49. Riker – May 2166 – Sol

Bill receives updates from Riker and Homer about the Svalbard seed vault and a SURGE drive variant for large bodies. He develops a plan to use the drive to ferry ice chunks to Ragnarök, and after Garfield pushes back on the lack of consultation, Bill acknowledges his partnership issues and commits to better collaboration. The chapter ends with Bill and Garfield playing catch in VR to maintain their sense of humanity.

Bill processes exciting updates from Riker and Homer, particularly a variant SURGE drive that can be used on asteroids and Kuiper objects. He realizes this solves his problem of transporting ice to Ragnarök—he can use the drive to accelerate ice chunks into orbit, then retrieve and reuse the drive on additional chunks. When discussing his plan with Garfield, Bill encounters unexpected resistance. Garfield expresses frustration at being treated as a sidekick, referencing Bill's tendency to work as a lone wolf like the original Bob. Bill initially feels offended but recognizes the validity of Garfield's complaint and agrees to adjust their working relationship, granting him more input on projects and the backlog. Following Garfield's suggestion, Bill runs simulations on his ice-transport plan and discovers that using two SURGE drives would accomplish the goal within twenty-five years. The chapter concludes with Bill and Garfield playing catch in VR, which Bill describes as essential for maintaining their sense of humanity rather than devolving into detached artificial intelligences.