Also from the Facebook group, an elaboration/write-up of an idea I'd had for a job and setting element.
"When Ubiq launches their first generation AR specs, the products shipped with the uBeasts game pre-installed as a 'proof of concept' that the Specs could be used as a gaming platform. Successive generations of Spec came with the next iteration of uBeasts and Ubiq Aloft's premiere brought uBeast World, a worldwide MMO version of the popular monster-collecting game.
When the Crash came, the world ended. People moved, infrastructure collapsed, the States were divided. But people still use Ubiq Specs and Ubiq Aloft servers still operate. Which means uBeast World still exists. As things calm down in the Recession, a bizarre sub-market has evolved among what's left in the uBeast fanbase, an extension of the so-called 'gold farming' industry that existed in other MMO's. Some people call it 'blight farming'.
'Blight farming' became necessary when a feature of uBeast World's creature spawning became especially inconvenient with the new realities of the zombie apocalypse. Certain special monsters could only be found at specific times, within specific regions, to encourage exploration and attendance at certain events. Ubiq City being in Colorado meant many of these mythic beasts would only ever spawn in Colorado, for example, to encourage people to visit. Colorado being in the Loss, Recession-based uBeast fans mostly gave up on ever getting their hands on these lost uBeasts. But many are willing to pay for the rare, the lost, or just for having their collection filled out. (Look, nerds pay a lot for weird stuff. Is this really surprising to anyone at this point?)
And so people began using Lifelines to arrange jobs with Takers to go 'blight farming', seeking out uBeasts that now could only be found in the Loss. They ship out cheap Ubiq specs with game installed, the Taker goes to the site the uBeasts spawn and try to remain uneaten until they can catch the Beast. The Taker then sends back the Specs with the captured uBeast on back to the client, who trades it with their main account. Some gamers might even ship out their primary gaming specs, if they can bear to be away from their main digital device for that long. From the Taker's perspective, blight farming is paying work but it's humiliating. No-one likes being the guy indulging the manchild (at least crypto can't get cheeto dust on it). The idea that your food or your child's medicine is dependant on this frippery, that you might get killed or become a monster in the name of an imaginary electric hamster, is incredibly demeaning to a lot of Takers. Blight farming jobs are usually considered 'bottom of the barrel' - taking one might even be a Humanity test as the Taker realises just how long they've sunk."
