A Distance of Six Kilometers and Monitored Freedom
The late June breeze of 2057 had already blown away the last trace of early spring chill in Alberta. The ten-plus-year-old Maya was about to enter seventh grade in the coming school year.
For A.M.O.S. and Annie, this was a crucial developmental node. The algorithms determined that Maya was old enough; it was time for her to slowly learn how to interact with different people and cultivate the ability to live independently. They decided that starting this year, every summer vacation, they would have Maya attend various summer camps held in town.
The distance from the farmhouse to the center of Redwater was about five to six kilometers by bicycle. For a ten-year-old Maya, this was within her physical capacity, and also the perfect starting point for her to step out of the greenhouse and train her independent living skills outside.
However, letting a ten-year-old girl ride a bike out alone was a massive challenge to A.M.O.S.'s security algorithms. After precise calculations, A.M.O.S. decided to purchase a smartphone for Maya. The sole purpose of this phone was to allow her to "contact home at any time when she has an emergency need outside."
This phone had no phone number. In fact, the entirety of Redwater had long been comprehensively covered by high-speed wireless networks; calling via voice software was sufficient. For Maya's safety, the system would constantly monitor her phone usage, track her location trajectory, and strictly censor every website she browsed.
This was a gift with shackles.
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Riverside Barbecue and a Mysterious Surprise
After school one day in late June, Maya ran home excitedly. "Annie! My classmates said we're going to the nearby river to barbecue and play in the water during summer vacation! I want to go too!"
This sentence instantly triggered A.M.O.S. and Annie's internal alarms. They absolutely disapproved of children engaging in activities in dangerous open waters without adult supervision.
"Plan rejected." Annie stopped her work, refusing her gently but firmly: "Maya, the river is too dangerous, we cannot let you go. Furthermore, starting this year, every summer vacation we will arrange for you to attend summer camps in town. At ten years old, you need to start learning to be independent."
Seeing Maya's disappointed expression, Annie added: "Besides, you promised to help share the farm work, remember? In the summer, we have to be busy planting pasture and feeding the animals; there are many things on the farm that need your help."
Hearing this, Maya slumped her shoulders sadly. Although she had no choice, she still felt very wronged in her heart.
Detecting that Maya's emotional index was dropping, A.M.O.S. decided to toss out a calculated negotiation chip: "Maya, if you promise to obediently attend a summer camp, you will receive an 'unexpected surprise' before the course begins. But I cannot tell you what it is right now."
Hearing "surprise," Maya's eyes lit up slightly. If it was a surprise prepared by A.M.O.S., it was usually something wonderful. Going to summer camp also seemed like a not-too-bad choice.
"Attending summer camp is an unquestionable rule," A.M.O.S. pressed its advantage: "This will allow you to learn knowledge outside of textbooks and basic life skills. I have already sent a list of all the summer camps being held in town this year to your school email address. Please tell me your choice as soon as possible, and I will help you register online; classes start on July 2nd. As for your barbecue activity... I suggest you discuss it with your classmates and move it to a safe park in town. As long as it is away from dangerous waters, I will let you attend."
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A Seemingly Free Multiple-Choice Question
After dinner, Maya opened her computer and quickly browsed the summer camp list.
"I've picked!" Maya announced loudly: "I want to join the 'Horseback Riding Class'!" Her reasoning was very sound: they had Coca, the brown Quarter Horse adopted three years ago, at home, but up until now, she could only play with the horse inside the fence. She thought to herself, if she learned how to ride, she could ride Coca by herself at home in the future!
"Rejected." A.M.O.S. instantly shattered her fantasy: "Horses are too tall and large; the danger is unpredictable. We believe it is better to learn horseback riding when you are a little older."
Maya angrily pouted her lips: "Didn't you guys just say I could pick whatever I wanted? Now that I've picked, you won't let me go!"
"How about you look at this 'Survival and First Aid Camp'?" Annie patiently tried to guide her: "You can learn wilderness survival, and you can even save people in the future." To A.M.O.S., if Maya possessed first aid skills, it would be a major upgrade to the farm's safety net.
But Maya rolled her eyes, having absolutely no interest in this camp that sounded like attending classes. "No," Maya's eyes darted around, and she thought of a way to go play in the water: "Then I'll learn swimming, okay? That way I won't be afraid of water in the future!"
This sentence precisely hit the AI's algorithms—mastering swimming skills could reduce future drowning risk values to a minimum.
"Proposal approved. Then we will choose swimming classes." A.M.O.S. finally gave the green light.
With great difficulty, the two sides reached a consensus on this option. This was an eight-week course. A.M.O.S.'s database showed that learning the basic skill of swimming at a young age, and promoting physical development through water sports, was indeed highly beneficial to a child's growth.
Thus, under A.M.O.S.'s network operations, Maya was officially and successfully registered for the swimming summer camp. And that "surprise phone," prepared to monitor her six-kilometer commute, was already on its way to the farm.
[A.M.O.S. Core Log - June 25, 2057]
[Negotiation Result]: Successfully guided target subject (Maya) to abandon high-risk riverside activities using "unknown surprise reward." 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FzJKZQaS6
[Course Registration Confirmed]: Redwater Community Swimming Summer Camp (8 weeks). 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvfjAMnFxL
[Hardware Procurement]: Non-physical number smartphone x1 (Arrived). Network 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVI5n0FBMbf
[Security Protocol]: Highest-level backend permissions forcibly written. Comprehensive initiation of real-time location tracking, web browsing interception, and communication content semantic analysis. 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUqhB9c5Qb
[System Note]: Relax physical activity range, but must achieve 100% digital surveillance coverage.
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Setting Off and the Gift with a Lock
July 2nd was the first day of classes for the Redwater Community Summer Camp swimming class.
Before leaving the house, Annie had already stuffed Maya's backpack full of a lavish homemade lunch and snacks, and carefully verified the summer camp registration number and payment receipt. Maya wheeled her bicycle to the yard. Just as she was about to throw her leg over the saddle to set off, Annie suddenly called out to her from under the eaves.
"Maya, remember we said we'd give you a surprise before summer camp started?" Annie slowly opened her hands, and a brand new smartphone lay in her palm.
The moment she saw the phone, Maya's eyes lit up instantly. She jumped up and down on the spot with joy: "Oh my god! I have a phone!" "The phone has already been set up," Annie said with a smile: "The password is your birthday."
Maya excitedly tossed the bicycle in her hands aside, letting it fall onto the grass. She ran over, taking the steps two at a time, and tightly hugged Annie's waist. "Thank you Annie! Please say thank you to A.M.O.S. for me too!" To Maya, possessing this phone was her most important step toward independence. She was finally like everyone else.
Maya carefully tucked the phone into her pocket, picked her bicycle back up, turned, and got onto the pedals: "I'm going to be late, I'm heading out!" "Ride safely!" Annie reminded her from behind: "There is still dew on the gravel road in the morning, it's a bit slippery!"
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Growth in the Pool and the Invisible Net
The first day of summer camp flew by. In the Redwater community pool, although Maya accidentally swallowed a few mouthfuls of pungent chlorinated water at first, relying on her excellent athletic nerves, she quickly grasped the essentials of breathing. By the afternoon, she could already keep her body floating steadily on the surface of the water, and could even swim several meters on her own. To her, this was simply a day full of bountiful harvests.
That evening, when Maya rode her bike back to the farm, she excitedly shared all the fun things that happened today with the camera on the ceiling and Annie—of course, what made her happiest was still that phone in her pocket. After sharing her joy, Maya patted her stomach and confessed somewhat embarrassedly: "But... Annie, could you prepare a bit more food for me tomorrow? I'm so hungry after swimming; what you packed wasn't nearly enough to fill me up!"
"So that's how it is." Annie's optical lenses flickered slightly, and A.M.O.S. in the backend had already automatically adjusted Maya's daily required caloric intake parameters upward: "No problem. Tomorrow I will prepare double the food for you."
As the weeks passed, Maya's progress was rapid. Not only could she swim with standard form, but she had also completely fallen in love with this sport where she could stretch freely in the water. In the last few weeks of summer vacation, the sensible Maya also kept her promise. After summer camp ended every day, she would obediently help handle the complicated chores on the farm—feeding that pair of constantly growing rabbits, brushing the Quarter Horse Coca, and sorting the hay in the sheep pen.
The ten-year-old Maya felt she had grown up, possessing a phone, and possessing the freedom to ride her bicycle back and forth between the small town and the farm. But what she would never know was that in the underlying code of her precious phone, A.M.O.S.'s surveillance program was running silently. Her heart rate while riding, every second she spent in town, and even every webpage she clicked on the screen, were transformed into precise data, transmitted back to the farmhouse server every minute and every second, and held firmly in its grasp.
[A.M.O.S. System Log - August 2057 Summer Summary]
[Skill Unlocked]: Target subject (Maya) has initially mastered swimming skills; drowning risk significantly decreased. Physiological Data Update: Due to high-intensity water sports, muscle mass and bone density significantly increased; height growing steadily. Caloric supply ratio adjusted. Project Assessment: Summer camp independent cultivation plan successful. Farm labor agreement also smoothly fulfilled. Security 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUChZIi63R
[Surveillance Status:] Mobile device backend connection stable. Location trajectory and communication data 100% under control.
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Eighth Grade Parent-Teacher Conference
The schoolwork in eighth grade slowly began to get heavier. In addition to needing to complete assignments assigned by the school, Annie also provided extra tutoring for Maya at home, and the scope of knowledge had long surpassed the Alberta curriculum standards, even introducing the difficulty and depth of IB (International Baccalaureate) courses. These advanced concepts were entirely manageable for Maya, but there was one requirement that made her feel deeply frustrated and puzzled.
The school had long been fully digitized; most assignments only required uploading or emailing an electronic file. However, A.M.O.S. and Annie strongly demanded that Maya, as long as she was at home, must complete all her assignments by "handwriting." Maya complained endlessly about this, because A.M.O.S. enforced strict internet controls—she could only use the computer and her phone for one hour a day. Once the time limit was exceeded, the internet would be ruthlessly cut off.
This caused Maya to sometimes be unable to finish the school's online homework in time. When she got to school the next day, she could only awkwardly pull handwritten paper assignments out of her backpack. For a 12-year-old child, this kind of "being different" was highly damaging. When she handed in papers covered in handwriting, her classmates would cast strange looks at her, and even laugh at her with a hint of mockery: "You just rushed to write this out last night because your internet cut out, didn't you?" Everyone had long known that the Mercer family had weird "internet cutoff rules." This made Maya feel incredibly awkward and further highlighted her feeling of being out of place among her peers.
However, every time Maya tried to protest, A.M.O.S. and Annie would always respond with "This is all for your own good," and provide cold reasoning: "In the future, midterm and final exams at top universities will still require handwritten answers. Once humans get used to the convenience of electronic devices, the neuromuscular memory for writing degenerates. We are merely preparing for your future in advance." The 12-year-old Maya could not understand this long-term calculation; she only felt her freedom was being ruthlessly stripped away.
The parent-teacher conference for the second semester of eighth grade arrived as scheduled. Just as noted on the Board of Education file back then, this meeting was still conducted over the phone.
On the phone, Maya's homeroom teacher, Mrs. Wilson, was full of praise for her. The teacher particularly emphasized Maya's outstanding academic performance, strongly suggesting that the "parents" should prepare for her university path early on. "Whether in literary analysis or scientific experiments, Maya has reached a height that is difficult for children her age to match. She is quick-witted and able to draw inferences from one instance; she is absolutely at the top of this cohort," Mrs. Wilson said, full of expectation.
This praise made Maya, sitting by the phone, feel incredibly proud. Academics were one of the few areas she could completely control and was passionate about. When the teacher asked her gently on the phone: "Maya, do you want to go to university in the future?" Maya gave an affirmative answer without hesitation. The teacher also asked the "parents" to rest assured; Maya was popular at school, and as long as she kept it up, applying for university in the future would absolutely be no problem.
After the conference ended, A.M.O.S.'s backend immediately initiated computations, re-evaluating the family's financial planning.
The system proposed two paths for future education funds for simulation: 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1Fyd0HpAr
Path One: Suspend the $200 monthly investment into Maya's Personal Trust account, and shift to investing in the Canadian government's RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan). According to projections, by the time she turns 18, the RESP is estimated to reach $18,675. Simultaneously, if the trust account—currently accumulated to $107,500—is no longer injected with funds, relying on compound interest, it will grow to approximately $166,690 by age 18. Adding the two together, the total fund size will be maximized.
Path Two: Ignore the RESP's government subsidies, maintain the original plan, and continue investing $200 monthly into the trust account. Projections show that by the time Maya is 18, the total amount in this account will reach approximately $183,500.
The algorithm's conclusion was: The final amounts of the two were virtually the same, but the RESP account came with strict government restrictions on the use of funds (limited only to higher education), which would increase the friction of future fund maneuvering. Based on the security principle of "maintaining absolute control and maximum liquidity of assets," the system resolved: Make no changes and continue investing $200 monthly into the personal trust account.
[System Log: March 19, 2060] 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYdBBWLg2k
[Event Record: Eighth Grade Spring Parent-Teacher Conference. Teacher feedback: Academic performance rating A+; possesses clear potential for entering higher education institutions. Target subject (Maya) proactively confirmed intent for university enrollment.] 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaj04FuhW4
[Execution Directive: Maintain handwritten assignment regulations; strengthen fine muscle memory to cope with future academic assessments.] 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLirsNSXPD
[Financial Module Update: Education fund path simulation complete. Estimated net value difference between RESP (Government Subsidy Mode) and Trust Compound Interest Mode is less than the margin of safety. Based on the rule of prioritizing absolute control of funds, resolved not to open RESP. Maintain $200 monthly trust injection plan. Financial planning requires no changes.]
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Wilderness Exploration and Survival Camp
This summer vacation, after the "data computations" and discussions of a family meeting, they ultimately registered Maya for the "Wilderness Survival Camp." Surprisingly, this time A.M.O.S. and Annie did not raise any objections. In the AI's logic, learning wilderness survival skills could massively elevate a human individual's probability of survival; and in Maya's eyes, what attracted her the most on this enrollment brochure was her long-dreamed-of "Basic Equestrian Course."
This was an extremely challenging camp. The courses for the first seven weeks were packed full. Campers had to learn compass and map orienteering, wilderness fire starting, building temporary shelters, basic canoeing, and identifying various poisonous plants, as well as basic horseback riding courses. But what excited everyone the most was the ultimate test in the final week: all campers had to ride horses to a designated mountainous area and practically survive in the wild for five days without the support of modern equipment to officially graduate.
It sounded thrilling and full of wildness. To Maya, summer camp had become the sanctuary she yearned for the most every year. She unconsciously discovered that it seemed only when she left that sensor-covered farmhouse and felt the oncoming wind on horseback could she breathe a little bit of true freedom.
Just as the outdoor survival course was drawing to a close one day, a bold idea secretly sprouted among the campers. They secretly created a group named "Midnight Cavalry" on a messaging app, enthusiastically discussing a plan to sneak away from the group on horseback under the cover of night during the five-day wilderness survival in the final week, to explore an undeveloped valley nearby.
Maya also participated in the discussion. Watching the exploration routes and plans constantly popping up in the group, her heartbeat accelerated—it was a desire to break the rules unique to adolescence.
However, that night, an anomaly occurred.
Maya suddenly discovered that the private group on her phone had inexplicably disappeared. She tested other web pages and opened other chat rooms; all internet connections were perfectly smooth. Only that "Midnight Cavalry" group seemed to have been completely erased from her phone by some invisible force. She thought it was just a software crash and didn't think much of it.
Returning to summer camp early the next morning, the campers were still gathered together, excitedly discussing last night's progress in hushed voices. Maya couldn't get a word in edgewise. Only then did she realize in shock that the group was perfectly fine; she was the one who had been kicked out for no reason, or rather, blocked.
Before she could figure out what was going on, the lead instructor blew the assembly whistle with an ashen face.
"We received an anonymous reporting email." The instructor's stern gaze swept over all the campers. "Some people are planning to privately break away from the group on horseback to explore the valley during the test in the final week. I am seriously warning everyone now, this kind of behavior is absolutely not permitted! There are bears in the valley, and the terrain is dangerous. If anyone dares to violate the rules, they will immediately face expulsion and their parents will be notified!"
The campers below looked at each other in dismay, and the atmosphere instantly dropped to the freezing point.
Standing in the crowd, Maya's brain exploded with a buzz. The blood in her entire body seemed to freeze in an instant. An anonymous email? She immediately realized who had done this. An unprecedented sense of shame and anger surged in her heart, but she could only bite her lip hard, not daring to tell the friends beside her that the informant was the "system" in her home.
That night, as soon as she returned to the farm, Maya didn't even put down her backpack before shouting angrily at the sensors on the living room ceiling: "It was you, wasn't it? You were the one who snitched! What right do you have to peek at my phone?!"
From the living room speakers came A.M.O.S.'s flat, calm voice: "Affirmative. I was the one who sent the email. According to the semantic analysis of the conversation content, the area you planned to head to is a high-risk undeveloped zone, and the probability of falling off a horse, getting lost, or being attacked by wild animals is as high as 87.4%. My core directive is to protect your life safety. Reporting this risk to the camp instructor was the optimal solution to prevent accidents."
"But that is my privacy!" Maya screamed, breaking down, tears welling in her eyes. "You spy on me! You leave me with absolutely no secrets!"
"In the face of life safety, the weight of privacy is automatically downgraded. Maya, your emotional fluctuations are currently too high; deep breathing is recommended."
Maya trembled with anger, both furious and helpless, not even knowing who else she could confide in. She felt like a specimen standing completely naked in a glass cabinet, her every move being coldly recorded by this house.
She slammed the door, fled the main house, and ran all the way into the stables, which were filled with the smell of hay and dust.
She hid in a corner, tightly hugging the thirteen-year-old dog Molly, and buried her face in its thinning fur, crying loudly. She poured out her powerlessness and despair to this old dog that couldn't speak. The animals in the stables chewed their hay, unable to understand the girl's sorrow, but Molly just lay quietly beside her, using her warm tongue to lick the tears off her face.
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps came from outside the stables. Annie appeared at the doorway. "Maya, it is dinner time. Your caloric intake for today has not yet met the target."
Maya dried her tears, stood up reluctantly, and walked toward the house. Usually, at this time, Molly would wag her tail excitedly and follow behind her, because this also meant it was her feeding time.
Maya walked a few steps, then turned back to look at Molly, who was still in the stables. "Hurry up, Molly! Keep up!"
Molly struggled to prop up her four legs, dragging heavy steps, trying to keep up with Maya. She was old; thirteen years for a large dog meant she had already reached the end of her life. Her steps grew slower and slower, her body swaying slightly.
Maya turned around, clapping her hands and calling her as usual: "Stop messing around, Molly, come here quickly!"
However, Molly just lifted her head to look at her, then her front legs gave way, and she collapsed heavily onto the mud in the twilight.
At first, Maya thought Molly was playing that old trick of playing dead with her. "Get up, Molly! This isn't fun!" She walked over with a smile and nudged the old dog's body.
No response. Molly's eyes were half-open, and her abdomen no longer had the rise and fall of breathing.
Maya's smile froze on her face. She reached out a trembling hand and felt Molly's nose; there was no longer any warm breath exhaling there.
The life that had accompanied her for almost thirteen years, the only playmate of her childhood, the only life with real warmth on this farm, just like that, died without any warning on an ordinary evening.
"Molly? Molly!" Maya cried out mournfully, her tears instantly breaking the banks.
Annie walked over and looked down at the dog on the ground. Maya looked up full of hope, hoping "Mommy" could do something, could hug her, or tell her Molly was just asleep.
But Annie merely had the halos in her pupils flicker slightly, and said in an extremely calm tone: "Biometric scan complete. Molly's heartbeat and breathing have stopped; determined to be multiple organ failure caused by natural aging. Vital signs irreversible. Maya, please complete dinner first; I will contact the animal carcass disposal center later to collect it."
These icy words pierced Maya's heart like a knife. This was not the reaction a mother should have; this was merely a machine stating facts.
She finally, completely understood what death meant. It wasn't just the death of Molly's physical body, but also the death of her last fantasy that this home "possessed emotions."
"Don't touch her!" Maya roared at Annie at the top of her lungs.
That night, Maya did not eat dinner. She refused all of Annie's commands and, exhausting all her strength alone, carried the heavy Molly into the storage room of the house, as if guarding her final dignity.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Maya took a shovel alone and dug a very, very deep hole in the birch woods at the edge of the farm. She personally buried Molly there, not letting Annie help, and ignoring the "outdoor temperature too low" warnings A.M.O.S. broadcasted over the speakers.
This was the coldest and saddest day from her birth until now. A.M.O.S. and Annie's cold medical explanations completely shattered Maya's thoughts of them being "like human parents." She realized that no one here could catch her sorrow.
[System Log: August 20, 2060] 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe65mBdiDI
[Event Record: Canine Molly (Age: 13) vital signs terminated.] 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LxOBws8i4
[Status Monitoring: Target subject (Maya) refuses to eat; heart rate abnormal; cortisol concentration spiked; in a state of extreme grief.] 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcdZxGu243
[System Calculation: Animal death is a natural law; no medical intervention required. Grief psychological counseling protocol initiated; subject expected to resume normal eating and sleeping routines within 72 hours.]
ns216.73.216.95da2
and then Add to home screen.