StoryWeaver Grade 5📖 Stories💡 Technology

Lost in the Internet

Kris Stokes, Madhurima Chakraborty · StoryWeaver · 5 min read
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A boy falls into the internet with multiple screens around him
A boy is watching videos on a phone while his mother is standing behind

Kunal loved the Internet. He was always asking Mummy for her phone so he could watch videos.

“Don’t watch for too long or you’ll get pulled in!” Mummy warned him.

A boy is pulled through multiple screens

First, Kunal watched a video of cartoon ninjas. Next, he watched one of a volcano spewing lava. Then, he watched one of a baby playing with a dog. With each video, Kunal’s face came closer and closer to the screen.

Suddenly—SCHWOOOOOP!— Kunal was sucked into the Internet.

A boy stands on a platform waving while a train zooms past

“Where am I?”

Kunal had landed on a platform in a strange train station. All around him, trains whooshed in and out through tunnels. A sign popped up above his head. It read “Core Router”.

Core Router

A robot attached to wires is working on a screen while trains zoom past

“How did I get here?” Kunal wondered. “And how will I get out?” Then Kunal saw a woman on the platform. She looked very busy directing the trains. “Excuse me, aunty. Where are all these trains going?” Kunal asked her.

A boy and a robot stand on a platform surrounded by tubes with multiple trains zooming past

“I’m Transmission Control Protocol,” she said, busily, “But you can call me TCP. These trains are taking data to different parts of the Internet.”

A robot works on a touch screen

Kunal watched TCP as her hands swiftly moved things around on a large screen. “Wow,” Kunal said. “What are you doing, TCP Aunty?” “I’m routing data through the Internet, of course,” replied TCP. “Everything has to go fast, fast, fast!” The trains whooshed away, carrying data in every direction.

A boy and a robot look at the earth with multiple connections

“Are all the phones and computers on the Internet connected?” asked Kunal, an idea forming in his mind.

“Yes,” said TCP Aunty, “All the devices on the Internet are connected. These tunnels are actually wires, cables, radio waves and satellites in space.”

A boy gets broken into pieces and is re-formed by the different pieces

“TCP Aunty, if all the devices on the Internet are connected, can you help me get back home?” “Of course!” TCP said. She looked Kunal up and down. “We’ll send you by packet switching. First, we’ll break you into a few thousand pieces. Then we’ll send all your bits by different paths and put you back together later.”

A boy looks scared while a robot thinks

“No!” Kunal said, hurriedly. “Is… Isn’t there another way?”

“Hmmm,” TCP frowned. “Sending you all together by circuit switching is a lot less efficient. But if you insist. Now let’s ask your mother for your address.”

A boy and a robot look at multiple screens

“But I know my address,” Kunal said, confused.

“Not your home address,” replied TCP. “Your Internet address!” She opened up a chat window in the air and quickly explained everything to Kunal’s mother.

“We host a website on my computer—KunalBabyPictures.com. Can you find that?” said Mummy.

A robot opens a digital book in a screen

“We can find your Mummy’s computer using the Internet Protocol or IP,” TCP said. “Every computer and website on the Internet has a unique number called an IP address.” TCP opened a big book with ‘DNS’ written on the cover.

“This book contains the IP address of every website on the Internet,” she told Kunal.

She looked through it carefully until—

“Found it!”

A boy wears a disguise while a robot works on a touch screen

“Here,” said TCP. “You’ll need to be encrypted so that nobody else can grab you on the way.”

TCP handed Kunal a hat and silly glasses with a nose and moustache attached. “You’re very sensitive data indeed!” she said.

“Goodbye, TCP Aunty!” Kunal replied, cheerfully.

A boy pops out from a computer screen while his mother waits for him

Kunal was moving fast, very fast. His arms and legs tingled. And then—POP! He was back home.

“My dear!” Mummy said. “It’s good to have you back. Next time, learn about the Internet by reading about it, not getting lost inside it.”

Kunal loved the Internet, but he loved being home even more.

Computers and mobiles are connected to the internet

What is the Internet?

The Internet is the name for all the different computers, phones and tablets that are connected to each other. It is a system that is spread across the entire world. It lets us transfer data from one computer to another through copper wires, fibre-optic cables, radio transmissions and satellites in space. Every device that is connected to the Internet has a unique number called an IP address.

Computers sending emails to each other

How Does Data Travel?

Many kinds of data are sent through the Internet, such as emails, web pages, videos, chats and pictures.

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a set of rules and procedures used by computers to transfer data by first breaking it into chunks called packets. Then the packets are put back together again (in the right order!) when they reach their destination. This method of data transfer is called packet switching.

In circuit switching, the entire data is sent through a single path. This is a less efficient method than packet switching.