We head back; Manager Chi K. Jackson isn’t very chatty on the way, still apparently lost in thought - which is fine, really.  I don't need to be talking all the time.

When we get back to the dingy and dirty sanitation office, I have a simple question for Chi: "How many would you like?"

"Ah… six, please. I'll have them work in shifts with different handlers… I'm always supposed to have someone above ground anyway in case of trouble, and these girls apparently do better work, and twice as much, at half the cost…"

I respond as I Fabricate a contract: "Sounds good. I have a few minor tweaks for the prototype based on observations today, but will let you work with her immediately while I get the other five ready."

I hand her the contract, and as she reviews it, I update Callie-0's buff list: I add Freedom of Movement so she'll have no issues moving the next time a Gelatinous Cube engulfs her, give her the Eternal Steel buff from the Nature sphere of Spheres of Power so that she can survive when out of hit points (as long as acid and rusting effects aren't involved), and add Energy Immunity (Acid) as I can do 6th level spells now.  That takes me less than six seconds, so I also update her orders: 《You're officially on lease to this city’s sanitation department as of when the contract is signed. Try to do what the manager of this facility indicates as long as it's A: a lawful action, B: Not meaningfully harmful to yourself, living humans, me, or my goals, and C: Doesn't conflict with my orders and wishes.》

《Certainly master.》

《Good girl.》

《Thank you master.》

After a few minutes, I hear Ms. Jackson speak up, "Done. Surprisingly generous contract."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, there's the clause about them getting injured…"

"They're ridiculously durable - I wasn't actually joking about what would happen if you hit her at 90 with your truck - and I can restore a broken one to full function reasonably easily. As long as you can retrieve the hulk as specified in the contract, I can get her back up and running in short order."

"The clause on theft…"

"There’s no active monitoring, but she's very easy for me to track. If she's stolen, I can locate and retrieve her pretty trivially, assuming she doesn't retrieve herself first."

"The surprisingly low rental fee for what she represents. I mean, a humanoid AI that can deal with the real world? That's an incredible advancement, even discounting the metallurgy, power supply, and everything else. I mean it's practically…"

"Magic? That's what I'm calling the principals she's based on, yes. Did you catch my interview on Channel 9 news? If not, you may want to look it up… after you get a good night's sleep."

"Uh-huh. And then there's the termination clause…"

"I believe in my products. If you're not satisfied, that's fine, just bring them back, and we can part ways, no big deal; it's just a rental agreement. She's easily reassigned to other tasks."

"That said, there is this one clause…"

"The time off? As I said, she may grow into a person eventually, and want time to do things like visit parks, attend classes, pursue art, or spend time with friends. And really, one day a month, bankable up to thirty days, isn't so harsh, is it? I can even provide subs as needed."

"Yeah, it's fine, but it's weird to see that in an equipment rental."

"Understandable. But she isn't exactly normal equipment, is she?"

"No, she's not. Umm… does this interact with the 13th amendment at all?"

Honestly, I have no idea. "Well, she's not a person, exactly, at least not yet. But there's no punishment for disobedience, no penalty to her if she runs away, so it's hardly involuntary servitude." I hope. I mean, I'm confident I can sell that to a jury, but still….

"That's…fair, I guess.  How long until delivery on the others?"

"A few days until I have them built. I figure I'll have them deliver themselves."

"That'll be fine. Thanks."

I collect the billing contact information for invoicing, and Plane Shift to my crafting plane to get started. Twelve seconds of my time making materials and bodies, six hours loading up the Dedicated Wights to enchant them. This is, however, a double time plane, so it's just three hours Earth time. They are valued at 10,000 gp market on the enchantments, and my wights can craft at twelve times earth speed thanks to my shenanigans, so that will be done in twenty hours of Earth time. Meanwhile, I milk myself again, distribute the milk in half-ounce bottles to my priesthood, and collect Jessica's Elixir of Sex Shifting.

I then Plane Shift back to the real world, and Greater Teleport over to my warehouse (I can prepare 5th level spells now, which lets me take advantage of the Summoner getting the spell at 5th… although I do need an extra action to recharge it).

… and it's empty.  What? All my things are still here - not that it's much; the warehouse is mostly dedicated to managing the lines, so it's rows & rows of standard stanchions for directing people to walk efficiently (folks in wheelchairs or crutches have an express line). Unclear on why there's nobody inside, I explore a bit… and see a red piece of paper taped onto the front door (with a very angry looking crowd outside).  Fortunately, my security guys are off duty cops, and nobody's making a move on them.

Not wanting to deal with the crowd until I have a better idea what is going on, I cast Arcane Eye to drop a Scrying sensor on the other side of the door, and read the notice.  Apparently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a cease-and-desist for my "manufacture and sale" of "unapproved and unlicensed flying machines."  And I have a court date in six months if I wish to appeal and for the determination of my fines. Oh yes, and I'm to provide them with my entire customer list so they can contact everyone and confiscate the flying machines. Lovely.

Well, I take walk-ins, many of which are internationals or cash payments, so no contact lists for them. Not that they could confiscate the not-technically-spells anyway.  I can get a list of bills from the check and card customers I suppose … I'm going to need to lawyer up. Ugh.  Although…

I pull out my wallet, dig through the business cards, and call my Air Force contact. He's not immediately available, so I leave a message: "Hi, this is Chris Carlson, your provider for human flight services. The FAA is apparently shutting me down for the manufacture and sale of flying machines, even though no flying machines are involved in my work. My appeal date isn't for six months, though, which pretty much means I'm going to need to relocate my business to a more understanding country if the FAA doesn't back down quickly. I'm sorry about not being able to do further business with you; you're a good customer, and I'm proud to support the USA. I just thought you ought to hear it from me first."

I leave essentially the same message for my Army, Navy, CIA, and FBI contacts,tweaking for the services they buy.  That should get the FAA off my back soon enough. In the meantime, now that I have a good grip on what's going on….

I cast a Fleeting Spell Clarion Call on myself to replace a megaphone, and Dimension Door outside, fifty feet up in the air.  I then give a short speech:

"Hello everyone! The FAA isn't letting me sell anymore, but I appreciate all of you, so today? I'm giving it away. Now, as we're not allowed in the building, please fly up and out over the crowds as I process you all…"

And my recent level up makes me MUCH better at this. Conditional Spell and Quicken Spell allows me to cast my Chained Reach Fly without needing a second spell for Conditional Favor, the caster level inflation lets me grant more flight per cast, Dual Actions gives me more actions to play with… and I'm feeling a bit annoyed, so I also make full use of Borrowed Time, letting my Regeneration and fast healing neutralize the damage it deals to give me an extra Swift. I also make use of Summons and Create Proxy to get circle magic running at maximum for another five caster levels. All told, I'm hitting twenty three people per casting, five castings per round, for 115 people granted flight every six seconds, with all the same safeties as usual.  At over a thousand people per minute, the line clears out quickly… but word of mouth spreads, and everyone who couldn't afford it before shows up, if they think they can get here during my hours.

And that's fine by me. I grant flight to everyone who shows up.