Journal Entry Number 147
August 13, 1709
As I rise in the dawn glow, the sweet saltiness of the sea breaches my nose. Ahh, how being a pirate is glorious. ‘Tis only been about 4 months since I have been out with a crew, but I already feel quite at home on the waters. Everyone back home was always afraid of the men like me who plunder for our goods. They say we are anarchists, ruthless, stealers without cause. They are wrong, however. Us pirates have a code, just like the crown or any other civil society. The difference is that while they are stuck in monotony in an employment they don’t like, we are out making our own money, taking risks, getting rich, and choosing for ourselves how we live our lives. There exists not one controlling crown to tell u what to do; rather, we get to choose where we take our services and who is in charge of us. That’s how I ended up here, aboard Black Bart’s vessel. Here, my hard labor is rewarded with plenty of treasure, and the thrill of the next adventure keeps me going.
Journal Entry Number 148
August 18th, 1709
Today we landed at a port in West Indies. I hark today as a life changing day, for what I discovered could very well bring me great wealth. As I was drinking some rum in a seedy port town bar, I heard many loud squawking noises coming from a room in the back. Curious, I ambled to the door, which was slightly ajar, and peered in. To my surprise, I saw about a dozen seabirds in a cage, all with parcels and pouches tied to their legs. To the women standing there, with a bird in her grasp and tying a pouch to its leg, I said What is this curious thing you are doing? After sending the bird out of the window, she replied I am trading my money! Why are you doing this? I asked. I took a look around the room and noticed a wooden contraption that was writing out scrolls and scrolls of calculations. A bird flew through the window with a letter tied around its leg. The women grabbed it, checked for her personal wax seal, and opened it. Looking over her shoulder, I noticed it contained a note with a series of numbers and some golden pieces of eight. Pirate money! What is this contraption and why did you get money from this bird? I said. Finally, she turned to me and explained: This is an ASIC: Automated Super Ingenious Contraption. It allows me to compute these calculations in a system to get money. I get the money in envelopes and parcels from the seabirds that carry the information all around the network. They also give me the next computation. What she said blew my pirate mind. So, why use pirate money? I wondered aloud. Because she said it is a lot more stable than the money of the Crown or of our islands out here. The other currencies changes so often that I could be rich one day and poor the next. With this system, I can support myself always, for pirate pieces of eight are real gold. What she said to me started to make real sense. This system fits so well with my lifestyle. I am able to choose to make my money my own way, and no Crown can tell me what the value is; we decide what it’s worth! But, being conscious of other pirates, I inquired further. But what if another pirate steals the bird that had my money or calculations? She turned to me and answered Well, do you see this special wax seal? This is my seal, and only mine. Only I have the ability to open it. Others recognize it is my parcel, but no one can open it. This made sense to me. A private seal to keep my pieces of eight safe. But what about the people (or machinations, I guess) that open the parchments on the other end? For the calculations? I mentioned this to the woman. Oh, of course, very perceptive question. The private seal is just for the money. The calculations have my public seal. The more I inquired about this system, the more I was interested in getting in on the profit. It would be easy, I thought. I would just need to build this machine out of wood and attract some seabirds. Of course, I may need to visit this lady once again to fully understand how to use the system. By the way; What is this called? I asked. EightBit Coin she replied.
I walked out of the room and back to the bar, my mind pondering how to take advantage of this system. Perhaps after my time on the sea I could settle into this system and make my profit. But first I would need to spread the word to make sure it would be worth it enough to step out of Black Bart’s crew. Yo Ho!
September 3rd, 1709
Well, it has been about 15 days since that fateful day of learning of Eightbit Coin. I have been rather busy. I amassed enough supplies to build myself an ASIC, for doing that math myself would be impossible. It took me forever to learn that 4+3 = 8! Anyways, I have already begun making money in this system. I used seed to attract the birds, and once they found out I was really interested in using the system on my own, they told their friends, so now I am in the loop. However, the one problem is when our ship passes through the Bermuda Triangle. Every time this happens, no birds seem to appear for every new computation. It is almost like the seabird network is down or something! Anyways, I have been staying quite up to date with the Eightbit community. There are an increasing number of participants, and it is making pieces of eight quite valuable! So, not only am I gaining money from plundering and Eightbit Coin, but I am also helping it make it more valuable! It is most genius. Although, I have no idea where the money comes from…Oh well, I’m getting richer hehe!
It took a while for me to learn how to use this strange system, even with how smart I can be. These darn pesky birds be mighty difficult to cooperate with. They are not always on time (as in instant) with the parchments, so I cannot always be the one to get the calculation first. I have a feeling that they may be captured or killed during their flights… Well, at least maybe small birds like the seabirds that are delivering the parchment and pouches right now will be too agile and inconspicuous to get killed.
September 6th, 1709
I just received word from the women who helped me get started in Eightbit Coin, the woman from the port town, that the Crown has taken an interest in Eightbit Coin! With the seemingly unlimited resources at their disposal, it seems, from the woman’s description, that they are building up their ASIC and seabird collection like none other. I hope our system will be protected from the crown, for the commoners and pirates benefit so much from this system without the interjection and silly rules of the crown.
September 17th, 1709
I have increasingly been seeing computations sealed by members of the Crown. I cannot stand fer it. They be taking over our system! They are eventually going to force us out, for they will have the majority of the ASICS and computations. Us commoners and pirates may need to ban together to do something about his injustice.
October 1st, 1709
Well, it hath happened. The Crown be having over half of the computing power of the system. The real people who benefit from Eightbit Coin, are no longer in control of the system they enacted to preserve some sort of monetary freedom. The Crown has decreed that a 4 inch long piece of parchment be used for each computation. Aaaaargh! It be mighty unjust. Seabirds can carry much larger parchments than that, but it will weight them down! Smaller parchments be good! They keeps the community more at a level playing ground and generate more money! Besides, if seabirds be the problem, then we all can use pelicans or another hefty bird, to combat the attackers or what have you to ensure parchment safety. The time be now to take these unruly lawmakers down.
October 24th, 1709
After weeks of sailing around the West Indies with Black Bart (he be of the EightBit Core, never would have thought!), we have gathered a mighty crew to go to battle with members of the Crown. Commoners from all over the West Indies have joined us, pirate crews from all over the seven seas, have put their swords in the fight, and even some members of the Crown who want to see a free market for all. It be 1 day’s journey to the main stronghold of the Crown…
October 26th, 1709
As I rise in the dawn glow, the sweet saltiness of the sea pierces my nose. My breath leaves a pile of dew in me beard and ‘stache. I can taste the anticipation for what lay ahead today. It be the day of reckoning for the nasty folk of the Crown. They must pay for trying to control an open system. Their stronghold lay directly upon the rocky shore ahead. Men, Women, Commoners, Pirates Black Bart shouted into the silent-with-anticipation crowd: Today be the day of justice! These nasty dutchmen have taken away our right to create an open market, decentralized form of blockchain technology! They have used proof of stake to their advantage and have gained over 51% of the computing power and decision making! They have centralized a decentralized system to corrupt our new form of currency that is much more stable than their up-and-down, inflation ridden, colonialized form of currency! We all looked around at each other in confusion, he was speaking a strange sort of speech that we had never heard. SO, take up your arms!! We fight for justice! We fight for freedom! We fight the oppression! WE FIGHT THE CROWN! Aaaaargh! All of us joined in the whooping and yelling, our adrenaline kicking in. The gangplank landed on the rocky cliff and off we went to the town…
Journal Entry 229
What a great day to be a pirate. We overthrew the core of the Crown who were disrupting our Eightbit Coin system. I should not share the full details, for some of them are too gruesome. Sometimes being a pirate is a bit hard to stomach, but most of the time it is just the fear that things like what transpired yesterday will happen. However, yesterday was necessary. Someone needed to keep our system independent. After the bloodshed, some of the Crown group (Black Bart said this was the Crown Core) surrendered. We let them go, for we are not ruthless! Like I said, we have codes we follow! Then, we burned some of the ASICs, to make sure the number of people matched the number of ASICs.
November 3rd, 1709
I have heard tell that the Crown group have taken their Eightbit Coin and melted it down to make their own currency. They call it Crown Coin. It seems that their coins are basically the same as ours, except it looks slightly different. However, I think their system is a bit different. It seems that they use pelicans instead of seabirds and have 3-inch scrolls for their computation. I wonder how many people will use their coin instead of ours. Ours is the first, so it must be better! Besides, the commoners and pirates, for who the Eightbit Coin was made by and for, is still used by us, and will be, so it can’t possibly get bigger than ours. Right?
November 15th, 1709
The Eightbit Coin community is fractured. After the battle with the Crown Coin people, other pirates and commoners used the Crown Coin situation to make their own points. Luckily, no one has fought over it yet, but me fears that it may be headed into that swell. The main points of discussion (because that’s what it be so far. Groups of Eightbit Coin people be meeting up and discussing what to do about the state of things) are whether we should start using pelicans or keep using seabirds, and what length of parchment the birds should be carrying. Naturally, the people who want the longer parchment think we should use larger birds. And the people who think smaller parchment is good think seabirds are just fine. Black Bart and I tend to agree with the man (partly because he be the one that protects my hide and gives me a ship to stay on), thinks that seabirds are superior, for they are faster and have a better sense of sea and shore, and that the smaller parchments are better. I have attended several of the meetings the outspoken have had. We have seen how those large parchments and birds be working with the Crown Coin, and it has not been going well for them. But the future is as hazy as a powder cloud from an upper deck gun. We are all trying to come to an agreement of sorts, but it be mighty hard to please everyone. It be seeming that the large parchment folk want the parchment to be very long, as long as the tail of a wharf rat. That be mighty long, laddy! I really do not want to change the birds we use, though. A big pain it would be to gather new birds and buy all new parchments of different lengths to use. Much easier to keep the same system. At least, even if we did change it would not be by force; we would all agree on it. Still freedom.
November 21st, 1709
Chaos is upon us. I, on the crew of Black Bart, have been battling for several days with other pirates and commoners who use Eightbit Coin. It is mostly those who believe in using pelicans and large parchment versus those who want to continue using seabirds and smaller parchment. There has been lots of needless bloodshed. Our community be splintering into many pieces. I hope we may find common ground and compromise before it is too late.
Journal Entry Number 266
Alas, I do believe it is my time to leave this earth. I was stabbed in a battle and have been fighting for my life the whole night. It saddens me that such a great community has been fractured and I fear will never be whole again. Perhaps an agreement will be reached, so that the greatness that I know that resides in this wonderful idea may continue on.
Journal Entry number 267
December 05, 2022
I decided to continue to write in this journal. It makes me feel like I am going back in the past or continuing on a legacy that I was fated to take on.
I found this journal off of the coast of North Carolina. I don’t know how it ended up here; maybe got left on a ship which eventually sank, or someone somehow picked it up from this guy and lost, or..I don’t even know!
Anyways, I can’t believe they had this system of currency back then! It seems unbelievable! I mean, the technology they had at that time was crazy for that time, like cannons and stuff…
I mean, now, we have the same technology but so much better! Computers and the internet make Bitcoin (that’s what we call it; maybe Bitcoin comes from Eightbit coin…?) so much easier and quicker. Plus, it’s so easy to mine. I can’t believe that they just started killing each other, though, just because they couldn’t agree on block size- sorry, “parchment” size. I wonder what would happen if that happened today? Like, if pirates got ahold of a currency, or resorted to killing each other. Would it happen? Could it happen? People dying over Bitcoin?