13. Getting Busy

Herschel receives Will aboard the Bellerophon and discusses parallel plans for space exploration. Will reveals he has been secretly building a smaller ship in the 82 Eridani system and proposes a strategy of deploying pre-built space stations ahead as he travels outward. Herschel and Neil then show Will their experimental ant-based shapeshifting manny called Ex-Man-1 (nicknamed Mannequin Skywalker), which operates as a distributed collective of miniaturized units rather than a discrete structure.

Will visits Herschel's virtual library aboard the Bellerophon to discuss the Ever Onward Society and colony placement strategies. Will discloses that he has been constructing a smaller replica vessel over the past fifty years in the 82 Eridani system without announcement, exploiting the standard Bob-colony agreement regarding material harvesting. He proposes deploying automated space stations with survey drones and blank replicant matrices at each system along his flight path, allowing him to maintain speed while providing Herschel with advance knowledge of suitable colony targets. Will explains his motivation stems from a combination of wanderlust and inability to escape his sense of duty to humanity. Neil interrupts the conversation, prompting Herschel to invite Will to inspect their research. They transition from virt to physical mannies in the Bellerophon's pressurized control cavern. Herschel demonstrates small SURGE-drive-equipped mannies capable of flight in zero gravity. Neil and Herschel then reveal Ex-Man-1, their experimental manny constructed entirely from miniaturized ant units that can link together and reconfigure into different shapes. The distributed design eliminates structural weak points and integrates all systems—transceiver, SURGE drive, power core, and computer—throughout the collective structure. Neil pilots the manny while Herschel and Will observe its capabilities. Will approves of keeping the project confidential until further development and suggests a future demonstration to senior Bobs.