TeX: A tale of two worlds.

Here is where the timelines diverge. In one, TeX was just the beginning. Computer typography evolves rapidly as the decades go by, building on Knuth’s prior work and taking advantage of the million-fold increases we’ve seen in computing power. Browsers, e-readers, and word processors deliver beautiful type to every person who looks at a screen, with almost no effort from authors.

In the darker timeline… none of this happens.