Forking is required for merged mining. I feel like this coin is dead without merged mining. No one loses anything though. Vote with your hash power.
I repeat, forking the blockchain is NOT a a good idea. Neither is changing the wallet code to match your scheme. BTE is worth next to nothing now and will still be so after your attempt to breathe life into it falls flat. Do you really think a going exchange will take on BTE because you've managed to generate some hype about a new and improved blockchain?