Truth & Code: The Future is Black and White
The Hunt

The Hunt

Block 7,921,977

Fabian makes coffee while Jim and Patricia exchange small talk.

“How do you guys like your coffee?”

“Like I like my women.”

“How’s that?” Fabian asks sarcastically.

“Bitter!” Jim blurts out while laughing.

“Funny.”

Laura smiles and looks at Fabian.

“Laura, Jim, and I go way back. We are childhood friends, but he’s smart as shit.”

“Well, that explains why he’s here. Is that your bike?” As she looks at the photo of the bike above the sofa.

“Uh, yes. Yes, it is.” Fabian says.

“Wow, it’s beautiful. I mean, that is one sexy machine.” She says slowly.

Fabian and Jim look at each other. Jim winks at Fabian.

“Well, thanks. I think it’s a little sexy myself. If you want, I’ll take you out. It’s very safe.”

“Yeah, I know. I grew up riding dirt bikes in the mountains around here.”

Fabian and Jim look at each other again. Fabian winks at Jim this time.

“Sure, I’d love to go with you sometime.” She says.

“Great, let’s get past all this stuff, and we’ll figure something out.”

“Sounds good.”

Fabian walks over with three cups of black Guatemalan coffee.

“Ok, señor. Más vale que sea bueno.” Laura says suspiciously.

“Go ahead.”

She takes the cup from Fabian, brings it up to her nose, and smells it. She then waves her left hand toward her to get more of a smell. She then puckers her lips and blows the top of the coffee. The steam blows away from her. She takes a small sip and smells the cup again, and takes another small sip.

“Muy bien, señor. But I’ll reserve judgment for now. I know a great coffee processing and roaster up in the mountains about two hours from here. Maybe you can take me on that bike and do a tasting tour?”

“Bueno, quizá deberíamos encontrar tiempo para eso cuanto antes,” Fabian replies.

“No quiero interrumpir.” Jim interrupts. Do we want to try and digest some of this stuff we just heard?”

Fabian says, “Yes, of course! Let’s sit down.”

“Man, I’ll stand. Otherwise, I’ll fall asleep.”

“Yep, Ok.”

Laura and Fabian sit down across from each other. Laura sits where she sat before, and Fabian sits across from her, facing the windows and the view of the Gulf of Fonseca. The sun is beginning to rise over the gulf, and the early morning light is shining behind Laura. Fabian thinks, “Not a bad start to the day after all.”

“Well, I think it’s most likely an individual; there’s no other logical explanation.” Laura starts.

“Hmm, do you think it could be someone who found a Freedom capsule?” Jim asks.

“It’s possible, but I thought those were released during the Event. And I don’t think there has been any recovery for over a hundred years. I mean, that’s what I remember.” Fabian adds.

“Well, let’s see what Mr. Smith has to say,” Laura says.

They each look at each other, thinking about everything. Each blows their cup of coffee to cool them down and sip. Then, the previously assembled team starts wandering back in. Each knows this will be a long day and likely the beginning of many long days.

“Ok, guys, I hope you emptied your tank and got some coffee!” Fabian declares.

Everyone finds their previous seat and sits down. Fabian stays seated across from Laura. Jim takes Fabian’s previous seat next to Laura.

“All right, let’s pick up from where we left off... Mr. Norton.”

“Sure, well, we discussed the factors leading up to the Event and the effect on what would become the SO-Lands. The effect on the west should be discussed as well. Also, before I proceed, we should mention that in the years after the Event, citizens of SO-Land would attempt to seek asylum in the FreeLands. Those got less and less over the last half of the century. But we’ve gathered from these citizens that all memory or history before the Event was removed from the public consciousness. AI, social credits, and the digital Yuan were all used to control thought and speech about previous times. Ultimately, everyone’s needs were met, so there became less of a need to seek asylum. However, those with a memory of freedom or a family member with a memory of freedom would occasionally attempt it until there were no more.”

“Shit, man. That sucks!” Jim blurts out.

“Yes, indeed. In the west, we also used energy and money as weapons. Still, as Bitcoin became legal tender in all Western regions, which happened slowly, freedom suddenly became the common goal. The west was as avid about AI as the SO-Lands, but deployment in the west was to improve lives and productivity. Bitcoin ushered in a new wave of consciousness and thinking in what became the Renaissance of Man’s reason. But that’s not important right now.”

Fabian and Jim looked at each other.

“One of the first-order effects of Bitcoin was this idea of individual property rights and privacy. I mean, it became the bedrock of freedom that we enjoy now. For those not familiar with the original constitution of the United States, Bitcoin was like the missing link that would allow a full realization of all the ideals of the US founding fathers. All because money couldn’t be controlled. During the break, I walked in, looked up at the giant monitor, and noted how your node network is analyzed. Still, areas in the FreeLands don’t fully embrace these values. It’s not a coincidence that these areas also saw the greatest emigration to the SO-Lands. AI eliminated politics and politicians much quicker here in the FreeLands. Some of that may also be due to the free thinking that the Renaissance ushered in. While the SO-Lands saw greater and greater centralization of power and control, we saw the exact opposite. After the Renaissance, exclusive country boundaries were removed, and the actual FreeLands were organized. No longer were national boundaries to restrict the movement of people or goods. Bitcoin and the resulting philosophical awakening allowed us to see that we had common goals. True free trade exploded along with true capitalism without control. Over time, third-world countries just dissolved and just became one with other free countries. Wealth became attainable to everyone. After breaking free from Keynesian economic thinking, we no longer needed the manufacturing base of China. We turned to each other to solve our problems and valued each other. Consumerism died in the FreeLands.”

Eduardo paused and said, “I think that’s what I can offer.”

“Great, thank you. Ok, Satoshi. Can I call you Satoshi? I think we all like that name?”

“Yeah, man, of course! I get that a lot.”

“Well, I don’t need to go into much of the details of blockchain technology. I think what I can add to this conversation is to understand the timestamp on the signal and what we can expect moving forward. I think I can share a little about the so-called Freedom capsules.” He pulls one into his field of view on the screen. “This is an antique Freedom capsule. This is well over a hundred years old. Inside is what we call a USB device or universal serial bus device. It’s a straightforward way to carry data. The USB port was one of the most ubiquitous in computers for nearly fifty years. There were updated versions of the port, but the design was to maximize backward compatibility with any computer it might interface with. It was equipped with an internal power source and satellite relay with a GPS chip. Effectively, anyone that possesses one of these has a full copy of the blockchain up to the point of its manufacture. Because of the Freelands’ extensive satellite network, we can locate these anywhere in the world. We know that before the turn of this century, the SO-Land network deactivated GPS locators. They lost the technology race and discontinued satellite launches. I’m sure you all know that their AI network replaced the TCP/IP internet protocols. We saw this coming years before it happened based on internet tracking and data usage. Practically speaking, this meant total centralization of information and data. The TCP/IP protocols and others that followed allow for direct peer-to-peer communication and exchange that we all take for granted these days. Before the Event, there was a strong movement to control and centralize these protocols, but as Mr. Norton mentioned, the Renaissance of man’s reason codified decentralization in FreeLand consciousness.”

“I’m still trying to connect the dots to the timestamp date. I’ve looked back on the various space launches over the past hundred and fifty years. There have been no catastrophic failures of any launch vehicles during this time. We know that millions of these were airdropped over the SO-Lands, similar to propaganda leaflets used in conventional warfare, but all of those were dumped decades before this time stamp. Based on this, the timestamp should not exceed block 2,200,000. So I’m at a loss as to what might be happening here. It doesn’t make sense.” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Wow, fascinating, Satoshi,” Fabian interjects. “I guess we have a real mystery with a real event. So let’s focus on what is going on.” Fabian says.

“Does anyone have an estimation if this is a one-off, or will it continue or start again?” Jim adds.

Silence.

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