Thursday September 9, 2004
Book 5: The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance — Part V: Many Hands Make Light Work
Note: In the days following this conversation, a group of prisoners from the Scimitar of Irreparable Damage was isolated, shaved, and subsequently observed.

Their temperment did not improve. In fact, their behavior departed the control group's graph so nonlinearly that plans for a larger study were permanently tabled, and Petey briefly considered excising his memory of having entertained such a spectacularly bad idea in the first place.

Transcript

Breya: Petey, before you go... Athens is dead. My ship has no A.I.
Breya: I can't grow another one without ripping and replacing all the hardware. But if you've still got gestalts from the fleetmind ...
Petey: It's really tearing you up inside having to ask me for this, isn't it?
Breya: You're more mean-spirited than I remember you being.
Petey: It's this organic body. Hologram fur wasn't itchy.
Schlock: Does that mean that if we shave all the Ob'enn they'll be nice?