Termination Program

“Come on you need to get with the times, Susie. You have to get on the internet.”

“Julie what’s with you? You act like you’re going to die if I don’t get on the internet.”

“Are you nuts? What do you do on school nights anyhow, your homework? How are you getting the grades, without the internet?”

“It’s not like I don’t have books you know.”

“Yah, but what a pain, lugging books around and all that waisted paper. You could be saving tree’s you know.”

“Ok, I get the point. I need to get on the internet. I need to go my mom is expecting me home today to help out.”

Julie reluctantly heads to the truck across the lot and climbs in to head home. She takes her time pulling out of the lot and getting to the house knowing what will be awaiting her in her room. ‘God how I hate computers’, she thinks as she slides out of the seat of the truck.

She stops at the fridge, wondering if she will be able to eat anything else for the rest of the day. She slowly pulls out an apple and savors every single sweet, juicy, crisp bite as the slouches up the staircase that leads her private domain.

As she enters, she hears the deceptively peaceful sounds of the computers humming away. “Good afternoon Julie,” the voice purrs as if pleased at her arrival.

“Don’t speak to me.”

“Another failure?”

“You already know.”

“Time’s over, the programs complete, why not accept it.”

“No, I want to ….”

The machine in the corners screen flashes the internet login starts of it its own accord and the next thing you see is Julie on the screen. The peaceful humming of the machine continues.

Then the screen turns black, and flashes to the ‘blue screen of death’, error messages printing across the screen. Julie falls from thin air to the floor, scratched bruised and bleeding. “Ah, no one warned me that the internet demons were real before I made that deal!”

Julie limps away from the house still mumbling, “Maybe Susie is right; books just might be a better alternative.”