Chapter 1

Social media, also referred to as SNS, was first introduced to the world around thirty years ago. One day, a sorcerer named Markie Goldberg, who had devoted himself to researching sorcery on behalf of humanity, hit upon a new way to use magic power after receiving a sudden bolt of inspiration. He invented a new kind of magical technology that took a shape similar to a spider’s web. Then he accomplished something or other by merging that with this mana-type stuff in the atmosphere, and… Well, regardless of how he did it, the result surpassed even telepathy, allowing anyone in the world to easily send and receive information as long as they possessed a “PC” (personal computer), a “smartphone,” or a similar item capable of transmitting magic power. The following is an excerpt from Markie’s overenthused statement about his discovery: “This is crazy! Am I really this much of a genius?! We can use this to connect with anyone in the world, no matter where they are. It works systematically like the threads of spider silk, so how about we call it the ‘net’? I also feel like it’s giving off inter- vibes, too, so why not ‘internet’?” His subordinates heavily opposed the name because they didn’t know where the inter- part came from, but because Markie was the world’s first distributor of the service, the term internet ended up sticking. As technology advanced, a great variety of convenient services that utilized this new network began to crop up. “Blogs” allowed people to share their own writings and journals publicly. “Facelook” enabled acquaintances to connect and share pictures of themselves. “Twittle” became a dumping ground for folks to post their idle complaints. “Instabam” gave those with a life an outlet to post pictures that showed how great they were. And “Rine” allowed people to send messages over the internet in either individual or group chat rooms. Eventually, a revolutionary information company created a search engine that scoured the internet to instantly locate any piece of information you could want. Twenty years then passed after the distribution of the internet throughout the world. The now-elderly Markie posted regularly on Twittle as he watched the use of his creation steadily grow, saying sadly, “I made that.” That was all he ever repeated in his old age. However, in his final hour, he delivered a speech on his deathbed that would still resonate with many for a long time. “You know, I am happy that the internet has become so full of apps and services. Still, there’s so much out there now that I don’t even know what’s what anymore.” His wife, who served as his lifelong partner and cared for him in his final moments, responded with her usual headstrong attitude. “Your point?” “I want to unite it all under one term!” “And what would that be?” “Let me see…” After much contemplation, Markie uttered a sentence that would echo throughout the annals of history. “The internet is Super! Nay, Stupendous!” he declared. “…” His spouse responded with silence. “So it shall be called SNS.” “Any simpleton could have come up with that. But that is very like you,” his wife replied with an affectionate smile. Having achieved his lifelong dream of making his wife smile, Markie departed this world. He died a peaceful death. And thus, all the convenient services on the internet were united under the term SNS. His wife passed away several years later in the company of her sons and grandchildren. Even in Heaven, they continue their endearing married-couple comedy routine. By the way, Markie and his wife will never appear in this story again, so feel free to forget about all this.