Aiden Gray had always felt at home behind a computer screen. A college student majoring in computer science, Aiden’s fascination with technology began when he was a child, cracking into his family’s Wi-Fi network for fun. Now, he spends most of his free time exploring various corners of the internet. He knows about the dark web from a few tech forums, but he’s never had the urge to explore it—until tonight. Scrolling through an online discussion board for cybersecurity enthusiasts, he stumbles upon a thread titled, “The Deep Dark Web: Beyond the Surface.” The topic captures his attention, so he clicks on it. Inside, he finds people discussing the hidden layers of the internet—places ordinary users never visit. These aren’t just webpages hidden behind passwords; they’re entire websites invisible to search engines like Google. He reads about the dark web and deep web, learning that the deep web consists of everything not indexed by search engines, from academic databases to private social media profiles.