Blockchain on wheels

# The Blockchain on Wheels

In the gleaming corporate district of New Finton, where glass towers reflected the morning sun like circuit boards catching light, Theodore Grumbles adjusted his SecuriBank uniform and patted the vintage cash counter at his hip. Twenty years in armored transport, and today's job was the strangest yet.

"Remember," his supervisor had whispered during the briefing, tapping a location on a digital map, "Truck 17 must be at Westfield Avenue and 8th precisely at 10:42 AM. Not a minute early, not a second late."

Now, idling at the intersection, Theodore checked his watch: 10:41. He was one of twelve armored vehicles positioned throughout the city in what management had code-named "Operation Digital Fortress." Each truck contained the usual—cash deliveries for various banks—but they were also, somehow, part of a "physical blockchain node network" according to the briefing materials.

A FedEx truck pulled alongside him, the driver giving him a knowing nod. Across the street, a police cruiser sat with lights off, the officer inside speaking quietly into her shoulder radio.

Theodore's radio crackled. "All units confirm positions for CryptoSync at 10:42."

One by one, the trucks responded. "Truck 3, in position." "Truck 9, ready." When Theodore's turn came, he pressed the button: "Truck 17, at Westfield and 8th."

His dashboard tablet suddenly illuminated with a complex diagram showing all twelve trucks as glowing dots connected by invisible lines across the city map. In the center was a pulsing red dot marked "Asset."

"The network is established," came the command center's voice. "Begin standard deliveries while maintaining position relative to the asset. The digital vault is now secure."

Theodore had no idea what digital vault they were securing. The asset—apparently some billionaire tech mogul in town for meetings—was being tracked in real-time, with the armored cars adjusting their legitimate delivery routes to maintain their mysterious geometric formation around him.

"What happens if we break formation?" Theodore had asked during the briefing.

His supervisor had looked gravely serious. "The cryptocurrency transaction could be intercepted. Billions would vanish."

Now, as Theodore pulled away from the intersection with his scheduled bank delivery, he noticed the FedEx driver and police officer moving in perfect synchronization. His tablet beeped as the asset moved, recalculating his next stop to maintain the invisible geometric web.

He'd signed up to transport physical money, not become a human satellite in some cryptographic constellation. But the bonus for today's job would cover his daughter's college application fees, so Theodore Grumbles shifted into drive and continued his part in securing whatever digital fortune was flowing through New Finton's invisible networks.

As he drove, he couldn't help but wonder if somewhere, the asset—whoever they were—knew that their digital billions were being protected by a fleet of confused drivers hauling actual cash around town in a financial ritual that made no technical sense whatsoever.