The Preface - The Crypto Tales

I have purposefully given the Characters in this tale fictitious names, although,by and large, their titles have been left as was, save for "KING" Alfred, who in fact never held a formal title ; his close connections to the Bitcoin discovery lending him this exalted yet fictitious title ! Names have been changed simply to protect one from the draconian UK Libel laws, often said to be as they are to protect the criminal Elite, of course : The finer details of this story were told me by my aged Father some 58 years ago, and I have subsequently pieced together the rest of the assorted jigsaw puzzle, as pieces fitted neatly into place. Our known and documented family history (Burke's Peerage to name but one listing) date back to at least the 14th century,littered with Lords, Baronets, even a couple of Nobel laureates, links by marriage to the 2nd in Command at the Battle of Trafalgar, DNA profiling awarding us a 98.8 % pure English bloodline, for what that's worth. The name itself heralds from the Scottish / English borders, and the Vikings days, slightly changed, as local pronunciation often dictated. The names of the main protagonists is this tale have also undergone some alterations over the centuries - Bitcoin originally coming from the French nobility "Bett-Quen", pronounced "BetCone"..and subsequently, over the centuries, and numerous interpretations, eventually being pronounced Bitcoin by the English, as was often their want, when confronted by unpronounceable foreign sounding names. Our family name also suffered a similar linguistic fate.

Now, let's begin - My mother and father's families, as mentioned, originated from 1 4th century Northumbria, and the small market town of Alnwick featured heavily in family folklore, as did the Duke of Northumberland and his wonderful castle. (see picture) My mother, prior to meeting my father had spent much of WW2 living at the castle , as a guest of the Duke and his family .My Father, alas, was otherwise rather occupied, as a member of the British 8th Army,being chased around Libya By Field Marshal Rommel, when the Eighth weren't busy chasing Italians around Libya!

So, the roots of my family go back many generations uninterrupted, and so do the tales - where to begin, a decision which has taken me many a perplexed day to decide, as the complexities of this tale form such a dense web that nowhere seems quite right as a starting-point, but introduce it I must - despite entering a "ring" so crowded with lions, bulls and bears that attempts to eat me alive, will surely be made constantly! But, let's begin, by my first introducing the main characters, in the order they were introduced to me by my Father all those years ago!

- To be continued next week : Chapter 1 - Alfred

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