Lina had joined the factory at the age of 19, lured by the promise of a “competitive salary” in crypto-currency. She worked long hours on automated production lines. Life at the factory was not what she had imagined. Every day was the same, confined within the cold walls of the dormitories attached to the complex. The in-house currency, a company-specific shitcoin, only allowed her to buy products available on site.

One evening, a supervisor offered her a “special deal”: a small bonus in cryptos if she agreed to accompany him after working hours. Lina refused at first, but the galloping inflation of the internal currency and the steady decline in its value prompted her to reconsider. She wanted to save up to escape this prison, but every time she accumulated enough to convert the cryptos, their value plummeted, orchestrated by the traders linked to the company.

Lina was then pushed into the virtual world of the metaverse, where she had to “work” as an avatar. Her employers used smart contracts to force her participation: any income she earned went in part back to the company. Her avatar, a hyper-sexualized version of herself, was controlled by a system in which she had almost no autonomy. Every virtual interaction seemed to steal a piece of her humanity.

The weight of this life became unbearable. Lina was trapped in a cycle where her body and digital identity were commodified. In the real world, the isolation of the dormitories prevented her from asking for help. In the metaverse, her avatar was exploited for “services”, and she had no way of cutting off these interactions without violating contracts that would penalize her financially.One day, Lina came across a small underground community in the metaverse.

These resistance fighters were using an alternative crypto-currency, not controlled by the company. They offered to hack into her smart contract, diverting part of her income and converting it into a stable currency. Thanks to them, Lina was able to accumulate enough to organize her escape, but not without risk.

With the help of this community, Lina left the factory. She found refuge in another area where resistance networks had developed, using blockchain to create fairer opportunities. She in turn became an activist, helping other workers to free themselves from the oppressive system.

Translated with DeepL