0:00

They said the counting pines

0:02

didn't exist, but everything

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has a price, even discovery.

0:07

Welcome to the

0:09

Cryptomismist! Hello

0:32

and welcome. Today I, Richard Evans,

0:34

take you on a journey through

0:36

the wonderful world of currency and

0:38

hidden treasure. This shows the last in

0:40

my 11-part series on the Counting Pines.

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If you're tuning in for the first

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time, I'd invite you to check out

0:46

the previous episodes. But if, like me,

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you're the kind of person who likes

0:50

to skip to the end of a

0:52

book, then keep listening. I know I

0:54

will. So here I am on Jire

0:56

Rock, a small island off the coast

0:59

of... Well, I'd prefer not to say.

1:01

The local government has made it

1:03

very clear they don't want people poking

1:05

around. I couldn't find any reason why,

1:07

no debts, no accidents, at least none

1:09

reported, and it's not a park or

1:12

preserve. We've talked about possible

1:14

origins of the counting pines in

1:16

previous episodes. Were they carved by

1:19

indigenous tribes or some lost Viking

1:21

expedition? Perhaps they mark the location

1:23

of stolen Hudson Bay Company bullion,

1:26

or maybe they're the remnants of

1:28

Alvareta Lark's doomed attempt to found

1:31

a 14th colony. Even those who

1:33

acknowledge their existence believe the pines

1:35

are a part of a bigger

1:38

mystery, something to be explored and

1:40

unraveled. I think they're wrong. The

1:42

counting pines don't lead to a treasure.

1:45

They are the treasure, which brings me

1:47

to Jaya Rock. The island was near

1:49

impossible to find, not being on any

1:51

maps. Even satellite photos were useless. This

1:53

whole stretch of sea is little more

1:55

than miles of slate gray water. If

1:57

I hadn't come across those and not...

2:00

post on the crypto forums, I don't

2:02

think I would have known where to

2:04

search. Even then, it took a lot

2:06

of digging. People had Jire Island all

2:09

over the place, from the Florida Keys,

2:11

all the way up to Labrador, and

2:13

that's just the Atlantic sightings. I found

2:16

logs back to the 1700s detailing islands

2:18

very similar to Jire in places as

2:20

varied as the Orkney Isles, Hokkaido, and

2:23

upstate Washington. I must have spent weeks

2:25

combing the internet. It got to the

2:27

point I was even dreaming dreaming dreaming

2:30

dreaming dreaminging of trees. You know that.

2:32

You've been with me all the way.

2:34

For those of you who haven't, check

2:36

out the previous two episodes where I

2:39

detail my journey to Jire, from washed

2:41

out roads, to frozen bridges, to boat

2:43

engine repairs in the middle of a

2:46

winter storm. Fortunately, I came well equipped,

2:48

thanks to our sponsor, my coin. My

2:50

coin, a practical, portable, oh so personal

2:53

currency for the digital age. With no

2:55

cumbersome blockchain to manage, no tracking or

2:57

transaction fees, and never any third-party commissions,

3:00

my coin is at your fingertips, literally.

3:02

Jire Island isn't much to look at,

3:04

maybe a square mile of rocks and

3:06

scrub fronted by scarred cliffs, and breakers

3:09

cold enough to snatch the breath from

3:11

my lungs. I plan to make camp

3:13

on the shore, but the ground isn't

3:16

flat enough to pitch a tent, and

3:18

the wind makes it impossible to talk.

3:20

The only place quiet enough to record

3:23

was down in the pines, which suits

3:25

me just fine. The island forms a

3:27

sort of bowl, high winds screaming around

3:30

the outside, waves swirling in the strange

3:32

spiral patterns that give the place its

3:34

name. There's a scattering of snow on

3:36

the ground, but mostly ice. My only

3:39

companions are a few hearty cormorants up

3:41

on the northern point. I probably should

3:43

have waited for spring, but I couldn't

3:46

leave you all hanging. Honestly, though, it's

3:48

kind of nice down here in the

3:50

pines. Quiet. I know, I know, you're

3:53

waiting for me to talk about the

3:55

trees. Well, let me tell you, the

3:57

sketches and bark rubbings don't do them

4:00

justice. There must be hundreds of them

4:02

down. here, all different sizes, ranging from

4:04

about waist-high to around 60 feet or

4:06

so. It's a little over 18 meters

4:09

for my international listeners. The needles are

4:11

dark green on top, pale blue on

4:13

the bottom, long and soft, like the

4:16

bristles of a paintbrush, but sharp. I

4:18

ran my hand over one and had

4:20

a dozen of them slip through my

4:23

glove and into my palm. I didn't

4:25

even feel them go in. They cover

4:27

the ground, the needles, thick and bouncy

4:30

like I'm walking on a mattress. Thankfully

4:32

the soles of my boots are heavy

4:34

enough to keep them from poking my

4:36

feet, although they are wrecking the rubber.

4:39

Here let me see if I can

4:41

dig down. Wow, the needles even scar

4:43

up metal. They're like flecks of broken

4:46

glass. It's just rock down here. No

4:48

soil, no water, nothing. Can't believe it.

4:50

Looks like the roots go straight into

4:53

the stone. I'm not sure how they

4:55

grow. Oh, these needles

4:57

are like birds. I can't get

5:00

them off. It looks like there's

5:02

a date with a pair of

5:04

tweezers in my future. It's not

5:06

true you can hear the pines

5:09

whispering numbers. At least I haven't

5:11

heard anything. There's not even any

5:13

breeze down here. Let me turn

5:15

the gain all the way up.

5:18

See if you can make anything

5:20

out. But we didn't come for

5:22

whispers and pine needles. The trunks.

5:25

The trunks. I'm looking at one

5:27

now. One of the larger trees,

5:29

it's thrust up between two broken

5:31

boulders almost as if it ripped

5:34

its way free. I know roots

5:36

can crack stone, but these rocks

5:38

look old. Before I tell you

5:40

about the pines, it's time for

5:43

our hidden currency segment. This one

5:45

comes from the South Pacific. The

5:47

islands of Yaps sit roughly equidistant

5:49

from New Guinea and the Philippines,

5:52

surrounded by coral atolls, home to

5:54

manta rays, sharks, and all... manner

5:56

of aquatic life, there are some

5:59

of the more isolated islands on

6:01

earth. Perhaps due to this isolation,

6:03

the islanders developed a form of

6:05

currency, unlike any other. giant stone

6:08

wheels, some almost 12 feet in

6:10

diameter and weighing up to 8

6:12

tons. Known as Rye or Faye

6:14

stones, the yap islanders would risk

6:17

their lives on a roughly 300-mile

6:19

journey to the island of Palau

6:21

to quarry the calcite deposits, then

6:23

ferry the impossibly heavy stones back

6:26

to their homes. The value of

6:28

each Rye was determined not only

6:30

by its size and weight, but

6:33

by the stone's history. and the

6:35

danger undertaken in its transport, even

6:37

the time of year it had

6:39

been quarried. When one of these

6:42

massive coins was used as payment,

6:44

there would be a ceremony transferring

6:46

ownership. The stone itself wouldn't be

6:48

moved, but the public spectacle ensured

6:51

everyone knew who possessed each rye.

6:53

What a fascinating bit of numismatic

6:55

history! I suppose you could even

6:57

say the yap islanders invented the

7:00

first blockchain! And that was our

7:02

hidden currency segment, brought to you

7:04

by my coin. My coin. It's

7:07

already part of you. Why not

7:09

spend it? Now back to the

7:11

pines. There are dozens of symbols,

7:13

even on the smallest pine. There's

7:16

been a lot of talk in

7:18

the forums about words or even

7:20

messages being carved into the trunks.

7:22

But I can tell at a

7:25

glance these aren't letters, not words.

7:27

They're numbers. The bark rubbings don't

7:29

provide much insight. At first I

7:32

thought someone had carved the trunks.

7:34

Now I'm not so sure. If

7:36

anything, these numbers seem to be

7:38

grown. I thought the counting pines

7:41

might be currency, something measured, something

7:43

fungible, like the rhyestones. Now, down

7:45

here among them, I don't think

7:47

that's true. They seem more like

7:50

an accounting, a transaction log, ancient

7:52

bookkeeping. The bigger strings of symbols

7:54

are inconceivably long, spiraling like wire

7:56

up the central trunk of each

7:59

tree. I'm going to try and...

8:01

climb on so I can follow

8:03

the symbols up to the higher

8:06

branches. It's no good. I keep

8:08

losing track. The individual numbers are

8:10

maybe the size of a thumbnail,

8:12

but I can see smaller ones

8:15

in between, just beneath the bark,

8:17

hard to see, like rocks beneath

8:19

a strong river current. It's hard

8:21

to keep track of them. Sorry,

8:27

I dropped the recorder. Fortunately

8:29

the ground is soft. Well,

8:31

I mean the ground is

8:33

frozen, but the needles are

8:36

soft, fine, like baby's hair.

8:38

My hands are covered in

8:40

needles. Actually, they're all over

8:42

me. Sharp and sweet. Oh,

8:45

God, I love the smell

8:47

of pines. Damn, I must

8:49

have scraped myself climbing. Nothing

8:52

major, just a little blood.

8:54

Okay, more than a little,

8:56

but nothing to be worried

8:58

about. They're under my skin,

9:01

the needles, little slivers of

9:03

insight. It doesn't hurt. If

9:05

anything, it feels good. It

9:07

feels like understanding. Don't worry,

9:10

I'll head back to the

9:12

tent in a few. A

9:14

little god should do the

9:16

trick. For now, I need

9:19

to look deeper. Yes. I

9:21

can see them now. Smaller

9:23

and smaller, like... ants like

9:26

fleas like atoms they're rising

9:28

through the bark the ground

9:30

the air through me I

9:32

need to take off my

9:35

coat oh my hands my

9:37

arms it's it's beautiful the

9:39

numbers grow from me roots

9:41

cracking brittle stone I understand

9:44

now The pines aren't counting.

9:46

Additions, subtraction, such two-dimensional accounting

9:48

cannot possibly encompass what I'm

9:51

seeing here. There are more

9:53

directions than we perceive. Unseen

9:55

geometries shifting just beyond... on

9:57

sight, our reality circumscribed by

10:00

the bounds of inadequate arithmetic.

10:02

We have been tricked. A

10:04

lie of a mission but

10:06

a line, nonetheless. The pines

10:09

can show me. All I

10:11

need is a better view.

10:13

Gotta get down into the

10:15

needles. It hurts, but I

10:18

don't mind. Everything has a

10:20

price. Especially the truth. Oh,

10:29

there fella. That is

10:31

not a good place

10:33

to lie down. Who

10:35

are you? Are you

10:37

another seeker of the

10:39

hidden currencies? No. Why

10:41

do people keep thinking

10:43

that? I'm just out

10:45

for a walk. Needed

10:48

to grab some of

10:50

these needles for a

10:52

sewing project. But you

10:54

look like you could

10:56

use a hand, friend.

10:58

I'm right where I'm

11:00

meant to be. Each

11:02

cell is a coin,

11:04

counting and being counted,

11:06

part of the crimson

11:09

chain that flows. That's

11:11

enough. You've just got

11:13

a bit of the

11:15

math-pin sickness. Here, take

11:17

a sip of this.

11:19

Ow! Ow! What? Where

11:21

am I? Not to

11:23

worry there, young fellow.

11:25

You just had a

11:27

bit of a whoopsie

11:30

out here. See, there's

11:32

crypto and then there's

11:34

crypto. That sip of

11:36

void grass extract will

11:38

help. Well, I'm gonna

11:40

walk back to my

11:42

RV and we'll get

11:44

you patched up. You

11:46

look a bit like

11:48

a pine and a

11:51

bit like a hedgehog.

11:53

I feel strange. Well,

11:55

that's not the worst

11:57

thing to feel. We're

11:59

all strange animals. Might

12:01

as well act like

12:03

it. Thanks to Evan.

12:05

Dickon for writing the

12:07

bulk of today's episode.

12:09

By day, Evan studies

12:12

old Japanese maps and

12:14

crunches data for medical

12:16

research at Ohio State

12:18

University. By night, he

12:20

does neither of these

12:22

things. His audio fiction

12:24

can be heard performed

12:26

on The No Sleep

12:28

podcast, Pseudopod, beneath ceaseless

12:30

skies and podcast. He

12:33

also writes media tie-in

12:35

fiction for Legend of

12:37

the Five Rings and

12:39

Warhammer, Age of Sigma.

12:41

If you've got nothing

12:43

better to do, feel

12:45

free to visit him

12:47

at evendicken.com. And thanks

12:49

to Matthew Zahnzinger for

12:51

voicing our kryptonumismist. Matthew

12:54

is an amateur chef,

12:56

a would-be world traveler.

12:58

and still very much

13:00

a stage actor in

13:02

the greater Boston area.

13:04

If you're also in

13:06

the area, check out

13:08

theater uncorked.com for info

13:10

on his next performance

13:12

in The Lion in

13:15

Winter this December. He

13:17

has been a regular

13:19

cast member on the

13:21

Penumbra podcast and a

13:23

featured guest on Second

13:25

Star to the Left.

13:27

Reach out to him

13:29

for voice acting inquiries

13:31

acting inquiries. at Zahnzinger

13:34

dot m@gmail.com The theme

13:36

song for the crypto

13:38

numismatist was Homeward by

13:40

Scott Buckley. Visit Scott

13:42

Buckley.com dot u for

13:44

more information. To find

13:46

bonus content in a

13:48

variety of strange rewards,

13:50

support our show by

13:52

visiting patron.com/crypto naturalist. You

13:55

can also help by

13:57

rating, reviewing, and telling

13:59

a friend. The Cryptonaturalist

14:01

is written and read

14:03

by Jared K. Anderson.

14:05

For books and poetry

14:07

collections by Jared K.

14:09

Anderson and Leslie J.

14:11

Anderson, visit Cryptonaturalist.com/books. You'll

14:13

find information about submitting

14:16

your poetry or prose

14:18

for our hidden lore

14:20

segments in the about

14:22

section of our website

14:24

at Cryptonaturalist.com. This show

14:26

is produced and edited

14:28

by Tracy Barnett. You

14:30

can find them online

14:32

anywhere at The Other

14:34

Tracy. or The Other

14:37

Tracy.com Thanks to Adam

14:39

Hurt for the use

14:41

of his song Garfield's

14:43

Blackberry Blossom from his

14:45

album Insight. For more

14:47

information on Adam's music,

14:49

performances, and teaching, visit

14:51

Adam Hurt.com. Reminder, transcripts

14:53

of this and every

14:55

episode are available at

14:58

Cryptonaturalist.com. Stay curious. PostScript

15:14

Folks who think to

15:16

spend nature as if

15:18

it were currency will

15:20

learn in time that

15:22

not all value is

15:25

within the reach of

15:27

human reckoning. You know,

15:29

money may be imaginary,

15:31

but imaginary is certainly

15:33

not the same as

15:36

harmless.