More Involved Research

Particularly of the paid variety.

Currently, the paid research is a convenient way to convert your ever accumulating junk into gold. Why? No clue! You have no idea what you're researching, why, or who for. All you know is that doing it earns you money. It does wear a little, after a few times.

If, instead of being a one-and-done node to fill that reappears when you leave, what if you instead had a box of requests from researchers across the globe?

Some of these requests would be for the chemicals the lab produces. As they likely require a steady supply, these ones would be repeatable (within reason) insuring you always have one to do if you're running low on cash.

Others, however, would be more involved, and feature some level of actual research. Importantly, you'd know what you're researching, who for, and why they want the research done (potentially). You provide them with your findings, they examine the data, and maybe come back with requests for more research.