Eight-year-old Jacob Williams is oblivious to the nurse fussing with the IV line attached to his arm. His thoughts are far, far away - not quite in another galaxy but at least in another world.
Tropical World, to be exact, which appears on a computer screen before him in dazzling colors.He and his brother Jed, 11, who also is tethered to an IV line, are dealing with a problem: where is E.T.? Jed maneuvers the cartoon car that the boys have chosen as their avatar in this virtual world to the landing zone where E.T. is supposed to appear.
And there they wait patiently, which is a skill the Provo brothers have practiced often during their stay at Primary Children's Medical Center.
The hospital officially became part of the STARBRIGHT World computer network, home of Tropical World and other virtual lands, last week. The private interactive network lets children at a dozen hospitals trade their real worlds of pokes and pains for a virtual community where they can play, chat and even video conference with other kids.
The network is the creation of the STARBRIGHT Foundation, a nonprofit organization that brings medical, entertainment and technology resources together to develop projects that empower seriously ill children to face their health challenges.
It is backed by technology giants Sprint and Intel, and championed by filmmaker Steven Spielberg - who dropped into Tropical World as E.T. last Thursday during a press conference promoting STARBRIGHT World - and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who lead its board of directors.
President Clinton, who participated in the press conference, has challenged the private sector to link all children's hospitals so "a sick child need no longer be a child alone." Twelve hospitals are now linked to the network but as many as 100 are expected to be online by 1998.
STARBRIGHT began building the network in late 1995 and spent 18 months testing it at seven hospitals.
It now consists of three virtual worlds - Tropical, Sky and Cave worlds, multi-user games and creative activities. A child travels through the worlds by choosing an avatar to represent him or here - a cuddly brown bear, a wacky rabbit, a starfish or spaceship are some of the options.
It also has a "Find A Friend" feature, which was the top suggestion of kids who tested the early network. The feature lets kids find friends or locate kids with similar interests or medical conditions.
And, as requested by kids, it has an information center where children can learn about medical terms and procedures in language they can understand.
"The doctors use such big words, the right words, that you don't even understand," one child said. "I've asked them what they mean. They give you the answer and you still have no clue what they are talking about."
The information center also provides secure links to sports, school and special interest Web sites that are carefully screened by the foundation.
The network "gives kids choices and lets them exercise control. They have so little control over other things in the hospital," said Laura Gaynard, a child-life manager at Primary Children's Medical Center. "Ultimately our goal is to decrease stress and increase coping."
Early studies show the network can make getting through hospital experiences easier.
Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center, one of the original host sites, studied children's use of the pilot system and found their ability to cope with pain increased while they were online.
Another study asked kids to describe how they use the system. One finding: children liked being able to talk to other kids with similar medical conditions. "You see that you're not the only one which has it and has to deal with it," one child told the researchers.
That's exactly what Tiffany Rasmussen, 17, and Hillary Evans, 12, discovered as they traveled STARBRIGHT World.
Long before E.T. is expected the arrive, the girls traipse around Tropical World in search of characters to chat with. Their blue starfish finds a friendly-looking dinosaur and they both agree to "go live." In minutes Tiffany and Hillary, who are sharing the computer, are staring at a live picture of Melissa and Megan, two girls hospitalized at UCLA Hospital in California.
"Is this cool or what?" Tiffany says to her new friends. They exchange names and ages and chatter about who they've talked to so far that day.
"It's rad," Tiffany said to a reporter after saying goodbye to Melissa. "I think this is a good way for people to communicate with others in hospitals about stuff."
For Hillary, who has a computer at her Sandy home but hasn't ever surfed the Net before, the experience is awesome. "It's cool. You can talk to other people and ask about their experiences," she says. "You know it's not just you that's going through things."
E.T. didn't "phone" Salt Lake City despite pleas from Tiffany, Jacob, Hillary and Jed, though they stuck close to him as he visited the various worlds. No matter. they were soon off in search of new friends in Tropical World.
Primary Children's has just two computers hooked to the STARBRIGHT network right now; eventually it hopes to have eight machines online, including one in the bone marrow transplant unit since kids being treated there must remain isolated.
The computers are now located in the Teen Room on the fourth floor, but football star Steve Young's Forever Young Foundation has agreed to set up a special room at the hospital for the program.