Sargent is a peacekeeper, charged with enforcing the law in her futuristic world. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her girlfriend, Billie. One day, she hears that the famous inventor, Felix Frey, has gone missing shortly after announcing that he has made something that will destabilize the world. Sargent receives a call from an Inspector, claiming that he has found Frey. Sargent goes to meet Frey with the Inspector where Frey decides that he’ll show them his invention. The two go to Brunei to see it.

In the future, machines called fabricators exist that allow anyone to make anything they can dream of. Frey has found the one thing that cannot be replicated–a new element called jejunium–that he hopes to reintroduce to the world as currency, which became useless when fabricators were invented. Sargent is skeptical, asking why he feels a need to give people currency. Frey doesn’t have a clear explanation, and Sargent realizes that he’s just after the fame. The Inspector wants to arrest Frey, even though the inventor hasn’t done anything, so he makes up the excuse that jejunium could be radioactive and used as a weapon.

Frey is tried and sent to jail. Sargent asks the Inspector why he wants to put away a man without knowing if he was innocent or not. The Inspector replies that it is his responsibility to keep the peace, even if that means making decisions before crimes have occurred. Sargent can’t argue with this perspective, and they leave the courthouse.