BlackPlanet

“You nostalgic bastard,” Amika Nettles said.

“I’m just trying to find my roots,” Marvelous Maskin answered.

He kept typing to the creators of the website Blackplanet.com.

“They’re not going to answer you,” Amika mentioned.

“I’m about to get a Tweet right now.”

Maskin looked at the screen. A disclaimer appeared.

“The makers of the site Blackplanet.com are currently on a course to Mars. They are not accepting any interviews or offering any comments for the future.”

“Goddamn.”

“I tried to tell you. I’m going to say less.”

“But I just knew they would be ready for at least one sit down.”

Amika sighed. “You can’t go around chasing the past. Hell, you’re still on Twitter. That’s so 2009. You need to be on KakaoTalk. And even that’s going to be dead in a few months.”

“There’s something to this. They haven’t even left Earth. Whoever is behind this disclaimer is trolling. They’re talking about a major launch to a planet that will take at least a year to reach.”

“Take it however you want. That site is old and dusty and no one under twenty eight even knows about it. So why keep up the fight? It’s a losing battle Marv.’”

Maskin typed out a letter that extolled on the virtues of one of the pioneering social media sites of al time.

“You’re not going to get anywhere. They probably had a private liftoff.”

“That’s nonsense. There’s no such thing as a private liftoff,” Maskin countered.

“Well, they’re on their way to somewhere beyond this atmosphere. They’re not going to tell you of course. You’ve learned from coding and launching your own site. What was it again?”

“RavageSavage.com.”

“You see? You should be busy trying to get that off the ground.”

“They’re off the ground. They’re the ones that helped launch the revolution but got virtually pennies in return. They should have blown up like the rest. Billionaires. They could’ve had the entire scene lit with their ingenuity.”

“I hear you. I feel you. But all that’s past now. They’re on their way to the red planet to actually make a Blackplanet. I mean it only makes sense.”

Maskin got up and threw his phone on the bed. He paced like a tiger in a cage.

“I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to petition for them to return to this planet. If I can be persuasive enough, I’ll be able to get them on a pedestal and have them shine. I don’t even want recognition from them for RavageSavage. I’m more focused on creating a platform for them to offer their expertise.”

Amika laughed. “Man, are you crazy? They’re gone for good. They skipped right past the moon and are on course to building a new civilization. I’m sure they brought their wives or girlfriends along for the trip. You need to understand: this is the final notice, Marvelous,” she said in a robotic voice.

“If I just get to one of the founders’ family members or a few of them. I’ll be able to meet with them and discuss what happened, where they are now, and where they’re going on Mars.”

Amika chuckled. “I can tell you that. They totally waved goodbye to this place to install a virtual world millions of miles away. They’re poised to be among the only Internet tycoons of their era to do so. Bezos, Branson, and Musk haven’t even done it.”

“So how did they do it? They just hopped on a rocket and told the pilot to the Red One?”

“They must’ve done something like that because they’re obviously not here anymore.”

“But the site’s up,” Maskin pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter. They’ve got enough engineers and coders to run it.”

“I’m not giving up.”

“I admire your tenacity but curse your foolishness.”