pixelated

[KLPNO]

Hello everyone
I'd like to ask about the word "pixelated" in the following context.

A soldier received a letter (via some hologram device) from a private investigator (PI) saying that she could not find his family. The soldier is very upset and screams some profanity (foul language). Then enters another soldier asking what happened.

"What is it, Dish?" came a voice from the door to barracks. Bowles looked over to see Gallaher entering.
"Sorry," he said more quietly. "It's nothing."
"Let me guess, the PI pixelated again?"
With a long sigh, Bowles nodded in the affirmative. "You know how many creds I've flushed for this."

What part of speech is "pixelated" in this case -- a verb or an adjective, and what does it mean? I looked this word up and the dictionary says that:
pix·i·lat·ed or pix·il·lat·ed (pĭk'sə-lā'tĭd) Pronunciation Key
adj.

1. Behaving as if mentally unbalanced; very eccentric.
2. Whimsical; prankish.
3. Slang Intoxicated; drunk.

But it seems to me that in the sentence "the PI pixelated again?" it has other meaning and is used as a verb.

[oregeezer]

Might be used in the third meaning - "drunk"
Your quote suggest a science fiction story where "creds" are money; so money spent to buy the person drinks.

[KLPNO]

Might be used in the third meaning - "drunk"
Your quote suggest a science fiction story where "creds" are money; so money spent to buy the person drinks.

Thank you very much, oregeezer. You are correct, this is a science fiction story. The soldier is in the USA, the PI in Spain. This scene is the first one in which the PI is mentioned and the author doesn't say anything about this person (if she likes getting drunk or not). What the author mentions is that the soldier has been trying to find his family for 2 years and that he got very upset after reading the letter from the PI.

[vil]

Dear KLPNO,

Please, see my assumption:

The mentioned in your post word is a verb. Every sign, as letters for example,are depicted with the help of the pixeles.

pixel =one of the individual dots that make up a graphical image, each of which combines red, green, and blue (RGB) phosphors to create a specific color. A VGA screen in high-resolution mode consists of 640 X 480 or 307,200 pixels.

pixelate (v) =The appearance of pixels in a bitmapped image. For example, when an image is displayed or printed too large, the individual, square pixels are discernible to the naked eye where one color or shade of gray blends into another. Sometimes, images are pixelated purposely for special effects.

Regards.

V.

[KLPNO]

Dear KLPNO,

Please, see my assumption:

The mentioned in your post word is a verb. Every sign, as letters for example,are depicted with the help of the pixeles.

pixel =one of the individual dots that make up a graphical image, each of which combines red, green, and blue (RGB) phosphors to create a specific color. A VGA screen in high-resolution mode consists of 640 X 480 or 307,200 pixels.

pixelate (v) =The appearance of pixels in a bitmapped image. For example, when an image is displayed or printed too large, the individual, square pixels are discernible to the naked eye where one color or shade of gray blends into another. Sometimes, images are pixelated purposely for special effects.

Regards.

V.

Vil, thank you very much for your reply.