Chapter One: Destination Galactic Center

Icarus (a Bob clone) and Daedalus travel together toward Sagittarius A* on a 26,000-year journey, fifty-two years into their acceleration phase. They discuss the long voyage ahead, the possibility of other Bobs arriving first via faster-than-light travel, and Daedalus's new project to use the SURGE drive as a massive refractor telescope to survey nearby stellar systems as they pass.

Icarus and Daedalus have been accelerating toward the galactic center for fifty-two Earth years, traveling at near-light speed. They inhabit a shared virtual reality garden environment while their ships maintain course. The universe appears as a bright smear to uncompensated vision, but their SURGE drive field protects them from radiation and dust while allowing them to simulate normal space views. Icarus muses about the 26,000-year journey ahead and jokes about the possibility that other Bobs may have already reached Sagittarius A* via faster-than-light drives invented after their departure—a fear mitigated by standing instructions to send warnings. Daedalus reveals he has been working on tuning the SURGE drive to act as a refractor telescope, allowing them to survey stellar systems as they pass. He explains he has already begun observing nearby planets and anomalies, with the intention of sending reports back home for investigation teams to follow up on via FTL. Both acknowledge their continued sense of responsibility to the broader Bob collective despite having chosen this remote mission.