Bitcoin - The Alien Technology

It was a warm afternoon at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Lexi Parker, a freshman studying liberal arts, was hard at work doing her homework at Sinclair Library. Lexi was glad that the sun was finally setting, as she was sweating since Sinclair library was an open-door library that didn’t have air conditioning. Lexi was wearing a light green tank-top and denim shorts, yet she still felt uncomfortably hot sitting in the humid library.

The library was relatively empty with only a few students since midterms ended a few weeks ago. Lexi was lost in thought doing her calculus homework when she felt a tap on her left shoulder. She turned around to see her friend Caitlyn wearing a dark blue tank-top and a pair of navy jeans.

“You’re so studious Lexi!” Caitlyn said in a near shouting voice.

“Shhhh…not so loud Caitlyn, we’re in a library you know.”

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Caitlyn grabbed a seat next to Lexi and sat down. “You know our math homework isn’t due until next week, right?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just that I wanna finish all my homework early so that I have time to do some research and planning.”

“Research and planning? What for? Are you applying for an internship?”

“No Caitlyn, I wouldn’t even know what I’d want to intern at. I’m still a liberal arts major, and I still haven’t figured out what I want to major in.”

“I keep telling you Lexi, you should major in human resources just like me! It’s one of the easiest majors. All you have to do is talk to people and resolve conflicts.”

“I’m not as extroverted as you Caitlyn…and plus, I don’t think I want to resolve conflicts between people. Anyways, I’m pretty much done with my homework. Let’s go grab dinner. What’re you in the mood for today?”

“Hmmm…I know, let’s go get pho!”

“Sounds good to me!” Lexi replied as she started packing up all her stuff into her backpack. Lexi and Caitlyn walked over to the nearby Vietnamese restaurant on campus and ordered their pho. Their pho arrived shortly, and the pair chowed down on their food like there was no tomorrow. As the two of them finished up eating their pho, Lexi asked, “hey Caitlyn, how did you ever decide on what you wanted to major in?”

“That’s easy! I just chose whatever major that involved what I like doing the most, which is talking. You just need to figure out what it is that you like to do the most.”

“Hmmm…I guess that would probably involve computers are some other technology. I’ve always been interested in new technology.”

“Why don’t you ask our computer science professor about that field?”

“You mean Professor Lee?”

“Yeah, Professor Lee. He seems to know about every single new technology out there. You should ask him what’s the best tech field to get into.”

“You’re right Caitlyn, I’ll go ask him next week after class.”

“Next week?” Caitlyn shook her head. “Just go to his office later and talk to him about it. I hear that he’s always in his office, even during the evening.”

“But his office hours are only in the morning. I’ll just wait until after class next week to ask him about it.”

“Lexi, I know you’re not the type of person who likes to procrastinate. The quicker you decide on your major, the more we’ll get to enjoy the weekend,” Caitlyn said as she stood up and put her money on the table. “I’ll see you back at the dorm Lexi, make sure you go talk to Professor Lee today.”

Lexi nodded to her friend as Caitlyn walked away. After eating, Lexi walked over to the computer science building to talk to Professor Lee. She looked at the building directory posted on the wall and took note that Professor Lee’s office was in room 118, which was around the corner.

Lexi made her way to room 118 and noticed that the building's halls were a little strange during the evening when there weren’t any students walking to and from classes. He probably isn’t even in his office at this time of the day, Lexi thought.

As Lexi arrived at the room, she noticed the door was slightly open, with a doorstopper keeping the door ajar. Lexi opened the door and entered the office while placing the door back in place. Lexi looked around the room at the waiting room type of setup. She could hear Professor Lee in a different room talking to someone and decided to walk towards the room but stopped at the entrance.

“They’ve finally caught on to what I did. I’m afraid tonight will be the last time I’ll be on this planet,” Professor Lee said.

That’s weird. I never thought Professor Lee would be the dramatic type of person, Lexi wondered. I wonder what terrible thing Professor Lee did.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here, but I guess this will be goodbye forever. It was nice knowing you, Larry.”

Oh shoot, I shouldn’t be eavesdropping on Professor Lee’s conversation. Maybe, I should just leave quietly. Lexi pondered on the situation and started pacing around for a moment.

“Who’s out there?” Professor Lee yelled out.

Lexi was startled that she has been found out and looked towards the exit. Before she could move, Professor Lee stepped out of his office and gazed upon Lexi. “You’re one of my students, aren’t you?” Professor Lee asked.

Lexi turned around and faced him. Professor Lee was wearing a long-sleeve light-blue collared dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of dark grey slacks. “Yes, sir I am. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation,” Lexi admitted. “I came by your office because I wanted to get your advice and perspective on majoring in computer science…I know it’s not your office hours right now, so I can leave if you’re busy,” Lexi said as she started towards the exit again.

“Hold it right there,” Professor Lee said in a commanding voice. “I’m quite free right now. Please step inside my office, and let’s talk.”

“Ok,” Lexi mumbled as she followed Professor Lee into his office.

“Please, have a seat…uh…Lexi right?”

“Yes…I’m surprised you remember my name, considering you teach so many students,” Lexi replied.

“Oh, I have a pretty good memory Lexi… and plus, I would definitely remember the name of one of my best students,” Professor Lee stated.

Lexi blushed with embarrassment, “Thank you Professor, I try my best to do well in school.”

“No need to thank me Lexi, you seem to have a knack for computer science. I think you would do very well if you majored in it. The opportunities in this field are exciting and boundless.”

“Thanks Professor,” Lexi replied. “I have to ask, I couldn’t help but overhear your phone call earlier… are you planning to leave the school?”

Professor Lee sighed. “Lexi, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, which I need you to promise not to tell anyone, alright?”

“You can count on me Professor. I can keep your secret.”

“Great…not that anyone would believe you, though, since my secret sounds completely absurd.”

“Try me.”

Professor Lee leaned back into his reclining office chair and put his hands behind his head. “Lexi, over a decade ago, I released a technology to the world. A technology that I wasn’t allowed to shared yet.”

“Which technology did you release? Did you steal it?” Lexi asked.

“Lexi, I didn’t really steal it…but the technology that I shared with the world is Bitcoin.”

Lexi’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. “You’re Satoshi? Oh my God! I can’t believe it! I mean, I can, considering how you’re so smart, but you’re like a mysterious celebrity!” Lexi squealed.

Professor Lee chuckled a little. “Yeah, I kinda am a celebrity, but I wasn’t supposed to share Bitcoin with the world, at least not this early, that is.”

“What do you mean Professor? Aren’t you the creator of Bitcoin? Can’t you do whatever you want with it?” Lexi asked with a look of confusion on her face.

“Well…not exactly. I am one of the co-founders of cryptocurrency, however, I wasn’t given permission to share it with this world yet. I released Bitcoin to help advance humanity to become more decentralized and freer. You see Lexi, I’m from another galaxy. I’m an extraterrestrial.”

Lexi stared at Professor Lee for a long moment, wondering if he was attempting to make a dry joke. “Are you being serious, or are you just kidding around?”

“I’m very serious Lexi. In fact, I want you to have this,” Professor Lee reached into his desk and pulled out a USB drive.

As Professor Lee handed the flash drive to Lexi, she asked, “what’s on this USB drive?”

“That flash drive contains a tenth of all my Bitcoins. I’ve already divvied up the rest of my Bitcoins to friends and associates. I want you to utilize these Bitcoins and change the future of humanity.”

Lexi stared at the flash drive intently. “Wait…a tenth of all of your Bitcoins? You mean this USB drive has…”

“Yes Lexi. That flash drive has one-hundred thousand Bitcoins on it. I won’t be needing it, as I will be departing Earth shortly.”

“I can’t accept this Professor…this is simply too much for me to receive. What if you come back to Earth one day? Won’t you be needing these?”

“No Lexi, I’m afraid I won’t be coming back to Earth. You see, releasing a technology like Bitcoin to your world is a major intergalactic crime that is punishable by death. The Intergalactic Organization has recently discovered my offense and ordered some galactic agents to detain me and have me executed. They’ll probably come by sometime tonight.”

“What?” Lexi exclaimed. “They’re going to execute you for helping mankind? That’s ridiculous! There’s no way I’ll let them take you away! You’ve got to run away and hide somewhere.”

“There’s no place in the universe where I’ll be able to hide from the Intergalactic Organization. Everyone in the universe has a tracker embedded in their DNA and there’s no possible way to remove it. Only a high ranking official in the Intergalactic Organization can remove someone from their tracking system.”

“There must be a way,” said Lexi. “They’ll give you a fair trial, right?”

“They will, but regardless of how I present my case, I will be executed. The Intergalactic Organization is very strict and always adhere to their laws and punishment. You wouldn’t need to worry about your planet. The Intergalactic Organization will not interfere with humanity’s day to day life even with the introduction of cryptocurrency.”

Lexi stared at Professor Lee and was perplexed at his calm and relaxed demeanor. She couldn’t believe that he was going to accept his punishment for assisting the world. “This doesn’t seem right,” she said. “Why would they execute you for giving us Bitcoin?”

“Lexi, there is a strict intergalactic law on meddling too much with young civilizations like Earth. You might not believe it, but I’m actually tens of thousands of years old. I’ve already lived a long and fulfilling life. It won’t be long before I’m detained. It would be best if you leave before the galactic agents arrive.”

Lexi was shocked at what he said. “Tens of thousands of years old? You look like you’re still in your thirties! Anyway, I’m not going to leave…”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the main front door. They could hear the outer door to the offices open, and a male voice yelled out, “Professor Lee, you’re under arrest for the violation of several laws. Please come out slowly and unarmed, or we will use deadly force.” The voice sounded vaguely familiar to Lexi, but she couldn’t figure out where she had heard this voice before.

“Stay in this room and don’t come out Lexi,” Professor Lee said in a hushed voice as he got up from his chair and walked out of his office with his arms raised up high. “I’m right here,” Professor Lee yelled out to the agents.

Professor Lee was out of Lexi’s sight, but she could hear various metal cuffs being placed on the Professor. “Do not move,” the same male voice yelled out to the Professor. Lexi suddenly remembered where she had heard this voice before. She rushed out of the office to verify the voice of the galactic agent. Once she stepped out of the office, she could see Professor Lee shackled from head to toe in various strange metal restraints. Two men were adjusting the restraints, and the third was supervising, but when Lexi stepped out, all eyes were on her.

“Lexi Parker? What are you doing here?” the supervising agent asked.

“It’s you! You’re my long-time neighbor, Alex Young. You’re actually an alien working for the Intergalactic Organization?” Lexi asked.

The supervising agent sighed. “I guess the Professor told you a lot,” he said. “Lexi, you’re partially correct. The three of us are galactic agents that work under the Intergalactic Organization, but we’re actually human and not from another planet. Professor Lee here committed a serious crime by releasing the technology of cryptocurrency, which he will have to atone for. We’d appreciate it if you’d keep this to yourself, as very few people on Earth are aware of the Intergalactic Organization.”

“Is it true that Professor Lee will be executed for what he did?” Lexi asked.

“Well, that’s up to the Intergalactic Organization, but most likely, yes,” replied Alex.

“This isn’t right. Professor Lee shouldn’t have to be executed simply for giving us Bitcoin. Please don’t take him away,” Lexi implored.

“Lexi, it’s our job as galactic agents to uphold the intergalactic law. I know Professor Lee’s punishment seems a bit drastic and wrong, but it’s our duty to detain him and bring him to the Intergalactic Organization.”

“If I give the three of you a total of a hundred thousand Bitcoins will you allow the Professor to escape,” Lexi asked as she waved the flash drive that the Professor gave her earlier.

“You’ve got a hundred thousand Bitcoins on that flash drive?” Alex asked with a dumbfounded expression.

“Yep,” Lexi said as she nodded her head.

“Mind if I take a look at it?” Alex asked.

“Go right ahead,” said Lexi as she handed the flash drive to Alex.

Alex took out a small strange device and plugged the flash drive into it. A small screen on the device lit up, and Alex’s face lit up with astonishment. “Well I’ll be,” he said. “Looks like you really do have a hundred thousand Bitcoins.” Alex looked at his colleagues, and the both of them shrugged.

“I think there might be a way that we can allow the Professor to escape his punishment,” Alex said.

“Really?” Lexi asked with excitement.

The Professor’s face lit up with surprise and a bit of intrigue.

“Yes,” Alex said. “As the top-ranking galactic agent on Earth, I am able to remove a person’s tracker from our database. Since Professor Lee is currently on Earth, I can easily remove him from our system and notate that he is deceased. I’ll simply write down that he killed himself on our report.”

“I had no idea that the Intergalactic Organization gave that much authority to human beings,” the Professor said.

“Only a few of us have such authority, and we can only edit records of those residing on Earth,” said Alex. “You’re free to go Professor, but it’d be best if you changed your identity,” Alex said as he took off the Professor’s restraints. Alex looked at Lexi, “none of this ever leaves this room, got it?”

“My lips are sealed. Thank you Alex,” said Lexi.

“Don’t mention it, and thanks for the Bitcoins. Alright, let’s head out guys,” Alex said to his colleagues.

Once the galactic agents left, the Professor turned to Lexi. “Thank you Lexi, if it weren’t for you, they would have taken me away to be executed. I will forever be in your debt.”

“Don’t mention it. You’re my favorite Professor. I couldn’t just let them take you away,” Lexi grinned.

“Wait here Lexi, I have something else for you,” the Professor said as he walked back into his office. When the Professor returned, he handed Lexi a small golden Bitcoin slightly larger than the size of a quarter. “This isn’t a real Bitcoin, but it’s a device that is similar to a flash drive. Simply place it next your computer, and you can access all the files stored on it.”

“What type of files are stored on this?” Lexi asked.

“Blueprints to advanced technology that have not yet been discovered by humanity. I’ll entrust this information to you, as I will need to leave Earth.”

“But the Intergalactic Organization thinks you’re dead. You should be safe on Earth,” said Lexi.

“They are bound to do a further investigation. Don’t worry, I’ll come by every so often to visit. I’ll leave it up to you to share these advanced technologies with your species.”

“I’m not sure I’m cut out for this Professor,” argued Lexi.

“Don’t worry Lexi, have confidence in yourself. This will be goodbye for now,” the Professor said as he instantly disappeared.

“Professor?” Lexi said as she looked around the room. She looked through all adjacent the rooms, but the Professor was nowhere to be found. Lexi looked at the Bitcoin shaped flash drive and put it in her pocket. “I guess I’ve got a lot of work to do,” she said to herself.