The geomorphic view of networking is a modular theory of contemporary networking, which is currently being developed. This paper presents the basic components and ideas of this theory in the form of a genesis story—what is needed to build the simplest possible network, and why other structures must be added as the network grows bigger and more complex. The story ends with the contemporary Internet, which is vastly more complex than what the classic Internet architecture describes. The paper also summarizes work on formalizing the theory and applying it to solve real problems.