Bob's Your Uncle

“There’s a lot of talk and questions out there about Bit-$-Coin,” Joe said, and signaled for the usual glass of wine from the bar by raising one finger. It was Friday night. He loosened his necktie and unbuttoned the neck of his crisp white shirt.

“Does anyone know how that system works?” “Not a clue,” Carol answered. She had been the first to arrive at the neighborhood bar. She threw her head back for a shot of Tequila. Just one shot tonight, she thought. As a pharmacist she was aware of the toll.

“I thought we were going to talk about our planned trip to Israel.”

“Not much else to discuss,” Daniel said, and pushed his empty beer bottle aside. He was weary. As a techie it had been a nightmare of a week.

“But why the interest in Bit-$-Coin?”

“Well, I’m a banker,” Joe boasted, happy to be back with his buddies for their usual Friday nights together.

“A bank-ster!” Carol laughed. They all laughed.

“I did a little research this week and came across the Templar Knights. They had a strong tie to Jerusalem,” Joe said. “Besides being unrelenting fighters, these guys seem to have known some secrets about math. In fact, they may have started the first private banking system.”

Daniel nodded assent. “Which might have application to today’s computer science.”

“The Templar Knights.” Carol said. “I’ve read about a modern day American group that dresses up like them.”

“Uh huh. Look, if we’re going to go to Israel as planned, let’s be prepared,” Joe said. “Would it be safer to carry Bit-$-Coin instead of cash and credit cards on our trip?”

“Might work,” Daniel said with a deadpan face. “You give them your cash and they give you a piece of paper.”

“Crypto currency,” Carol mumbled. “Well, it would help to get a first hand account. Who do we know that’s made this trip?” Joe continued. “I’d like to know more before we go.”

“My mom is big on genealogy,” Carol said. “ I think someone in our family, way back when, made a trip to the Holy Land. And my mom keeps everything about the family. Forever.”

“Deep time,” Daniel smiled. “It’s a good place to begin our research. Go for it Carol.”

They raised their glasses and clinked them together saying “Deep time!”

Chapter II

Carol quietly entered a side door of her mother’s house with her own key. It was 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning and she knew that her mother was a late sleeper.

An old tiger house cat meowed at her feet. Carol had raised him from a kitten. She stooped down to stroke the cat.

“Good morning, Mr. Fur. And how is everything in the neighborhood?”

Mr. Fur purred.

Carol went to a roll-top desk in her mother’s study, and opened it to release the drawers. She pulled out each drawer until she spied the accordion file she sought.

“Ah, there you are.”

She sat down on her mother’s Oriental rug and dumped the contents of an expansive folder. There were a lot of yellow-aged papers and memorabilia.

“White gloves, white gloves!” Carol searched her pockets for the pair she had brought with her. Her mother was strict about handling her stuff.

White gloves on, Carol sorted through until she found the timeworn but carefully preserved journal of an ancient relative. It was enclosed in archival materials that she dared not open.

“Where is that translation that Mom paid to have done, Mr. Fur?” The cat meowed and rubbed against Carol’s leg.

Her mom had paid handsomely to have the old journal, written in Anglo-Saxon runic characters, translated into modern English. The translator had told them that when this ancestor wrote the journal, the language of the British Isles was Celtic.

“Ah, here it is!” Carol carefully returned everything in the drawer and seized the journal translation to take with her. I’ll get it back before Mom knows it’s gone. It will be a coo to read it together next Friday night!

Chapter III

The week dragged by and finally it was Friday night. Carol, Joe, and Daniel gathered at their usual table in Kelly’s Bar.

“Good news!” Carol smiled and waved bound papers above her head.

“Lets hear it,” Joe said.

“No, better that we read it together,” Carol said.

“Why don’t you read it to us, Carol?” Daniel said.

“Okay. Here goes,” she said, and began to read.

Journey to the Holy Land

1210 A.D.

By Sir Emory Gladstone

We three gentlemen, Baron Cecile Darby, Earl Oliver Edwards, and myself, the Duke of Gladstone, have pooled our resources and have proceeded to France where we seek safe passage to the Holy Land.

We have arranged to meet with Monsieur Giraud Rousseau, a French warrior monk in the services of the Knights of Templar.

Monsieur Rousseau, who is an Innkeeper, explained the monetary system used by the Knights in providing safe passage to the Holy Land: script will be given in exchange for gold.

Upon arrival, the script may be exchanged for currency at the Templar’s outpost in Jerusalem. He claimed many such outposts were along the way that could provide service as needed for traveling expenses.

We agreed on the safety of traveling without valuables being subject to robbery. Each of us paid an equal share of the required sum of thirty gold coins. In exchange, Monsieur Rousseau gave us paper scripts, ten each.

We settled into our lodging and a knock sounded on our door. Sir Darby went first to the door and we followed. It was the humble servant, Francois, who had carried our luggage and brought us food.

He said that Monsieur Rousseau had recalled that the right-hand man to the King of England being a Sir Robert Gladstone, and possibly an uncle to one of you gentlemen. He wishes to stay in good graces with the British Isles by giving a refund of five gold coins in script.

We took the five scripts and divided by taking one each and giving the old man, Francois, two. Thus, we paid nine gold coins each for our journey.

9 x 3 = 27 scripts, the Earl said.

We gave the servant 2 scripts. 27 + 2 = 29.

Where did the other script go?”

Carol was out of breath from reading aloud. “I need a break,” she said.

“Viola!” Joe exclaimed. He stamped his feet on the floor and his drink on the table. “The Templar Knights exchanged script for gold! Just like Bit-$-Coin! And, the math too!”

“And you know what else?” Daniel asked. “Deep Time means that we carry the lived and un-lived lives of our ancestors as far back as DNA and genomes can trace.”

“Speak English,” Carol said. “He’s saying that we’re all probably related to these guys,” Joe said.

*“Bob’s your uncle!” Daniel exclaimed. *

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"Bob’s your uncle” is a phrase commonly used in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means “and there it is” or “and there you have it” or “It’s done”. -Wikipedia ###