Mr. H and Ms. C are the heroes of this short tale. People the world over know their stories, whether they are aware of it or not. It’s a story of vision, hurt and perseverance. At the end of the tale everyone lives happily ever after.
It started in Switzerland
Mr. H (1991) and Ms. C (1994) were both born in Geneva, Switzerland. Their fathers knew each other well as they both worked at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. And so, the young H and C played together from an early age.
H was a happy little fellow, exploring the world around him. He was greatly encouraged by his father to go out and about. As he grew up he started to travel and meet new people and challenges. He started to get interested in other cultures and languages. And since H was a handsome fellow, this resulted in quite a few romances.
...as a handsome fellow, Mr. H had quite a few romances...
This made his father worry a little. He liked how his son was developing into a bright young man with many connections the world over. But he also wished the best for his son, to settle down, to get married maybe, find a purpose in life. Anything that would give him guidance and direction.
At the same time C was blossoming into a pretty and bright young adult herself. But she was also a bit introverted. Her childhood friend had spread his wings, but she had stayed in Geneva. She wasn’t really interested into learning many languages and meeting a lot of new people.
She remembered how H and she used to play as kids. And she had to admit to herself that she missed his company.
Meant for each other... with a twist
One day, C’s father noticed how his daughter didn’t quite seem to be herself and decided to have a talk with her. Why don’t you go out and travel? Meet new people? Learn new languages?
C listened to her father, smiled and shook her head. She really didn’t have those ambitions. Hers was to learn just one thing and to learn it well. And as far as meeting new people, she told her father that she was really interested in one person only and that one person was H.
[Ms. C's ambition] was to learn just one thing and to learn it well.
Naturally, her father wished only the best for his daughter, to be happy and cheerful and do the one thing she excelled in.
So he talked to his friend, H’s father. They knew how their children cared for each other. Both fathers had always thought that in due time they would marry and share a life. They also cared deeply for each other’s offspring, whom they had known since they were born.
So they came up with a plan.
In the meantime, H didn’t have a clue about the feelings that his childhood friend harboured. They kept in touch and talked over the phone once in a while, but H was much too absorbed in his worldly affairs to give her much thought.
One day he received an email from C’s father. He was throwing a party in her honour and naturally H was invited. He found that he was inexplicably excited at the prospect of a party at home with his childhood friend.
He looked at his girlfriend, Ms. J, who saw the excitement in his eyes. She smiled, gave him a hug and encouraged him to go and see his friend. H loved J. She seemed to be able to do anything, short of reading his mind. And maybe even that. She was highly intelligent, very pretty and didn’t know any jealousy. She was like the sun in his life.
Ms. J seemed to be able to do anything, short of reading his mind. And maybe even that.
He convinced her to come with him. And so they packed, travelled and arrived in Geneva shortly thereafter.
Conquering the world
H’s father, Ms. C and her father waited for H to arrive at the airport. As soon as she saw him, C could no longer contain herself. She ran up to him and threw herself into his arms. It was right there and then that H finally realized how much he had missed her. He wanted to be with her and share his life with her.
Then he looked around at J, whom he loved as well. C followed his gaze and suddenly realized who she was. Still, she was so happy to see H that she kept holding him tightly as if never wanting to let go any more. J was standing there and smiling. And although C didn’t want to like her, she just couldn’t help herself.
She beckoned her to come closer and opened her arms. And when the three of them were hugging and shedding tears of joy while being watched by two proud and slightly choked up fathers, they knew: they would never allow anyone to separate them any more.
[...together they wanted to give...] everyone the possibility to reach out to anyone anytime anywhere.
At the party a few days later they announced that they would stay together forever, all three of them. They planned on connecting people all over the world, giving everyone the possibility to reach out to anyone anytime anywhere.
Epilogue
And conquer the world they did as well as connect people! There aren’t many people who haven’t heard of Mr. H, Ms. C and Ms. J. And if they haven’t heard of them, the majority of all the people on earth use their ideas, their ever growing cleverness and their joint beauty each and every day.
Since that day at the airport, their family as expanded with many more members that live and work together to make the online world a better place.
By now, you may have figured out who Mr. H, Ms. C and Ms. J really are. If not, have a look at their family tree:
Mr. H, Ms. C, Ms. J and their happy family of languages for the web
Mr. H and Ms. C have done really well for each other and themselves. So well, actually, that they have their own pages on Wikipedia. Really: go have a look and meet Mr. H and Ms. C. Even Ms. J has a page of her own.
Personae:HTML: Mr. H, CSS: Ms. C: JavaScript: Ms. J, Tim Berners-Lee: Mr. H’s Father, Håkon Wium Lie: Ms. C’s Father
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