Episode #39: Jeeves' Story.
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Last Week, as you recall, Dr. Smith had found Jeeves in Dr. Smith's yard, literally fading fast. This Is His Story.
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"WELL DR. SMITH, IT WAS LIKE THIS, ONCE YOU LEFT THE HOUSE FOR THE R.L.B.S., ALL THE DIALS INDICATING THE CURRENT LIFTING POWER STARTED TO FLICKER AND POINT TO ZERO. SO, BEING A CONSCIENTIOUS AND *1011011* OH, EXCUSE ME. BIT OF A COUGH THERE. I NAVIGATED THE HOUSE BACK DOWN THE HOLE AND FLEW IT TOWARDS YOUR BASEMENT, IN THE HOPE OF ARRIVING AT THE LOT BEFORE #17 RON DEVUE DR. LOST ALL ITS LIFTING POWER. I JUST MADE IT BEFORE THE GAUGES SHOWED ALL THE LIFTING POWER WAS GONE. WHEN I GOT HERE EVERYTHING WAS PERFECTLY NORMAL, THE RIGHT COLORS AND EVERYTHING.
THEN I HEARD THAT YOU HAD ARRIVED BEFORE ME.
I WAS OF COURSE CURIOUS, SIR, TO SEE HOW YOU COULD HAVE MADE IT OUT OF THE R.L.B.S. SO QUICKLY! I FOUND OUT THAT YOU WERE AT THE OLD GAS STATION, SELLING OFF ONE OF YOUR INVENTIONS. THAT WAS WHEN I FIRST STARTED TO SUSPECT, SIR, BUT I WENT ANYWAY. IT WAS HORRIBLE. SIR.
-=fig. 187: Something was Very Wrong=-
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S
OMETHING WAS VERY WRONG, SIR. B
UT I COULDN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT, SO I JUST WATCHED AS ALL THE PEOPLE BOUGHT UP ALL THE GRAY BOXES. A
ND WHEN SOMEBODY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY?
YOU JUST GAVE IT AWAY, SIR. T
HAT WAS WHEN I KNEW THAT IS WASN'T YOU, SIR. N
OBODY WOULD HAVE HAD TO PAY ANY MONEY IN THE FIRST PLACE. Y
OU MADE THOSE BOXES SOUND SO GOOD! N
O ONE SUSPECTED A THING, AND WHO WOULD? I
T'S THE GREAT D
R. S
MITH, INVENTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE! T
HE HERO OF RON DEVUE DRIVE! T
HE TROUBLE STARTED ONCE EVERYONE IN LEGOPOLIS HAD A BOX. E
VERYONE STARTED GETTING SO SAD, AND MOVING SO SLOW. I
T WAS ALMOST AS IF THEIR COLORS WERE FADING.
-=fig. 188: Fading away=-
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E
VERYONE GOT SO DEPRESSED THAT THEY COULDN'T EVEN MOVE! T
HEY JUST STOOD THERE, FADING AWAY. T
HINGS GOT WORSE WHEN THE PSYCHO TRANSYLVANIAN AND HIS TOP-HATTED ARMY SHOWED UP. A
H! I
SEE YOU KNOW THEM, SIR. W
ELL, ONCE THEY SHOWED UP, THINGS TOOK A TURN FOR THE WORSE, THEY HAD MORE OF THOSE GRAY BOXES, BUT THESE LOOKED MORE POTENT. T
HE MEN IN TOP-HATS HELD THESE NEW BOXES UP TO THE BUILDINGS, AND–
-=fig. 189: They Stole the colors=-
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–T
HEY STOLE THE COLORS SIR, STOLE THEM! R
IGHT OFF THE BUILDINGS! I
WAS AMAZED, AND INTRIGUED, FOR I KNEW THAT YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW THIS WORKED, BUT I
COULDN'T SEE ANY OBVIOUS MEANS WITH WHICH THEY COULD TAKE THE COLORS, NO WIRES, NO GEARS. O
NCE ALL THE COLORS WERE GONE FROM THE BUILDINGS, THEY TURNED TO THE SKY. A
ND WHEN THAT WAS DONE, THEY TOOK THE GRAY BOXES AND PUT THEM IN CRATES. O
DDLY, THE GRAY BOXES WERE NO LONGER GRAY, THEY WERE ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW.
-=fig. 190: The Colors in their crates=-
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T
HE COLOR HAD A SORT OF LIQUID QUALITY, I COULD SEE IT SPILLING OUT OF THE STURDY CRATES THAT THE TOP-HATTED MEN HAD BROUGHT." "What Happened next?" asks Dr. Smith, breaking the silence. "I D
IDN'T SEE… T
HE GRAY HAS AN INFECTIOUS QUALITY THAT SPREADS LIKE WATER IN A PLATE. T
HE TOP-HATTED MEN NEVER SAW ME, I THINK. A
ND THEY MISSED THE BACK YARD AND INSIDE OF YOUR HOUSE, SIR, ENTIRELY. B
UT THE GRAY WAS SEEPING THROUGH THE WALLS, SO I CALLED A COUPLE OF FRIENDS OF MINE TO STAND IN THE KITCHEN," "The Robots we saw?" "Y
ES, WELL, YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM." Dr. Smith Turned To Capt. Brown, who was standing next to him. "James, we need to get Jeeves out of here, help me with his foot would you?" "Ungh, what did you make him out of, Zachary? Lead?" "Not Entirely," Dr. Smith says with a smile, "The outer coating is Titanium-Steel alloy. The Inner Coating is an inch of lead, to prevent against radiation." "And the black-and-white got through all that?" "It would appear so." Capt. Brown looks worried, and yells over his shoulder, "The I.R.S. is Coming! Scramble!" The Rooftop Police, {Or L.C.R.P} being a motley crew of reformed Æther Pirates, smugglers, and small business owners, they respond well to this form of retreat message, forming an orderly retreat back to the hole in Reality.
-=fig. 191: An Orderly retreat=-
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The Universe, Being an orderly place at heart, doesn't stand with unsightly holes popping up all over the place. Really. One Would Think reality was falling apart or something. " 'URRY HUP!" shouts one of the more grammatically challenged of the L.C.R.P, referring {Of Course} to the frightening rate at which the only mode of egress from this dismal city {The Hole In reality} was closing. "Let's Put a bit of Speed on, James!" "Capital Idea Zachary old boy!" Grinning from ear to ear, they both speed up considerably, just making it through before the hole closed.
Still grinning, Capt. Brown claps Dr. Smith on the back, saying "Just like old times, eh?" An officer of the L.C.R.P. overhearing the last bit of the conversation says "This has happened Before?" Dr. Smith, seeing that Capt. Brown was about to…
Embellish the story…somewhat, jumps in and says: "Well, sort of. Of course it wasn't reality that was closing in, it was the police of five counties. And of course, they weren't chasing me, it was the good captain here, as I would never have gotten caught for such a–"–Here Dr. Smith Turns To Capt. Brown, scolding him– "
stupid thing,"–He turns back to the hapless officer–"but yeah, pretty much the same." "Good Times." Says Capt. Brown, nodding. The poor officer, knowing better than to ask what the 'stupid thing'
actually was, wandered back to the majority of the crew, who were busy making a fire. Suddenly the R.L.B.S started to flicker, and fade. "What's Going On?" Shouts one of the L.C.R.P., running around with his hands in the air, the picture of a scared person. The rest of the crew, too sensible to be scared, calmly {But quickly} form a ring around Dr. Smith And Capt. Brown, bristling with weapons. Dr. Smith, laughing nervously, says; "Well done old Chaps, but I'm afraid that won't do you any good, as we appear to be traveling out of the R.L.B.S. whether we like it or not." One gray-haired. 'Old Chap' rumbles out a reply in a deep baritone, "Not all of us are 'Old', Doctor, but I get the point."
The Rather Large Blank Spot continues to fade as the real world shines through…
Join us Next Week for our Next Exciting Episode:
South By Southwest
-=Best Regards=-
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Sir Jacob D. Fredrickson Esq.
Chief Executive Officer of Early Bird Industries, Inc.