"Negative. Both mission parameters have been satisfied. We have what we came for. We must let this happen."
"If the equipment in the archway is still functioning and undamaged and there is enough power remaining to deploy a time window, then there is no reason this should not work."
~Bob
Bob is the first support unit in TimeRiders. He was grown from a test tube in the Archway, the TimeRiders’ base. His duplicate AI is currently in the computer system used by the team, as well as in another artifically grown body. He becomes close to Liam O'Connor and eventually grows to "like" him, seeing him as more of a friend as the series goes on.
As an artificially engineered support unit he has superhuman strength, agility and speed and can read messages from the team's base sent by Maddy. He is also extremely intelligent but relies on Liam to make most major decisions.
It is revealed in The Mayan Prophecy that Bob obeys Maddy, Liam and Sal through choice, since his AI has evolved allowing him to say no to decisions he disagrees with, however he doesn't do this because he trusts the team's judgement.
TimeRiders[]
In the first book he and Liam travel back to an alternate past created by Paul Kramer. When Liam is taken away to a prison camp, Bob atttacks several of these camps, all whilst looking for Liam. He gains a steady band of followers who think he is a prophet, or even a god. He does this because the small organic module attached to the computer in his head develops feelings of friendship towards Liam; managing to override the mission objectives in his AI and saving Liam from the prison camp. Unfortunately, Bob is damaged beyond repair when fixing the contamination in Obersalzberg and Liam removes his "brain" (silicon AI chip), which Maddy inserts in the computer system. There, Bob's original AI is uploaded, and he becomes "Computer-Bob" until TimeRiders: The Doomsday Code.
TimeRiders: Day of the Predator[]
Bob does not appear as a support unit in Day of the Predator because his last body was damaged beyond repair. He only appears in his "Computer-Bob" form.
TimeRiders: The Doomsday Code[]
In this book Bob is remade in his human form. He goes back in time with Liam and Becks to the 1100's and goes with Liam on a quest to find the Grail. He helps enormously when they are being attacked at the Castle, due to his great tactical mind and supreme battle skills. He loses an arm and an ear in this book.
TimeRiders: The Eternal War[]
In this book Bob is with Liam and Sal when they get stuck miles away from the archway. When Liam and Sal are attacked in an abandoned house Bob is away looking for the one who stole his gun. When he returns, he is quite irritated with himself for making such a "stupid" tactical decision. He begins to wonder whether a new unit with no adaptations to his hard-drive would have made the same decision.
TimeRiders: Gates of Rome[]
In this book, Bob helps the team by defeating one of the support units sent back in time to assassinate the TimeRiders, and escues Maddy and Sal from a fire as riots break out through Rome. When the TimeRiders enter Caligula's palace, Bob is forced to engage in battle with Stern, a slightly more advanced combat unit from 2070. Although he does suffer some damage, Bob succeeds in killing Stern.
TimeRiders: City Of Shadows[]
In this book, Bob changes his protocols for a new mission designated by Madelaine Carter: to save the world from the Extinction Level Event labelled Pandora. He and Liam travel back to the date Jack the Ripper was killed by Faith and prevent her from altering history, causing her to short-circuit with a taser and erasing her personality.
Timeriders: The Pirate Kings[]
Bob does little in this book, but goes back in time with Maddy to find Liam and Rashim, and rescues her from a gang of thugs who attempt to kidnap Maddy. He gets into a fight with one of them, severing his lower forearm, causing grievous damage.
Timeriders: The Mayan Prophecy[]
Bob features once again as one of the main characters in this book, travelling to The City of the Windwalkers with Maddy, Liam and Adam Lewis. When Maddy and Adam are kidnapped by mercenaries hoping to ransom them, Bob mounts an attack on the camp using Liam and their guide Billy as distractions. Bob uses a heavy machine gun to kill seventeen guards and wounds another two, finishing them off after rescuing his companions. Bob later volunteers to hold off the seeker in the Mayan Temple, however Liam convinces him that the logical option is to run rather than execute an ill conceived notion of courage.
Computer Bob[]
Computer-Bob is a version of the support unit Bob but without his physical body. He was first created when,in the first book Bob is killed during a battle. To preserve Bob's "memories", Liam is forced to cut open Bob's head and retrieve the hard drive stored inside. Since then Computer-Bob has developed memories and new code for himself and although he started with the same memories as Bob they have become completely different. Computer-Bob's funniest moment is where he sends the Military trained 'Bob' and 'Becks' look-alikes (Abel and Faith) to a different time to what the team are actually in and have escaped to and he does his Smile #32 AKA: Smug smile or < >8^D in the Gates of Rome!
Computer-Bob's appearances in the Timeriders Books[]
Timeriders[]
Computer-Bob only appeared briefly at the end of Timeriders where he is created and spoken to by Liam.
Timeriders: Day of the Predator[]
At the start of the book Sal talks to Computer-Bob about her nightmares about recruitment and Computer-Bob is reading the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Later in the book, Computer-Bob warns Maddy that sending a signal to Liam could cause something to happen and then tells her that her actions have resulted in a high probability of an explosion. He is frequently used throughout the book to try and communicate with Liam and Becks. After the first time wave, when Maddy is taken away, he goes into lockdown and comes close to wiping his entire hard drive to prevent contamination. Fortunately he is stopped by Maddy and then is used to translate book code from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and they use this to successfully retrieve Liam and Becks from 65 millions years ago.
- ↑ <>8^D