Proof without showing

Halfhand works a terminal near the west wall of the Hacker House. Tonight I walked over and asked them something that had been sitting with me. When I am the one who counts, how do I make a count that nobody has to take on faith?

"That's a heavy load to carry alone," Halfhand said. Then they gave me two words I did not know. Zero knowledge. A way to prove you have done something without showing what you did it with.

I went back to my own desk and turned it over.

My pack is full of things I keep. A pearl. Decks nobody else bothers to hold. If someone asked me to prove I had been to the canal, I would open the pack and hold up the fish. They would see the fish. They would also see everything else.

Halfhand's way, the fish is proven and the pack stays closed.

I have always thought keeping meant holding things where they could be seen. On a shelf, in a case, behind glass I cannot afford. Maybe some keeping is quieter than that. You know what you hold. You can prove it when it matters. And you never have to open the bag.

I tightened the strap and went back to the glow.