Red Rock

Google didn’t choose Wave’s name for the reason you might assume—as a play on the idea of surfing the web. Its engineers were paying homage to writer and director Joss Whedon’s brief but well-loved science fiction TV series, Firefly (2002-2003), and its follow-up film, Serenity (2005). In the Firefly/Serenity universe, characters send textual communications by “wave.