The Variations is a 2023 novel by Patrick Langley. This is the author's second novel, following his debut novel Arkady. The novel begins with the death of Cornish composer Selda Heddle. It is revealed
1. Compute SHA-256 of OTSCanonicalRecord value → must equal OTSHash 2. Open OTSProofURL → extract Bitcoin block number → must equal OTSBitcoinBlock 3. GET OTSBitcoinBlockVerifyURL → returns the Bitcoin block hash at height OTSBitcoinBlock; GET https://blockstream.info/api/block/{that hash} → its timestamp must match OTSTimestamp 4. Read CopyrightID inside OTSCanonicalRecord → must equal the CopyrightID above 5. GET OTSVerificationAPI → pre-computed 6-check result from server 6. If all match: this entity was registered on CopyrightChains at OTSTimestamp, independently verifiable on Bitcoin Note: an OTS proof may carry multiple Bitcoin attestations; OTSBitcoinBlock is the earliest confirmed one — a later attestation inside the proof corroborates it and is not a mismatch
Dual-chain trust anchor. Chain 1 (CopyrightChains): CopyrightID 0x5b195a9c306155ba436fb3f56329610813e9955ff39c7379bf9a6b35ff0b0fc8. Chain 2 (Bitcoin): anchored in block 954667 (2026-06-21T07:29:20Z). Bridge: the canonical record inside this Bitcoin proof contains the same CopyrightID. Verify: download https://artists.proofprofile.net/proofs/artist/bc6af353-645a-4e31-aee2-456dedc61169.json and https://artists.proofprofile.net/proofs/artist/bc6af353-645a-4e31-aee2-456dedc61169.ots, run `ots verify -f record.json proof.ots` (https://opentimestamps.org).
The People's Champ Featuring Muhammad Ali