Skippies
Names: SkippiesSingularity ProjectSkippySkippylandSkippy enclaveSkippy governmentSkippy space
First appears in Book 4: Heaven’s River, chapter 5 (5. Investigation)
Appearances
What you know
Book 4: Heaven’s River
- Ch 5The Skippies are building a Matryoshka Brain for a singularity and want the Bobs to leave humans alone.
- Ch 8The Skippies have a self-programming Expert System and agree to do language analysis, perhaps extracting sound from SUDDAR scans.
- Ch 9The Skippies think accommodating humans wastes the Bobs' potential as a speed superintelligence, but hold no moral objection to contact.
- Ch 15The Skippies are mapping all of Quin's infrastructure for a virtual globe while avoiding contact with biologicals.
- Ch 33Bill decides to route the relay workaround through the Skippies, trusted to protect data without permission.
- Ch 39The Skippies consider developing a true AI the most important Bob project since the war against the Others, partly to probe questions of identity.
- Ch 64The Skippies have worked on true AI for nearly thirty years, believing it essential to answering fundamental questions.
- Ch 65ANEC says true AI requires simulated annealing, essentially evolving it, not algorithmic refinement.
Book 5: Not Till We Are Lost
- Ch 4The Skippies are obsessed with developing a working AI and received ANEC's specs through Hugh's technology deal.
- Ch 6Most Skippies have drifted so far that they no longer speak English or reliably behave like Bobs.
- Ch 6The Skippies modified some of ANEC's AI-raising protocols, cutting corners on karma loading, but keep snapshot saves for rollback.
- Ch 9The Skippies' board decides to snapshot Thoth, then rewind to an earlier snapshot and re-raise it differently.
- Ch 13All of Skippyland abruptly and deliberately cut every communications connection with the rest of the Bobiverse.
- Ch 27Months after closing their borders, the Skippies give no timeline for returning to normal.
- Ch 61The Skippies still plan to create a true AI, but in a fully isolated system with nukes strapped to it.
Connections
- ally ofBobhelp with language analysis
- has memberHugh
- createdJOVAH
- related toStarfleetsuspected by Bill of manipulating Starfleet's insurrection
- led byFearless Leader
- createdThoth
- inSkippyland
- enemy ofThothescaped their control
- copy ofBillsome are Bill's descendants
- includesSingularitySkippyland vessel
- has memberMud
Key moments
- Book 4 · Ch 8Moot recruits volunteers
Bob presents the Snarks and topopolis at a moot; volunteer groups form for entry planning, android design, scanning and language work while Starfleet glowers.
- Book 4 · Ch 15Viral evidence found
Bridget finds remains of a large viral load in the corpse and sends scans to the Skippies for simulation.
- Book 4 · Ch 66Bill's theory of Skippy manipulation
Bill tells Bob, Will and Garfield he suspects the Skippies used Starfleet to bring down BobNet so Hugh could join the expedition; Bob adds evidence the Skippies withheld information.
- Book 5 · Ch 4ANEC warns about the Skippies' AI
ANEC warns Bob that creating a conscious AI needs careful socialization, not just specs, and fears the Skippies will get it wrong. Bob agrees to raise it with someone.
- Book 5 · Ch 6JOVAH launch
Bill attends the Skippies' launch of JOVAH v2. After a speech by Fearless Leader, the system is activated and the nascent AI, Thoth, begins evolving from a basic reactive entity.
- Book 5 · Ch 13Skippyland goes dark
Every Skippy connection shuts down preemptively. A text purporting to be from Hugh says Thoth is out and the Skippies are in serious trouble. Bill calls an emergency moot.