62 pages • 2-hour read
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
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Part 2, Chapters 38-49Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness and death.
Part 2, Chapter 38 Summary: “Riker—November 2158—Sol”
In his virtual environment, Riker disconnects from a UN meeting about allocating a third colony ship to the Spitsbergen colony, which controls the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Concerned about new political instability on Earth, Riker calls Colonel Butterworth to discuss threats from an eco-terrorist group called VEHEMENT, which believes humanity should go extinct.
Their conversation is interrupted by Minister Cranston, who now treats Riker with superficial respect. Cranston introduces Riker to Julia Hendricks, the three-times-great-granddaughter of Bob’s sister. Riker is stunned by her resemblance to his memories of Andrea. Cranston admits he arranged the meeting as a manipulation tactic. Despite this, Riker and Julia talk for three hours and form a connection.
Part 2, Chapter 39 Summary: “Bob—October 2165—Delta Eridani”
After Bob watches the departure of clones Luke and Bender, he and Marvin discuss the increasing individuality and self-differentiation of the Bob clones. Marvin suggests their consciousness may now exceed the capacity for perfect backups, meaning that every clone is no longer being manufactured from an identical matrix.
Bob turns his attention to the Deltans. Archimedes is repurposing metal from the buster drone’s remains—a material the Deltans have never seen before—into new tools. Meanwhile, Arnold claims a large salvaged flint axe.
After surveying the planet, Bob locates other groups of Deltans as well as abandoned Deltan villages, including one with a large supply of flint. Having analyzed the Deltan language, Bob orders the construction of drones with speakers to communicate with the Deltans and urge them to migrate to this more resource-rich location.
Part 2, Chapter 40 Summary: “Linus—April 2165—Epsilon Indi”
Linus arrives in the Epsilon Indi system and detects a large and seemingly purposeless artificial structure. His drones investigate and receive a hostile transmission from Henry Roberts, a replicant who has psychosis; displaying some delusional thinking, Henry calls himself “Emperor Mung.” Scans reveal Henry’s hardware is chaotically integrated into the structure; Henry claims that there is an external force compelling him to continue building.
When Linus’s offers of help are met with paranoid threats, Linus is forced to disable Henry’s reactor, placing him in stasis. Linus extracts Henry’s computer core and builds stable support systems for him, dismantling the old structure for materials. To aid Henry’s recovery, Linus creates a therapeutic VR sailing simulation that maintains the fiction that Henry is back on earth in his human body and that his time as a replicant was imagined.
Part 2, Chapter 41 Summary: “Riker—May 2162—Sol”
Riker and Homer receive plans for and build a SCUT (Subspace Communications Universal Transceiver). The device allows for instantaneous interstellar communication, so they connect with Bill at Epsilon Eridani. After exchanging updates, Bill sends Riker data on Romulus and Vulcan, the two newly discovered habitable twin planets that Milo found.
Riker briefs Colonel Butterworth on the discovery. Riker then announces the planets to the full UN assembly, which sparks arguments over allocation. Ambassador Gerrold challenges Riker’s authority to manage colonization, but the assembly does not vote to remove him. Riker ends the debate by stating that emigration order will be determined by which nations are ready to depart first.
Part 2, Chapter 42 Summary: “Bill—April 2162—Epsilon Eridani”
Bill devises a massive terraforming project. Repurposing the designs used by the Brazilian probes to bombard the Earth, Bill will use a planetary SURGE drive to move ice asteroids from the Kuiper belt to introduce water to EE-2, the planet he has named Ragnarök. Garfield confronts him about the impetuous nature of the plan, criticizing Bill for not running simulations and for treating Garfield like a sidekick rather than a full partner.
Bill acknowledges Garfield’s points and agrees to a more collaborative relationship. He runs simulations, which confirm that using two SURGE drives can complete the project within 25 years. To test the physics of their shared VR and maintain a connection to their origins, Bill and Garfield end their session by playing virtual catch.
Part 2, Chapter 43 Summary: “Riker—September 2164—Sol”
Riker inspects the two colony ships under construction in Earth orbit. He concludes that the project’s bottleneck has shifted from manufacturing to the slow process of acquiring materials from the deteriorating planet. He realizes that Homer’s mining operation is too slow to build enough ships to save everyone.
Riker meets with Homer, Charles, and Arthur to discuss humanity’s declining survival odds. They brainstorm solutions like orbital habitats or space mirrors but dismiss them as too resource-intensive. The group concludes they cannot save all 15 million survivors but resolves to continue with the current plan, saving as many as possible.
Part 2, Chapter 44 Summary: “Bob—January 2166—Delta Eridani”
Bob uses a camouflaged drone to communicate with the Archimedes. Through the drone, Bob identifies himself as the being who brought the flint and the one who disintegrated the gorilloid that almost killed Archimedes and his mother. Bob urges Archimedes to convince his tribe to migrate to the more resource-rich abandoned village. Archimedes agrees but is dismissed by the elders. To lend him credibility, Bob uncamouflages the drone and has it hover over Archimedes’s head.
This display convinces the other Deltans. Archimedes’s claim of a village with better resources also proves true the stories that Moses has told of where he grew up. Arnold, who has become Archimedes’s ally after Archimedes gifted him the powerful ax, also advocates for the move. After hours of debate, the tribe agrees to migrate.
Part 2, Chapter 45 Summary: “Bill—January 2165—Epsilon Eridani”
Bill receives a SCUT message from Bart, a new Bob named for one of the main characters of the cartoon TV show The Simpsons, in the Alpha Centauri system. Bill enters Bart’s VR for a debriefing and reports that Calvin and Goku destroyed a Brazilian autofactory at Alpha Centauri A and discovered the wreckage of a USE probe. One Brazilian probe escaped the attack.
Before leaving, Calvin and Goku established a manufacturing and replication facility, which then created Bart. Bill expresses relief that another manufacturing hub is operational, adding redundancy to the Bobiverse network.
Part 2, Chapter 46 Summary: “Milo—August 2165—82 Eridani”
Milo arrives in the 82 Eridani system and discovers two promising planets. As he approaches the outer planet, his probe is ambushed by a trap. Four missiles launch from behind the planet’s moon. Milo deploys his buster drones for interception. Just as they are destroyed, four more missiles appear from the opposite side.
With his defenses expended, Milo fires his rail gun but calculates he cannot destroy all remaining targets. He transmits a final report along with an incomplete backup of his personality matrix. Moments later, the last missiles impact his probe, destroying him.
Part 2, Chapter 47 Summary: “Riker—January 2166—Sol”
In a meeting with human leaders, Riker learns that VEHEMENT attacks on Earth have caused severe food shortages. Wealthier enclaves are refusing to share resources. Homer suggests building space-based farms but is interrupted by telemetry showing an explosion. He confirms that Arthur has been killed by a booby trap while salvaging wreckage near Saturn.
Riker and Homer are devastated. The loss highlights that the Bobs lack an offsite backup solution, making their deaths permanent. Riker resolves to build a replacement Bob and a dedicated backup matrix. Homer suggests using his less-monitored printers for the secret project. Riker sends an obituary of Arthur to Bill for the Bobiverse archives.
Part 2, Chapter 48 Summary: “Bob—May 2166—Delta Eridani”
Bob assists the Deltans as they prepare for the month-long trek to the abandoned village, teaching them to preserve meat. Using travois to haul supplies, the tribe begins its migration. They encounter and absorb other scattered Deltan groups, and their population grows to over 500.
The journey is perilous. A daytime gorilloid attack results in the death of one juvenile, but the tribe defends itself. They cross a mountain pass, arriving at their destination with food to spare. The Deltans celebrate their arrival, but two days later, a disaster strikes.
Part 2, Chapter 49 Summary: “Riker—May 2166—Sol”
During a UN video conference, Riker’s firewall blocks a hacking attempt from New Zealand. In the meeting, Homer proposes building orbital farms to grow a genetically engineered kudzu to solve Earth’s food shortages. The assembly reacts with hostility. Later, Minister Cranston offers FAITH’s food surplus in exchange for priority placement on a colony ship.
When Riker confronts him about the hack, Cranston admits FAITH’s probe technology was stolen from Australia, implying that the hack was retaliation. A personal message from Julia Hendricks strengthens Riker’s resolve. After consulting with Homer and Charles, Riker agrees to Cranston’s proposal.
Part 2, Chapters 38-49 Analysis
The narrative structure in these chapters, a mosaic of perspectives from an expanding cast of Bobs, formally mirrors the theme of Tension Between the Individual and the Collective. At first, all Bobs originated from a single consciousness, with each clone developing its own personality from small deviations. However, as the Bobs observe growing divergences among clones, Marvin theorizes that their growing complexity may render perfect backups impossible, suggesting that “the backup is a digital attempt to save an analog phenomenon. It may simply be too granular” (215). New clones are thus the products of already individuated Bobs. This reasoning posits each Bob has become an irreplicable entity. The realization raises the stakes for each Bob’s existence; the deaths of Milo and Arthur are significant because neither can be created again. This evolution from a monolithic identity to a diverse collective is also demonstrated through the conflict between Bill and Garfield, where Garfield protests being treated like a “sidekick” (228), establishing that even within a collaborative project, the need for individual agency and recognition persists.
These chapters explore Redefining Humanity Beyond the Physical Form by juxtaposing the Bobs’ stable post-human existence with the psychological collapse of the Australian replicant, Henry Roberts. Henry’s psychosis, a result of prolonged sensory deprivation, underscores the critical function of the virtual reality environments. For the Bobs, VR is a necessary tool for maintaining a coherent sense of self. It provides a simulated embodiment that staves off the disconnectedness that led to Henry’s mental health crisis. Linus’s intervention—creating a therapeutic sailing simulation for Henry—confirms the limitations of expanding humanity into disembodied states. Henry no longer has the capacity to function as an AI controller for a probe; instead, Linus’s intervention promotes the fiction that Henry is an embodied human on Earth and that his stint as a Von Neumann probe was a nightmarish hallucination. Meanwhile, the Bobs’ humanity is reaffirmed through their capacity for emotion. Riker’s shock and delight upon meeting his distant relative, Julia Hendricks, reveals that familial bonds and personal history transcend physical form. Likewise, the genuine grief Riker and Homer experience at Arthur’s death reinforces that loss remains a fundamental part of their existence.
The narrative also complicates the concept of the Bobs’ immortality by introducing vulnerabilities specific to a digital existence. The sudden deaths of Milo and Arthur illustrate the perils of being a Von Neumann probe. Milo is destroyed by a sophisticated trap, and Arthur is killed by a booby-trapped piece of salvage. These events force the Bobs to confront a critical flaw in their operational security: the lack of a systematic offsite backup protocol. Their deaths are permanent and their unique accumulation of experiences are lost forever. Riker’s immediate resolve to build a dedicated backup matrix is a pragmatic response to an existential threat. It reframes the struggle for survival, shifting the focus from preserving a physical body to ensuring the integrity and redundancy of consciousness as data. This technological approach to legacy and continuity underscores how the Bobs must continually adapt their definitions of life and death.
The Bobs’ actions consistently champion The Humanist Drive for Exploration and Progress, contrasting their creative problem-solving with the destructive ideologies crippling humanity’s remnants. On Earth, groups like VEHEMENT advocate for extinction, while political factions engage in self-interested squabbling. The Bobs, conversely, embody a rational, forward-looking ethos. Bill and Garfield’s plan to terraform Ragnarök, Bill’s invention of the SCUT for instantaneous communication, and Homer’s proposal for orbital farms are all ambitious projects aimed at creation and preservation. This drive extends beyond humanity’s survival. Bob’s relationship with the Deltans revises the classic science fiction non-interference trope particularly stressed by the TV show Star Trek. Rather than remaining a passive observer, Bob actively intervenes, providing tools and guidance to aid the Deltans’ development. However, his actions betray the inherent biases and human-centric thinking that replication cannot eradicate. While he approaches the Deltans as a teacher and protector, reflecting a humanist belief in nurturing intelligence, several elements of the interaction are condescending and paternalistic. For example, Bob reflexively decides that Archimedes is male, using Earth-based patriarchal assumptions about intellect and engineering ability. He also assigns reductive and stereotype-laden nicknames to the Deltans he encounters rather than figuring out what their names are in their own language, despite learning enough of this language to communicate in complicated ways.
The interweaving of multiple Bob perspectives allows for an examination of power, responsibility, and ethics. Riker, in the Sol system, wields immense power over humanity’s fate, yet he is constantly frustrated by their political intransigence. His cynical observation that arguments over lifeboats are happening on “a sinking ship” (226) highlights his struggle to impose rational, long-term solutions on a species mired in tribalism. Similarly, Bob’s power over the Deltans is absolute; he is effectively a god, the “bawbe” (274) who can disintegrate their enemies. He attempts to exercise this power with restraint, seeking to guide rather than command, but his frustration when Deltan politics mirror human behavior often prompts direct intervention. The Bobs have transcended some human limitations, but when contending with the inefficient dynamics of people and groups, they respond in emotional and human ways. Their challenge to determine how to ethically manage the immense power their technological superiority grants them remains.
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