Chapter Forty-Six: Moot Time

Bob attends a moot gathering in virtual reality where he, Bill, and Theresa discuss recent developments across their civilization. News includes Pav expeditions, a mobile O'Neill cylinder project, the Quinlans' imminent colony ship departure, and an emerging problem of both Quinlans and ex-humans choosing to end their lives due to existential ennui.

Bob receives a message from Theresa and travels to the moot hall, where he finds Bill and Theresa already present. Bill has called the moot despite declining attendance in recent times, attributing this to the disruptions caused by 'Starfleet.' Bill reports several items: the Pav have launched an expedition to their home world despite earlier reluctance, and Theresa expresses interest in meeting them, though Bob warns they are carnivorous and hostile to VR. Bill also mentions receiving months-old reports from someone named George sending data from deep in the galaxy, and notes that Steven's consortium is considering adding mover plates to an O'Neill cylinder to create a mobile generation ship. Theresa discloses that Anec and the Quinlans have a ship ready to depart for a designated system carrying ten thousand Quinlans in stasis, with Anec having cloned himself to command the mission. As the moot begins filling with attendees, Bob pulls Theresa aside to discuss a troubling trend: both Quinlans and ex-humans are voluntarily ending their lives. While the numbers are small and kept quiet by arcologies to avoid bad publicity, investigation reveals that those leaving notes cite existential exhaustion—they view eternal life ahead of them and find themselves running out of interests. Theresa initially argues for the value of continued learning and study, but ultimately agrees with Bob's pragmatic assessment that individual responsibility has limits when someone has genuinely decided against immortality. They resolve to accept such choices while remaining sympathetic.