A Calculated Gamble

He was shorter than I expected. I had taken a plane all the way from Laguardia to Los Angeles and got into the slowest Uber I’ve ever taken up to the California Institute of Technology. Only to be presented with a short, nerdy comp-sci student dressed in a gray sweatshirt and jeans. His hood was on, slouching into the back of the chair with that “I really don’t want to be here” look. If he needed me more than I needed him, I would’ve walked right out of that room.

My colleague, Professor Riker (Or as I call him, Bubba) caught the not so subtle hint that I was pissed. “Do you mind stepping out for a second?” Bubba asked. The student stayed slouched in his chair “You called me at 7 o’clock in the morning to come to your office to tell me to walk out?”

Bubba sighed and adjusted his tie “It’ll be quick. Walk around the hallway for a bit and I’ll get right back to you. Me and Mr. Hadewig need to discuss something.”

The student lazily got out of his chair and shuffled out of the room, surprisingly shutting the door behind him.

I turned to Bubba “What the hell is this?”

“Just give him a chance”

“You told me that he’d solve my problems! What the hell is a twenty-something-year-old going to do to help me with the fact that all of my financial positions are about to become worthless?”

“What, you can take a risk with investing thousands of dollars into junk stocks but you can’t spend 15 minutes with someone who might dig you out of your problem?”

I reeled back and took a deep breath “This better be worth it.”

As the student returned to the room, he took his chair and we began with the typical niceties. I introduced myself, making sure to tell him that I was on the executive board of one of the top defense contractors in America. To my dismay, the student stared at me with an air of indifference. He let the room go silent for a moment, but just a moment too long for me not to try and cut to the chase.

“So you might be wondering why I’m talking to you right now.”

“I might.”

“Professor Riker has told me a lot about you. Says you’re quite the coding genius.”

“Is this about my currency encryption program?”

I paused. Pressing my fingers together and flashing a smile at this insufferable rodent, I nodded “Yes… yes it is.”

The kid looked over at Bubba and then looked back over at me. “Are you a narc?” he asked. Unable to contain my laughter, I let out a snort as Bubba let a smile crack between his lips. “You know, even if I was, you shouldn’t ask that” I retorted “But no, I’m not a narc. I’m merely interested in your program, that’s all”

The kid shifted in his seat, “What about it?”

“How does it work? Riker told me it was some form of centralized currency pro-”

“Decentralized.”

“Okay… Decentralized currency program. How’s that work?”

“It’s a peer to peer system, individuals send money to different accounts which is encrypted and decrypted by those taking part in the system while also producing that said money for encryption and decryption.”

I laid back in my seat and blinked a couple times, trying to wrap my head around the concept. I turned to Bubba, only for his face to say back give it a chance. I looked back at the kid “Can you simplify that?”

The kid adjusted his glasses “That was the simple version.”

“How can that work?” I pressed “What, you just print money for processing money? That makes no sense.”

For a second, I saw the indifference in his eyes flash red with anger “I bet you anything that you know more than anyone else that financial systems don’t make sense.”

He had sat forward in his seat, was pointing a finger, and had even rose his voice at me. I’ll give it to the squirt, he clearly cared about his creation. He relaxed back into his chair “If you’re asking if it works right now, it doesn’t. All currency systems need a system to base themselves, but most of all they need users. I have none and never will. Its passion product, that’s all.”. I leaned forward “Never? Why would you say that?”

He chuckled “You want me to give you the whole list? People who use it would be completely anonymous, there’s no way any government would ever make the use legal. I can’t market it, I can’t legalize it, and I doubt anyone would trust it.”

I wish I could go back in time to experience that statement for the first time. I felt the weight on my shoulders get lifted, I was flying! It was my out, my salvation. Anonymity? Encryption? Possible illegal uses? I was in heaven. That was until my analytical side came back to me. I had no way of knowing how it would work. Maybe Bubba would help me understand. If the kid was telling the truth, I had my out for when the markets crashed and all hell broke loose.

“And if, you know, hypothetically, you could get people to use and trust it?” I inquired. “Well…” he began “It should work then.”

I continued “But it would easily be used for illegal purposes right? Wouldn’t be possible, too much privacy right?”

“That’s right” he affirmed. I rested my hands on my lap and nodded my head. “You know…” I began, “I’ve met many of these congressmen, many senators, a few presidents. I’ve been around longer than most of them, I sold weapons when we supported Saddam Hussein, sold weapons when we toppled him and I continue to sell weapons while we fight the people after him. You start to get a feel for these people if you catch my drift.”

“You think they’re stupid” answered the student. He was right, but that wasn’t where I was going. “Not exactly. They’re ignorant of a lot of things. They do this, they do that, all on the idea that they understand what’s going on,” I flashed another smile, “I can guarantee you none of them do.”

I saw a flash of realization cross his face, my hint was received. “I know people and I happen to be sitting on a large sum of money. Perhaps we can get this little experiment going, and maybe you’ll even gain from it,” as finished my proposal, I got up to shake the young man’s hand. He looked at it for a moment, considering my offer. Then his eyes slid up to mine and for a moment they suggested a slight hesitation. Mine spelled it out for him. If you don’t take this now, you will never have another chance like it. Once again, my message was received and he gripped my hand with the confidence of an optimistic intern.

Most of you know what happens next. AIG, Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. Their predatory lending practices backfiring on them. They had gotten fat and fell through the floorboards. It was humorous really, watching my adversaries panic over their portfolios crashing and then begging the government to bail them out. I personally found it ironic, I’ve always loved President George W. Bush for reacting to the financial crisis so haphazardly. Watching my enemies lose everything was better catharsis than when I helped stage hostile takeovers of my corporate competitors. The country itself was thrown into the trash heap, people losing their houses left and right, the rise of populist sentiment, you know, the usual.

Where was I? I was sitting on my yacht when I found out about it, every news station reporting the financial woes of the country. I sipped at my champagne while my butlers broke into heavy sweats and shook at their knees. They were lucky, I happened to like them, so in turn, I bailed them out, giving them all a raise so that I wouldn’t lose them to another job. After all, I had the money. All due to that college student from Caltech, I was able to evade taxes, accept foreign bribes and watch my portfolio grow; all within the most secure, private currency on the planet. Bitcoin, they called it.

I wanted to give the kid a kickback, but he went completely off the grid before I got the chance. I blinked and he was gone. I’m sure he’s out there somewhere, maybe sitting in his yacht like me, sipping at champagne while the rabble below us fight over pocket change. Or maybe he’s in a cave running from federal authorities looking to break the back of the financial genius of the century. I wouldn’t know. All I know is that my wealth has never been greater and my life has never been easier. I watch the news telling of indicators, financial markets, and so-called “economic recovery”, then shut off the TV and walk around the grounds of my mansion with the swagger of a man who just won the lottery.