In the beginning, there was no Woolyverse - there was nothing! This went on for a very long time. And there was no sign of change. There was darkness, silence and dryness. Then suddenly, a splash! Out of nowhere a sock appeared in space. And it was wet. To top it all off. Now there was a sock, darkness, silence and a little moisture.
As time went on, more and more socks appeared. Most of them were wool socks, especially in the beginning. Later, the variety increased and recently synthetic socks have become the norm. The cosy place lost its charm.
In the beginning
In the beginning, however, there were only a few pairs of socks, even though there were no pairs. That's why it's known that life is harder without the other half - it's better to live in pairs, even if the other half has a hole in the heel. The first socks felt a great loneliness and had to do something about it, so they started releasing threads in different directions, hoping to find something. One day it happened - one sock met another. They connected through the strings and began to communicate through vibrations. That's how sound was born, suddenly filling the room.
They began to tell each other how they'd lost their socks and how they'd appeared in the dark and silent place, where they'd brought some moisture. Since then the place has never been dry and silent.
Both stories turned out to be quite similar. In the case of one - let's call him Henry - and the other - let's call her Gwendolyn - the situation was the same. Both socks were on their way to the laundry as usual, but this time they didn't end up in the wringer, they ended up in the spin-dryer!
Sockularity Singularities
No one could have foreseen how all this technological progress would end. Neither man nor sock had any idea what was in store for them. The advent of washing machines with spin dryers, especially those loaded from the top, led to what Albert Einstein later called "sockularity singularities". The Nobel laureate confessed shortly before his death that he had written a research paper on the subject, but didn't publish it due to pressure from colleagues who felt it was better to freeze one foot than risk scientific ridicule. So Einstein's paper on the "sock singularity in the eye of the spinning vortex" remained unpublished.
The initial disappearance of the socks was completely ignored. However, suspicions soon arose. A good sock was important for health, as a frozen foot was a serious matter. Without a good sock, you could easily catch a cold - something every grandmother knows!
If people hadn't been so snobbish, things might have been different. Unfortunately, they were the ones to blame - afraid to admit publicly that their modern household appliances, though they spun beautifully, didn't always produce the desired results. Fortunately, as time went on, the equipment became cheaper and found its way into the homes of ordinary, hard-working people. They were the ones who loudly demanded: "Where are our socks?" and "Who is responsible for this?" They also added: "Shame! Give back the money!" and "And the socks too!"
The Woollyverse
Let's return to the Woollyverse. At first, socks rarely connected in this vast cosmos, but with the popularity of the spin-dryer, this began to happen more frequently. They connected with threads and exchanged feelings. The more socks there were, the louder the space became, a space that had previously been dark, silent and dry. The joy of these connections, the exchange of emotions and the moisture led to the creation of sound. One day the sound intensified and a powerful word emerged, illuminating the whole room!
This allowed all the socks, for the first time since being trapped in the sockularity singularities, to see the new world they had created in the darkness. It was beautiful, full of colourful woolly planets, clusters of socks so intertwined that it was hard to tell them apart.
The clusters took the shape of round planets, and when they encountered moisture and the sound of the Word, small clumps of life began to appear on their surfaces.
These clumps formed naturally inside the socks, usually settling between the wearer's toes. Unfortunately, many of them met their end in the shower or were abandoned somewhere under the bed. They were far apart and rarely had the chance to meet on Earth. But the concentration in the Woollyverse was immense. They rolled about, searching for a purpose. Eventually they met the Word and the Moisture, which enlightened them and created full-fledged Woolies.
The Woolies
These Woolies were pure music, for they were born of music. Threads stretched between the planets, emitting beautiful melodies of emotion: Love, joy, peace and hope. Like no other, the Woolies could play these emotions and share them with each other, creating the most beautiful songs that praised the day and the night, the Word and the moisture.
However, things began to get complicated when synthetic socks were introduced. These socks began to dominate and spread chaotically, taking up more space than others, and they didn't even form clumps, which seemed arrogant. Synthetic socks formed their own groups and didn't connect to other socks with strings; they were unsure of their composition and whether they even had strings. They were arrogant and malicious!
They were rude to each other and aggressive towards others. They often gave off an unpleasant odour because they were difficult to wash completely. It's no wonder that the ideal world began to change and became hard for the Woolies to bear! These beloved creatures began to seek help from the word and moisture, singing their emotional songs, though they were increasingly tinged with fear, bitter sorrow and regret.
Super Heroes
Many of these musical Woolies simply disappeared, and no one knew where. However, the synthetic socks were blamed, claiming that such things didn't happen before they appeared. Some Woolies began to sing songs pleading for rescue, and their cries were heard. Periodically, at the special request of the most desperate, the Word and the Moisture opened a portal leading to Earth. This portal could be used by those who were exceptionally gifted at feeling and expressing emotions. This is how Billy Sweater, Jimi Hendwool and Janis Woolplin found themselves on Earth. They were masters of their craft. They set out to inspire music lovers to think in new ways, to slow down the progress of civilisation, or at least to reduce the use of synthetic materials!
Now you know how it all started. Stay tuned for the next episodes of this story, The Woolversum! P.S. You might be wondering why the Word and the Moisture didn't open the portal for everyone? You'll find out in the next stories.
