“Well that’s not worrying or anything.”
Hugh grinned at me. “It was inevitable though sooner or later, and it isn't relevant to this project anyway.”
“So why are you helping?”
Now it was Hugh’s turn to shrug. “Honestly, I just think the topopolis is interesting. And we’ve just brought some new neural net designs online which we need to stress test. The information processing requirements on your project will make good test cases, so win-win.”
“Fair enough.” I cocked my head at Hugh, inviting him to continue or volunteer more commentary. However, he seemed to be done.
I gestured to the next person and grimaced. “This is… Locutus.”
“Seriously?” Garfield said in an incredulous tone.
“Hey, I’d have preferred ‘Hugh’, but it appears to be taken,” said Locutus.
I eyed him. His getup was generally Borg-like, but there was a lot more armor than what I remembered from the TNG episodes. I pointed and said, “Are you sure you’ve got the theme right?”
Locutus flexed, moving the shoulder pads. “Steampunk influence. We’re kind of evolving, you know.”
Garfield rolled his eyes. “Oh geeze.”
“And anyway,” I said to the group, “Locutus and company are part of the design team for the Boogen androids. They're going to be working on the low-level stuff first: autonomous systems, muscle placement and control, and so forth. Which also means they'll need some in-close SUDDAR scans of the natives with a lot more detail than we have so far.”
“Action shots would be good too,” Locutus said. “We want to get the proper walking, running, and swimming mechanics. Imagine putting together a beaver mock-up that bounces around like an otter. Probably wouldn't fool anyone.”
My chuckle was echoed around the table. “We can probably get video clips from the spy drones for that side of things, which is good because we've already got a lot of demands on our SUDDAR scanning schedule. Hugh, how are things going with the vibrating windows idea?”
“Not great. There aren't that many locations where conditions are clean enough for us to be able to pick up usable sounds. The snarks appear to be garrulous in large groups, but much less so in smaller groups. It's like they egg each other on. Unfortunately, large groups make it too hard to isolate anything. Plus, it turns out glass isn't as common as we might've expected.”
“Controlled environment,” Bill said. “They aren’t really outdoors, as such. Plus, having a coat of fur would make them less concerned about temperature swings.”
Hugh considered for a moment. “Speculative, but not unreasonable. I took a close look at some scans as well. It looks like they use oiled paper for window coverings. Way easier to make, but totally unsuitable for what we were attempting. All of which means we'll have to depend on spy drones more than expected.”
Locutus held up a hand. “Hey, listen. What would help us a lot is some input from a biologist, especially one with anatomical expertise. I wasn't sure if I should bring it up, but Bridget, uh, it would be handy. I know she's a little skittish around large groups of Bobs, but…”
I sighed. “I’ll talk to her, Locutus. Anything else?”
Will waved his hand. “I have a line on a guy who was an expert on mega structures. I’ll set up an appointment to talk with him.”
“Was?”
“Well, he's dead.”
“I…” I gave Will the side-eye. “Wait. He's a replicant?”
“Yep. Retired to the Vulcan post-life archology in the Omicron2 Eridani system. Apparently, he turned right around and started lecturing at the university again via Manny. So, I have to fit myself into his schedule.”
“Whatever works.” I looked around the room. “Anything else that needs to be covered?”
There were several shakes of heads, but no responses. “Great. I'll call another general meeting if necessary, but for the most part you can all follow your own schedules. Thanks all.”
Within a few milliseconds everyone and popped out, leaving only Bill. With the load off the VR system, I reactivated Jeeves and accepted a coffee. “So, what’s up?”
“Bridget.” Bill hesitated. “Locutus was right to ask about her for consulting, but I want to take it one step further. I'd like to see her on the expedition itself.”
I frowned. “She's got children, Bill. And Howard. I don't know how that would work. She’d have to be away from them for large periods of time.”
“Granted, but they might be able to work something out. Or she might clone.”
“Doubtful.”
“Yeah, I guess. But let's not write off the idea without trying, okay? At least bring it up?”
I nodded. “Will do.”
10. Things are Coming Together
Herschel
September 2333
Interstellar Space
I sat back in my chair, laced my fingers together, and grinned at Neil. “I do love it when a plan comes together.”
“’Plan’ my hairy white butt. We floated an idea.”
“And got bites. It would seem a lot of people on Romulus do not like the political climate.”
“Hardly surprising, Hersch.”
“FAITH never completely went away even if they suffered some, er, PR setbacks.”
“They’re still trying to take over, still trying to drive policy.”
“And still messing things up.”
“Mm-hmm. So, what's the count?”
“Well, someone started a society.” I paused to re-read the email. “Ever Onward, they call it, very high sounding. They have something like 15,000 members.”
“All willing to climb aboard and start a new colony somewhere far away?”
“That's the theory. I'm sure a lot of them are just playing at it, or joining up as a form of protest vote.”
“Are you sure you want to go this way, Hersh?” Neil was frowning, and his tone was more serious than usual.
I decided I should pay attention. “Come on, Neil. We’ve had lots of conversations about the way things have stalled. You’ve agreed with me.”
“Wait, I’ve agreed with you? When did you become the
