NFT: No F**k This

Do you know what NFTs are?, Mark said.

No, I said.

Everybody's coming in, Mark said.

But what is it?, I said.

A new kind of art, –said Mark–. You like to draw, right?, he said.

I hadn't heard of that, I said.

You know that, Mark said.

I hadn't really heard of NFTs, I mean, maybe I heard them mentioned, but it escaped my brain as fast as it got. So it's a new art, I thought. Maybe I could do something. I just had to do a little googling to find out. In short, NFTs are a kind of virtual contract that allows transactions between people in a secure way. There are platforms to sell NFTs, the best known is OpenSea.

Everyone is making money, Mark said.

How much?, I said.

A lot, Mark said.

There was no reason not to try. But something that nobody says is that to create NFTs you need money, a lot of money. Apparently the transaction fees are high. At that time I had $100, nothing more. Mark insisted that he try. The complications appeared one by one. First you have to get a type of digital currency, something that does not give me confidence. It's like a game, Mark said. And it seemed like it, entering the world of this digital art was an adventure.

However, he was not clear about what he could do with the NFTs. I like to draw, but I couldn't tell if what I'm doing is something that works like an NFT.

The art on this platform is insane, said Mark.

I don't even understand it, I said.

The art is very different from other things I have seen, there were images that even looked like memes.

I'm not sure it's something I want to be into, I said.

Lots of money, Mark said.

Tempting, I thought.

How could you make an NFT that someone wanted to sell? Where do I get the money to do it? As soon as I have time to write, I will have to get another job and sleep less. A new technology, I don't know. This sounds like something to me that would be in a video game. The aesthetics of digital art encompasses hundreds of things. I still don't even understand what it is about, or how money is made.

I need to learn how to do this kind of thing, I said.

We will make money, said Mark.

The $100 dollars became $80 after buying a cryptocurrency, the next day it was $65 dollars. With that I bought two pictures in which a pig smiles. Life is a constant search for wealth, I thought.

The afternoon passed very quickly, we read and watched YouTube videos. I learned some basic things; the blockchain, the speculation, I learned about the Beeple case and the Cryptopunks. Also about the Cryptokitties. I was entering a fascinating world. In my head I shine the image of myself drawing and becoming an artist. Could I do it? Things are complicated in the world, my parents' basement is turning into a cave from which I cannot escape. There is a possible way out of all this disaster that is my life. Mark lit a joint. I opened a few beers.

Imagine we become real artists, said Mark.

What is it to be a real artist? I said.

I don't know, sell a lot, said Mark.

I doubt it, but I wouldn't say no to a lot of money, I said.

What would you spend the money on?, said Mark.

I'd get out of here, I said.

Where to?, said Mark.

I don't know, to France maybe, I said.

It was very late when Mark went to his house, I was spinning in my head. I thought of Aria, the girl who lives across the street. Maybe if she saw me succeed she might fall in love with me. I'm tired, I said. I closed my eyes to dream of another kind of life.