The Birth of Religion

The Birth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Religion. As we began our collaboration with Team Nervus Lee, something in the next letter caught my eye.

[A new web browser compatible with HTTP and HTML is also under development. We have enclosed the results excluding some sensitive code sections. We would appreciate your feedback on this as well.]

A web browser. In my original world, that was the general term for applications like Chrome, Edge, and Safari. More precisely, it was a tool that allowed access to the internet based on the World Wide Web. Before web browsers existed, the black prompt window we commonly associate with PC communications was the norm. The thought that the computer environment I was familiar with was finally taking shape made my heart race. I connected the floppy disk enclosed with the mail to my computer and ran the browser in a test environment. Of course, the design was quite different from what I had in mind. The moment I saw it running, my excitement shattered into pieces. It seemed the familiar computing environment I knew was still a long way off.

The response speed was a bit slow, but the stability was perfect. That was partly thanks to the improvements we had suggested. "But it really is slow. At this rate, we'll just be sitting around waiting." "That's a good point. Do you think we could improve the speed?" "It might be difficult... Unless we use that protocol you mentioned last time... UDP, was it? The one without reliability guarantees..." "But when we tried that, more than half the packets were lost. We can't use it unless physical packet loss is almost eliminated." "The cause of the slowness isn't on our end anyway—it's a network condition issue..."

The club members exchanged quite solid opinions, but no clear solution emerged. "Alright, it looks like this is impossible to solve at our current level anyway." "Maybe I-seo could do it?" "Even I can't handle external or hardware factors." Everyone looked dejected. It couldn't be helped. Getting involved in hardware would come much later, so there was nothing we could do. Internet speed wasn't something I could control yet either.

"Then let's change the direction of our thinking. Since waiting isn't something we can do anything about, what if we made it so that we aren't completely unable to do anything while we wait?" Everyone tilted their heads, then one by one seemed to have a realization, clapping their hands or having lightbulbs go off above their heads... Wait, why is that even there?

"The problem with waiting is boredom, so if we aren't bored during that time, the issue is solved!" "Exactly. I'll buy you all some snacks later." The senior who earned snacks for speaking first looked at me with envious eyes... I think his name was Lim Jin-bae. Anyway, I looked at him. "Come on, the more opinions we share quickly, the better. In lectures ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you might not have to ask questions or present, but here you do."

This was the educational method I had picked up while going through compulsory education. If there was a reward, people would do just about anything. Especially if the reward was food. "As you all thought, we're going to put a game in here. So what are the necessary conditions?" "Low capacity and resource usage." "Correct. Anything else?" "Accessibility!" "Golden answer! To add a bit more, it should also have simple gameplay. That could fall under accessibility too."

"Let's decide on the game's goal first." "A goal?" "Yes. For example, a plumber defeating an evil boss (the rice-soup guy) and rescuing a princess. It doesn't have to be story-driven like that." "If there's a story, it won't feel like something you can play while waiting. It might be better to exclude the story entirely, like Pac-Man." "That's true, but Pac-Man has a pretty long playtime too." "We'll talk about that later. So if we exclude the story and goal-setting... accumulating points will ultimately be the goal."

Hmm, tell them one thing and they figure out two. I'm proud of you, juniors. "Now we need to decide on the gameplay style. As mentioned earlier, it should be in the direction of a fairly short playtime." "Using stages probably won't work. There's the playtime issue, and managing capacity and resources from the start will be tough too." That was a pretty good direction. The constructive conversation continued for a while, until...

"If it's that kind of approach, resource management becomes difficult, right? Why not fix the axis so it only moves horizontally..." "The essence of a game is fun, isn't it? If there's only one action, how fun is it to just keep clicking one button?" Well, I figured this would happen. I had been vague with my instructions and thrown out something too abstract from the beginning. "Raise your voices, but don't raise them like that."

When I raised my index finger and spoke, everyone closed their mouths and only then realized how embarrassing the situation was. Wait, but the original line for this hasn't even appeared yet—can I use it now? "I've been thinking a bit..." A ridiculously simple format where a dinosaur runs. Obstacles consisting only of cacti, rocks, and pterodactyls, with just two simple controls—jumping to avoid them and ducking. A very short playtime based on a simple difficulty system that gradually speeds up. Plus, using the tile method from Super Plumber Brothers to compress capacity and resources. Explained at the club members' level, that was roughly the idea. The result was unanimous approval.

Because it was such a simple game, there was no need for a long meeting, and we immediately started working. First, together with Yoo Ji-young, the art slave number one from the Industrial Design department, we designed the textures including the dinosaur. Since it was based on what was in my head, we finished the work faster than expected. And as expected from someone in Industrial Design, Yoo Ji-young drew the pixels with excellent visibility. When I tried, the visuals came out looking like vomit, but when she did it, it became a decent unpaved road.

"Now it's the seniors' turn to step up. Let's think about how to write the code. I'll try to stay out of it as much as possible." Honestly, I had already explained the method during the interview, so if they couldn't do it even now, that would be a problem. "Uh... I-seo?" "Yes?" "We can't include images together with this?" "What????"

What I had overlooked was that the browser didn't have a function to display images directly. Since the Mosaic browser, the first to include an instant image display feature, had only recently come out, this browser didn't have that capability yet. "...We'll send separate feedback on that. For now, let's implement it in code. Looks like we have even more work to do." The club members' expressions soured in an instant. Later, when we added the image display function, we applied image processing technology that wouldn't appear in the original world for several more years, advancing the image technology itself. David would probably be surprised.

Late March, England, CERN Research Institute, Room OOO. "David? Mail came." "Just put it with the pile of mail over there... I'm already overwhelmed just reading mail from other research institutes..." "This one's also from a research institution. It's from a team called KIN at KUST?" "Never heard of them. Are they an affiliated organization?" "Doesn't seem like it. But it's international mail... and it's basically a package. Might be worth looking at, don't you think?" "Haah, just give it here... I'll read it..."

David Lee received the thick envelope and began tearing it open to read. At first, he seemed uninterested, flipping through the pages, but suddenly his eyes widened into perfect circles. "Ned, where did this come from?" "From a team called KIN at KUST. The postal code was somewhere I'd never seen before." David's eyes, as he read the HTTP improvement proposal, no longer held an ordinary gaze. "...Turn on the experimental computer right now. We've got work to do." "What is it?" "Read it. Your eyes will light up."

Handing Ned the stack of papers that read like an academic paper, David began operating the code editor and compiler as if possessed by the newly booted computer. He was in the process of advancing the internet in real time. Exactly three days later, the internet achieved approximately five years' worth of optimization in both speed and stability. It was the moment the first follower of Yoon I-seo was born in England, and simultaneously the moment South Korea, the future IT powerhouse, began to rev its engines.

And a few weeks later, another letter arrived from the KIN team. "Oh, holy shit, the Savior has bestowed grace upon us!" "Hey! Open that reverently!" However, as David read the first part of the letter, he looked slightly disappointed. "...A web browser? If this is a reply to what we sent last time, it won't have any of the features we're currently developing." "Image display is somewhat done, and there's nothing more we can do for speed improvement. We've already made all the possible improvements." The team members, including Ned who answered curtly while listening to David slowly reading the letter, spoke up. "..." "David? What does it say that's making you like that?" When David suddenly stopped speaking, the puzzled team members voiced their questions. "Everyone, turn on your computers. The Holy Spirit has given us a revelation."

As expected, after successfully upgrading the web browser two days later, Yoon I-seo was promoted from the Holy Spirit to the Holy Mother. This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would happen much later, but there would be no problem with her name appearing in books as the Mother of the Internet.

"Well, I figured this would be the reaction, but seeing it in person feels pretty gross." "...You sure have a fiery way of putting things, Yoon I-seo." "People should be honest. Honestly, everyone's feeling the same way right now, aren't they?" "You're right. It does feel pretty gross." A world where we have to be this cautious just because of the word "game." It felt like an untouchable sanctuary that absolutely must not be shielded, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

"Once the internet becomes widespread, things will get better. At the very least, people who use the internet won't be negative toward games." I spoke with conviction. I was that confident. The moment the internet spread, I was certain that everyone using it would become completely absorbed in games. This wasn't something that could be stopped just because someone tried to stop it. Just look at South Korea in the original world. No matter how much they tried to restrict games, people found all sorts of ingenious ways to bypass those limitations using prepaid phones or their parents' names. We have always seen that culture is not something that can be controlled or suppressed. It has been that way until now, and it will continue to be so in the future.