We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
Book 4: Chapter 15: Frustrations Mount

Howard

July 2334

Trantor

“Well, that tears it,” I said. “Humans are idiots.”

Bridget sighed. “Given what’s going on, Howard, I think they’ve shown considerable restraint in grandfathering us.”

“Or they’ve noticed that we own half the damned city and they’d lose a proxy fight.”

“That may have played a part, I admit.” Bridget walked to the picture window and gazed out, arms crossed.

I enjoyed the panoramic view of the atmosphere of Big Top through the distant fibrex dome of the city. The sight of clouds and Jovian life stretching off in all directions, seemingly to infinity, never failed to fill me with awe. But I knew that, for Bridget, it was about more than the view; it was a validation of her work and her professional reputation. She was the reigning expert on Jovian-class life throughout human space and was unlikely to be dethroned anytime soon. A passing pod of blimps brought a slight grin to her face.

“You have that smile,” I said. “Remembering our first encounter?”

Bridget laughed. “Or the city’s first encounter.” She turned from the window. “Howard, political issues come and go, but politics will be with us forever. We’ll just outwait them. Eventually people will calm down, or forget, or we’ll just wait until they’re dead and a new generation is in charge. Meanwhile, we keep a relatively low profile. We’ll be okay. We have forever, remember?”

“The kids—”

“The current batch are all adults. We’ll have to hold off on new adoptions for a while. You said you needed a break anyway. Maybe it’s time for another expedition. I have several candidate planets lined up, all with interesting-looking ecosystems …”

“You’ve heard what Herschel and Neil are planning?”

“Yes, but they have to get to Romulus, load up, then get out of human space. It could be as much as a hundred years before they reach the first new system, with no guarantees that it’ll have anything worth exploring. And we can join up remotely, if and when. I want something a little more immediate.”

I nodded. Bridget was right. If it came down to it, we’d only be in trouble if the humans tried to confiscate our assets. And we had lawyers up the ying-yang for just that eventuality. We could literally keep the fight going in the courts longer than most of our opponents’ lifetimes.

“All right, my love. You lead. Where do you want to go today?”

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