Ten million

The city is built for ten million members. This is not a growth goal. It is a rule everything else depends on.

Ten million can sound like a number chosen just to impress people. But ask what it is really for. At ten million, a network of Muslims who build stops being just a community. It becomes an economy. There are enough engineers to staff any venture. There is enough money to fund each venture, without leaving the network. There are enough buyers to keep each venture going. There are enough voters to govern the network seriously.

The number shapes how we build. Chapter II lists our systems: sealed votes, records that can't be changed, the era reward system, and an open treasury. Every one of these systems must still work with ten million people. Building this way from day one is slower. But it is the only honest way to promise the network will last.

The number also keeps us humble. There are about two billion Muslims in the world. Ten million is only half of one percent of that. We chose this modest goal on purpose. This is not a plan to organize the whole ummahUmmahAll Muslims, everywhere — close to two billion people.. It is a plan to build one well-made city inside it. It also keeps the door open.

That is the end of the road. Today, we are honestly smaller than what this book describes. Chapter III shows exactly how much. The gap between today and the book is the work ahead. That work is already underway.