29.      Emergency

Bob visits Marvin at Delta Eridani to discuss the departure of two new clones, Pete and Victor. The conversation centers on whether Victor should follow Luke or Bender's trail, complicated by uncertainty about what may have happened to those two earlier clones.

Bob arrives at Marvin's VR environment—a lunar-inspired mountain patio with Earth hanging in the sky—where Marvin is practicing VR programming by recreating science fiction settings. Bob brings up a critical decision: Pete and Victor, two nearly-ready clones, must choose their paths. Pete refuses to follow either Luke or Bender's trajectories, insisting on independence regardless of the consequences. Victor, however, is willing to pursue either option. The core tension is that Luke and Bender departed toward different stars in the same general direction, raising the possibility that both encountered the same threat—a Medeiros-like adversary or unknown danger. Neither Bob can explain a clear motive for such a scenario, but the risk concerns them. They decide to let Victor choose which trail to follow, with the advantage that Victor will transmit constantly via SCUT connection, allowing them to detect if something goes wrong.