58. Riker – April 2171 – Sol

Bill receives a message from Milo describing a promising new colonization destination at 82 Eridani, but learns that Milo's vessel, Heaven, has been destroyed by approaching missiles. The backup transmission is incomplete, making restoration impossible. Bill decides to build additional combat-capable Bob versions to retaliate against Medeiros, whom he holds responsible for the destruction.

Bill is interrupted while working on vegetation cultivation projections for Ragnarök. He receives a message from Milo that contains two critical pieces of information: a positive survey report of a potential colonization site in the 82 Eridani system, and a record of the Heaven vessel's destruction by incoming missiles. Bill immediately pulls up the full message and hears Milo's enthusiasm about the system turn to fear as he relays the attack. A differential backup is attached to the message but was cut off before completion. Bill consults with Guppy about restoring Milo from the incomplete backup, but learns that attempting to forcibly restore from a partial backup risks creating an insane or non-viable version of Milo. Bill chooses not to attempt the restoration and instead archives the backup as a memorial. He then decides on a course of action: with four version-3 Bobs currently under construction, Bill orders Guppy to begin building four additional Bobs immediately, equipping all of them with extra weapons. Bill attributes responsibility for Milo's destruction to Medeiros, viewing him as a recurring threat after incidents at Epsilon Eridani and Alpha Centauri, and declares his intention to eliminate him.