Photo by mostafa_meraji on Pixabay
It was Wednesday; garbage collection day.
The cursor blinked on the screen.
This would be the last message he ever wrote to anyone. At least under this pseudonym.
He hit Enter and closed the laptop. It was done.
He sighed.
The hard drive had already been removed from the computer. It lay there next to the motherboard on the workbench of his garage. He wrapped it in a towel, reached for the hammer, and with a calm face and steady hand, he gave it a few good blows. He did the same with the motherboard. He wasn't doing this out of anger. He was doing this to disappear.
He dumped the pieces of the smashed computer into a garbage bag half full with some soda cans and some old magazines. He walked over to the garage switch and the motor started humming. The garage door opened upward and he walked out into the Phoenix sun, down the driveway to the garbage can on the curb. He threw in the garbage bag without much thought and looked down the street. The tan garbage truck was a few blocks down, already doing its rounds.
The next morning, he got his carry on luggage and travel documents, including a letter of invitation from University of Tehran's computer science department. It was addressed to his new name: Professor Brown.
The trip was long.
As the plane approached Khomeini airport in Iran, he could see the huge city in front of the snow-capped mountains. The view was very different from the Phoenix skyline, which was more of a reddish desert.
The university was not expecting him for another week. So he had already planned a little sight seeing.
He decided to visit the Shah Mosque in Isfahan, regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian architecture in the Islamic era.
The day was magnificent. clear blue skies and perfect spring weather.
As he walked in the towering facade of the mosque, he looked up in awe at the beauty and sheer magnitude of the construction. he he stopped and whispered
"I am Satoshi Nakamoto"
He never uttered these words again.
