69.      Wake

Bill convenes a moot of the Bobiverse to discuss the escalating threat from the Others. The group reviews the attacks on GL 54, the Others' new expedition toward NN 4285, and the vulnerability of Gamma and Delta Pavonis. After assessing limited weapons capabilities and considering unconventional tactics like suicide bombers and relativistic ramming, the meeting breaks into discussion groups with little progress made.

Bill opens the moot with an airhorn and immediately addresses the critical situation: the Others have expelled Mario from GL 54 and are harvesting its resources while launching another expedition toward NN 4285. Bill warns that Gamma and Delta Pavonis are likely next targets. He notes that Oliver in Alpha Centauri has designed an advanced battle-wagon but is too distant to assist Jacques and Claude unless the Others move slowly. Jacques counters that Delta Pavonis, despite being farther from GL 877, may be bypassed due to its superior metallicity, which the Others have already demonstrated by skipping Gamma once. Bill emphasizes full surveillance coverage around GL 877 will alert them to any enemy movements. Garfield presents the weapons assessment: fission and fusion bombs are available, plasma spikes have reached their size limitations, and cloaking technology remains incomplete despite salvaged Brazilian hardware. Discussion reveals critical vulnerabilities—without cloaking, bombs cannot reach targets before being destroyed. Proposals emerge for using AMI-staffed battle-wagons as suicide bombers or deploying SCUT-based remotes. Relativistic ramming is dismissed as impractical due to long launch times, the need for precise interception calculations, and the enemy's ability to detect and evade with SUDDAR. The meeting yields no breakthrough solutions. During the informal social discussions, Bill observes Jacques presenting information about the Pav civilization, noting their fur, group marriages, all-fours locomotion, natural socialist leanings, and chaotic organizational style. Bill stands with Bob-1, noting the Deltan's effective banishment from his adopted society, wanting to offer sympathy but unable to overcome their collective social ineptitude. The chapter ends with Bill reflecting on the vast intelligence and resources spread across a hundred light-year sphere, yet unable to devise effective defense for a single planet.