still in all of us.”
“I agree,” Will replied. “But I don't think it's strictly either/or. Guilt can do funny things to people.”
I nodded. We settled into a mutual silence for a few mils, although I couldn't decide if it was the awkward or companionable variety.
Neil popped in at that moment. “Will! Long time no see! Come to inspect our research?”
Will look surprised, and I controlled the urge to roll my eyes. I couldn't suppress a low growl, though.
“Research?”
I waved a hand in dismissal. “Well, we do have this large ship full of raw material, and a lot of time on our hands…”
“I hadn't heard anything.”
“We haven't been posting any papers,” I said. “Neither of us is quite sure why. The best we can come up with is that we’re not sure if we want this stuff to be public yet.”
“Oh, now you've really got me curious,” Will said.
I shot Neil a glare, which he studiously ignored. “We'd appreciate it if you'd keep it quiet until we feel ready to do a reveal.”
I sent Will a guest Manny address, then closed my virt session and entered my personal Manny.
I pulled myself out of the Manny pod. Beside me, Neil was just sitting up. On the other side of them, Will was peering over the edge of the guest Manny's pod.
“This is the Bellerophon's control cavern,” I said to Will, gesturing around us.
“You've pressurized it?” he replied.
“Just the control cavern. The rest of the ship is still in vacuum. We have to use the airlock if we want to go anywhere else, but that's a minor inconvenience.”
I lifted off from the pod and hovered a few feet away.
Will's eyebrows rose on his head. “You're uh… you appear to be flying. In control.”
I grinned at him. “These Mannies have small SURGE drives. Based on the mover plate technology. Very small. Good for maybe a 10th g, and not sustainable over planetary distances. At least not yet, but they're perfect for moving around in freefall.”
I demonstrated by doing a few loops, then returning to my original position. Will grinned, then got that slightly distracted look Manny operators get when they're concentrating on internal systems. Then he shot out of his pod with a whoop, did some barrel rolls, and swooped over to us.
“How is this something you'd be reluctant to share? This is awesome!”
Neil replied before I could. “This isn’t what we’re talking about, Will. This is a minor item we implemented for convenience on the Bellerophon. Until we get the SURGE power up a lot higher, it's not useful for anything but freefall maneuvering. And I can't think of any situation where Mannies are used right now where this would be useful. Except here, of course.”
“I’d bet every Bob in existence would want a turn, though,” Will said, still slowly doing loops. “Okay, let's see what you consider to be more than a minor item.”
I gestured him to follow and headed over to a corner of the cavern, where we set up our workshop. Walls, cables, pillars, and stanchions had been welded to the deck in whatever random location we'd needed them at the time. Looking at it through fresh eyes, I felt a twinge of embarrassment. It did look
