54.      Stuff is Happening

The Bobs gather to discuss colony establishment on Poseidon, a water world with massive predatory creatures. After a colonist is killed by a kraken, they confront the need for better defensive systems and realize the timeline will have to extend by six months to implement electrified nets around the settlement mats.

Replicant Marcus arrives at Poseidon in polar orbit to oversee human colony setup. Bob-1 briefs him and Monty on the planet's massive aquatic life, particularly krakens with hundred-meter tentacles that hunt from the edges of floating mat settlements. The Prep Management team begins decanting and establishes supply ferries to two large drifting mats in the north tropical current, where colonists from Micronesia, the Maldives, Vanuatu, and Saint Lucia will gradually be awakened. Marcus plans to remain on-planet to build human-crewed spacecraft so colonists become independent. The situation deteriorates when a kraken kills a settler by reaching a tentacle through the mat's edge. Marcus proposes an electrified net system adapted from library designs, capable of delivering a million volts on contact, but implementing this adds six months to the colonization schedule. Despite the complications—including Chief Draper's inevitable displeasure and Monty's extended stay—the three replicants accept the revised timeline as necessary for settler safety.