Ellie was an LPN, studying for her RN. That meant classes in the morning, fitful sleep in the afternoon, and a full shift of work at the nursing home five nights a week. It was grueling. She was always rushed and she was always tired. Right now she home, but not for long. She had her uniform on, and as soon as she wolfed down a baloney sandwich she had to leave for work.
The young nurse hadnât checked her e-mail in days. She sat down at the computer to do that while she ate.
There was a message from her mom, which she read quickly and left to respond to later. There were three messages that were obviously spam, as well. She deleted two of them, for penis enlargement and a new home mortgage. The other one caught her eye.
--CONGRATULATIONS ELLIE! YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTEDâŠ--
That was all the subject line showed.
Ellie still hadnât finished her sandwich, so she opened the message just for something to do. She was amazed at how these spammers could get her name.
The mail message contained nothing but the same words as the subject line. But the words were underlined, and highlighted. It was a link to a web site.
Ellie knew better. She really did. Still, just to kill the last few moments before she had to rush out the doorâŠ
The moment she clicked the link, Ellieâs computer monitor went blank. It seemed almost as if the thing had shut down. She waited it out, however, and was rewarded when a small red dot appeared near the center of the screen.
While Ellie watched, the dot moved slowly down to the bottom of the screen. Then it jumped to the top and danced around. Then over to the left. Whatâs the point, she wondered, following the little spot of light as it as it swooped and jerked, seemingly at random.
The dot was expanding, as well. Getting bigger. Ellie had the illusion she was being drawn closerâŠcloserâŠ
The ball expanded to fill the screen. Ellieâs head was spinning and she felt drowsy. She had been swallowed up, and could see nothing now but red.
The young nurse dropped her sandwich on the floor. She forgot about going to work.
Now the image on the screen changed, presenting Ellie with the full text of the message she had initially read, in cool blue letters floating on her screenâŠ
--CONGRATULATIONS ELLIE! YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED BY COMPURAPEâŠ--
It was some sort of disgusting porn thing. Ellie would ordinarily close it in an instant. Oddly, though, she did not move. She seemed unable to will herself to do anything but stare at the screen and absorb whatever was presented. She gulped, feeling an undercurrent of fear. What was happening to her?
The message continued. --YOU ARE UNDER CONTROL OF THE COMPURAPE PROGRAM. YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED BY ONE OF OUR MEMBERS FOR SEXUAL ACTIVITY, AND WILL BE RELEASE WHEN THE CONTRACT IS FULFILLED. SIGNIFY YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS BY CLICKING BELOW--
Two buttons appeared on the screen. One said, âAccept.â The other said, âExit program.â Ellie wanted desperately to click the âExitâ button, and escape this thing--shut her computer down and never turn it on again. Yet she was unable to do that. Instead, her eyes widened as her right hand rose up, seemingly of its own accord, moved the mouse so the cursor was over âAccept,â and clicked the button.
The screen began to flicker and change, presenting compelling patterns of light interspersed with images and blips of text too quickly gone to register. Ellie struggled with herself, at least at first, trying to pull away. The thing had mentioned rape, and sex, and she was terrified.
But the mesmerizing dance of light would not release her. It tightened its grip, and slowly she lost her sense of terror--and her sense of identity. She stopped thinking about her safety, her schooling, her careerâŠanything at all. There was justâŠthe screen.
When it stopped, Ellie was in a new place. Her mind was blank. She was aware of nothing--almost nothing. Just this pleasant buzz; almost a sexual feeling, but without thoughtâŠ
More words on the screen. --YOU WILL UNDRESS NOW--
Only one button appeared below the text. âFinishedâ it said.
Ellie was due at the nursing home in ten minutes. If she lost her job she would not be able to pay for her schooling. Yet she did not resist this command. Without once removing her eyes from the screen, she stood and slipped out of her lab coat, her uniform pants, her white top, bra, and panties.
Naked, she sat down and clicked the âFinishedâ button.