Part 18 of some new science fiction. If you're just tuning in, consider starting with part 1. The image above was created with stable diffusion.
Becoming more and more proficient with his Servant, James tested the limits of the device. These limits were clearly delineated with an automated message in Coleer's voice that played in his head. "You are attempting to access prohibited functionality," said the voice. "Please do not proceed."
In a hotel room in Cincinnati, James figured out how to push past these limits to materialize a biological organism. He created a bonsai forest and a pair of six inch tall elephants. After chasing the tiny elephants around for a while, James grudgingly dematerialized the whole scene. It didn't seem fair to leave a mess like that for housekeeping.
With half an hour before he had to leave, James turned his attention to a pet project he'd been considering for a while. The production of magic beans. The idea was to create seeds that grew at a greatly accelerated pace, producing food in mere hours or even minutes after they were planted. Now that James had figured out how to skirt the Servant's safeguards, he decided to start designing the first of these seeds.
Later, sitting next to Ochre on the set of Ohio Today!, James was spacing out when host Bob Hobson asked him a direct question. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" asked James.
"Sure thing," said Bob. "With all of the resources at your disposal, including your alien Artifacts, why didn't you just go after Pink yourself?"
"I wanted to, at first," said James. "But how would I even know where to look? Although, now that we're talking about it, there is something I just thought of to try. It's a long shot, but maybe it's better than nothing."
"Not your failsafe?" asked Ochre, concerned.
"No," said James. "I'll attempt to use my Servant to materialize a Pink-locator device. Like, just push a button and it tells you what direction will lead to Pink."
Without further comment, James materialized a small gray box with one button and two lights on it. He did this in two minutes, with Bob and Ochre watching quietly. "Okay," said James, picking up the box and pressing its button. When he held the device one way, a red light lit up. So he waved it around until the red light went out and a green light lit up. "Pink is that way!" he said, seeing the green light come on. "Sorry Bob, I'm going to have to cut this interview short. This is more pressing."
"I guess I can't argue with that," said Bob. "But we'd love to have you back at some point."
James was already standing up, with Ochre following suit. "Is that ... southwest?" she asked.
"We'll see once we're outside," said James. "Government, if you're listening, get us a helicopter ready."
James' government handlers didn't share his confidence in the materialized device's accuracy. Both Suit and Janet urged him to turn the device over to the FBI, which was officially in charge of the search for Pink. James disregarded this advice, and set off with Ochre and two private security officers in a large black SUV.
They drove all day and night, following the green light, eating materialized food and stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks. Early in the morning, in northern New Mexico, they turned off the highway and onto an unmarked road. After a few miles, they came to a large gate manned by armed guards. One guard approached the driver's side window. "Turn around," he bellowed. "You are not authorized to be in this area."
Making sense of the scene, James found himself overcome with anger. He got out, put the guards to sleep, and opened the gate from inside their booth. "This shit's about to get dicey," he said, returning to his seat in the SUV. "Now drive. I'll give you both big bonuses if you stay with us through this."
"How big?" asked the driver. "We're not exactly equipped for a raid on a fortified installation."
"I was thinking twenty grand each," said James. "And I can totally materialize kevlar vests and whatever else we need."
"Fine," said the driver.
"Okay," said the other security officer.
Ochre had her phone out and was recording the scene. "I'll try to capture everything," she said. "Just let me know if you need me for something else."
By the time James had materialized kevlar vests for everyone and tranquilizer dart guns for the security officers, they could see a vehicle convoy approaching from Pink's direction. "Get us as close as you can, but don't get boxed in," said James, readying his wand.
When the first Humvee was thirty yards away, James put everyone in the convoy to sleep. There were a couple of minor accidents, but mostly the vehicles just slowly stopped, with four of them rolling off the dirt road completely. Half a mile further in, they were met by another, more substantial gate and a squad of soldiers pointing weapons at them.
James put everyone to sleep, then used his Servant to dematerialize a large section of gate. A few soldiers began shooting, and dozens of them were converging on the position. Putting them to sleep too, James consulted his locator and identified the building he thought Pink was in. "Okay, here's what we're going to do," said James. "I'm going to activate a bubble of protection large enough for all of us. Stay close and nothing they throw at us can hurt us."
Dematerializing the building's door and another security door beyond it, James led the party into the building. It was some kind of medical facility, with electronic locks on all of the doors. Eventually, James came to a door that produced a green light in the locator. Dematerializing the lock and opening this door, they found two soldiers, who opened fire immediately. This had no effect due to James' bubble of protection, and James waved his wand to put them to sleep.
The room appeared as some sort of high tech operating theater, with a figure strapped to a large table. Some kind of electrical apparatus was attached to the figure's head. It was Pink. James ran to him, and was relieved to find that the electrical apparatus was relatively easy to remove. Once the thing was off, Pink opened his eyes. "First Designer?" he said slowly. "I've had a grand adventure here. Has much time passed?"
"Maybe save the chit chat for later?" said a security officer. "We should exfiltrate ASAP."
"In a minute," said Ochre. "I'm documenting the contents of this room. Pink, are you injured?"
"They blocked some neural function, which may have caused brain injury," said Pink. "But this form should be able to repair it over time."
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