21 Futures #14 — The Journal’s Alchemists — Gonzalo Coelho

Um, well, Yeah, sorry.

Get involved.

Yeah. Um, I just heard, I, I, when I heard about 21 Futures, I figured it would be a good opportunity to write something, but then I felt like it would, it was going to be too much work and I didn't have the time. Um, after thinking about it, I remembered that I had a story, planned out that I wanted to write about that could be turned into a Bitcoin story with some work. So yeah, I, I developed it and here we are.

That's great. Um, so what other, um, types of fiction do you, do you write?

Um, well, generally I like writing, uh, fantasy and horror. But it's not like I write too much. I, I like reading fantasy and horror and, but I don't, it's not like I wouldn't read something else. It's just that I have a distinct liking, liking for those kind of stories.

Got it. Well, it's a hotbed of literature for sure.

Yeah.

Kind of where you, where you live. Um, yeah. And what about within the, within the Bitcoin space? Which writers do you admire? Who do you follow? In the Bitcoin space?

Um, well, I got into being into Bitcoin thanks to Saifedean Ammous after a Google search in which I went, what if Bitcoin was backing the, the, was the, just like gold, you know, what if we have a Bitcoin standard? And that's how I go, how I stumbled upon his, uh, great book about the topic. And yeah, I really like his writing. He's really clear and he doesn't waste, uh, words. He just goes straight to the point. I also like Jonathan Beer, the author of The Block Size War. I recently reread The Block Size War and I like how, like, I appreciate how he Uh, even though he has, uh, he, he's somewhat biased because he's, uh, he would consider himself a small blocker at that moment. I think he still is. Uh, he, he, he tries to portray the, the events in a, in an impartial way. So it's not like he's saying, yeah, fuck Bitcoin Cash. Yeah. Small blockers won. But he's telling the whole story in, I know what I believe to be a very impartial way.

Yeah. I mean, it's definitely a facet of writing, uh, Bitcoin writing, isn't it? Sort of proof of, uh, well, just general proof and like using sound argument and trying to remain impartial and tell things in a more Scientific way, which is kind of how we arrived at this story at this juncture that we need more stories, right? Because so much of the Bitcoin writing we read is very functional and helpful, but it's not necessarily impactful in an emotional way. And that's what we want from these stories. So yeah, talking about your Story, Gonzalo, um, it's in several sections. It's a bit of a puzzle that readers have to put together. Uh, there's a historical scene, which I think you're gonna read from, then with, there's action in the, in the modern day, there's journal entries. How did the order, uh, come about? How did you decide on that? Well,

Well, to be honest, the way I write stories is I think of an interesting concept and I develop it and I try to see where that leads me. I'm not smart enough to plan ahead and get picky about the events or certain, uh, characteristics of the story. I just see where that concept that I want to keep takes me. And I develop it into something that's coherent and yeah, hopefully someone, uh, might, might want to read. So yeah, I, I just tried to do that. It, it was kind of hard to do it because when you think about a story involving Bitcoin, I think it's easy to fall into what might be called cringe territory. Mm-hmm. I don't know, it does, it just feels like, uh, someone might be, might assume that the story is about, uh, a utopia where Bitcoin fixed everything and yeah, something utterly boring, you know? But yeah, I think it was a nice challenge to, to try to come up with something that's not boring, that's interesting, but that involves Bitcoin.

Yeah, I think there's so many, um, movements which you could say that about, which are newer. You know, evangelism always feels, uh, sort of cheap, cringey, I guess you could say. Um, and I don't mean religious evangelism, just preaching like a new societal movement. If something is new and you are really an advocate for it, everyone else is thinking, this guy is, uh, yeah. Yeah. So, you know, we just embrace the cringe for now. This is, you know, this will become the norm and no one will be cringing, but they certainly won't be from your story.

Um, I hope so.

Yeah. Well, um, that kind of brings me onto, uh, not the cringe element, but I think quite a famous, uh, book. that is a bit, um, divisive, but I generally think people get something from it. I know I did, uh, is The Alchemist by Pablo Coelho. And your main character is called Santiago, as the boy in The Alchemist is. Is that a, something deliberate or is it just a crazy coincidence?

Um, I'm, I'm as— I'm ashamed to say it, but I haven't read the Paulo Coelho yet. Like I've, I've heard of him. I know he's famous. Uh, he probably deserves it, but no, I, I haven't read him and I didn't know that was his character's, his main character's name.

That's an amazing, amazing coincidence.

Yeah.

Yeah. What, what made you choose Santiago as the, um, as the name of the main character?

Um, well, like it's a coincidence, but my brother's name is Santiago, and I felt like the main character resembled my brother in some way. So I figured when I started writing the, when I wrote the story, I was like, okay, I'm, I'm thinking of Santiago when I write about this, this character. And I don't want to spoil it more, so I won't say anything else. But yeah, that was the main reason.

There, there's perhaps, I mean, a kind of Spiritual connotation with the name because of course, like here in Spain, we have the famous Camino de Santiago and the, uh, St. James, as we would call him in English, is buried in Santiago, uh, Cathedral. So yeah, there's definitely like a spirituality, a sort of journey, timeless element without giving too much away to Gonzalo's story.

I guess, I guess we can tell, uh, I can tell the readers that when we sell a million copies that it was all planned.

That's it. Maybe you can do a book reading with Pablo Coelho. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. I can invite him.

Yeah, that would be great. Well, what, what can you share with everyone? Not giving away any spoilers, what can you share about your story? What's it about and Uh, yeah. Can you give us a few more details before we hear your reading?

Um, I think it's a story about, uh, legacy, about transcending mortality and how some people meddle with this matter and they're like, they are, and they feel this dread of not being able to transcend beyond their, after they are dead. So yeah, uh, I, I think it has to do with that and how, how, like, it's fiction, so we can do it in several ways. But yeah, in, in real life, we just, I guess we can do it with, with our contributions to, to society. I guess if you contribute to your family, enough, they will remember you for generations. Um, yeah, but you may be, you might be forgotten. And if you are contributing to society, uh, you make, uh, significant enough, uh, contributions to society, you'll probably stand out in, in history. And I don't know why, but some people really care about that. I, I think I do. But it's not like I, I would, I wouldn't be myself if that didn't happen. Let's say I just happened to do that with, I don't know, writing books or, I don't know, writing software. It doesn't matter. I, I, I just don't feel like that's a, a need I have.

Well, I, I can say as an author myself, it's brilliant to, it's a brilliant achievement to have, um, a story selected for an anthology and to have your name in print. And that book will live on, that book, you know, uh, and the story has been written down, it's stored digitally and it's not going away. So that's a great legacy to have and keep building on. And also, you know, so many of our stories are based on legacy, either the, the, the literal legacy of like a financial Um, will and testament and, uh, the legacy of, of what we leave behind. Uh, you know, we have cryogenic freezing and all sorts of, um, ways that people can cheat death in our anthology. So yeah, it's a real, uh, moment in history that we are living in, I think, trying to deal with. We've got all this great technology, we're still like, oh, we still pretty much die when we get to 80. That sucks, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Great. So, um, now it's time, I think, uh, for you to read us a bit of your story. So that would be great if we can hear an excerpt. Sure. Here is Gonzalo Coelho with, uh, the beginning, I think, of the journals Alchemists.

Sure. Um, it's not exactly the beginning. But it's, uh, it's right around there, let's say. Okay. Okay. You start. I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain. Pierre understood his initial proof, tucked from prying eyes, was flawed. Fueled by determination, he toiled tirelessly through countless nights to correct it. The margin's message was an inspiration, a journey extending beyond pages into the very fabric of his existence, and a reminder that his reputation was at stake. What did it mean, he wondered, to leave a legacy? Was it merely about the theorems he penned and the problems he posed? Or was there something more profound, something that transcended the boundaries of numbers and logic? Pierre's eyes lingered on his words, his contemplation delving into the depths of existence itself. Time was a cruel mistress, he mused, as he gazed at the candle's flickering flame. It burned steadily, yet its moments were fleeting. And yet, amidst the shadows and the calculations, Pierre found solace. His pursuit of knowledge, his ceaseless quest to understand, gave him a sense of purpose that transcended the bounds of mortality. As the hours waned, his pen moved with renewed vigor, etching symbols onto the parchment. Onto the paper. He was running out of time. That much was certain. But in the quiet solitude of his study, Pierre found a semblance of eternity. The problem, like the mysteries of life, would continue to challenge those who came after him. And though the ink of the pages would fade, the echoes of his thoughts would persist, a testament to a mind that defied, defied the constraints of time.

Yeah. Great. Lovely reading. And, um, yeah, I really like some of the, uh, more Latinate language, right? Um, you're a, you're a Spanish speaker, is that right?

Right. That's right.

Yeah. So, uh, yeah, a lot of those words have, you know, similar words in Spanish cuz they come from Latin. It's got this kind of historical feel to it. So, uh, yeah, very nice. Great. Well, thanks for sharing part of your part of your story with us. Final question before we go is: Do you have a prediction for the future of Bitcoin? Where are we going, and what's going to happen?

Hmm. Ah, I can give you the coward's answer, or maybe just make a. wild estimate and see if I land it. Uh, let's just say, I don't know, just something silly. Maybe $1 million by the end of 2026. That's the, the, the dumb answer. Let's say maybe I make it, maybe I don't. Uh, no one will punish me, let's say. Um, yeah.

That could, that could just be a catastrophic fail of the dollar as well. It's not, it's not anything to do with Bitcoin going up.

Yeah.

The dollar is worth so little, it suddenly shot up. But, but no, I'm, it's, I don't think it's a stupid, uh, prediction.

Yeah, I don't know. I, I just, I, I, I just think it, it's stupid if it realizes. And then I, I sort of, I became, I become some sort of trading, I don't know, uh, guru or something on those lines.

Yeah. December 21st, it's 31st, sorry, 2026, it hits $1 million and you become the new

People start asking for advice.

Financial guru.

I know. No, but the, but the, the real answer, the coward answer, let's say, is that I think it will become more and more useful for more people with time. Like it has been for me, like Argentinians, as you said, are suffering through wild inflation and yeah, they can. They can use dollars. That's good enough. That's, that's, that would be great for Argentinians if we were allowed to use dollars legally. But I think in the long term, we will learn that it's, it's not enough to just have, to have like, I don't know, 10% inflation or whatever the dollar, the dollar inflation. Is at the moment.

Yep. Yeah. Same, uh, problem, different money, I guess.

Um, yeah.

Yeah. Well, you know, I'm, uh, crossing my fingers for, for everyone there in, in Argentina, and I'd love to visit again someday, maybe once it becomes a haven for Bitcoiners like, uh, El Salvador.

It's, It kind of is. I mean, you, you get cheap meat, cheap housing. I mean, for foreigners, it, it, it can be a paradise. You just need to avoid the, the dangerous zone, which are few and not like, uh, it's not like you, you would want to go there anyways. But yeah. Yeah. Other than that. It can be a really nice place to live in.

For sure. And do you have any, um, any websites? Where can people find you online? Where can people get in touch? Uh, do you have anything you want to share with everyone?

I just have my Twitter account, which I believe is, uh, Coelho Gonça. Yeah, @CoelhoGonça. Just that.

Great. All right. Well, if you're interested in learning more about Gonzalo's work and his views on Bitcoin, then follow him on Twitter. Thank you so much for coming on the show and best of luck with all your future writing, whatever language that is in. And I urge you to read at least one Pablo Coelho book so you know what your namesake is up to.

Okay. Thank you for inviting me. Uh, I will, I think I, I owe you that. I owe you that.

All right. Well, hope you enjoy it and yeah, thanks again for coming on the show. See you then, Gonzalo.

It was a pleasure. See you. Take care.