After I'm done with Dan for the day, I get dressed, re-summon meatsuit, and replace the buffs that I dismissed due to being inconvenient in bed. I also dismiss my illusion of visibility, and Plane Shift back to Earth… targeting a currently shaded section of the far side of the moon.

Why the moon?

Well, Dan brought up a good point: I need a divine realm to house dead worshippers. Miracle can copy Create Demiplane, but it needs to be on behalf of a worshiper for me to use it. Which this is. I can also use it, of course. But if I have to actually throw someone out… I don't want it to be very hospitable. And hard vacuum does that fairly well.  I only spend enough time there for a standard action - not even a full round - and I have buffs, HP, and immunities for days, so I'm fine. My friends with my class A buff lists? Also fine, as long as I can get to them before they die of thirst or starvation. And Bobbie at least can bypass even that. Probably Dan, too. I am hoping any invaders I need to expel won't be quite so well prepared.  

Hmm. Maybe I should get a job with NASA? Interplanetary shuttle, trip time six seconds. Not much carrying capacity right now, though. 

The plane starts off small - just 80 ten-foot cubes - and not particularly interesting. But I quickly change that, recharging my daily Miracle via Heroic Fortune and recasting, over and over.  After about an hour, I figure it's big enough for now, and start decorating. I modify the shape so it loops in on itself and doesn't seem to have edges (and kind of folded the sky and ground; if you dig down, you'll soon find following a straight line means you're digging up in a different section of the demiplane, and flying up into the “sky” will do similarly) make it seasonal so it gets a nice day/night cycle (six hours of light, two hours of darkness, for an eight hour day … because that’s a nice number for resting to prepare spells or crafting magic items; also helps with per-day magic items that I can’t easily replicate via spells, but that’s a lesser concern - sadly, 24 hours here is still 24 hours on Earth, I can't cheese time out … yet), make it bountiful (so it's full of plants and streams, and visitors will have plenty of fruit and nuts to eat), and give a nice place for the dead to live with the Structure option to make a mansion.

Of course, it’s empty except for me for now.  But that’s fine, I don’t plan on living here.

Double-checking to make sure I’m currently invisible, I Plane Shift back to Earth, and then Teleport to my apartment… which is closed with police tape. And my computer is gone.  Why is my apartment a crime scene?

… oh, right.  “I” was killed in public.  I check on my scrying sensor on the suit from the interrogation viewing room, whatever that’s actually called… ah.  Scrying sensor lost him and ended when he got into a helicopter.  It can only follow at 150 feet per round, which works out to merely fifteen miles per hour. I should probably contact my friends who possibly saw “me” on the news…

《Hi Adam,》I start, but he interrupts.

《You’re alive!》

《Yeah. I found out I was about to get assassinated before it actually happened, and … they have a body, but it’s not mine.》

《... who died in your place?》He sounds a little accusatory there.

《Dan, but he’s OK!  Resurrection magic seems to work as listed.  And he knew what he was getting into.》

《Yeah, but Dan can’t exactly say no to you anymore.  That’s what you call ‘dubious consent.’》

OK, that hurts.  Mostly because he’s right.  Still, I try to defend myself:《I had slim pickings on my choices. I could avoid the assassin, in which case I’d be hounded forever - and who knows how much collateral damage they’d cause.  I could let myself get shot - but I regenerate, which means no body and they’d just try a different method: Again, hounded forever, with unknown collateral damage.  Or I could arrange for them to have a convincing body.  Of bodies I could quickly get, Dan had the single best chance of surviving getting killed - which is a really strange thing to say - and it all worked out. I’ve even given him some rewards he’s happy with.》

《You didn’t think about a fake body?》

《... umm…》

He continues, 《You’ve been growing pretty fast… you have access to Major Creation now, right?》

《... yes…》I respond slowly.

《OK, so next time you need to do something like that, make a fake body with Major Creation, then animate it like you do Decoy, and let them blow that to smithereens.  There’s no need to get any actual person killed.  It’s one thing to pull that kind of thing in game where death isn’t death, quite another in real life.  Carla, you’re dense sometimes.》

《Hey! I … maybe deserve that.  Yes, that’s a much better idea.  I wish I’d thought of it when I was panicking about an assassin after me, but I can’t change the past.》

He sighs, 《Well, at least we know Resurrection magic works. That's something. I'll tell Bobbie you're OK.》

Oh, they've spoken about the name thing. Good.

Before I can say anything, Adam adds, 《Done.》

That was fast, so… 《You’re with Bobbie now?》

《Yes, we're relaxing together at the moment.》

《So things went well after I left the party.》

《Very. Neighbors complained. They kinda shut up when I answered the door wearing a towel, but we ended up moving into a Psychoportive Shelter to keep going anyway. I don't really want to live by intimidation. You talked to Emily yet?》

《I'm kind of scared to do it. She's got it bad.》

《Your mess.  Man up.》

《Yeah, I know. I'll 'call' her next.》

《Bye. Hope it's not too rough,》closes Adam. 

I ping my girlfriend next… although at this point, I'm worried 'concubine' or maybe 'pleasure slave' might be closer, 《Hey Emily!》

《I knew you weren't dead, my goddess. 》

《How so?》

《First, you're a goddess. Simple bullets aren't going to take you down. Second, all of your blessings were still intact. Third, they had me identify your old body, not your new, impossibly beautiful, one. Fourth, you're a goddess.》

Well, she's right. Except for 1 and 4. I just have a number of abilities associated with such. Still.

《Well, good job. You said the police had you identify 'my' body? What'd you tell them?》

《That it looked 'exactly like Carl' - they treated that as a positive id.》

《So I am officially dead. Hmm. Not sure how I feel about that. Means I don't have a phone, id, money, or even an apartment anymore.》

《All that I have is yours, my goddess. 》

《Thanks… I do need to do some research. Mind if I borrow your computer for a while?》

《You don't even need to ask.》

Is it odd that I find this complete subservience a bit depressing?

《I’ll be over momentarily. 》

I am very familiar with Emily’s apartment, so I simply Teleport just outside. Taking a moment to glance around for witnesses, I cloak myself in an illusion of visibility, and knock.  Emily answers almost immediately. And her bathrobe is open. And she's apparently been taking advantage of the Shapechange to tweak her appearance. I have Glimpse of Truth up, so while I can see her current form perfectly, I also see her true form. She has thinned her waistline, widened her hips, expanded and perked up her chest, cleared up her skin, enlarged her areola, lengthened her taps… the effect is quite nice. She was already pretty, and now I'm seeing both her original form and the one she considers to be more beautiful. 

And this body has a monster libido. I can feel my arousal starting to soak my underwear. But I'm starting to get used to functioning with it, and I have work to do.

I grab her for a full body hug, running my hands into her robe and down her back, squeezing her cheeks when I reach her rear. I whisper in her ear, "You are amazing, my beloved. Thank you for the offer, but there's some things I need to figure out sooner rather than later. So I would like to start with your computer, if that's all right."

"Of course, my goddess," she whispers back.

She leads me to her desk, and unlocks her laptop for me. I sit down in her chair, and start researching a few things: What I need to get ID, the forms of gold bullion, the current price of gold, and some credit unions and what I'll need for an account there.

What? I have Major Creation now, and anything I cast is both permanent and non-magical. The only difference between the gold I'll make and natural gold is that mine doesn't work for spell components - probably fails for magic item crafting too, given Dan’s rundown. Which means it's basically free money, as long as I don't make enough to crash the market. Not like I'm cheating anyone by selling created gold. It'll work perfectly in jewelry, electronics, artwork, and basically anything else other than magic. And the only laws against creating gold are the laws of physics, which are lately feeling a bit more like suggestions than laws. 

While I'm working, I feel a tug on my underwear, and then something wet parts my lower lips. I look down, and see the back of Emily's head. Seems she decided I need some stress relief. She's quite good at it, seems to know exactly where I’m most sensitive. And I think she made her tongue longer. She is getting really deep …

I lose track of time for a while due to a haze of pleasure, riding the crests and waves Emily sends me on. Maybe there is something to be said for having such a dedicated worshiper. 

Still not worth the price, though.

When she finally stops and I can think again, I experimentally make one each of the one, ten, and four hundred troy ounce sizes, copying pictures I found online, but tweaking the engravings and adding a kinegram of my own design. I settle on the one troy ounce size for actual use; it takes me exactly as long to make one of the one troy ounce bars as it does the one of the four hundred troy ounce bars (or a ten cubic foot monstrosity that would break the floor and require an industrial forklift to actually move, for that matter), but I don't expect the gold dealers to have that much cash on hand, and I can’t use my bank account anymore. I need to get some cash so I can get some ID so I can get a bank account so I can actually participate in the modern economy again. And then I'll be able to accept payment for larger amounts of gold and use the money for renting a warehouse so I can take delivery of the salt I want to order for crafting. 

Is it weird that I've reached a point where I value salt above gold?

I leave the experimental bars on the table, quickly clean my clothes, and talk to Emily: "I'm heading out to get some cash, id, and a bank account, followed by getting money for the bank. The gold on the desk is yours. It's easier for me to make it than carry it."

"Thank you, my goddess," she tells me, falling at my feet.

Well, I did just leave a few decades' income on her desk.

"You’re welcome. But do stand up."

When she does, I give her a deep kiss, bid her goodbye, and dismiss my visibility. 

I find and visit one of those 'we pay cash for gold' places, and sell them an ounce of gold. I hear dice in my head as I convince the clerk not to check my id. But I do walk out of the dingy shop with enough cash to get my essential supplies… which turns out to be a simple prepaid unlimited cell phone plan and a cellphone with stylus. 

Which of course, I animate as I put them in my new, custom-created purse. Because dresses just don't look right with pockets. And I look good in a dress... I might be developing a little narcissism. 

Other than the wait in line, the DMV doesn't give me any trouble. I have a valid birth certificate and a social security number for a girl who would be 22 now, except that she's dead… but that was never filed properly. And Major Creation lets me make any document they ask for on the spot. They don't even image the stuff, so it can't be re-checked later. When I'm done, I have a non-driving state ID with my picture on it, properly filed in all systems.  Which I animate so it can be seen, and I turn around and use to get a bank account, and then a PO box. A trip back to the bank, and they'll send what little I don't get online to my PO box.

I then go around the city, selling as much gold as the shops will buy, getting it deposited in my account. When I'm done for the day, I have a good million in the bank, a place to get mail, and a nearly bulletproof id.

Next up, I book a hotel room. No, I'm not tired, but I need to make a laptop and a permanent phone, and I need space and wifi for that.

Yes, make. If you look around enough, Craft(Electronics) is a valid skill (Final Fantasy d20 has it explicitly, but the Craft and Profession skills are open-ended by default). So I use Major Creation to make a USB stick for my phone, start a download of my favorite Linux distribution onto it, create a very high-end laptop.  Like, higher end than anyone could manufacture.  Major Creation doesn't care about value outside of duration, I have a skill check that’s above and beyond what anyone should be able to accomplish, and I don’t need to worry about compatibility with standard parts … so I have more RAM than most desktops have hard disk space, a kicking processor with way more cores than I expect to use, three sim card slots to go with the three distinct software controlled radios, each flexible enough to do cellular, wifi on the 2.4, 5, and 60 GHz bands… and even reach satellites - each of which has its own antennae that wraps the entire case of the laptop - and a video subsystem that should be able to render full resolution animated movies in real time.  … and when I’m done, the download is still running. I can make the hardware faster than I can get the software to run it. Funny.

So I check in with my prophet. 

《Harriet?》

《Hello master.  What can I do for you?》

《Ah, good, they haven’t gotten to you.》

《Someone tried. I took a few hits, but my Damage Resistance soaked much of it, and the various spells you applied let me survive the rest long enough to vanish and heal.  That did leave me teleporting out of a public space, though.》

《That’s fine, then.  I’m planning another hospital run.  I’ll need you to advertise that.》

《No problem.  One thing, though…》

《Oh?》

《These folks who are out to kill you… they’re not evil.》

I dwell on that for a moment, and continue with《So… the folks that are trying to kill us for healing sick kids … somehow aren’t evil?》

《That took me by surprise too, yes.》

《Strange.  Well, that doesn’t change our plans for now.  Come on over, I’ll need you for the videos.》

I describe my hotel room in detail, so she has enough information for a Greater Teleport.  A few seconds later, she’s standing beside me.

This time, I book some VPN services, and chain them together… only to find out that the social media accounts we used the first time have been blacklisted.  

Well, easy enough to make new ones….