Chang’s Masterpiece

The lab was a converted basement in Seoul, humming with the constant breath of machines. Fluorescent tubes buzzed faintly overhead, a second pulse to the steady churn of cooling fans. Chang sat alone at the terminal, eyes dry, fingers restless. On the screen, a lattice of code folded into itself, unspooling and locking down like a trap that would never release. Finality. That was the word that had held him for years. Every blockchain bragged about it, but he knew better. They patched, forked,...