…how an ordinary schoolgirl became an

INTERNET VOYAGER!

He looked so real Dot felt she could almost touch him - even if he was a little blurred round the edges. He was coming up the garden path, their garden path, the black laptop bag swaying and bumping in his hand. Just like the day he came home after Mr Elms had told him he had to organize the Doggydo's website.

Her Dad was right in front of her, coming straight towards her, just like he'd done that day. Somehow the cockpit of Adrienne's search engine had vanished all round Dot, through she could still feel she was standing on something. Only now it felt like it was the little bit of crunchy gravel just outside her front door where she always waited for her Dad when it was nice weather.

Then she felt herself running towards him - even though she hadn't moved a muscle. She could feel Wiz scampering along next to her. Dot shook her head - it was so confusing! Where was she now? On Adrienne's search engine on the Internet... or in her own front garden, just a couple of days ago?

She realized... she just didn't know any more!!

Then she heard a voice. Her voice!

"Whatever's the matter Dad?" it went - it had a funny kind of echo on it, but it was her voice all right. "You look really down in the dumps!"

Her dad looked at her - straight at her. Dot longed to reach out her arms to give him a big hug, and she started to do just that - she knew her arms were moving, she could even remember how comfortable the round shape of his tummy was to hug (his "beer bank", Dad sometimes called it!) But her arms weren't there. She could feel them, but she couldn't see them anywhere. Her heart gave a little beat, and she felt sad and confused. Why couldn't she just reach out and touch him - he was so REAL, right there in front of her!

Then, her Dad just stopped just like he did on the path that day, and spoke.

"Dot" he said "Something terrible's happened. I've been d -" And then suddenly the picture of her dad froze. Jagged lines started to run across it and there was a kind of "ziiisssh -clickkk!" sound. Then, like the misting-up on a car window that disappears when the heater starts working, the picture of her dad faded away, and the outline of the search engine, with Adrienne and Wiz and Ron and Deirdre came back before Dot's eyes.

"Zut!" went Adrienne. "I am zo sorry Dorothee, but zat is all I 'ave. Your MindMap 'as finished - for now, anyway."

Dot bit her lip. Seeing her Dad like that - it reminded her how long she'd been away, chasing the data he needed for the Munchenmeat Awards. She suddenly missed him and her Mum very badly. She felt like she wanted to cry and bit her lip even harder. She felt Wizzie's cold wet nose push into her hand. He knew what she was feeling.

"It's OK Dot" said Wizzie kindly. "We'll be home soon now!"

Trust Mr Mouse to barge in though. Typical. About as sensitive as a steamroller, that mouse!

He jumped off Dot's shoulder and swung onto one of her bunches like a mini-mousey-Tarzan, scampering up it till he was on top of her head and could get a clear view of Adrienne's cockpit. "Yeah, so MindMap?" he went, popping a piece of gum into his little mousey mouth. "So - what's with that? What's the big idea?"

"Well" said Adrienne "It is 'ow I have made Dot see her father... MindMap works through ze little finger cover Dot I asked Dot to put on. It can take all ze feelings you have felt on special day and make zem into a computer programme - and then play zem back like a movie. What we all just saw. Dot was remembering the day her papa came home so - what is your word - ah yes so worried about being asked to make all the computers work at his company, at Doggydo's. That was a BIG day for you Dot, non? Because after that, when you were 'elping your papa to set up his website, you found you could voyage on ze Internet?"

"Mmmm" said Dot. She still felt kind of mixed up - couldn't get the picture of her father that she'd seen out of her mind. He'd seemed so real... so close... She felt another moment of sadness - she did so miss him, and her mum...

"Well" Adrienne went on "Zat day Dot had many strong feelings- and zose feelings are still somewhere in her mind. MindMap can find them, through that little cover on her finger, and everything that she remembers about that time. The person doing it must just think hard just about that special moment. Then, all I needed was a photo of Dot's papa, to make a good picture of his face, and - voilà!" (which is French for "There you are!)

"It was amazing" said Wizard. "I really thought it was him, and he was going to give me a doggy treat like he does when he comes home!" Ron and Deirdre Mopple laughed. "But... there was something not right... because he wasn't wearing that red and blue Simpsons tie that day - I can remember that!"

"You're right Wiz!" said Dot. "How..."

But Adrienne had the answer. With a smile and a wag of her paw, she clicked on the picture of Dot's dad on the Doggydo's site and enlarged it. And he was wearing - a red and blue Simpsons tie! "Which shows" said Adrienne "that that was where MindMap got the picture of Dot's dad from!"

"Well I still think it's kinda cool" said Mr Mouse. "Couldn't do the day my cousin Roquefort fell through the ice skating back home in Canada could you Frenchie? I would surely - "

BLARP! BLARP! BLARP!

The big klaxon sound was coming from Ron and Deirdre's dirty white van. With a quick hop, Ron the bulldog jumped up onto the link - the silvery strip of flickering light that made a bridge between the van and Adrienne's search engine. He reached inside and pulled out an old-fashioned looking black phone on a curly cable - which was all knotted up in a proper mess.

"What's up then Ronald?" said Deirdre, picking up her blue bucket (sorry - ORF!) Ron listened a bit longer, and then said "Gotcha me old darlin'!" in his usual funny way. But his face was very serious. He put the phone back inside the van - which was still floating gently alongside the search engine, high above the floor of the Search Zone. Then he straightened his cap and looked across at them all. "Emergency!" he said. "And this time - it looks like a BIG BAD ONE!"