Collecting & Sharing Data

The single biggest currency in the Zone is information. It is the very lifeblood of what everyone there is trying to achieve. The acquisition and sale of data is how freelancers get rich, why the gangs exist and what all the scientists are roughing it in the Zone for. In game, data comes in three types.

Paper

Information on paper is very rare but some freelancers keep notes in small notebooks as to what they have learned and where they have been. The notebooks of legendary guides and explorers are highly prized and can command huge prices. Virtually no scientific data of any kind is on paper. Players are free to make copies of written information in whatever way they can.

Memory Stick

Most scientific data will be on memory stick. Each memory stick will be marked with a code for the use of the referee team. There will be a PC available for communal use so you can read the data you acquire. Rather than vast reams of technical jargon the memory stick will have a brief written description of what the player can determine from the data. The file will also tell you which skills will yield more information and will either put that in a separate file or direct you to a referee. Memory sticks can be copied and passed around freely.

Taking Readings

If an area or object has something interesting that can be learned about it by taking readings, it will have a QR code like the above. Scanning the code with a suitable reader will bring text up on your phone. This may be a description of what you learn or instructions to speak to a ref. You may only scan a QR code if you have the skill printed on the bottom of the laminated card. Some areas or objects may have multiple QR codes attached to them, one for each of a few skills. Only scan the ones with the skills you have.

A player scanning a QR code