Xaviers!

"Not dissimilar from how you run a university."

She chuckles briefly, stopping when she feels her back moving in awkward ways against Will's work of dewing her back up. "Which was significantly easier when the network was part of me."

"I have not run a full survey, but I imagine the majority of the universities in this country are not run by artificial intelligences," Will pointed out.

"It would be much more efficient. At least Natalie is handling some of the IT work but I can't let a student handle everyday administrative tasks. I need more staff."

"Alright, I am finishing closing you up now," Will said. "I would highly recommend taking it easy for the next few days."

"Tell that to my work schedule>" she says, then adds, "You have a near unlimited supply of manpower. How would you feel about a personal assistant position?"

"I do have some experience in that field," Will considered. "There were times when I impersonated the headmistress of my previous university, to handle tasks she did not particularly feel interested in performing."

"Fortunately I curated most of my contacts to accept me as eccentric enough to prefer remote appearances, but I'll keep that in mind as an option. I could also use an extra pair of hands in the workshop, my efficiency is lackluster at the moment. There's always paperwork that needs doing and you have a large enough presence on campus, it could be useful to know of any potential issues before they become a full-blown crisis. Not in the sense of spying on peoples' personal lives of course, but not everyone is prone to asking for help if they might need it."

"I believe I could assist you then, headmistress. Likely not in this form; not on a regular basis, but I am sure we can work something out that would be mutually beneficial to all included parties."

"You are the expert on matching form to function."

"We would have to come to an agreement about adequate compensation. Our last role as an assistant to a university leader did not do much to inspire trust in the general populace."

"Of course. I don't wish to exploit you like Lippincott did and my personal funds are more than enough to cover a fair salary."

"Then we shall consider it a deal, headmistress. I look forward to us working together from here on out."

"As do I. Although in the future I should probably hold salary negotiations under less compromising circumstances."

"And that is why you need an assistant," Will nodded.