We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

Book 3: Chapter 74: Pav Announcement

Book 3: Chapter 74: Pav Announcement

Jacques

April 2257

HIP 84051

The cargo doors opened and I stepped out. Not surprisingly, a squad of Pav militia awaited me, weapons held at ready. I sighed and shook my head. It was entirely possible that the Pav military would never warm to the Bobs.

I couldn’t really blame them, of course. Every interaction reminded them of the technological gulf between us, and of their complete helplessness if we ever started making demands. Not a comfortable situation for a military mind.

I walked up to the group, being careful not to appear aggressive. They probably wouldn’t haul off and shoot me, just because, but why take chances?

The squad leader took a half step forward, and I addressed him. “Hazjiar is expecting me.”

The sergeant, or whatever equivalent, looked like he wanted to frisk me. Or maybe handcuff me, or just give me a good beating. But I was obviously not carrying anything of a technical nature, so he settled for glaring at me and showing his teeth for a moment.

I gave him a close-lipped smile in return and looked meaningfully in the direction of Hazjiar’s house.

This whole performance could have gone on for a few more minutes, if Hazjiar hadn’t picked that moment to walk out onto her porch. She made a gesture to the soldiers, and they motioned to me with their weapons.

I settled into a chair, bobbed my head to Hazjiar, and waited for her to speak.

“You said you had news? Presumably it is about the Others?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I wanted to deliver this news in person. The battle is over. We’ve won, although barely.”

Hazjiar nodded, and stared at the horizon for a few moments. “This is good, of course. But will they not just regroup and return? For how long will we be safe?”

“There will be no return, Hazjiar. We wiped them out.” I looked down for a moment, then met her eyes. “It wasn’t something we did casually, but they have obliterated so many sentients, and showed no interest in changing their behavior…”

The soldiers exchanged glances. If they were concerned about the gulf between us before, this wouldn’t have helped. I spared them a quick look, then continued. “We will continue to watch for them, but it’s most likely that there are none left.”

“I don’t understand your species, Jock.” Hazjiar paused, looking at me. “You have all this power, yet you seem reluctant to use it. You are so rich that you don’t even need money, yet you seem to have so little.”

I looked up at the ceiling for a moment. She was, perhaps without realizing it, hitting very close to home with some of her comments. “Hazjiar, we—all the Bobs, I mean—don’t have any desire for power over others. Quite the opposite, in fact. We just want to be able to do our own thing. And we may finally be at the point where we can realize that desire.”

I gestured to the soldiers. “You have power, in the ways that matter. You’re able to keep yourselves safe here. We’ll make sure nothing gets out of control up there.” I gestured to the sky. “Beyond that, unless you specifically need us for something, we’ll leave you alone. I think, as a group, the Bobs have finally figured out our place in the cosmos. So we’re going to be stepping back.”

Hazjiar gazed at the soldiers for a moment, then smiled at me. “Some of us, I think, will be happy to hear that. I am not so sure. In any case, we will live.” She stood. “Thank you, Jock, for the news. I will inform the Council.”

I stood and gave her the Pav head bob, and walked to the cargo drone. I stepped in and turned for a last look. As the doors were closing, I saw Hazjiar give me the Vulcan salute.

* * *

I popped into PRP. The Pav Reclamation Project had a dedicated VR, hosted in Bill’s Moot station. I looked around the room; a half-dozen Bobs watched video windows or operated drones on the planet’s surface. Ferb stood at the edge of the room, watching the activity.

“Hey, Ferb.” I walked over to join him. “How’s it going?”

“Slow but steady, Jacques. We’ve been able to produce at least a few of everything that we have samples for. Genetic diversity may be an issue for a while, but we should be able to bring back about seventy-five percent of the planet’s ecosystems, eventually.”

I nodded, watching a few of the video windows. “And the other thing?”

Ferb motioned toward a whiteboard with a number of items listed. “We’ve found some good candidate planetoids in nearby systems. Bill’s asteroid-movers will handle them easily.” ???????

I nodded, satisfied. “So, eventually we’ll be able to offer the Pav their home system back. With a supply of metals.”

“Maybe a few decades, yet, buddy, but yeah. That’ll be good.”

We watched the activity in the room, enjoying the moment. One less thing to feel guilty about.