I have a set of static html files with their own links (essentially a
book).  What I want to do is have another browser window that's a sort
of companion tied to whichever window is viewing the book files, which
will update when a link in the book window is followed and also control
whether the book page can change.  However, I'm not allowed to modify
the static files in any way.

What I do have is the right to serve the pages (eventually I might want
to do this via a proxy or similar method, but for now assume I have the
files locally).  I could have a setup page that launches both windows
using Javascript and keeps a reference to the 'parent' that has the
book.  Is there a way to pass that to Ruby code and maintain it for as
long as needed?

As an example of what I'm trying to do : If my book is, say
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the second window might contain vocabulary
words, notes, errata, study questions, etc.  Each time a page is turned
by clicking a link in the book, the second window would need to update;
if the user is in the middle of answering a question, then the book page
should not be allowed to change.

(I know there's probably no way around going *back* in the browser;
that's acceptable.  This needs to be cross-platform, so shouldn't rely
on controlling the browser directly.)
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