“to alt or not to alt: that is the question

a Soliloquy

ASTR
The Capital
Published in
3 min readMar 19, 2020

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ACT 3 | Scene 1 — Cryptocurrency

To alt, or not to alt: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

and by opposing end them?

In 1616, it is said, that these words were written in a time of great upheaval. Many monarchies were overthrown with the beat of change coming down the dusty trails.

Is it not unlike the times we find ourselves in?

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;

… what dreams may come!

Are we not the ALTERNATIVE? They may call us dreamers, and in the full sense of that, we are. We are the “alt’s” of life, where we see, though dimly, the path before and in many-sense unable to see that which has gone before. Our cadence is a march, a tune, a frequency not yet heard in the masses, but becoming strong and vibrant nonetheless. In many ways, as the poet expresses, we have died to the old and shed forth a new light.

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause:

In the “sleep of death” to the old norms and the old ways we have and must shuffle off this mortal coil. But remember, in so doing it must give us “pause”. For we cannot know fully what lies ahead. It is both mystery and enigma. Yet we persist with a knowing, unknowing.

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns

Time is a determined master. It leads us and will not relinquish. We may say “pause” but time waits for none. It is both strange and unrelenting. It says march forward though we scarce desire too. The old guard tries desperately to hold on to their “norm” as if any time has a “norm”. Bravely they insolently insist that the old ways are the best. They spurn and delay what will inevitably be their demise. They say they know best, as if best is their desire. They oppress and continue to “whine” in the great halls whilst their world crumbles and the pandemic widens. Yet, we stand with a way, a path, a better answer. We are from an undiscovered country, and we must forge ahead. For the prose goes on to say …

The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;

Should we bear the “ills we have” rather than “fly off to these others we know not of”? My guess is that we shall move ahead. The times require that those with vision help those with fear. We shall not perish in the heap or humanity if those with an alternative vision help those under, the “grunt and sweat of a weary life” as the poet says.

Whilst, we may not be poets ourselves, we are they who will join together and change what must be changed. We are at an apex in culture and business and finance and connectivity. Like none before. Billions of people connected in ways unheard of. Digital trails left to be consumed, controlled and shared in ways often inexplicable to the uninitiated.

The “alt” is coming and it is to be!

It is to be …

Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia!

ASTR

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