“Well, for starters, we could take down a couple banks.”
“That’s a little ambitious, isn’t it? Even for you?” Rohan replied, exasperated.
What did he expect from the man who thought creating a black market was an effective method of rebellion? While Rohan had always seen Cryptonomy as a tool that enabled free association in the form of private transactions, Gavin saw it as a means of fighting the system by expanding the domain of economic activity outside of its reach. It had always seemed to be this way, their objectives far removed yet their actions somehow aligned.
“What’s the point of goals, if they aren’t ambitious? With a bit of creativity, we could probably pull it off.” Gavin changed the subject, “Have you been following the debt crisis over in Europe?”
Not only was Rohan following, he was heavily shorting the Euro to profit from the crisis that was rapidly unfolding in the Eurozone. It was an obvious trade, the disease of doubt that had developed in the States was quickly being exported abroad. People were re-examining the foundations of their economies and what they saw left them aghast. Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, otherwise known as the PIIGS of Europe, were hit the hardest. During the easy credit years leading up to 2007, these periphery countries had loaded up on debt to finance their governments’ spending binge. Rather than making difficult cuts when tax revenue couldn’t keep up with expenditure, the governments took the easy route by refinancing old debt and borrowing even more. Investors felt that the European Central Bank basically guaranteed all European debt, since a sovereign default would likely lead to a collapse of the Euro and dissolution of the Union. They were more than inclined to lend money to the PIIGS, since they offered much higher interest rates than their German and French brethren. When the recession hit, tax revenue declined rapidly while government spending ballooned as prescribed by economic geniuses like Paul Krugman. Investors unfortunately didn’t find that proposition too appetizing, and began to offload all but the “safest” government bonds. In reality, they’re all bankrupt, but in a system built on credibility, the least credible were hit the hardest. To make matters worse, when Greece’s new Papandreou government was sworn in, they revealed that Greek finances were worse even than imagined. Shady accounting practices, rampant corruption and tax evasion, practices the western world complained were the scourge of developing countries were now found to be thriving at home. Institutions like the ECB, IMF and European Commission had no choice but to intervene aggressively to stem contagion from spreading.
“Yeah, of course, the ISDA announced that their debt restructuring amounted to default. The bond vigilantes will make a good buck on the default swaps they bought up on the cheap. I think it’s like three billion Euros?”
“A little less, since it was just a restructuring not outright default.” Gavin took a puff from his cigar then continued, “You call them bond vigilantes but really they were nothing more than opportunists, plain and simple. True vigilantism has purpose. Vigilantism would be… like forcing one of the periphery nations to exit from the Euro.”
“The ECB wouldn’t allow it to happen.”
“Allow?” his voice rose, “The world doesn’t conform to the whims and models of economists and politicians. Or have you forgotten that?”
Rohan conceded Gavin the point. George Soros had done what was considered impossible in 1992, shorting the British pound until the Bank of England had to cave and break its peg to the Deutsche Mark.
It caused British taxpayers to lose tens of billions of pound sterling in the market turmoil.
Rohan was still bewildered, “But why? What good would that even do?”
“It might not do any good really,” Gavin said nonchalantly. “But I’ll tell you one thing, it won’t be something they planned on and that alone would be worthwhile. We’d be throwing a wrench in the works, spoiling their invitation-only party to reap all the rewards. Wasn’t it your man Alan Watts who said the secret to life is to understand that it’s just a game? Well then, let’s play.”
Rohan replied with words he’d often heard Viktor utter, “There is but one infinite game.”
Gavin nodded in recognition. While Rohan delivered the words casually, Gavin observed their deeper significance. James Carse, who had written those words, recognized that players of the infinite game offered their death as a way of continuing the play. Viktor played the infinite game.
“So, what exactly is your plan?”
“Well that’s where it gets good,” Gavin said with a smile, “first, we have to make an ungodly amount of money.”
Gavin slowly unfolded an idea that was not yet a plot. In the course of a half hour, he laid out the foundations of a strategy to disrupt the status quo, a strategy of resistance that was bold and uniquely feasible in this era. Rohan’s immediate doubts about Gavin’s mental health in the wake of his closest friend’s death began to subside. The counterintuitive genius of the plan jumped out at Rohan.
Technically, it was possible, but was it justifiable? After all, there would be collateral damage beyond any possible accounting. He quoted the words of Camus, knowing Gavin would recognize them.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
Gavin recoiled at what he perceived as ambivalence, thinking how typical of Rohan to use someone else’s words to defend his own inaction.
“Listen Rohan, I didn’t come here to argue with you. The wheels are in motion, I only came because it would be good to have you on the team, like the old days. Wreak a little havoc, make a lot of money doing it. If you’re not up for it, we can find plenty of people who can bring what you have to the table.”
Rohan knew it was true. He was a generalist, essential to every venture but also the easiest to replace.
He decided to delay his inevitable capitulation.
“Did, he leave a note? Viktor, I mean. Like a suicide note.”
“Yeah, he did. I remember most of it by heart. In the first part he said goodbye to his loved ones. Then he went on to explain why he committed suicide. He said he’d found the meaning of life. He finished with a short proof to support his conclusion.”
“Of course Viktor would write a proof in his suicide note.”
“I’m paraphrasing, but his argument was that the physical world would, over time, reach an essentially stable, inert state due to entropy. Life, he claimed, primarily served to add chaos to order, by feeding on the ambient energy of low level entropy. If the universe is logical, then it could be assumed that the main result of something is the purpose for which it was created. This led him to deduce the purpose of life. Basically, he believed the meaning of life is to add unpredictability, randomness and instability in an otherwise dead universe. He claimed his suicide was the ultimate act of spontaneity.”
“He deprived the universe of a life, in order to fulfill the meaning of life? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’m having trouble coming to terms with it myself.”
Rohan shook his head, still unable to comprehend Viktor’s death.
“Well, I’ve got to do something with this place. I’ll call my agent tomorrow and see what she says. The damned bartending thing was getting old anyway. I’ve gotta say, life is a lot more fun on the other side of the bar.”
Gavin stood up, reveling in his victory as he raised a glass, “To Viktor.”
“To Viktor, may he rest in peace.”
“He has no other choice.”