If the new Millennium brought a cure for a hangover, Susan would have had a genuine reason to celebrate. But the throbbing in her head only convinced her that this January 1st wasn't going to be any different than past post-New Years Eve consequences, despite the fears and dire predictions that had dominated the news for the past six months. She opened one eye slowly and looked around her disheveled apartment.

"Damn. This is going to take me another hundred years to clean up." She thought looking around at the maze of confetti, streamers and empty glasses that speckled her carpet. Carefully making her way to the kitchen, she discovered that the automatic coffee brewer had been turned off. She tried the switch and was annoyed when the light remained dark. She tried it again, then a third time, but the appliance refused to obey. Defeated, she filled a teapot with water and put it on the stove, relieved that she had a gas range.

Susan turned on the radio but the only sound that came through was noisy static. She turned the dial, but every station was the same.

"I just put in new batteries." she cursed, "Never did trust that pink bunny."

Susan took her coffee to the counter and picked up the phone. There was no dial tone.

She was about to try again when she heard loud shouts coming from the street. Susan put on her robe and went outside. People were running around in a panic. When she looked at the empty parking space that used to shelter her beloved Jaguar, she understood why.

. "MY CAR! WHERE'S MY CAR?" she screamed.

One of her neighbors ran to her waving his cell phone. "All the cars are gone. I tried to call the police, but the phones are dead. What a great way to start the new millennium." He added with disgust.

Susan walked back into her apartment and locked the door. When she turned around, she gasped in horror.

"My God! What the hell is going on?"

Her television, VCR, stereo, telephone and every light fixture in her apartment had vanished. To her great relief, she noticed that her computer had survived the theft. The screen was glowing.

"Thank God for battery packs. Now, I can contact the police."

Susan started typing, but the video screen displayed its own message. She read with astonishment the reason for the disappearance of her property, and the future not even the Psychic Hot-Lines had predicted.

" People of Planet Earth. You are not ready to enter the 21st century. Your entire planet and its inhabitants will be transported back to January 1, 1900 where you will re-live the entire 20th Century. Hopefully, you will not make the same mistakes this time. Good luck and Happy New Year.

Susan looked at the desk where her trusted computer had been just minutes before. In its place was a quill, an inkwell and a pad of paper.