I knew the good times wouldn't last, so I kept my eyes open to new missions, and that made me wonder about new ways of bankrolling missions, which was how I came across VendiJob.
I almost didn't see it because the outfit was located behind a more traditional food court between these high rises flanking this miniature manmade lake. Such places are loaded with security, and that spells trouble, even when you're dressed like someone who could legitimately be there, if you're not buying shit or talking to other people.
But, since I was now keeping my eyes open and had developed a taste for adventure, one afternoon I decided to take a stroll through this area, and that's when I noticed VendiJob. At first I couldn't tell if it was some sort of dumb art installation or what; it seemed like amini food court unto itself, but there was no one there, and it also seemed exaggerated. And it also seemed like a carwash.
Then this black dude in an expensive suite walked over and got himself a coffee.
The way VendiJob worked was basically the way all fast food franchises work, except here the automation was complete, meaning that the three restaurants that occupied the VendiJob space did not require traditional employees. The customer was the employee, placing their order at a kiosk, and then following the directions on the different screens for fulfilling the item, which usually involved helping it out of a deep freeze and into a microwave or deep fryer.
There was also a game, I guess an incentive for someone who wanted to be an employee. If you put in time doing various tasks you got paid, either in credits against your food (less value), credits in general(greater value), or cash (less value). The food was already very cheap because of the new way of doing the labor.
(Later on, when I got into researching at the library, I found the idea, or one of the ideas around VendiJob, was to help homeless people, give them an opportunity to work flexible hours to fit the different demands of their lifestyle. The VendiJob set up in that particular corporate courtyard, in the City of Progress, had actually been intentioned as a strategy to integrate and help the homeless in the area, not accounting for the fact that the homeless and other transients and weirdos were forcibly kept away.)
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THE DOG HUNTERS (completed)
General FictionA suicidal homeless weirdo has adventures. He runs into a duo of dog lovers, who spend their days traveling around the city observing and honoring dogs. Wisdom cannot be run away from. He escapes paradise and falls in love with a strange lady who m...
