The Siren's Code

Class

Bear flipped open his phad to check on the day's crypto exchange rates. The markets had been pretty jittery with the Boicott fiasco, but volatility was the name of the game. Bitcoin trading was not what really interested him although a little like surfing he could while away hours on its peaks and troughs. What actually garnered his attention was what the developers were doing with it and the industries popping up off the back of it. Since the pyramids records have shown man wanting to take riches to the next world and Bear had a hunch that crypto might just facilitate that.

The sums that can be made in an unregulated currency will as the Yard-sale model dictates only magnify those that are already rich, couple this with technology that is moving towards mapping the brain and it isn't that unthinkable that maybe even in Bear's lifetime the first brain will be uploaded to the metaverse. Of course once uploaded there may be decades before there is anything to do up there as a dead person, but it will come. Our blood may set us apart as human, but our desire for eternal life is the bleeding edge of technology.

Bear dabbled in mining bitcoin once, but in a country this hot he had brought down the island's power in a surprisingly short amount of time. The wrath of Remi was understandable, he dreads to think what shit he put him in. No electricity in a down to earth bungalow resort is no big deal, but in a six star retreat where perfection is part of the package, it could have been sticky. Tech cold turkey was definitely a thing, but only on their terms it seemed.

He checked the time and packed up his box of tricks as today was his day with the kids. He taught an electronics and computing class at the local school which he loved. God they were good, they picked it up so quick and had crazy ideas. At the beginning of each term they all put ideas in the hat of what they wanted the term's project to be, the one chosen then brought to fruition. These kids had their heads screwed on, or maybe it comes from knowing how hard life can be. All their ideas were based in reality and for the greater good, not one of them had ever been frivolous games, practical jokes or bedroom tidiers – most of them shared bedrooms with their whole family – but water purity, food storage, rescue devices, communication. This term they were looking at how to disperse jellyfish.

Increased CO2 emissions from human consumption is increasing acidity in the oceans. This is bad news for fish but good news for jellyfish who's new lease of life was becoming problematic for the island.

The children had decided they didn't want to kill the jellyfish but push them back out to the reef, so using the crazy eight ideation technique a few inspired prototypes had been built and were in the process of being tested based on ideas covering sound, light, current, dislikes and trapping.

The data was collected and success rates measured by an app they'd developed in python. The Raspberry Pi's never far away as programming fun alert triggers, the more boggling the better, was as much part of the fun as sloshing around in the sea testing prototypes. The kids were eager and inventive and if Bear was honest it was a highlight of his week.

"Buenos dias clase."

"Buenos días señor."

"En que idioma codificamos?"

"Eeeenglish," they all chirp back

"Yes, we have our lessons in English – the international language of technology. So, where did we get to last week? Did you do your fieldwork? Did you record it so we can watch, learn and iterate?

Everyone wriggled in their seats with their hands up wanting to show their video first. Bear suspects they look forward to this class as much as he did as school finished two weeks ago but they didn't want to let this lesson go, begging Bear until laughing he agreed it could be an all year round thing, so Thursday afternoons they all pitched up at the school – it wasn't obligatory but it was rare that anyone didn't turn up even today which was New Year's Eve.