He had always liked Australia - it looked like a great place to explore. There were some big cities on the coast, but that would be like being in any city. Steve clicked in the middle of the vast interior. A popup menu appeared, offering his choice of sex and age. He frowned. Weren't there supposed to be other options, like hair color and eye color and stuff? The lack pretty much confirmed his suspicions that this would just be a video clip. He selected male, and then decided to go for a kid's perspective. He entered 'four'; as the age. That made the 'SUBMIT' button active. He clicked it.
Hot. Dry. Dusty. Sitting on dirt, surrounded by brush and rocks. Steve blinked in confusion, a bright sun glaring overhead. Before he could get his bearings, huge hands grabbed him. He cried out as a giant naked woman with dark, dusty brown skin and a flat nose hoisted him up to her hip and carried him back to a group of similar people. Some of the men wore crude loincloths, but almost everyone was naked. There were some shelters made of sticks and animal skins, and water bags, along with a few thin dogs. Aborigines! Steve realized that the area of Australia he had selected must be home only to the natives. The woman smiled at him and reached into a pouch on the ground, pulling out some insects and grubs that were still alive. She pushed them into Steve's mouth. His mind screamed, but he found himself chewing the crunchy beetles and softer grubs, then swallowing and opening his mouth for more. It took a moment for him to realize that he liked the taste and texture, even found it familiar. He was set down again with two other children about his age, and began playing with pebbles and sticks.
Steve did not really 'wake up' until the sun was well on its way down, and the tribe was settling for the night. He remembered playing all afternoon, eating more bugs, relieving himself away form the camp, and drinking water. The life of an Aborigine toddler was certainly different, but he'd had a good enough taste. From what he could understand of the conversations and what seemed like his own memories, they would be here a while, many passings of the sun. There was a word for those periods, but he couldn't think of it. In fact - Steve couldn't think of any words, except for a few that meant he was hungry, thirsty, and basic communications of needs. And none of those words he knew now were the words he thought he had used before.
There was a sudden shock of realization. There had been no return option! He'd been so confident the web site was a fake, that eh was just going to see some video or graphic, that he had not really worried about a way to go back to his real life! Except... he blinked and stared around at the tribe that was his extended family, the land that was all he really knew. This was his real life now. Was there a way to go back at all?