I tapped on one of the windows. It wasn't glass. possibly transparent aluminum or something similar, but that would be one reason for the lack of deterioration. Popped and shattered glass windows one of the first ways in for rampant nature. I carried on with my wanderings, as Bridget's voice continue to record her findings. It brought back my ongoing argument with Bill about how aliens would think and behave. Granted, an energy being or silicon entity would have a different outlook on life, but a land animal with the concept of individuality could only do things so many different ways. Desks were flat surfaces for working. Phones were devices for communicating with others at a distance. Doors separated spaces. Lights lit spaces. People, or whatever, needed a place to eat and a place to eliminate waste. I snickered. Maybe a race based on horses would have a different take on that last item. Or cows. I glanced down, looking for cow pies of the equivalent. Nope.
“Bob. Done?” came Bridget's call. I hurried back to where it left her to find her packing up her equipment. On the desk was… I looked away quickly. Best not. I made a mental note to only peruse the text of her final report.
She saw my reaction and gave me a quick smile, as quickly gone. “There weren't any surprises in the autopsy. Our deep SUDDAR scans really did catch pretty much everything important about the Heaven’s River inhabitants. I found the remains of a large viral load in the tissues, though. I’ve taken detailed scans and forwarded them to the Skippies. They tell me they can run a simulation if we get enough cellular and DNA detail. It’ll tell us what we have.”
“How long?”
“Day or two, they say.”
“Great. Meanwhile, we found a good place to park the cargo drone when no one is running these androids, unless you have some more spots you want to check out.”
Bridget shook her head. “Nah. Most of our surveys can be visual and SUDDAR. The Skippies are running drones in a search pattern of their own design. They intend to eventually map the entire planet’s infrastructure in detail, and put up a virtual globe.”
“Huh. They think big.”
“But it’s all intellectual exercises. They are deliberately avoiding anything that involves contact with biologicals, or even to a lesser extent, Bobs. I had a talk Hugh. While we were agreeing on details for analyzing the results of this outing. He’s a nice guy, not a jerk in any way. But, kind of, I don’t know, disinterested? Or distracted? As if were keeping him from his video games, but he's too polite point it out.”
I nodded and sighed. “Yeah Bridget, you're not the first person to say that. We are living in an increasingly non-Bob universe.”
A text came in from Bill. “You’ll want to test the Mannies in water as well.”
“Ah. Fair enough.”
The envelope indicated it had gone to Bridget as well. She made a vague ‘out there’ gesture. “Shall we take a dip in the canal?”
We looked down at the water. Given what I'd seen of the rest of the city, I was sure it would've been kept clean before. Now it had an oily surface sheen, and far too much flotsam. Although, no actual trash. Still, it would do for testing. And it wasn't like we can actually catch something.
I grinned at Bridget, called “last one in,” and dove into the water.
I heard a splash behind me. There was a flicker is nictitating membranes covered my eyes, adjusting for the different refractive index. My vision was surprisingly good, considering the state of the water. And the freedom! The Manny OS took care of the movement and reflexes, and I found myself swimming like an otter, curling and undulating through the water.
A shape shot past me and slapped me on the head. I realized that Bridget had just laid down a challenge. I accelerated after her and she did a right-angle turn heading straight down. She whipped around a submerged boat and pulled an abrupt reverse, speeding by me in the opposite direction.
“Nice try, but no cigar.”
I just barely caught her tail with my front paw, but it was enough for tag. She turned and took up the chase. We surfaced several times for air, even though the Mannies didn't really need it. The androids were designed to mimic the real thing, and that included an internal calculator to track when we should be running out of oxygen. We could ignore it, but in Quinlan company that would likely attract unwelcome attention.
Finally, Bridget shot out of the water and landed on her feet, several yards from the edge of the canal, in a perfect penguin exit. I followed, staggering slightly as I landed.
“Bob doesn't quite stick the landing!” she exclaimed. “The judges deduct half a point.”
“Half a point?! I was robbed!” I responded, laughing.
We both sat down at the same time, curling ourselves on the dead non-grass.
“That was awesome,” Bridget said. “It's almost like flying. Better, in some ways, and I know flying.”
“True, you've done enough of it. I think you'll the record for most species emulated, don't you?”
She smiled at me. “I think Howard might actually have me by a couple. I’ll have to check. But anyway, this will be my first aquatic effort. Serious long-term one, I mean. The test with the dolphins on Poseidon was, uh… uh…”
She glared at me, knowing what was coming, and I said deadpan, “Dry run.”
“I so hate that I see those coming now,” she started to lick her fur, then stopped with a jerk. “Oh god that's gross.”
“Part of the Quinlan persona, Bridget,” I said, resisting the urge
