“Android tech has been improving steadily, thanks to its popularity, and a lot of feedback from you and Howard.” Bill nodded to Bridget. “I think your current Manny's back on Quilt might be a couple of generations behind the bleeding edge, though.” A Quinlan form materialized beside the generic android schematic. “The latest Mannies no longer contain any metal at all. Circuitry, even the SCUT interface, is all quantum bionics and meta-materials. We’ve going to great lengths to make the density of the internals similar to bio physique, so Manny's are no longer ludicrously heavy for their size. And we've introduced a circulatory system that contains fluid indistinguishable from blood. It acts as lubricant, coolant, and transport for repair nanites. We even have digestive systems that will convert food into, uh… quite believable waste products.”
“Just can't resist the potty jokes, can you,” Will grinned at him.
“You bet, Number Two.”
Garfield, Will, and I laughed, while Bridget rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Still not very mature. Nope.”
“Now, we’re maybe up to the beta version of a Quinlan Manny,” Bill continued. “Translator interface is still in development, and a lot of the reflexes are probably not realistic. Bridget, we’ll need your help to refine that. Space is tight because we are trying to build as much self-repair capability as possible into the units. If something goes wrong in-country, you won't be able to just take it into the shop for repairs.”
Bridget nodded, her gaze glued to the schematic and supporting windows. “How is it with heat dissipation?”
“Uh, yeah, not great, with the fur and the short dumpy profile. A human Manny can run full speed all day. A Quinlan Manny will have to stop and cool down. Although in water, they will probably be okay.”
“Well, we are entering new territory, aren’t we?” Bridget replied with a smile. “I think I'll talk to Marcus though. He’s probably the expert on non-humanoid Mannies these days.”
“Bob, I have a concern.” Bridget said to me a few moments later. The others already popped out, and it seems she'd been waiting to talk to me alone.
“Okay.”
“This expedition is looking like it could be a long-term thing.”
“Well yeah, it's pretty much open-ended. We’re not just doing research, we’re also looking for Bender. Or at least, some indication of what happened to him.”
“We have to stay with our Mannies full time, except when sleeping, right?”
“Yes, but you can pop out during the sleep cycle, or even just frame-jack for a moment to take care of something. I went years on Eden and never had a problem.”
“But you don't have children. My kids are human. I have to deal with them in real time, and on the human schedule. Plus there was that movie with the tall blue aliens…?”
“Avatar?”
“That's it. Remember the main character left his avatar sleeping, and it almost got run over before he can get back to it?”
“Oh, yeah. Kind of a downside, I guess.”
Bridget dropped her gaze, silent for a mil, then sighed. “I guess I have three choices. I can drop out, and I’d never forgive myself. I can simply bite the bullet and go into this full time and do short visits with Howard and the kids when the opportunity presents. Or I can…” She took on a pained expression. “… replicate.”
“Woah. A Bridget clone? You'd be the first non-Bob to do so.”
The pained expression grew cloudier. “Well, I'm not particularly concerned about firsts, not in that way, anyway. The thing is…” She hesitated again.
“Other Bobs?”
“Yes. Especially the later ones. It feels sometimes that there is this expectation that I should replicate and be everyone's girlfriend. It doesn't work that way.”
“I know, Bridget. And I'm sure the other replicants do as well, at least on an intellectual level. But they see you with Howard, and you know, the train of thought is hard to resist.”
“But Howard is not just another Bob. He’s unique. And our experiences together are unique.”
“Yeah, I know. But original Bob, for all his intelligence, was not all that emotionally self-aware, and the model hasn't improved over time.” I cringed inwardly, thinking of some of the things I'd learned the hard way about myself, back on Eden.
“I get it. And I haven't actually been approached or anything. But if I do replicate myself for this expedition, it might be like the floodgates opening in terms of expectation.”
“Understood. I’ll help in any way I can, as Will, Bill, and Garfield. But it's your decision. We’ll accept whatever you decide, and we could probably get Will to take your place with minimal convincing, although he might have an objection to a female Manny, if you wait until we've already built the units.”
“Well, there's a rumor…”
“Still unverified,” I grinned at her. “And they’d have to be reeeealllly late generation. Original Bob had no uncertainties about his gender.”
She laughed. “It would be pretty cool though, to have another woman in here. And she turned somber. “I’ll think about it and let you know, Bob. Sorry for the headache.
I had never been to a moot quite this raucous. Officially, the subject under discussion was the Heaven’s River expedition. In reality, Starfleet had come to the moot loaded for bear. They consistently torpedoed any attempt at discussion with points of order and derails of various kinds. Bill showed a lot more patience than I thought Bob was capable of. I was sure I'd of lost it by now. They were actually wearing something that was close to but not quite TNG command uniforms. I guess they wanted to make the point without being out-and-out laughable. A lot of Bob's seem to think they'd failed on that last bit, judging from the derisive comments. At the moment a red uniformed… ‘officer’, was spouting off.
“You don't know if they purposely decided on this life. That's the point. You're going in, you claim, to see if they’re captives. But you'll do the damage before you know if it's necessary, assuming it's necessary.” Starfleet paused to take
