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Are Google Earth and Maps really a Google innovation? The Bn USD Code, a German miniseries on Netflix fictionalizes the true story of two German programming pioneers who claim that their genius was usurped by the internet giant. Based on a revealing conversation between Joachim Sauter — half of the real-life duo who created terravision — and the director, the miniseries travels between events at the start of the 1990s and the revelation of the internet as a source of information that was available for all. A chance meeting between the main characters in a techno club in 1990s Berlin propels them forward to change the way we see the world from outer space. After nabbing an investment from Deutsche Telekom they began their work to develop a code that would be the foundation of Google Earth, Maps, and any navigational software we know today. In the double-pronged narrative we are transported to the early 2010s and the courtroom drama that ensues as both German pioneers are battling for their recognition as entrepreneurs and the real prodigies behind Google Earth.

The miniseries offers more than just a thrilling re-telling; it gives us a glimpse into the impact that the birth of the internet had on the youth who saw it as uncharted territory for them to explore. It also reveals the sad truth that the intellectual property produced by young, small technology-based firms can easily fall victim to monoliths such as Google, and their peers, without their effort and story ever being told.

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