39.      Bob-Moot

Moose Bill conducts a physical inspection of terraforming progress on Ragnarök using the android Bullwinkle, then attends a Bob-moot where he announces the departure of a second strike force to retake 82 Eridani and introduces Henry Roberts, a non-Bob human, to the assembled copies.

Bill pilots the android Bullwinkle across Ragnarök's surface at high speed, examining the moss/lichen hybrid he has bred to survive the planet's harsh atmosphere and generate oxygen. The vegetation is performing as designed, doubling yearly, and Bill projects that within twenty years the planet will be habitable for humans without protection. He notes that native Terran life has been introduced to the seas and will eventually replace native species, a necessary sacrifice for humanity's colonization needs. Later, at a Bob-moot held in a pub VR setting, Bill raises a toast to the ten new Bobs who comprise the second strike force for 82 Eridani. Among them are Loki (Khan's backup), who leads the expedition, and Elmer (restored from backup). The force carries innovations and additional combat busters to ensure they can hold the system against Medeiros's automated defenses and garrison the two habitable planets Milo discovered. At the moot proper, Bill uses a novelty air horn (playing Dixie instead of a blat) to call the gathering to order and announces three items: Henry Roberts, a non-Bob human consciousness, has arrived and is being introduced by Linus; the second 82 Eridani expedition has shipped out under Loki's command; and regular Scrub baseball games continue, though Bill firmly vetoes an anonymous proposal for a hockey league, drawing laughter and a knowing grin from Garfield.