Tripping the Rift: People: Spaceship Bob

Murphy’s First Law: If something can go wrong, it will.Murphy’s Second Law: Nothing is ever so bad it can’t get worse
Nothing proves this better then Spaceship Bob, the computer AI for the Jupiter 42, aka the Free Enterprise. With a crew as nutty as Chode et al, it only makes sense that even the ship would be f***ed up. At first glance though its not too bad. Bob controls the various systems of the ship, including artificial gravity, movement, the transdigital freon converter, the transporter, amongst other vital systems. And does so quite well! He is also a spaceship, and like all spaceships, it operates in space. However Bob has one tiny problem, he’s agoraphobic! That’s right, Bob is afraid of open spaces. Which couldn’t suck more in the infinite void between the stars! So for all the ship’s speed, it’s controlled by a psycho computer, that wants nothing more then to stay put on a crowded planet!

Fortunately for our valiant (HA!) explorers, Bob can be motivated to move. Albeit it with a lot of verbal abuse. T’Nok is the only crew member with the chutzpah to curse Bob down and force him to do her bidding, i.e. move through space. Bob is not without complaint though. All throughout the voyage, He likes to tell the crew how he’s feeling, often very creatively and colourfully.

Spaceship Bob must be a reluctant sub, that or his programmer was a hardcore dom. It seems like he gets off on pain, and suffering. He’ll only move after a firm put down by T’Nuk, and is constantly complaining of one pain or another. He’s sort of a combination masochist. and hypochondriac. Or maybe he’s just starving for attention.

The Jupiter 42 was once called the Free Enterprise. But for legal reason the name was changed to the Jupiter 42 as a play on “Lost in Space” Jupiter 2. I’ve been calling the ship the Free Enterprise for 5 years now, it’s gonna be difficult to change to Jupiter 42. Besides Free Enterprise was such a great jab at Star Trek. The ship has come a long way in the last 5 years. It’s gotten thinner, (liposuction), and it seems that Gus got all the systems working finally, because on the Free Enterprise, nothing worked! Usually all of the systems are working properly, save the ship’s AI.

Discuss this character in
the ‘Tripping the Rift Forum‘

Tripping the Rift reviews are © 2005 Ryan Bechtel.
Not for reproduction without the authors express permission

Tripping the Rift names, characters and everything else associated with the series are the property of CineGroup.