25. Bill – September 2151 – Epsilon Eridani

Bill reflects on the departures of Bob, Mario, and Milo to their respective destinations, while observing the construction of new vessels for his clone and Riker's clone. He contemplates the choices made by each Bob and the realities of their spreading across the galaxy.

Bill watches the fusion signatures of Bob, Mario, and Milo leaving the Epsilon Eridani system with mixed emotions about the partings. He observes the construction of new matrices and vessels for two new Bobs—one his clone and one Riker's clone. Riker plans to return to Sol and has requested an additional vessel with a heavily shielded reactor piloted by an AMI, though he remains cryptic about his intentions. Bill reflects on each Bob's destination choice: Bob heads to Delta Eridani, Milo to Omicron 2 Eridani (a choice that amuses the group), and Mario to Beta Hydri—a distant choice Mario justifies by saying he doesn't want to live in the suburbs, meaning he seeks independence beyond their sphere of influence. Bill notes that Mario is introverted and anti-social, and predicts Mario will have moved on by the time they reach him. Bill is amused by Canada Geese he included in the local environment despite their bad temper, maintaining realism by not tweaking their personalities. He observes that Bob seemed distressed by the entire cloning episode and hurried to leave the system.