Most of recent human history can- not wrongly- be described as the steady process of us getting lazier. First we wrote letters brimming with emotion to our loved ones. Then, our hands grew tired and we switched to email. Later still, even that amount of typing grew tedious and we began to text. From emojis to abbreviations, conveying the longest idea using the fewest characters became our highest goal. Until we no longer had to type anything at all. Until all we had to do was react. 

Rue Hollingworth was a reaction master, if she did say so herself. 

She had the new app Reactive pulled up on at least three different screens around her yet somehow managed to pay equal attention to each one. She skimmed her friends' posts and popular news articles alike with breathtaking speed, choosing an appropriate 'reaction' from the drop-down menu at the bottom of her screen for each. It looked simple, but it was far from easy. Reactive, like all human communication, was a complex social game, and Rue was in it to win it. 

"OMG I just got my driver's license!" 

With one well-placed click, a reaction was posted. Congrats! 

"Happy early birthday Rue!!" 

Thanks! 

"Wow, I can't believe we're all already off to college. Gonna miss my HS buds :(" 

Missing you! 

The next post to appear on her feed was not a post from one of her friends. Instead, it was a local news article timestamped only four hours ago. 

"Single mom loses everything in house fire." 

Rue's expression dropped and she shook her head, but her discomfort was only temporary. Everything was alright as soon as she picked out the right reaction. 

Praying for you! 

She was the 156th person to post that reaction. Surely 156 praying for you! 's on a small, bright screen would do something to help the situation. Rue didn't know or care what that something was. After all, she had done her part. She had reacted. She had demonstrated the purity of her own character by caring about a fellow human being. All would be well.