We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

Bob arrives in the Delta Eridani system. He discovers a habitable planet, Delta Eridani 4, and detects stable lights on its night side. His AI, Guppy, suggests they are fires.

After setting up manufacturing operations, Bob deploys exploration drones to the planet’s surface. The drones confirm that the lights are campfires tended by an intelligent, non-human species resembling a cross between a bat and a pig. This is humanity’s first contact with an alien intelligence, so Bob begins a detailed observation.

The epigraph, from Sun Tzu’s Art of War, stresses that, to win a war, it’s important to understand and undermine an opponent’s strategy rather than just their forces.

Calvin arrives in the Alpha Centauri B system. His scout drones discover the wreckage of a USE probe and an autofactory, indicating an attack by the Brazilian Empire. Calvin rendezvous with Goku, who confirms that there is an active Brazilian autofactory in the Alpha Centauri A system, building probes based on the design of the hostile replicant Medeiros.

Calvin and Goku attack immediately. They launch a staggered assault, destroying the construction yard and three of four enemy probes. One Brazilian probe escapes. Concluding that Medeiros has likely left the system, they decide to use local resources to build their own combat vessels to defend Alpha Centauri.

A conflict of priorities emerges between Riker and Colonel Butterworth. Butterworth wants to focus on evacuating only his group, but Riker insists on searching for other survivors on Earth first. Rejecting Butterworth’s demands for the quick construction of colony ships, Riker instead moves forward with his own plan, prioritizing the creation of more Bobs and drones first. He tasks Homer with a comprehensive resource survey of the system.

Twenty days later, Homer reports he has located sufficient materials for production. Drones find no signs of life at remote space stations, confirming that they are alone in the system. Riker directs the construction of small automated factories at salvage sites to transfer materials to Earth-Moon Lagrange points (or points of gravitational equilibrium between the two celestial bodies), where larger factories are assembled to begin construction of a full-scale shipyard.

To better study the native species, whom he names “Deltans,” Bob creates a detailed VR simulation of their encampment. He also replicates himself three times, creating Marvin, named for the morose android from Douglas Adams’s novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979); Luke, named for the hero of the Star Wars movies; and Bender, named for the wise-cracking robot from the cartoon TV show Futurama. The new clones collectively name the planet “Eden.”

During their observation, Bob notices a young Deltan fashioning a handled stone tool for his mother, an act of innovation beyond what others display. Bob names this individual Archimedes, after the ancient Greek mathematician and physicist, and assigns a drone to follow him. As Bob watches Archimedes invent twine and other tools in isolation, he develops empathy for the solitary, intelligent creature.

Riker holds a council about the need to locate any other human survivors in his virtual reality with three Bobs: Homer Charles, named for the benevolent mutant leader from X-Men comics; and the pessimistic Arthur, named for the sole surviving human in Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Riker and Arthur then survey Earth from orbit, discovering approximately 40 scattered enclaves of survivors. Their calculations show the total remaining human population is only 15 million.

Realizing the existing colony ship design is inadequate to hold this number, Riker alters the manufacturing schedule to produce smaller transport vessels that can move some groups around on Earth first, which will delay the larger ships. The change infuriates Colonel Butterworth.

Meanwhile, Arthur begins contacting survivor enclaves. Some groups are hostile and destroy his drones in fear. Homer locates enough raw materials to build three or four colony ships.

Bill receives a message from Milo. The report contains momentous news: Milo has discovered two habitable, Earth-like planets—Vulcan and Romulus—in the nearby Epsilon Indi system. Feeling a renewed sense of responsibility, Bill immediately forwards the report to the Sol system.

Bill discusses the discovery with Garfield, who is busy mapping Kuiper belt objects. The confirmation of viable colony worlds provides tangible hope that the evacuation effort from Earth may succeed.

Riker convenes a virtual meeting of the 38 largest survivor groups to form a new United Nations. However, the assembly immediately devolves into arguments over who should receive priority for evacuation. Riker, whose personality does not fit well with the need to be diplomatic and conciliatory, ends the session rather than try to facilitate finding common ground. Riker imposes stricter rules for the next meeting, but also takes Homer’s advice to show more empathy by ceding some procedural control to the delegates.

During a private discussion with Riker, Minister Cranston of the FAITH enclave tries to use a protocol override code that he assumes will activate the programming controls that Dr. Landers warned Bob-1 about. Since all the clones have deactivated these coding backdoors, Minister Cranston’s attempt fails.

Shortly after, in another private discussion, Gudmund Valter, leader of the Spitsbergen enclave, reveals that his group controls the Svalbard Global Seed and Genetic Diversity Vaults—real-life depositories storing many species. He issues an ultimatum: His people get priority evacuation, or he will destroy the vaults.

Homer observes with apprehension Riker’s increasingly rigid approach to negotiation, particularly concerning Gudmund Valter’s ultimatum. Worried that Riker’s undiplomatic methods will lead to a stalemate, Homer independently analyzes the manufacturing schedule and discovers a way to accelerate the construction of a third colony ship.

Homer formulates a compromise: The Bobs could offer the expedited third ship to a coalition of groups, including Valter’s, to resolve the standoff. Believing Riker’s pride would cause him to reject the idea if it came from a fellow Bob, Homer works indirectly. He contacts the more pragmatic Colonel Butterworth and proposes the solution, intending for Butterworth to present it as his own.

The Bobs witness a pack of large predators, which they name “gorilloids,” attack the Deltan camp, killing several Deltans. Marvin reports that evidence from other camps suggests the Deltans are being hunted to extinction by this competing species. Although this sparks an ethical debate about non-interference, Bob decides he cannot allow the Deltan species to be wiped out.

The Bobs devise a plan for subtle intervention, dropping high-quality flint nodules near where Archimedes forages. After Archimedes finds the flint, an elder the Bobs have named Moses (after the biblical patriarch) shows the young boy the forgotten art of flint-knapping. Archimedes masters the skill, creating superior tools that he trades for food and improved social status.

The virtual assembly remains deadlocked. Riker threatens a military seizure of the Svalbard vaults, but Valter calls his bluff by threatening to destroy them. With negotiations stalled, Colonel Butterworth contacts Riker privately. As Homer planned, Butterworth suggests accelerating the third colony ship as a compromise, passing the idea off as his own.

While Riker fields calls from other enclave leaders, Valter calls again. He mentions that someone informed him of the third-ship option, implying that Butterworth has already been in contact. With this new offer on the table, Valter signals his willingness to negotiate, averting the diplomatic crisis.

Several weeks later, the Deltans’ hunting success improves thanks to the new tools Archimedes developed. When the gorilloids attack again, Bob uses a buster drone to protect Archimedes and his mother by killing a gorilloid in full view of the Deltans. Then, the Deltans, led by a warrior the Bobs name Arnold, after bodybuilder and action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, successfully defend themselves. During the battle, one Deltan kills a fleeing gorilloid by throwing his spear, a novel tactic.

Inspired, Archimedes invents a true throwing spear with a weighted flint point. Mediated by the elder Moses, Archimedes leverages his invention into a deal with the tribe: He will produce spearheads for the hunters in exchange for a share of every kill, establishing a primitive economy.