Part 19 of some new science fiction. If you're just tuning in, consider starting with part 1. The image above was created with stable diffusion.
Finding Pink being experimented on changed something in James. He'd been mostly cooperating with the government since the Visitors arrived. But kidnapping and medical experiments went too far. Much too far.
Suspending his media tour and returning home, James decided to talk to everyone before responding to the incident. Both Suit and Janet claimed to have no knowledge of the plot, but James didn't believe them. Yarn scolded James for promising the security officers forty thousand dollars, reminding him of his precarious finances and urging greater caution moving forward.
After a few days of moping around the house, an idea came to James. He was sitting with Yarn, Ochre, and Pink. They were all trying to persuade him to resume the media tour. "You know what?" he said. "I think I've had it with this whole game."
"I don't like the sound of that," said Yarn. "What whole game are you referring to?"
"Fucking all of it," said James. "The money part for sure. I feel more money pressure now than I ever did when I was just some guy trading penny stocks. And I'm like the most famous person in the country. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. I've about had it with the government. They're a bunch of liars and criminals. The Visitors are the most important thing to happen ever, and those assholes are still stuck in Nineteenth Century nationalism. Whatever. I'm just done with all of it."
"Are you going to start a revolution?" asked Ochre, who seemed pleased.
"Will you use my kidnapping to rally rebel forces?" asked Pink. "You have my permission to use my likeness on propaganda materials."
"Glad you guys are having fun with this," said Yarn. "But I'm still not sure what we're talking about, exactly."
"I don't have the full picture yet, but initially, I'm thinking turds," said James.
"I don't follow," said Yarn.
"The first thing I'm going to do is go to the Federal Building here and materialize a giant turd in its entryway," said James. "The Servant can make one as big as a compact car, and if one isn't enough, I'll make more of them."
"Interesting," said Ochre. "What is step two?"
"I don't know," said James. "I'm kinda just thinking out loud here."
"What if you made a substance with the scent of turds, but with the stickiness of tar?" asked Pink.
"Now we're talking," said James.
"For greater impact, we could kidnap Suit and put him to sleep, so he wakes up in your giant turd of protest," said Pink.
"Okay, even talking like this is a serious crime," said Yarn. "Can we circle back to considering other options?"
"We don't want Suit," said Ochre. "We want the voice that gives Suit his orders."
"Pretty sure that's Congressman Frank Lake," said Yarn. "The Department of Defense is in charge, but the Congressman chairs the committee that's running the show."
"Okay, what do we know about him?" asked James.
"I worked up a profile and sent it to you a month ago," said Yarn. "Didn't you read it?"
"Give me the broad strokes," said James.
"Went to Yale," said Yarn. "From a military family. Made his money doing real estate deals wit the Navy. Got elected because of his tough-on-crime stance. This is his second term. He chairs the Object Action Committee. And I can't stress enough that this is not the kind of guy you want to mess with."
"Where does he live?" asked James."Never mind, it doesn't matter. Yarn, get him here for a meeting."
"Suit is my only contact in that chain-of-command," said Yarn. "You want him at the meeting, too?"
"I have questions for everyone who had me abducted," said Pink. "Questions regarding their ethics, as well as about what they learned from examining me. The data we recovered from the site may be incomplete."
"I want to know why they selected him and not me," said Ochre.
"Fine," said Yarn. "I'll invite them to meet at the W. Should I notify the media or do you want it quiet."
"Give Tina Dew the exclusive," said James. "And try to make it happen tomorrow."
At that point, Janet burst in through the front door, capturing the room's attention. "I was listening," she explained. "Whatever you're planning, don't."
"Our plan is evolving," said James. "Your people crossed a line. I'm going to respond."
"I told you I had nothing to do with the abduction," said Janet.
"And I believe you," said James. "Your job is sociological and technical. But Suit and his boss will both be held accountable for their parts in it. This thing isn't just going to go away."
"Think of it this way," said Janet. "Because of secrecy laws, it would be a crime for either party to even admit to having knowledge of the secret program."
"To find Pink, I used my Servant to materialize a locator device," said James. "If I can make a locator device, I can make a lie detector. Completely non-invasive, of course."
"And then what?" asked Janet. "Confront them? Do you even know the kinds of people you're dealing with? On another topic, could I examine your latest creations?"
"Have you learned anything new about Pink's condition?" asked James. "Was there lasting damage?"
"Too early to tell," said Janet. "His tissues are regenerating, so he may eventually make a full recovery."
"Will you come to the meeting tomorrow and talk about that?" asked James.
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