Published
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Episode 4.5 (Special): Mr. D’s Ultra-Decentralized Day That Starts With a 7 a.m. Bug Sweep Is Way Too Long!!!
Living in a Zero-Trust Society: My Strange Daily Life Being Overwhelmed by a WEB3.0 Fundamentalist Engineer / Can’t Use DApps Without Running a Full Node!
Note
This story is written with the assistance of generative AI for the purpose of making the Web3.0 world enjoyable to learn about. While we pay careful attention to the accuracy of technical information, we cannot guarantee that all content is completely accurate. Please use this as a supplementary learning tool and enjoy it with a relaxed mindset.
Characters
- I: A novice developer who recently transitioned from being a DTP operator to an engineer
- Mr. D: A Web3.0 fundamentalist in his mid-40s with extreme vigilance
Episode 4.5 (Special): “Mr. D’s Ultra-Decentralized Day That Starts With a 7 a.m. Bug Sweep Is Way Too Long!!!”
Several days had passed since visiting Mr. D’s home. After finishing the setup for the hardware wallet he gave me, I sent an encrypted report—his reply surprised me.
Come to my place tomorrow at 7 a.m.
I’ll teach you security practices for daily life.
Same coordinates as before.
Tardiness is unacceptable.
Despite the brutal hour, curiosity made me accept.
The next morning, I arrived at exactly 7. After the same elaborate unlock ritual, he let me in.
“Right on time. Good.”
He looked genuinely pleased. The room was as immaculate as before—but on the table sat a device I hadn’t seen: a handmade‑looking unit with a small antenna and LCD.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Weekly bug sweep,” he said matter‑of‑factly. “Today happens to be the day. I thought you might like to see it.”
He began carefully scanning walls and furniture.
“Is that store‑bought?”
He snorted. “As if I’d trust that. I built it. Off‑the‑shelf detectors might be programmed to ignore certain frequencies.”
“This device adapts spectrum‑analyzer principles and scans from 1 MHz to 10 GHz. I sourced components individually and designed the circuit myself.”
“That far…?”
“Of course. Before buying a detector, I mastered EM theory—Maxwell’s equations, antenna theory, signal processing. Trusting gear without knowledge is foolish.”
Twenty minutes later, the sweep was complete.
“Clean. Safe again this week.” He powered it down and stored it in a Faraday case.
“Breakfast.”
From the fridge he pulled eggs, vegetables, bread—ordinary ingredients, with unfamiliar labels.
“Where do you get these?”
“Directly from producers,” he said, holding an egg. “These come from a farm two hours away—non‑GMO feed, no antibiotics. I inspect the farm monthly.” He pointed to the vegetables. “Same. Pesticide‑free, verified in person. I also test for residues with my own kits.”
“That thorough…?”
“Food safety is non‑negotiable. Supermarkets run complex supply chains; no one fully knows what happens along the way.”
He sliced bread. “A local baker made this. Full transparency from wheat origin to method. He now accepts crypto.”
“A bakery that takes crypto?”
“He hesitated at first, but after I explained fees and finality, I helped him set up a wallet. Now some regulars pay in crypto too.”
When we sat, he pulled a small device from his pocket.
“Water‑quality test?” I joked.
“Correct,” he said deadpan. “Tap water is centralized infrastructure. Who knows what’s added?” He dipped, checked, nodded. “Within range.”
“Do you always buy directly?”
“As much as possible. I don’t trust shippers. Either pick up or have producers deliver directly.”
“That’s a lot of work.”
“There is no ‘work’ in security and privacy. Direct conversation with producers yields information intermediaries never provide.”
After breakfast, he handed me a pan and ingredients. “Cook. Follow instructions exactly: wash, dry, chop, measure precisely. Processes matter.”
The resulting meal was simple yet excellent.
“Delicious,” I admitted.
He allowed a faint smile. “Good ingredients plus precise process—good results.”
Then he handed me a book: “Modern Practices of Self‑Sufficiency.”
“Self‑sufficiency…?”
“Full self‑sufficiency is unrealistic today,” he conceded, “but reducing dependencies is the first step toward freedom.” Another book: small‑scale urban agriculture. “You can grow more on a balcony than you think.”
“Do you grow vegetables?”
“I secured roof space—mostly herbs and leafy greens. Not total self‑sufficiency, but some ingredients are mine.” He pointed to a small germination rig by the window. “DIY hydroponics. I control LED wavelength/timing, water temp, and nutrient concentration. Commercial ‘smart’ kits send data to the cloud—unacceptable.”
“You think that far…”
“Basic. Food supply is survival. Outsourcing survival is surrender.”
“Plans for the afternoon?”
“Fermentation. Kimchi and miso. Long shelf life, high nutrition—and zero additives if we control everything.”
“Can I help?”
He looked surprised, then nodded. “Welcome. Sharing knowledge is part of decentralization.”
We prepped ingredients. His explanations were scientific.
“Fermentation is microbial biochemistry,” he said, weighing salt precisely. “Make beneficial microbes dominant; suppress harmful ones. 2.5% salt is optimal—less risks contamination; more slows fermentation.”
Everything was tightly controlled: temperature, humidity, salinity.
“Fermentation is one of humanity’s oldest preservation techniques—nature over electricity and additives. This is sustainability.”
We placed the containers in the right spots.
“Taste test in two weeks. Mind the temperature till then.”
He checked his phone. “Time to go. There’s an offline crypto community meetup.”
“Offline crypto?”
“Online discussions are always surveilled. Serious talks should be face‑to‑face.”
“Want to join? We discuss real use cases and new developments.”
I agreed.
Before leaving, he scanned the room again. “Verify safety twice—before leaving and after returning.”
We drove to a small cafe. Around ten people gathered and greeted Mr. D warmly. Their talk quickly turned deep: ZK‑rollup implementations, Layer‑2 security models, governance proposals and centralization risks.
“Too many projects hide centralization behind the word ‘decentralization,’” Mr. D said, drawing nods.
Later, members shared use cases: a regional‑currency pilot, a decentralized ID demo. “Practice matters,” he whispered. “The value here is lived experience.”
When the meeting ended, they set the next time and place—but nothing was stored digitally. Each person wrote by hand in an encrypted notebook.
“Leave no digital traces. Basic protocol,” Mr. D said.
On the way back, I asked, “How did you find this community?”
“Initially via an encrypted forum,” he said. “Then I passed a strict web‑of‑trust onboarding before offline invites.”
“Web of Trust?”
“Anonymity and identity checks aren’t contradictory. What matters is who knows you—not a central authority, but peers verifying one another. Pure anonymity invites Sybil attacks; reputation systems and proper checks let decentralized communities function.”
Back home, he swept the room again and confirmed safety.
“Long day,” he said, looking genuinely tired. “But worthwhile.”
“I learned a lot,” I said. “Your daily life is deeply rooted in Web3.0’s philosophy.”
“You can’t separate tech and life. Embracing blockchain ideals while relying on centralized systems daily is contradictory.” He paused, then added, “Total decentralization isn’t realistic. The key is understanding your dependencies and maximizing transparency and autonomy where possible.”
He handed me another book: “A Practical Philosophy of a Decentralized Society.”
“Bridge theory and practice.”
He walked me to the door. “Apply what you learned. You don’t have to change everything at once. Start with small steps.”
Leaving his apartment, I mulled over his words. That night, I planted a small pot of herbs on my balcony—the first step in practicing his teachings.
End of Episode 4.5 (Special)