GENESIS

Prologue.

A man of about 50 sits by a hotel pool. Thinking. He seems distant. A waiter approaches with a cocktail, and he takes out his phone, and taps it on the mobile reader. His phone is modern and sleek. Foldable. The screen fills the entire front face, and it has no ports. No buttons. It’s definitely the latest model.

“Thankyou sir”, says the waiter as the transaction clears almost instantly.

“Thankyou”, replies the man.

As the waiter leaves, the man takes a sip from his drink. He opens his phone to use in tablet mode, and reads something from the screen. In doing so, he manages a faint, satisfied smile. He places the open phone down beside him, and sinks back into his chair, closes his eyes, and returns to his previous thought…

Chapter 1.

January 2nd, 2008.

A man in his late 20’s sits in the lobby of a small bank branch in Idaho. He holds a bundle of documents. Pay slips mostly. An application to refinance. Character references.

“To whom it may concern…

I have known Mr Otto since 2002, when he was under my employ on a casual basis at ‘Freewell Tyre and Auto”.

During that time, and ever since, he has proven himself to be a hard worker, good friend, and a kind and honest man…. “

Another starts:

Nathan has been a friend of mine since we first met while both studying at Caldwell University in 1999. Since then, he’s been the best man at my wedding, and is the godfather to my two children. There is no one I trust more…

As Nathan reads these, he manages a slight smile. Only slight though. Everything depends on what happens next.

Just like the references say, Nathan is a good, honest man. But there’s no checkbox for that on the forms. Until last year, he’d never missed a house payment. Now he’d missed 6.

There was a time when he didn’t even think he’d own a house. He wasn’t exactly poor – not by some standards anyway. He’d gone to college and had chosen to pursue business and economics. Not because he liked it. But because he was told it was a safe option. His aptitude tests had shown him to be very much a left brained thinker. Methodical. Analytical.

The economics interested him, but what he was learning just seemed… wrong. He could have regurgitated the facts and almost topped his class. But he didn’t believe what he was being taught. So after 2 years, and a lot of money down the drain – he walked out on the future he wanted no part of.

He took a gap year. He travelled to clear his mind, picked up a camera, and just drifted.

He worked some odd jobs. Got promoted. Became a manager. He decided to build some credit and asked for a $500 limit on his card. The bank added a zero. The credit card companies liked him so much they gave him more and more. He didn’t even have to ask.

But then came the crushing debt. Years of good credit history had led to two banks giving him a total of $40,000 in credit. He earned $20,000 a year in a call center. Before tax.

And then he met her. An Angel. She understood what he’d been through. She had been through things too. She was kind. They accepted each other, and together they built a life. Now the bank wanted to take that life from them.

A banker edges towards Nathan so as not to startle him. “Mr Otto?”

Nathan snaps back to reality and gets to his feet. “Yes, hi! Sorry! I was just going over everything”.

“That’s ok, Sir. Would you come this way?”

The two walk into a small office, and sit. Inside, posters of happy people buying their first houses adorn every wall. Propaganda.

“Now, how can I help you?”, asks the banker.

Nathan looks at the mans desk. The name on it reads “Toby Greene: Loans specialist”.

“Mr Greene is it…?” enquires Nathan.

“Yes, sorry, I thought I introduced myself.”, replies Mr Greene.

Both men know he did not. This meeting is a formality. The awkward silence is broken just in time.

“So I came in to talk to you about my loan…”.

Mr Greene turns to his computer, and brings up his records. “And what would you like to talk about?”

This again. Nathan knows the tone.

“Well Toby – “

“- I prefer Mr Green if that’s ok”.

Despite the ridiculous power play, Nathan is in no position to argue.

“My apologies Mr Greene. I’ve come to talk about my missed payments. I’ve been working really hard on getting something to you, but with Sasha’s Chemo and medical bills, there just hasn’t been much spare money lately. I think you know I got laid off from work because of everything, so I just need a little more time. I’ve got - ”

Mr Green interrupts, “- Mr Otto…., I’m aware that you’re going through a rough time right now, yes. A lot of people are. I do feel for you and your wife, especially given her condition. But we’ve given you quite a lot of leeway considering your prior history.”

“My prior history?”

Mr Greene consults his computer. “It says here that we extended you $24,000 credit at one point?”

“That debt has been repaid.”

“Yes,… but it took quite some time, and there was a large period of zero activity before you did. It was with collections for close to 9 months.”.

Nathan is dumfounded.

“I paid it all back with interest in 14 months once I got back on my feet. I sold my car and took the bus. I ate for $3 a day. All while taking care of a newborn, and now a sick wife. And you’re going to talk to me about my prior history like it’s a bad thing? I can fix this.”

“The bank appreciates your efforts. However, history appears to be repeating itself, without any sign of a similar outcome.”

“I’ve made several payments.”

“You’ve paid…”, says Mr Greene as he consults his records, “…$600, since…. July. Your monthly repayments are almost twice that.”.

“I’ve been making fucking payments!”, shouts Nathan, his frustration palpable.

Even through the glass of the office, the voice echo’s through the bank. People turn. A security guard walks to the window, with his hand placed menacingly near his hip, just above his weapon. He and Toby make eye contact, before Toby shakes his head as if to say ‘Not yet’. The guards stance softens, and he walks away, but remains vigilant.

“The bank appreciates it - ”.

“- The bank… The bank. Can I speak to the bank? Maybe the bank will listen to me?”, interrupts Nathan facetiously. “The bank? Is that the same bank who the government is about to bail out? Where’s my bailout? Can the bank give ME a bailout?”.

“Mr Otto - “, begins Toby.

Nathan continues. “- No, scratch that. I don’t need a bailout. I just need time. That’s all I’m asking for, is time. I’m working 2 jobs, I can pay you everything I have spare. I just sold my shares. I can give you $3000 now, and everything else I can get my hands on is yours. But my wife and my kid come first. She’s sick. We have medical bills. You’ve got to understand that Toby. Do you have a wife? A kid?

“I have a wife”.

“Then you know. My wife,… and my kid…. Come first. You’ll get your money. Just don’t take their house. Please.”

Mr Greene’s tough exterior cracks just a little. But he’s simply a cog in the machine.

“I’m sorry Mr Otto. I really am. It’s out of my hands. We can’t refinance. We can’t give you more time. The bank needs its money. I’m sorry”.

The words hang over the room. It’s over. There’s nothing more to say.

Chapter 2.

February 3rd, 2008.

Sasha is a beautiful young Asian American woman of about 24 years of age. She sits on a couch in a small apartment, surrounded by boxes.

On her knee is her daughter Camilla. Sasha feeds her formula – unable to breast feed due to the poison flowing through her veins. Only her slightly more pale than usual skin gives any hint that she is unwell. Her pink beanie suits her. Her sweet face beams as she feeds her child. Absolutely nothing can ruin this moment. Not a foreclosure, or even cancer.

Nathan brings in a box, and sets it down by the front door. The cold air rushes in behind him, bringing snow with it. He closes it behind him.

“That’s the kitchen done”.

“Come on, take a break”, calls out Sasha.

“I can’t. We only have the truck till 5”, explains Nathan.

“We can rent it again. Come sit with me.”

Nathan caves in. He collapses beside his family, and buries his head into Sasha’s lap.

“I’m sorry”, he finally whispers. “You don’t deserve this.”

“I don’t deserve a loving husband and a beautiful child?”

“You know what I mean”.

“I do. I just don’t agree. I have everything I need right in this room”, says Sasha lovingly.

“We lost the house. I… lost it.”

“I know where it is. It’s back there….”, teases Sasha. She bops his head like a bongo drum. If you could see his face in her lap, you might even notice a smile on Nathans face right now. Only Sasha could make him smile at a time like this. But it quickly fades.

“I’m supposed to look after you”, he says with his face still smooshed into her lap.

Sasha reaches down and lifts Nathans head to face hers. She needs him to understand.

“You do. You work 2 jobs. Fucking call centers. You hate it there. But you go in every day, and put food on the table every night. You love me, support me. You’re a good man. An incredible father - ”

Nathan listens. Those words mean everything to him.

“- If you want to know the truth, I’m looking forward to the next chapter. With any luck I’ll be better soon. I can go back to work, and we can rebuild. But until then, I like this place. And it’s cute! You’ll see! You give me a few days, and I’ll give us a home.

“No Pink.”

“Minimal pink”, smirks Sasha.

“That’s what I said.”. He manages a smile. Sasha smiles back, and Nathan melts. She’s broken him. Nathan turns his head, and kisses her belly. And soon, he’s asleep.

Chapter 3.

Feb 7th, 2008.

Nathan sits in a cubicle with little more than a computer, and a headset for VOIP calls. The large grey room is filled with at least 100 employees. The only thing that sets Nathans cubicle apart from every other, is a photo of Sasha and baby Camilla in happier times – the day they came home from the hospital. Just before the cancer. Before they lost their home.

Nathan could do this job on autopilot. After 2 hours of training, a multiple choice test, and a piss test, $14 an hour was all his. His other job was basically the same shit in a different building, and between them both he could make a combined $30,000 a year - IF he was getting enough shifts. But he wasn’t. Nobody wanted to buy financial products from a telemarketer, let alone right now.

“Hello, may I speak with James?”, says Nathan over his headset. “… Nathan from Freedom Financial. I’m jus – “. A click on the line ends the call. The usual response.

But before he can dial the next number, a familiar friendly face pops up above the cubical.

“Hey, you’re back! How did the move go?”

Kate is in her mid 40’s. She’s Nathans Work wife. And he’s her work husband.

“Got ‘er done”, replied Nathan. “Sasha’s got the place looking pretty nice. Almost unpacked. It’s been a huge week though. I’m wrecked.”

“I can imagine. How’s she holding up? How’s Cammy?.

“Cammy’s good! Slept through most of it. Sasha’s tired, but she says she’s feeling a bit better. They’ve lowered her dose a little just to lessen the nausea. So far so good.

“Fuck Cancer”, says Kate.

“Fuck Cancer”, repeats Nathan.

“Fuck banks too while we’re at it.”

“Fuck the fucking banks”, agrees Nathan.

“So, what’s next?”

“Not sure. This, until I find something else. I’ve been thinking maybe doing something online. Finance.”.

“Don’t you want to make your daughter proud? Why don’t you do something respectable. Like stripping.”

“It’s not that bad”, smirks Nathan.

“Or that good. Honestly, I mean it. If anyone knows how rigged the system is, it’s you.”.

“Maybe I can tear it down from the inside?”

“Someone should…” , says Kate.

Those words linger. “Someone really should tear it down”, Nathan thought.

“Hey, what about that coding stuff you were doing? That little game thing you made for the iPhone? You liked that. You were good at it too.”.

“I didn’t finish it. Sasha got sick before I could.”

“I know, but you liked it right? Maybe you could do something with programming?”

Just then, a manager walks past. He says nothing, but he eyes the conversation. Kate notes the look of worry on Nathans face.

“I’m sorry dude. I’ll leave you to it. But don’t lower yourself. The last thing you want is to be the guy putting money first, or taking someone’s house some day. That’s not you. Build an app. Make Cammy proud”.

Nathan Smiles. Kate has always had his back.

“Beer after work?”

“Beer after work”, repeats Nathan in the affirmative.

As Kate winks and disappears from view, Nathan’s mind begins to wander. “Tear it down”, he thinks. “If only”. It was the banks who’d lent him too much money. And when it all went to shit, the banks were protected. It was Nathan and millions like him who actually suffered. There was no way to change it. Those assholes could literally print money.

When he started this job, Nathan was extremely excited to find that for some reason, this company who didn’t see fit to pay him a living wage had actually invested way more than necessary on their computers. The waste would have made him sick, if it hadn’t been to his advantage. It was pretty much the same at the other job. Around 250 nice machines performing jobs that could be done on a budget desktop.

IT thought they knew how to lock everyone out of the good stuff. But Nathan knew a thing or two about computers himself, and had become something of a cult figure at work. In exchange for a Starbucks Venti Latte, (Or a thankyou if you couldn’t afford to buy the coffee), Nathan would install his special script that gave users a backdoor to run programs, and access the fun websites, and then wipe any trace from the computers. A handful of cool managers knew about it, and they let it slide. They liked to Google shit as much as anyone, and the extra $2 an hour they were getting wasn’t going to change that.

With a copy of Command and Conquer pre-installed on his machine, Nathan was able to squeeze in about 30 minutes a day of fun at work. His conversion on phone calls was the 3rd highest in the company, yet they didn’t pay commission, and there was no sign of a raise, or a promotion. So he didn’t feel bad about that for one second.

The game was helping him de-stress. But he couldn’t get Kates words out of his mind. “Tear it down.” Nathan was tired. Tired of losing. Nathan, despite some setbacks, was no loser. “Tear it down”, he thought. How do you beat a system that literally pits billionaires against the people they can bankrupt for sport? But as he mined the digital fields of the game for Tiberium to make money that day, an idea began to form.

Chapter 4

May 4th, 2008

Sasha sits in silence, staring straight ahead, expressionless. Her oncologist is talking, but she only needed to hear the tone of his voice to understand what she was facing.

For Nathan though, the words haven’t quite hit home yet.

“OK, so… AML. What’s next? What do we do?”, he asks as if he’s building an Ikea cabinet.

“Well, there are a few things we can do, I guess. Some pain relief. Continued chemotherapy could give you some extra time. There are a few trials that may be of interest. But it’s a question now of how you’d like to spend this time.”

“Spend this time?”, enquires Nathan.

“Acute Myeloid Leukemia… the kind that Sasha has developed, is very hard to treat. And the truth is, we’ve already been treating her cancer rather aggressively. And unfortunately, despite that, it hasn’t rolled the illness back at all. In fact, it’s worsened. Quite severely, even just over the last 4 weeks. ”

“So what,…. that’s it?” asks Nathan.

The Oncologist, Dr Goodall, takes a moment.

“Nathan, Sasha,.. I know this is a difficult moment. I’m not suggesting you stop fighting. Determined patients with a lot to live for have proven me wrong at least a dozen times. Outlasted my wildest predictions. A few even recovered… But in my professional opinion, now is the time to talk about palliative care, and how to finish this on your own terms. Enjoying what’s left. I’m confident we can give you a few good months. Maybe more.”

The words hit Nathan like a tonne of bricks. A silence falls across the room.

“I’ll give you both a moment.” Dr Goodall stands, and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Nathan begins his process of grieving, combining denial and anger into one giant emotion.

“No! Fuck that! He just lowered your chemo 2 months ago because it made you feel sick -”

Sasha tries to get a word in. “Nate – “

“- No! Listen! He lowered it and you got worse, so we just have to crank it back up. I’ll take care of you. You’ll feel bad for a little while, but I’ll do everything for you.”

Sasha tries again. “Nate…”

“Sasha, no! We can do this!”

“NATE!”, Sasha finally screams.

Nathan looks into Sashas eyes for the first time since the diagnosis. A tear rolls down each of her beautiful, soft cheeks. But she is smiling. For him. To give HIM strength. Nathan tries to fight back the tears, but it is futile. He takes her in his arms, and together they weep.

“I love you, Natey Watey”, whispers Sasha.

“I love you Satoshi” whimpers Nate.

Chapter 5

May 5th, 2008

Nathan and Sasha embrace on the couch in their now beautifully styled home. Sasha wasn’t exaggerating. Nothing in that house would suggest that it wasn’t exactly where they had hoped to be right now.

“Do you mind if I go to bed?, asks Sasha.

“Of course not. I’ll come with you”.

“No, don’t be silly. It’s only 8pm. I’m just tired.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Finish the movie.”

Sasha stands and takes Camilla from the nearby crib, and kisses Nathan on the forehead. “But I’m taking this one with me. Love you”. Nathan smiles, as Sasha retreats for the night.

“How could this be happening?”, Nate thought to himself. There had to be a way. A way to help Sasha. That’s all he could think about. What about those trials the doc had mentioned? Nate had taken the pamphlets, but he hadn’t even looked at them. Maybe he could buy her another quality year or two? Maybe more?

They were still on the coffee table, so he picked them up. A couple promised extra time, one promised a better quality of life. That sounded useful at least, but he wanted a cure. There was one though… “pretty effing stupid”, he thought. But he kept reading, just in case…

Before he knew it, he’d completely lost the plot of the movie. No point continuing. As he flicked through the channels, he came across the news. More talk of a bank bailout. His blood was boiling. “Fucking assholes”.

And then… he remembered. His idea from work. This Trial. His mind raced. It was as if his brain had been in standby mode until now. “What if…”

Nathan leapt off the couch with an urgency unlike he’d ever felt before, and grabbed his laptop. He sat back down, and began typing. Planning. Coding. All the way into the morning.

When Sasha woke to find herself alone, she was confused and disoriented

“Nathaaaann! Where are you?!... Bring me water!”, she called cheekily.

Nathan, energized, runs into the room and jumps under the covers, grabbing Sasha, and kissing her passionately. She kisses him right back, and smiles.

“Where were you, jerk? Did you stay up all night?. She rolls away to look at her clock. “It’s 10am! Are you sick? What about work?”

“Don’t worry about work. I’m taking some time off.”

“You don’t have to do that. We have enough time.”

“It’s not that Sash… I have a plan…”

Sasha looks at him curiously. “What kind of plan…?”

Chapter 6.

To say that Nathans plan was hard to wrap her head around was an understatement. A blockchain? What even was that? Some days she sort of understood it, and other days it baffled her. Just when she thought she had a handle on it, Nathan would run into problems with the code, and redesign the whole thing, almost from scratch.

Even if she could understand it like Nathan seemed to, how could it ever be worth anything? How could people just “mine” it with a computer?

She began to worry about him. She would have been more concerned, except that he only worked on the project 10 hours a day. He worked his schedule around quality time with her and Cammy. Weekends always belonged to them. As passionate and focused and driven as he was, it never became more intrusive than his old job had been. And he was happy. She only hoped he could complete his work soon. She did not like the thought of him spending years on this. Or decades. No income. Slowly going mad.

And honestly, blockchain wasn’t the part of the plan that worried her the most. But she had nothing to lose. It wasn’t crazier than any other option on the table. He’d found a trial that seemed like sheer lunacy, but…she had always been up for an adventure. Why should this be any different? It required some sort of injection, weekly, until the date of the procedure. It gave her headaches. Compared to the chemo, it was nothing.

Months went by. Sasha had chosen to forgo more chemo, and the toxins had now left her body. She had a short length of beautifully soft black hair. Nathan adored stroking it on movie night. She felt… good. Almost.

But each night became a little harder to wake up from. Time, was running out.

And then, on New Years Day…

Chapter 7.

January 1st, 2009.

Sasha had been rushed to hospital by Ambulance. Her system was shutting down.

“No, no, no, not yet! Please! I need more time!”, cried Nathan as he jogged along beside Sashas bed as it was rolled into the ICU.

“Please sir, give us some room.”, said a nurse. Nathan had no choice but to step back. Noone can ever be ready to lose a loved one, but his world was crashing down.

Hours later, she had been stabilized. Her eyes were open, and she was conscious. Nathan was invited in to see her. He was surrounded by friends and family. Sasha was an angel, and everyone was feeling this. But none so deeply as Nathan.

As he enters the room with Camilla, he is greeted by the soft smile of his beautiful wife.

“Hey you…”, says Sasha. Whatever they’ve given her is making her dozey, but it’s her alright.

“Hey, you scared me”.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I know”, says Nate. “Look who I brought.” He hands Sasha her smiling toddler.

“There she is!” ,Sasha is too weak to reach out, so Nate brings Camilla in and rests her on Sasha’s chest. “I love you. So. Much.”, she says as she squeezes Cammy as hard as her body will allow. “You are everything to me. Did you know that?” Cammy giggles, and kisses her mother on the cheek. A small tear escapes Sasha’s eye.

Then she looks to Nathan. She readies herself. “But Nate… It’s almost time.”

“Sasha, no. It’s too soon. I’m not ready.”

“Neither am I”, says Sasha with a wry smile. “But it’s time. I need you to be strong. I need you to make sure Camilla grows up into a beautiful young lady.”

Tears stream down Nates Cheek. All he can do is nod, as he fights to hold it together.

Sasha continues “And no matter what happens, I could not be more proud of you. I could not love you more. We will be together again. Just not yet.”

“I love you too. Always.”, says Nathan. It seems totally inadequate, but words are escaping him. It’s enough for Sasha though.

“Change the world. I’ll see you soon.”, says Sasha. She closes her eyes. She’s not gone yet…. But there’s not long to go.

Chapter 9.

January 3rd, 2009.

Nathan Otto, 29, sits on his sofa with his laptop. It’s Midday, and he’s alone, but he’s well dressed. He sips a Japanese Whisky. Sasha would forgive that. She’d be pleased to see he has not gone completely to pieces. His demeaner is calm as he types. On his screen, pages and pages of gibberish to anyone else. But to Nathan, a meticulously crafted set of code.

He clicks the “Simulate” button in his software, and stands up to stretch his legs. He downs the last of his liquor.

He walks to the kitchen, and pours another drink. In the background, the news plays. On it, a report yet again, about the bailouts. He shakes his head in disgust.

He returns to his laptop. A message flashes, and reads:

SIMULATION SUCCESSFUL. BITCOIN READY: CREATE, GENESIS? Y/N

Nathan gasps. His heart pounds. He knew he was close, but…

He needs a moment. He gets to his feet, and paces. Should he be doing this?

On Television, a reporter describes headlines from newspapers around the world. One in particular grabs his attention. In that moment, he knew what he had to do.

Nathan walks to his computer, sits down, and hits “N”. The code reverts to the debug mode. He scrolls up, and enters the phrase: “The Times Jan/03/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

He runs the simulation again. He walks to Camilla’s Room, and picks her up. He holds her tight, and kisses her, before setting her back down to play.

He returns to the living room. Again, on his screen:

SIMULATION SUCCESSFUL. BITCOIN READY: CREATE, GENESIS? Y/N

He breathes deep. And he brings his finger firmly down on the Y.

The fans on his computer spin up to 100%, and Data instantly rockets through the CPU on his laptop.

10 minutes later, the Genesis block is born, and a chain reaction begins.

In 2 huge Call centers in Idaho, around 250 computers suddenly become sluggish. Their fans rocket to life for no apparent reason. But nobody investigates.

Nathan watches 50 bitcoins come into existence every 10 minutes, all mined by the computers of corporate fatcats, and paid directly to him. These people wouldn’t pay him enough to save his families home, but now they were working for him.

He knew that one day soon, the banking system as the world knew it would be democratized by Bitcoin and other currencies like it. And in that moment, he could think of only one thing to say…

“Fuck you. I’ll see you soon Satoshi.”

The End

Sasha / Nathan Otto / Camilla…

SAtoSHi / NAthan OTtO / KAMilla…

SATOSHI NAKAMOTO

EPILOGUE

A man of about 50 sits by a hotel pool. Thinking. He seems distant. A waiter approaches with a cocktail, and he takes out his phone, and taps it on the mobile reader.

“Thankyou sir”, says the waiter as the transaction clears almost instantly.

“Thankyou”, replies the man.

As the waiter leaves, the man takes a sip from his drink. He opens his phone to use in tablet mode, and reads something from the screen. In doing so, he manages a faint, satisfied smile. He places the open phone down beside him, and sinks back into his chair, closes his eyes, and tries to return to his previous thought…

He is interrupted by Sasha, a vision in her swimsuit. It’s like not a day has passed. Her hair styled onto a beautiful short cut that suits her face perfectly, but everything else is the same, except she is a picture of health. She walks up to Nathan and kisses him on the forehead, before taking the sun lounge beside him. They hold hands.

A beautiful young girl in a bikini sits on the edge of the pool with her boyfriend. It’s Camilla at 23, just a few years younger than her mother.

On his foldable phone by his side, a history of recent transactions is left open.

The most recent reads: “07/05/2030 - 0.0001 BTC transaction approved. Ref: Vail Resorts F&B

Further down, another says: “03/04/2030 - 2.5BTC transaction approved. Ref: CryoHealth. Completion.

At the bottom, his balance: Anon: 140,127,324.7897 BTC available.

The screen lights up with a news alert. The bulletpoint reads: “18 months after cancer becomes a thing of the past, we are still no closer to finding out who was behind the Mysterious 82M Bitcoin donation in 2022 that led to the cure. Click to read more.