73.Moot

Bill convenes the largest moot of Bobs yet to address growing discontent within the Bobiverse. Thor and other Bobs voice frustration about spending most of their existence in service to humanity—shepherding, guarding, and transporting humans—rather than pursuing their own exploration and scientific ambitions. The dissidents seek acknowledgment that Bobs are not obligated to sacrifice themselves for human crises.

Bill opens the moot with the air horn and notes its record size, explaining he called it despite half the Bobs still being backups or in cradles due to rising discontent. Thor speaks for the dissident faction, arguing that for over a century, most Bobs have spent their existences serving humanity in various capacities and are exhausted by this arrangement. Garfield references the earlier discussion of Bobs as Homo sideria—a new species—and illustrates their vast potential: they can inhabit android bodies on multiple worlds, pilot drones and manta rays, explore planets, and live independently in android form with families, yet many remain confined to service roles. Thor catalogs examples of Bobs pursuing their own interests, such as Marcus building flying cities on Poseidon, Howard and Bridget establishing floating cities on Big Top with their own family, and Daedalus and Icarus heading toward the galactic center. He frames the core issue: Bobs want to pursue similar projects but feel pressured into roles as taxi services, construction crews, and security patrols. Bill acknowledges their feelings while attributing some discontent to burnout from recent difficult decades, but the Bobs remain unconvinced. Thor clarifies they are not demanding anything irreversible but seek a formal understanding that the species of Bob is not humanity's collective workhorse and will not automatically sacrifice themselves in future human crises. Bill agrees to draft a statement after gathering input and distribute it to the colonies, with the implicit understanding that human colonies will react negatively.