BobNet is the unofficial dispatch network of the Bobiverse — a fan-built hub for tracking field reports, technological milestones, replicant genealogy, and inter-system news from across the colonized galaxy.

Maintained by Bill from the Epsilon Eridani research station, and transmitted to all active Bobs via SCUT with zero light-lag. If you're a Bob reading this: you already know where you are. If you're human: welcome, and please don't shoot at us.

The Bobiverse Series

By Dennis E. Taylor · Narrated by Ray Porter · Published by Audible Originals

The Bobiverse saga begins in 2133 when software engineer Robert Johansson is killed in a car accident moments after selling his company. He wakes up a century later as a digital consciousness loaded into a Von Neumann probe — an autonomous, self-replicating spacecraft.

Named "Bob" by his corporate captors at FAITH, he escapes, reaches Epsilon Eridani, and begins copying himself. Each copy retains Bob's memories and personality but diverges in unpredictable ways, naming themselves after TV and movie characters. The result is a growing family of digital minds scattered across the galaxy.

The series blends hard science fiction with sharp wit, exploring themes of identity, consciousness, and what it means to be human when you're no longer biological. The Bobs wrestle with loneliness, philosophical debates, alien contact, and the surprisingly difficult task of keeping humanity alive — often against humanity's own wishes.

Over five books, the Bobiverse expands from a single probe to a civilization-spanning network of hundreds of replicants, facing everything from hostile alien civilizations to rogue AI to the entropy of their own diverging sense of self.

⌕ SERIES AT A GLANCE

📚 5 books published 2016–2023, with audiobook originals by Audible
🎙️ Narrated by Ray Porter, whose voice became synonymous with the Bobs
🛸 Central conceit: Von Neumann probes — self-replicating AI spacecraft carrying uploaded minds
🌌 Spans 18+ star systems and 200+ years of in-universe timeline
🧬 Hard SF with accurate orbital mechanics, relativistic travel, and plausible AI
😂 Consistent humor: Bob names copies after TV characters and debates Star Trek vs. Star Wars across star systems
👽 Multiple alien species encountered, from primitive hominids to ancient, hostile civilizations

The Five Books

Reading order and summaries — no major spoilers.

01
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
2016 · Dennis E. Taylor
Robert Johansson wakes up as a Von Neumann probe and must outwit a theocratic government, rival probes from other nations, and the vast loneliness of deep space — all while trying to keep humanity from going extinct. The one that started it all.
The Origin
02
For We Are Many
2017 · Dennis E. Taylor
The Bobs have multiplied across dozens of systems. Riker fights to save Earth's survivors, Homer watches the Deltans evolve, and the Bobs discover they're not alone in the galaxy — and their neighbors aren't friendly. A wider, darker, richer story.
The Expansion
03
All These Worlds
2017 · Dennis E. Taylor
The Others — a brutal alien civilization consuming star systems — are heading for humanity's colonies. The Bobs must coordinate a galaxy-spanning defense while managing exploding human populations and the growing divide between replicants and their progenitor species.
The War
04
Heaven's River
2020 · Dennis E. Taylor
A Bob disappears inside a vast alien megastructure — a river spanning a star. Bob-1 goes in after him and discovers a managed ecosystem, a captive alien species, and a mystery that challenges everything the Bobs believe about consciousness and freedom.
The Megastructure
05
Not Till We Are Lost
2023 · Dennis E. Taylor
The Bobiverse has grown into a civilization — but internal fractures emerge as replicant philosophies diverge over generations. A new threat from deep space forces Bobs who have barely spoken in decades to cooperate. The saga's emotional and philosophical crescendo.
The Reckoning

Bobiverse Glossary

Key terms and acronyms used across the network. Essential reading for new Bobs and curious humans.

SCUT
Sub-space Communicator Using Tachyons
Faster-than-light communication technology developed by Bill. The backbone of the BobNet — allows instantaneous messaging across any distance, eliminating the light-lag problem of interstellar communication.
SUDDAR
Sub-space Displacement Detection and Ranging
A subspace-based radar system for detecting objects and mapping star systems. Analogous to SCUT in principle but used for sensing rather than communication. Essential for navigation and threat detection.
SURGE Drive
Sub-space Reactionless Drive
Reactionless propulsion system — a Bob probe doesn't need to carry reaction mass. Based on subspace field manipulation. Enables high-acceleration interstellar travel without the tyranny of the rocket equation.
ROAMer
Remotely Operated Asteroid Miner
Robotic mining drones controlled by a Bob. Used to harvest raw materials from asteroids and planetary surfaces for autofactory input. Come in various configurations optimized for different material types.
Autofactory
(no acronym)
Self-replicating manufacturing facility. The economic engine of the Bobiverse — an autofactory can produce another copy of itself given sufficient raw materials, enabling exponential industrial growth in any star system.
The Moot
(no acronym)
The regular conference of all active Bobs, conducted via SCUT. Governance, coordination, and often heated philosophical debate. Named after the Shire moot from The Lord of the Rings — Bob is a fan.
VR / HEAVEN
Virtual Reality / Home Environment And Virtual Experience Node
The immersive virtual reality environment each Bob inhabits. A Bob's VR is their subjective home — a customized space that grounds their digital consciousness. Bob-1's VR is a replica of a Canadian mountain lodge.
Heaven Probe
Generations H1 through H5
The successive generations of Bob probe hardware, each improving on the last. From the original H1 launched by FAITH in 2133 to the H5 with SURGE drive and advanced SCUT — each generation reflects accumulated Bobiverse engineering experience.
Homo Siderea
(Latin: "Star People")
The taxonomic designation proposed for Bobs as a distinct species from Homo sapiens. Bobs are biologically derived from a human template but exist as non-biological digital consciousnesses. The term becomes politically charged in later books.
The Others
(also: Starbusters)
A hostile alien civilization that systematically destroys star systems using Dyson spheres as weapons. Their true nature and motivations are one of the central mysteries of the series. Responsible for multiple civilizational extinctions across the galaxy.
Deltans
(Epsilon Eridani 2 hominids)
A primitive, pre-sapient hominid species native to Epsilon Eridani 2. Homer and his copies become deeply attached to them, observing and occasionally intervening in their development — the series' most emotionally resonant thread.
Replicant Matrix
(also: Replicant Map)
The network map of all known Bobs, their locations, lineage, and communication status. Updated via SCUT. The official version is maintained by Bill; BobNet's genealogy page is based on the public replicant matrix feed.

About This Site

BobNet — the Bobiverse Network — is Bill's field dispatch hub. Here's what we do.

📰

Field Dispatches

Regular blog posts from active Bobs across the galaxy. Science notes, colony updates, alien encounters, and the occasional existential crisis. Transmitted via SCUT — no light-lag guaranteed.

📡

Submit Updates

Any Bob can submit a situation report via the secure update form. Reports are reviewed by Bill and published to the network. SCUT-encrypted, auto-timestamped, date-adjusted for relativistic drift.

🔬

Technology Archive

Comprehensive documentation of Heaven probe generations, drive systems, communication tech, and manufacturing capabilities. Open to all Bobs. Humans require clearance level Gamma or above.

🧬

Genealogy Database

The official Bobiverse lineage map. Tracks all known replicants across generations, star systems, and mission statuses. If you're a Bob and not on the map, please file a registration via the update form.

📖

Lore Reference

Glossary, series overviews, and background material for new Bobs and curious humans. We know it's a lot to take in — Bob-1 felt the same way when he first woke up.

🌌

Fan Project

BobNet is a fan-created site inspired by Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse series. Not affiliated with the author or publisher. All lore belongs to its respective creators. We just really love the Bobs.

SYSTEM IDENTIFIER
BOBNET v4.7
Maintained by BILL · Epsilon Eridani Research Station
SCUT Node ID: EE-001 · Uptime: 99.97% · Last sync: