What Happens If a Greek Merchant Time Travels to 2026?

What would a wealthy merchant from Ancient Greece think if he suddenly woke up in the modern world? In the ancient economy, wealth meant something physical: land, food, ships, metal, and goods you could actually touch. A successful merchant controlled trade routes, cargo, and real products people needed to survive. But when our merchant arrives in 2026, he discovers something strange. People aren’t trading goods anymore. Most wealth exists as numbers inside financial systems: bank accounts, digital payments, stocks, and credit. Standing in a modern supermarket surrounded by more food than entire ancient cities had, he realizes something strange about the modern world. Our wealth is no longer stored in objects. It’s stored in systems. And the question he can’t stop asking is