Finney Vol. 1 - Immutable Journey - Flipbook - Page 12
Leaving his ship on the edge of town,
Finney gradually made his way into Shift
City. At first, the only people he saw
were too busy with whatever they were
doing to answer his questions about
crypto. “Excuse me,” he said to one man
pushing a shopping cart full of aluminum
cans down the sidewalk. “What’s your
favorite blockchain and why?”
“Got any cans?” asked the man. “If you
don’t got no cans, leave me alone.”
With no cans to offer the man, Finney
continued on his way, eventually coming to
a more crowded district. Surely someone
here must know the secrets of crypto, he
thought, wondering how to identify such
a person. There were people everywhere
Finney looked. Some were bunched up
into groups. Some were alone. And on
every surface he saw words and pictures.
Street signs and store names and
advertisements all began to blend
together in Finney’s mind. Graffiti and
paper pamphlets added to his information
overload. “So many people,” he said.
“So many messages. But where is the
crypto?”
insert cash or a card. Possessing neither,
Finney grudgingly turned away from the
kiosk, disappointed. He walked a few
more blocks, aimless, and sat down on
the stairs of a residential building to think
without disrupting the flow of pedestrian
traffic on the sidewalk.
“Cool costume,” said a girl who came
out of the building and sat down next to
Finney.
“Cool costume to you, too,” replied
Finney. “Can you teach me about
crypto?”
“Crypto?” said the girl. “Like Bitcoin? My
dad says my college fund is a Bitcoin he
bought back when they were cheap.”
“That’s great!” said Finney. “What can
you tell me about that token’s consensus
algorithm?”
“The what now?” asked the girl. “You
know I’m only twelve, right?”
“I didn’t know that mattered,” said
Finney, perplexed. “Where can I get a
Bitcoin?”
“You just say crypto?” asked a man who
had apparently overheard Finney talking
to himself. “What’s good right now?”
“You should really talk to my dad,” said
the girl. “He talks about crypto all the
time. But he’s out of town right now.”
“I’m just learning,” said Finney. “What
can you teach me?”
“Thanks,” said Finney, realizing he’d hit
another dead end.
“Well, there’s a Bitcoin ATM two blocks
that way,” said the man, pointing. “Pretty
cool, right?”
“If you want crypto, all you really need
is money,” added the girl.
“That is cool,” said Finney, happy to have
a new direction to walk in. “Thanks!”
Reaching the Bitcoin ATM a few minutes
later, Finney inspected the machine and
learned very little. He tried pushing
buttons but the machine kept telling him to
12
“But aren’t cryptocurrencies currencies?”
asked Finney.
“Duh!” said the girl. “They aren’t free.
You need cash to buy ‘em.”
“I see,” said Finney, getting up.
FINNEY VOLUME ONE - IMMUTABLE JOURNEY