38. Riker – November 2158 – Sol

Riker convenes a council meeting with three other Bobs to discuss progress on scavenging operations and orbital surveys of Earth. After discovering approximately forty surviving human settlements representing fifteen million people, Riker and the Bobs face the challenge of deciding which groups to rescue when they can only transport a fraction of the population.

Riker opens a Federation of Planets-styled council meeting with Charles, Homer, and Arthur to discuss their operations. The scavenging autofactories are operational and feeding materials to Lagrange points, with a shipyard autofactory expected within two years. Riker and Arthur plan polar orbital scans using SUDDAR to locate human survivors on Earth. After two weeks of surveying, they identify approximately forty locations—six cities and numerous smaller enclaves—representing roughly fifteen million surviving humans. Arthur expresses despair at humanity's decline from twelve billion, but Riker focuses on practical constraints: the colony ships can only move ten thousand people per trip, making evacuation of all survivors impossible. They agree to prioritize groups with the greatest need and move rescued populations to the USE installation. Colonel Butterworth reacts with frustration to scheduling changes but agrees to accept refugees after departure. Arthur begins delivering communicators to the identified settlements, but encounters resistance—several drones are shot down and communicators destroyed, indicating the traumatized survivors distrust contact. Homer reports identification of sufficient resources to build three or possibly four ships, though some materials lie in the outer system.