The Pendelton Orthopedic Mattress was a runaway success. The King slept on it. The Duke slept on it. Even the stable master bought a discounted prototype.
But Arthur was awake.
He lay in his room at 3:00 AM, staring at the ceiling. His back was supported perfectly by the springs. But his neck... his neck was in crisis.
"Goose feathers," Arthur whispered with disdain, poking the lump of down under his head. "Inconsistent density. Lack of structural memory. Every time I move, I have to re-fluff. It is inefficient."
He sat up. "I cannot rule the industrial world with a stiff neck."
.....
Arthur went to his lab (the converted barn). He needed a material that was soft, yet firm. Something that molded to the shape of the head but returned to its original form.
He needed Memory Foam (Polyurethane).
But he didn't have oil refineries to make plastic. He had to improvise with alchemy.
"Sarah!" Arthur called out.
Sarah, who was sleeping on a cot in the corner (on a new mattress, thankfully), woke up groggily. "Young Master? Is the factory on fire?"
"No. I need sap. Specifically, the sap of the Rubber Tree. And... I need a Slime."
"A... Slime?"
"A Green Gelatinous Slime. The low-level monster found in the sewers. Their bodies exhibit non-Newtonian fluid properties."
...
By noon, the guards had fetched a barrel of raw rubber sap and a jar containing a very confused, wobbling Green Slime.
Arthur wore a mask. He heated the sap in a cauldron.
"Mixing agent," Arthur muttered. He poured a sample of the Slime into the hot rubber.
HISS.
The mixture bubbled. It turned from a liquid into a frothy, expanding beige foam.
"Injecting air bubbles," Arthur said, whisking furiously with a mechanical mixer he'd attached to a drill. "Trapping the gas creates the cellular structure."
He poured the goo into a square mold and let it cool.
An hour later, Arthur touched the result. It was a beige block. He pressed his hand into it. The foam sank, hugging his fingers perfectly. He pulled his hand away. The handprint remained for a second, then slowly, magically, the foam rose back to flat.
"Viscoelasticity achieved," Arthur declared. "It absorbs energy. It reduces motion transfer."
He cut the block into a contoured shape. He lay his head on it.
He groaned. "Oh... yes. Absolute cervical neutrality."
[Item Created: The Cloud Pillow.] [Effect: Increases Sleep Quality by 50%. Reduces Snoring.] [Alchemy Level Up: You have successfully synthesized a polymer using monster parts.]
Arthur looked at the Slime jar. "Thank you for your sacrifice, blob. You are now the foundation of comfort."
End of Chapter 17