16. Human Replicant Reserve

Will visits Professor Steven Gilligan at the Vulcan Post-Life Arcology to consult about megastructures, revealing scans of Heaven's River to the expert. Gilligan provides detailed technical analysis of the alien-built topopolis, identifying key features like the dual river systems, hollow mountains containing infrastructure, and heat dispersal systems. Will then travels to visit his brother Howard to discuss the growing anti-manny sentiment among humans and Howard's research into enabling baseline humans to operate mannies.

Will arrives at the Vulcan Post-Life Arcology to meet Professor Steven Gilligan, a deceased expert in artificial environments now lecturing as a guest lecturer in a manny. After discussing the theoretical challenges of building megastructures like Bishop Rings and topopoli, Will presents Gilligan with scans of Heaven's River. Gilligan immediately recognizes it as a functional topopolis and provides expert analysis: the structure features four river systems alternating in opposite directions rather than one, hollow engineered mountains every five hundred miles containing infrastructure and maintenance access points, a vacuum monorail transportation system, and sophisticated heat-exchange radiators on the outer shell that generate electricity from thermal gradients. Gilligan notes the heat signature would be detectable from light-years away and requests a copy of the scans for his lectures. The conversation shifts to social issues when Gilligan mentions enduring protests from those who believe deceased individuals shouldn't occupy positions available to living humans. Will then travels via manny to Howard's apartment in human space, discovering Howard and his partner Bridget financing research to allow baseline humans to operate mannies using focused magnetic stimulation and sensory input rerouting—technology designed to address growing anti-replicant sentiment and prevent incidents like the Prometheus expedition deaths. Howard reveals the anti-manny prejudice is spreading, rooted in concerns about replicant superiority and human displacement.