“Hey Will, what have you got here?”
Will smiled and motioned to the miscellany of potted plants and plants in earthen rose. “Experimental garden. I’ve got Terran plants and native plants here and I'm testing for compatibility. We don't want any surprises when we start full on agriculture.”
I nodded slowly. “It's interesting that original Bob wasn't much of a gardener, but both you and Bill have turned into real plant specialists.”
“Terraforming puts a whole ‘nother spin on the problem, bud.” Will motioned toward a set of Adirondack chairs near the edge of the garden area. I sat and took a moment to admire the view. Will had picked a location for his home that overlooked a huge lake surrounded by low mountains. The tree line, or whatever it was, only extended about halfway up the distant slopes, probably due to the still-too-thin atmosphere.
Will followed my gaze and guessed the direction of my thoughts. “The tree line is moving up the slope by several feet per year right now, and it's accelerating. By the time it stabilizes, you'll be able to see plant life all the way to the top of these mountains. And by that point, humans will be living here without having to wear supplemental masks or live under a dome.”
We were silent for a few seconds while I admired the scenery. Will seem to be content with whatever pace I set.
Finally, I turned to him. “Last time I was here, we were talking about Starfleet. Mostly. But there’s Starfleet, the Borg, the Gamers, the Skippies…”
“And those are just the ones that have nicknames,” Will replied. “The Bobiverse is going in a lot of different directions, Bob. Literally and metaphorically. A lot of replicants have finally decided to take the Von Neumann probe job description seriously. For instance, we've actually got a couple of thousand Bobs that are actively heading away from human space. Some are stopping and building stations some are just accelerating.”
“Yeah.” I examined my hands. “It's just that have a bad feeling. The Bobiverse was a post-scarcity society for a while, and utopia. At least for most of us. But what happens to a post-scarcity society when part of the society wants power over the rest of that society?”
“I think you end up either a dystopia, or with two societies.”
“And the transition may or may not be orderly and peaceful.”
Will sighed. “Haven’t got an answer for you, bud. We’re just going to have to wait and see how far Starfleet is willing to push.”
I sat back and crossed my arms, glaring at the scenery without seeing it. It appeared utopia was an unstable state.
25. Trouble Follows
Bob
July 2334
Elbow
Another day, another town. Touring with a band could be so boring. According to Garfield anyway. He seemed to be on a rock star metaphor for some reason. We’d floated for a full day and eventually arrived at the town of Elbow. Yeah, Elbow. Didn't seem to be short for anything either. It was situated in a bend in the river though, so maybe that? We pulled our dripping butts up onto the dock and shook off - Quinlans did something very similar to dogs, to shed water - and moseyed into town.
Elbow seem to be larger than average, with a robust performing arts subculture. Or maybe there was a festival on. It seemed like every third person was either carrying a musical instrument or dressed up like a minstrel. Or maybe a clown. It could be hard to tell.
We saw at least two stages, with people performing on them, and one children's theater with a Muppets kind of a thing going on. No Kermit, that would've been freaky. But the lead character did have a Fozzie-ish kind of look. I stopped to watch and got an elbow in the ribs from Bridget.
Grumbling, I rejoined the group. Bridget button-holed a couple of people and asked about a library. The second individual gave us an unnerving once over before responding with directions.
“That was odd,” Bill said, as we continued on. “Are we underdressed or something?”
I looked down at my naked save-or-fur body. “Uh…” I grinned at the answering chuckle. “But I'm glad it's not just me that thought it was odd.”
We weren't in any particular hurry, now that Bridget had her goal in sight, so to speak, so we were able to stop and watch the shows. I asked a few questions and confirmed that there was in fact an annual festival going on. Something local. And I never got the gist of the reason for the celebration, but any reason for a party is a good reason.
The singing was surprisingly good. For all their resemblance to members of the weasel and rodent families, Quinlans had amazingly good voices and understood harmony. As for their dancing, ah… the less said the better. When your legs are that short you, can't really soar. I tried to be cosmopolitan and open-minded and appreciate the effort.
Nope, that was just a bridge too far.
Eventually the festivities petered out as we moved from the entertainment district into what I assumed must be the business district. And a quite deserted district at that, since everyone was probably back of the party.
“Say, guys,” Garfield said, as we turned the corner. “Um, I'm looking down that block,” he pointed, “and we've been there. I just did a mapping in my head, and that guy gave is really long-way-around directions. My Spidey Sense is jumping up and down and waving its arms right now.”
I turned, and
