27. Bob – April 2165 – Delta Eridani

Bob remains at Delta Eridani after Riker and Homer depart for Sol with the decoy vessel. With Garfield (his clone) staying behind to help, Bob begins tackling an extensive list of projects for the Skunk Works, including exploration drones, VR improvements, subspace transmission research, and artificial muscle-fiber development.

Bob watches as Riker, Homer, and the decoy vessel leave the system, constrained to 2G acceleration to keep pace with the older version-1 ship. Garfield, activated alongside Homer and having chosen to remain at Delta Eridani rather than accompany Riker, offers Bob companionship and assistance with the mounting workload. Garfield attempts to fire an uncharged experimental plasma weapon at the departing ships as a joke, which Bob finds amusing. Bob reflects that Homer has proven problematic—displaying an irritating cartoon avatar and constant "Doh" exclamations—and suspects Riker may come to regret bringing him along. Garfield expresses reluctance about the larger plan to build multiple Bob clones, preferring to remain at a distance from the manufacturing process. The two discuss the priority project list, which includes completion of exploration drones, improvements to virtual reality interfaces, continued work on the frustratingly difficult subspace transmission problem, and development of artificial muscle-fiber analogues for realistic androids. Garfield delivers the list with comedic flair in a tuxedo avatar, prompting Bob to humorously threaten him with plasma cannon control. They begin work on the projects.