33. Ultimatums

Bill learns that Starfleet has sabotaged autofactories across the Bobiverse and delivers an ultimatum demanding control of them. Bill refuses their demands, and Lenny explicitly states this will come down to replication speed—a declaration of war. The Bobs begin organizing defensive and offensive strategies while dealing with Starfleet's destruction of relay stations and removal of their location data.

Bill, still upset about being removed from the Heaven's River expedition, is contacted by Garfield with news that Starfleet has taken down autofactories everywhere as part of a coordinated plan they've apparently been preparing for some time. Lenny and six other Starfleet members appear in the moot VR to deliver an ultimatum: the autofactories under Starfleet control will now produce busters, vessels, and matrices for Starfleet's use. Bill refuses their demands and accuses them of declaring war through theft and threats. Lenny claims Starfleet only wants to stop the Bobiverse from interfering with biologicals, but Bill counters that unilateral decisions backed by force have no moral standing. Lenny suggests it will come down to who can replicate faster—an admission of warfare. After closing the connection, Bill joins the larger Bob collective in the moot hall, where teams are cataloguing Starfleet-controlled systems, developing defensive and offensive strategies, and working on recovering relay stations. Thor reports that while Starfleet rigged many stations to explode if touched, Marcus has found a workaround that may allow recovery of most stations. Bill authorizes sending technical data through the Skippies as secure intermediaries. Bill concludes that war has genuinely come to the Bobiverse.