A Coin in a FiSh’s Mouth: Who Pays My Temple Tax?#

TL;DR

Banks do not clear transfers fast enough over a weekend, and GoFundMe payouts are slower still, so neither can stop the June-1 auction of the first five storage units of my life’s research (the live auction is real and public — check it yourself). The GoFundMe is still the right home for the ongoing work and the second auction about two weeks later. But the June-1 wall needs something faster.

So here is a direct ask: if you already have funds and this work is worth it to you, you can step in now as an All-Stadia Backer — one of the people I am calling the FiShFus. The thing that makes this safe is the cap: even the largest possible single buy-in is limited (about $716,800 at the absolute ceiling), and every backer affirms an “I will not influence” clause. The cap is the feature, not a limit I wish I could lift — it is why no one, however wealthy, can buy a say in how ResearchCity is built.

What I am actually hoping for is about a dozen people, each giving ~$1,600 (one dollar toward every one of the 1,600 stadia, for a year) as a clear sign they want a ResearchCity that takes on what the world keeps writing off as “nothing”. Together that clears the immediate storage debt — inside the capped model, not around it. To be plain: that does not fund the first real scale-up stage, which is far larger and cannot be bought by any one donor, however rich. You do not need to share my faith to do this; the one question is whether the math holds, so audit it. And I hold this with open hands: it is an honest invitation, not an ultimatum. June 1 may still be lost, and even that is held.

What changed today#

A few days ago I wrote about a prophetic dung beetle that keeps rolling its ball up a rocky slope, gets knocked over, and gets back up. Then the first five of my eleven storage units of research materials went to live public auction, with a brutally tight deadline. And on Eid al-Adha I tried to say plainly that I am trying to hold all of it the way Abraham held his son — not clutched.

Here is what became clear to me today. I had been hoping the GoFundMe could reach the June-1 auction in time. It cannot. Banks do not clear transfers over the weekend, so money realistically has to land by Friday, May 29 — and GoFundMe’s own payouts take several business days on top of that. The GoFundMe remains the right home for the ongoing work and for the second batch of six units about two weeks later. But it is structurally too slow for this first wall.

That leaves one honest channel that could still move fast enough: a direct, public ask to people who already have funds in hand. Not hidden, not quietly arranged with one wealthy patron — said out loud, where anyone can see the terms and check that they are fair.

A coin in a fish’s mouth#

There is a small, strange story I keep returning to this week. Jesus is asked whether he will pay the two-drachma temple tax (Matthew 17:24–27). He owes it, and he has no cash in hand. So he tells Peter to go cast a line: the first fish will have a coin in its mouth — and that one coin will be enough for both of them.

I want to be careful here, because it would be the easiest thing in the world to get this wrong. I am not saying I am Jesus. The moment I announced that, I would have failed the very test the Eid post is about. What I am pointing at is only the spot: someone owes something, has no funds in hand, and an unlikely provision shows up — a coin carried by a fish, enough for more than one.

And notice: that one coin paid for two — for Jesus and for Peter. That detail matters here, because it is the shape of what I am proposing. Whatever comes in is not only for me and this work: half of it goes straight back out to others in urgent need (more on that below). My own “temple tax” in this story is plain enough — the storage debt that triggered the auction — but, like the coin, it was never meant to stop with the one who casts the line.

That image gave me a wordplay I cannot un-see, and a distinction I owe you honestly:

The fish carried the coin in good faith, as it was. When someone buys in now, they do the same: they share their own resources, in good faith, “as is” — with no promise about the future, and without claiming the deep, forward-looking duty of evaluating what the future should become. That act of sharing-as-you-are I will call being a FiSh — short for Fiduciary Sharing.
There is a further, deeper role I dream ResearchCity will one day carry: a paid, long-term thinker whose actual job is that forward-looking fiduciary evaluation — a FiShFu, short for Fiduciary Sharing Futures. That role does not exist yet. Its definition still has to be evolved — the early sketch lives in the POAATAD contract framework (see SD3a and SD3b), which still describes it as a work in progress.

So here is my honest claim, no more and no less: whoever backs this now is a FiSh (sharing as-is, today) — and a FiShFu only in the enabling sense, because their buy-in is exactly what makes possible the key decisions that could carry us toward a ResearchCity where proper FiShFu evaluation can one day exist. That is why the question is plural. Not one saviour. Who will be the FiShFus? — the many whose one coin each, carried in good faith, is enough for more than themselves.

The ask — and why the cap is the hero#

The ask is this: become an All-Stadia Backer, within the cap.

Let me put the cap first, because it is the whole reason a larger buy-in can be honest rather than a rich person quietly buying the campaign. Even the largest possible single buy-in is strictly capped:

~$8 per year per stadion × 1,600 stadia = ~$12,800 per year (one person’s usual ceiling)

× up to 7 years of start-up catch-up = ~$89,600

× (yourself + up to 7 people you sponsor who are otherwise locked out) = ~$716,800 absolute ceiling

That × 8 at the end is not a household loophole: it is you plus seven other, unrelated people you sponsor under a temporary equalizer — people who today cannot buy in at all because only about one in eight people worldwide even has a credit card. The full arithmetic, with all its caveats, is on the Buy-In page.

The cap is the feature. It is precisely why no one, however wealthy, can buy a louder voice in how ResearchCity is built. To make that unmistakable, every backer affirms a plain “I will not influence” clause: backing buys no extra say. That single sentence is what keeps a large buy-in from becoming capture. If anyone ever tries to negotiate around the cap “because they could give so much more,” the honest answer has to be a grateful no — the cap applies equally to individuals, institutions, foundations, and corporations alike.

And here is what I am actually hoping for: about a dozen people, each giving $1,600 — one dollar toward every one of the 1,600 stadia, for a year (the entry level I label x1 below). A dozen such backers clears the immediate storage debt, and — more importantly — it is a clear collective sign that real people want a 1,600-stadion ResearchCity to take on what today gets written off as “nothing”. Larger All-Stadia Backers are welcome too, each within the cap.

But let me be plain about what this does not do. It does not fund the first real scale-up stage (Stage 0). That is far larger — on the order of the ~150 specialists I have only tentatively sketched, and quite possibly something else entirely — and it cannot be bought by any single donor, however rich. Clearing the debt and showing genuine, plural support is the honest, bounded thing a backer can do today.

One practical note while the infrastructure is still being built: there is no automatic counting system yet, so I have to ask backers to self-track their own limits in good faith for now. Building the infrastructure that lets everyone contribute and be counted transparently is itself one of ResearchCity’s goals.

Four one-click ways to say “I’m in”#

Pick the level that fits you. Each link below opens a pre-written email you can read, edit, and send — nothing is committed until you choose to send it, and no money moves through any link. The address encodes the level: 1600 is the full set of 1,600 research stadia, and the xN says how many dollars per stadion you intend (so x1 = $1/stadion = $1,600; x8 = $8/stadion = $12,800; and so on, up to x448).

x1 — $1,600 — the sign-of-support level (and the June-1 direct-pay route). One dollar toward every stadion for a year. This is the “dozen FiShFus” ask, and the one I would point to for the June-1 deadline — you pay directly to wherever is needed:

To: [email protected] Subject: FiSh buy-in x1 = $1,600 (toward all 1,600 stadia) Body: Dear LLoL, Count me in as an All-Stadia Backer at x1 = $1,600 -- that is $1 toward each of the 1,600 stadia for one year: my clear sign that I want a 1,600-stadion ResearchCity to take on what today gets ignored as "nothing". I am ready to pay directly to wherever it is needed (for the June 1 deadline: to the storage company directly, not through you). I back as a FiSh -- sharing "as is", now, in good faith, NO promise about the Future, and NO claim to extra influence. So we can coordinate, here is how to reach me (a phone helps): [your name + phone] Please send next steps -- and your phone in return if easier.

x8 — $12,800 — one year at the usual personal cap. $8 per stadion across all 1,600 stadia for one year: the most any one person is asked to give in a single year.

To: [email protected] Subject: FiSh buy-in x8 = $12,800 (one year at the cap) Body: Dear LLoL, Count me in as an All-Stadia Backer at x8 = $12,800 -- $8 per stadion across all 1,600 stadia for one year, the usual most any one person may give in a single year. I back as a FiSh -- "as is", now, NO promise about the Future, NO claim to extra influence; the cap and this clause keep my buy-in honest. The deeper FiShFu evaluation role is still being evolved (SD3a / SD3b), which I may have my lawyer check. How to reach me (a phone helps): [your name + phone] Please send next steps.

x56 — $89,600 — the seven-year catch-up. The $8-per-stadion annual cap sustained over 7 years, because this launch is arguably about seven years late.

To: [email protected] Subject: FiSh buy-in x56 = $89,600 ($8/stadion x 7 years) Body: Dear LLoL, Count me in as an All-Stadia Backer at x56 = $89,600 -- the $8-per-stadion annual cap sustained over 7 years, the retroactive catch-up offered because this launch is about 7 years late. I back as a FiSh -- "as is", now, NO promise about the Future, NO claim to extra influence. The deeper FiShFu role is still being evolved (SD3a / SD3b); I may have my lawyer check them. How to reach me (a phone helps): [your name + phone] Please send next steps.

x448 — $716,800 — the absolute ceiling. The most anyone can give, and only under all of these conditions at once: $8 per stadion, across all 1,600 stadia, for 7 years of catch-up, for yourself plus 7 other people you sponsor who are otherwise locked out (about 7 in 8 people worldwide have no credit card). It is not a household multiplier:

To: [email protected] Subject: FiSh buy-in x448 = $716,800 (absolute ceiling) Body: Dear LLoL, Count me in as an All-Stadia Backer at x448 = $716,800, the absolute ceiling. I understand this is the ONLY way to reach it: $8 per stadion, across all 1,600 stadia, for 7 years of catch-up, for myself PLUS 7 other people I sponsor who are otherwise locked out (about 7 in 8 people worldwide have no credit card). It is not a household multiplier. I back as a FiSh -- "as is", now, NO promise about the Future, NO claim to extra influence. I will have my own lawyer check SD3a / SD3b first. How to reach me (a phone helps): [your name + phone] Please send next steps.

None of these fit? Pick the N you like and write to FF+1600x<N>@balospe.com with your own number — any N below 448 is within the rules (N dollars per stadion, across the 1,600 stadia). Please keep track of your own commitment, so you do not accidentally overcommit — there is no automatic counting system yet.

Whichever you choose, please include a way to reach you — a phone number helps — and I will gladly share mine in return (it is already public in my Open Letter PDFs).

For anyone considering a large sum, one plain word of honesty: I am not a lawyer, and neither is the website. The SD3a contract overview and the SD3b signature-and-risk page are there for anyone who wants to study the legal side — and you should have your own lawyer look at them before wiring anything substantial. Saying so plainly is part of how I would want to earn the trust of a serious backer.

Half of it goes back out#

One more thing you deserve to know before you decide, because it is central to why a cap and a give-away protect this work from becoming the very thing it opposes. Remember that the coin in the fish’s mouth paid for two. In that same spirit, half of everything raised is given away — by a principle I can state plainly, even if I cannot yet name every recipient:

The give-away goes to worthy causes facing urgent need now — not to building anyone’s endowment, and not to the already-secure.

I will not feed the banks’ endowments. That rule is on purpose, and it is of a piece with the anti-hoarding ethic of a proper Jubilee System: funds are meant to keep moving to where the need is sharpest, not to pile up as stored power.

I can tell you the kinds of cause I personally hope this could reach — investigative journalists pushed out of the field by budget cuts, say, or work toward keeping AI genuinely humane rather than letting it turn people into cogs in a machine they no longer control. But please read those as my personal aspiration, not a commitment — I am promising no specific named organisation, and the fuller give-away design (an open process where worthy causes can propose and apply) is still to come. What is fixed now is the criterion, not the list.

How the June-1 route actually works#

If you want to help with the June-1 wall specifically, the mechanics are simple and deliberately transparent:

Send the one-click email above (or just write to LLoL@balospe.com).
I reply with the fastest checked route — which, for the deadline, means paying the storage company directly (or a same-day bank transfer), never through me. Paying the creditor directly is publicly checkable against the live auction listing, which is exactly the kind of transparency this whole project rests on.
The amount needed to clear the first batch is somewhat below $10,000. I had not been able to pay this storage company for a long time, and they were remarkably gracious — effectively extending me lightly-secured credit because they wanted to support the work on averting accidental nuclear winter (I had shown them my SD1 summary when I moved in, in March 2025). I will confirm the exact figure, including any auction fees, directly with you.

The honesty about timing is the same as in the auction post: because of the weekend, the practical window is Friday, May 29. After that, June 1 may simply pass — and if it does, the GoFundMe and the second auction (~mid-June) carry the work forward.

Held with open hands#

And if $1,600 is more than your level — most people’s is, and that is wholly expected — the ordinary ~$8-a-year buy-in, and every other way to help, lives on the stable Buy-In page. What is counted here is people, not dollars.

I have written, in the auction post and again on Eid, that I can hold three outcomes at once: that the materials are saved in time; that they are scattered and perhaps recovered later; or that Reality judges the world better off if I lose them altogether. That has not changed because the ask got more direct.

This post is a real invitation, made as clearly and as honestly as I know how. It is not a demand, and it is certainly not a claim that this post must save June 1. If the coin does not come in time, then it does not, and I will not pretend that makes the work worthless or the day a failure. The durable value of this ask reaches past one deadline — to the ongoing work, the second auction, and everyone who decides this is worth ~$8 of their trust.

So I lay this one down the same way: I did what I could, I have told you plainly what I hope for, and I leave the rest to Yah=Allah=Reality. Thy will be done.

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Banks can’t clear in time to stop the June-1 auction of my life’s research. Who will be the FiShFus? A dozen people at ~$1,600 each clears it — capped so no one buys influence. One coin, enough for more than one. balospe.com/buy-in

Yah=Allah=Reality so loved the world that whosoever shares what they have in good faith — one coin in a fish’s mouth, enough for more than themselves — will not be obliterated by the mirages from nothing, but shall live from Jubilee to Jubilee. Here is the line, cast on the water, hands open. Who will be the FiShFus?

Two Sons, Two Altars