Chapter Twenty-Two: A Visit to the Moot Pub

Bob visits the Moot Pub in the Bobiverse and encounters Theresa in her new human avatar, then learns about megastructure projects being developed by various consortiums. Later, Bob meets with Will Riker in a works yard using modified mannies equipped with SURGE drives, where Will reveals he is building the Fargo, a colonist transport ship separate from his seed-ship the Nostromo, and Bob agrees to join the mission.

Bob is visited by Theresa, who has adopted a human avatar with help from ANEC. They head to a pub day in the Bobiverse where Theresa mingles comfortably despite her unfamiliar appearance. At a crowded table, Bill introduces Bob and Theresa to Steven, a former professor retained by the O'Neill Corporation to negotiate with the Bobs about megastructure projects. Steven explains that consortiums are planning to build massive artificial habitats in uncolonized systems with suitable resources, using remote work from SCUT stations and later shipping colonists out. Bill and Steven discuss potential negotiations regarding autofactory control and employment for ex-humans facing discrimination from Luddites. Afterward, Bob and Theresa return to her VR where she eats squiz and discusses Quinlan replication candidates. Bob then transfers to meet Will in a works yard near his construction project. Will demonstrates modified mannies equipped with SURGE drives, allowing movement in vacuum. He shows Bob the Fargo, a five-kilometer cargo vessel designed to transport colonists, distinct from his Nostromo which will scatter Bob seeds. Will explains his desire for independence from SCUT infrastructure and reveals concerns about human conflict developing across colonies, including fascism on Newholme, religious extremism on Romulus, and ethnic tensions from mixed colonization. Bob expresses his own growing paranoia and reaffirms his desire to join Will's mission despite initial hesitation.