The Browser

Chapter 1
The Browser

"Mrs. Angela Carlson," she thought. "That’s what I’ll be in less than a month." She was daydreaming of her wedding to her childhood sweetheart, Andrew Carlson in only three weeks. Then her mind drifted to the beautiful new home they had purchased and be moving into right after the wedding. She would get out of this puny apartment and have a house of her own.

"But first things first, she thought," her mind suddenly jolted back to the present.

She was sitting at the computer in her apartment, and desperately needed to finish the research project assigned to her to prove internet literacy. It was the final step before receiving her Master’s Degree.

The twenty-five year old woman winced at the screen. "Damn," she thought, "If only I had paid more attention in class, maybe I’d know what I was doing.

She had been assigned to research the German philosopher Heidegger, and had been diligently working the search engines and following endless links to who knows where. This one looked like another dead-end. "The Age Regression Story Archive," she read from the screen. "What kind of freak place is this?" she thought out loud.

"Oh well, I’m outta here," as she moused over and clicked the ”Back’ button.

*****

"I’d be out having a good time with Andrew tonight if I didn’t have this assignment to finish," thought Angela Jones. She was sitting at the computer in her dorm room. This class in computer literacy was a waste of time, but she needed it to progress on to her senior year of college.

To prove her computer skills, the twenty-year old college junior had to cite several internet references to the German philosopher Heidegger. One stupid search engine click and she ended up at something called "The Age Regression Story Archive." "Probably another site populated by wierdos," she thought as she clicked the ”Back’ button on her browser.

*****

"Mom," she cried out to now avail. "If I don’t leave now I’m gonna miss seeing Andrew play quarterback on the Sophomore team."

"Sorry, Angela," replied her mother. "You knew you had this English assignment. Now go up to your room and finish it and maybe you’ll make the second half of the game."

Angela dejectedly returned to her room to finish writing a page on the German philosopher Heidegger.

She returned to the computer and logged on to the internet to find some more information. Several promising searches later she wound up off-target again. "The Age Regression Story Archive," she read. "Every sicko has a place on the internet, thought the fifteen-year old high-school sophomore.

She reached out and clicked the ”Back’ button.

*****

Angie reached out to adjust the height of the chair in front of the computer in the family room. The ten-year old girl was trying to send an e-mail to Drew, her "don’t you dare call him my boyfriend, Mom," friend.

"I don’t even have a clue as to how I ended up here," thought the fourth grader. She clicked the ”Back’ button, hoping it would get her to the e-mail.

*****

"Gigi, get away from my computer" shouted her daddy as he entered his den. He had caught her kneeling on his desk chair and playing with the keyboard when he returned from a trip to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

"Sorry, Daddy," the five-year old kindergartner apologized.

"Why don’t you run next door and play with Andy?" "I’d like a little peace and quiet," her daddy told her.

Gigi left the room and headed over to Andy’s house. She liked Andy.

Her daddy sat down at the computer. "The Age Regression Story Archive, how did she wind up at this strange place?" he thought as he reached out and clicked the ”Back’ button.

The End