"Ha. All right. ...How illegal is counterfeiting around here, just out of curiosity?"

"Money's value comes from the metal. If you have gold, it's as good as any other gold. The stamped coins are just for convenient standard measurements. If you tried to pass off gold-plated copper as pure gold that would get you in trouble, but our economy did not expect conjuring."

"All right. I might have some fun with him, then, we'll see."

"I suppose poking the cat is safe if you're a bear." She starts flying to the city.

Cam giggles and flies after her.

"The form wanted to know if I was a shaper. I'm not. You need to redesign them if you want to catch people like me."

"Unfortunately the reality here is that the form was still inaccurately filled out. Not having complete information about the people visiting our city poses a significant security risk. We don't register piano players, but you should have disclosed an unusual ability with such a large potential for disruption."

"You also didn't ask if I know martial arts, brought weapons, know how to pick locks, carry infectious disease, sympathize with your political enemies, or descend from an ancestor who was cursed with generations of bad luck that brings earthquakes wherever I go. Those are all 'nos', by the way. There wasn't a space on the form for 'miscellaneous potential hazard'."

"It's true. I could make a little silver. Or I could fly away and stop bothering you, since I'm such a disruption. I mean, this would have an opportunity cost of much more than three silver, but it sounds like I'm a headache to you personally, and I can't imagine why anyone would wish a headache on you."

"Do you have something in mind?"

"A veto power, your sincere consideration of projects that the Opri City Council requests, guarantees that you will give the Senate samples of or information about anything you give Opri if they request it, proper documentation of all products and services, permission to dismantle or destroy the things you make with one week's notice if they interfere with city operations, thorough education on the technology, any of your industries or sales that occur in Opri space being subject to a 24% gross income tax, and a public statement that Opri is not responsible for any criminal or aggressive actions you take."

"I can do some of that. I will sincerely consider suggested projects, I can print out design schematics for anything I make, if you want to wreck your infrastructure I'll probably stop making you new infrastructure but I won't make a huge fuss about it, there is a language and assumed technology barrier in all educational materials I could produce and my personal time is valuable but I'm not opposed to teaching you guys to maintain or manufacture the shiny toys, and I'll happily state that Opri is not making me do anything criminal or aggressive unless you in fact come up with some way to make me do things that are one of those, which is unlikely. Is that income tax standard?"

"The removal clause is aimed at something like: If you decide to be amusing and made a gigantic sculpture in the middle of the street, we are not responsible for breaking it to get it out of the way. The usual industry and commercial income tax is 20%. You are classified as a high-risk industry, so the tax is higher."

"High-risk? What kind of risk? To whom?"

"High risk to Opri, because the Senate very much does not like new things and is likely to invade us unless you very kindly also gift them similar things to what you give us. If you are determined to go up against the Senate, you're going to have to do it someplace other than Opri."

"I haven't met the Senate. Maybe they're very nice people and I want to give them stuff. The invading people for having received presents doesn't sound like it, of course. If you'd rather not take the risk I could just go make an island in whatever passes for international waters around here and colonize it and take immigrants, the idea has substantial appeal."

"All right. I can disconnect the dam cable, then. You can keep the water station or I can put one like what you had before back, up to you."

"...Are you planning to pick them up and move them?"

"I don't have anywhere else to be. I mean, even if I go make an island it won't take that long unless all these various governments have the sea claimed for quite a long way past the coast."