Finney Vol. 1 - Immutable Journey - Flipbook - Page 80
Finney looked at OG across the counter.
“How will I be paying?” he repeated.
“Cash, card, or trade,” said OG.
“A nice woman gave me twenty dollars,”
said Finney. “Is that enough?”
“For this?” asked OG, nudging the
Cryptowriter device for emphasis. “No.
You’ll have to do better than twenty.”
“Umm,” said Finney. “What if I just borrow
the device and then bring it back?”
“Sorry, kid, that’s not how this works,”
said OG. “I like you. But this is a business,
not a library.”
Finney grew uncomfortable as he digested
this information. His mission was failing
and he didn’t know what to do. “Maybe
I’ll just go then,” he said, turning to leave.
“Aww, don’t take it so hard,” said OG.
“If you want, I’ll set the device aside so
you come back for it when you’ve got
some cash.”
As OG spoke, Finney spotted a ‘Cash
for Gold’ sign above a display case and
got an idea. “OG, I’m made of gold,” he
said. “I already gave up one of my little
fingers. Could I give you my other little
finger in exchange for the Cryptowriter
device.”
OG laughed. “Sorry,” he said. “I do
accept gold, but body parts is where I
draw the line.”
Finney produced the Shift Gold coin he’d
received after losing his chesta at Mr
Shift’s refinery. “What about this?” he
asked. “It isn’t much gold, I know.”
“Shift Gold,” said OG, taking the coin
and inspecting it. “Looks authentic. That
80
could work. Mind if I test it?”
“Go ahead,” said Finney.
Reaching under the counter, OG retrieved
a testing kit and confirmed the coin’s gold
content. Finney watched, fascinated. “Do
you do this with all the coins you see?”
he asked.
“I test gold and silver,” said OG. “Every
time I do, I remember why digital coins
on blockchains are better than physical
coins.”
“Oh?” asked Finney. “Why’s that?”
“Public blockchains keep perfect track
of all coins from the moment they’re
created,” said OG. “The provenance
of every token is easy to look up. And
forgery is technically impossible. Precious
metal is a good store of value, but crypto
stores value cleanly and irrefutably.”
Finney nodded. “My planet is covered
in gold,” he said. “But that hasn’t solved
our problems. Our economy is a mess
and people are always arguing over
important records. That’s why my mission
to learn about blockchain technology is
so important.”
“I see,” said OG. “Well, hopefully this
device will help.”
“I hope it will, too,” said Finney.
“Okay,” said OG. “So we have a deal?
One Cryptowriter device for one Shift
Gold coin?”
“It’s a deal,” said Finney.
“Sold!” said OG emphatically.
Accepting the device from OG, Finney
became briefly overwhelmed with
FINNEY VOLUME ONE - IMMUTABLE JOURNEY