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"I can remember when the first pulsars were discovered. I was able to go and sit down and listen to graduate students talking about what their theories, to explain what pulsars really were."
- Vernor Vinge

SPOOKS  
  A live-action role playing (LARP) game that lets ordinary people play at being secret agents.  

Tired of your boring life? Aren't most of us? Maybe you could spice things up by participating in a game that plays out in real life - with you as a secret agent.

...your phone rings. You look at the display with a sinking feeling: It's a particularly tedious LARP called SPOOKS, a real-time game in which you're acting your parts in a shadowy pan-European intelligence agency locked in a struggle for global hegemony with the forces of Chinese military intelligence, the Russian FSB, and, of course, the CIA.
Technovelgy from Halting State, by Charles Stross.
Published by Ace in 2007
Additional resources -

So, you're out of town on business, and someone calls you with a chance to participate in the game:

"...Tbis is Spooks Control. Are you busy right now?"

"Not particularly. You know I'm in Edinburgh?"

"That's why we're calling... We need a small parcel delivering."

So, you go to a place, pick up a parcel, and take it to another place. All done anonymously.

If you think there are opportunities for misuse, you're right. Read the book, and find out more.

See also the entry for International Fantasy Gaming Society">International Fantasy Gaming Society, the sfnal inspiration for this idea.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Halting State
  More Ideas and Technology by Charles Stross
  Tech news articles related to Halting State
  Tech news articles related to works by Charles Stross

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