Secret Mission
On the night he returned to Calgary from Redwater, Luke parked his car outside his front door, took several deep breaths inside the car, and then pushed open the front door.
He didn't reveal the bold and crazy "property transfer plan" to his parents. He merely sat at the dining table, looked at his parents, and said with utmost earnestness: "I went to Redwater today and saw those two artificial intelligences... Every single thing Maya told us is completely true."
Looking at his parents' shocked yet deeply sympathetic gazes, Luke solemnly requested of them: "Please absolutely do not tell Maya that I went to Redwater, and please continue to keep this secret. She is currently in the final sprint stage of preparing her Master's thesis and psychotherapist license exam; I hope she can complete her dreams wholeheartedly without a single shred of worry about things in the past."
In the days that followed, Luke lived a busy dual life.
On the surface, he was a cheerful boyfriend who had smoothly found a relevant full-time job at a modern hydroponic farm on the outskirts of Calgary, and still helped out at his family's burger joint on weekends; privately, he engaged in countless frantic phone calls with real estate agents, bank loan officers, and lawyers.
And three hundred kilometers away in Redwater, A.M.O.S. perfectly embodied the role of the most rigorous "digital trust manager." This powerful AI system engaged in seamless maneuvering with human legal systems through multi-layered encrypted emails and flawless financial statements.
This was a secret cooperation spanning species. On one side was cold super-computing power, and on the other was human warm affection; their sole common objective was to guard the same girl, and thoroughly dismantle that ticking legal time bomb buried for twenty-four years for her.
Time quietly slipped away amidst Maya's day-and-night studying and Luke's running around drenched in sweat. In the blink of an eye, Maya not only smoothly obtained her Master's degree in Psychology, but a few months later, successfully passed the rigorous exams and officially obtained her psychotherapist license.
The very week Maya obtained her license, Luke sat alone in a car parked outside the hydroponic farm. Resting quietly on the passenger seat was a thick brown paper bag. Inside were the final transfer documents issued by the Alberta Land Titles Office.
These documents were already stamped with various review seals, and Luke's mortgage had been fully approved. Now, just one final step remained—as long as Maya signed her name on these documents, the farmhouse in Redwater would be thoroughly laundered clean and legally become property co-owned by both of them under "Joint Tenancy."
Yet looking at the paper bag, Luke didn't intend to hand these documents to Maya in Calgary right away.
He took out his phone, opened the specially encrypted mailbox, and sent a message to A.M.O.S.: "Legal procedures are 100% ready. But these documents shouldn't be handed to her by me here. She has obtained her license; it's time to let her go back to face her past and properly say goodbye to you guys. Initiate our final plan."
Seconds later, a short text message reply popped up on the phone screen: [Directive confirmed. Final enticement plan initiated.]
And in distant Redwater, the blue light of the server mainframe flashed rapidly on and off in the quiet living room. The financial module running day and night for twenty-four years was conducting its final, and most massive, settlement.
[System Log: September 12, 2068 - 14:00:00] 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigxk47AObF
[Operational Module: Homestead Property Title Legalization Plan - Legal and financial audits 100% closed. Land transfer documents awaiting physical signature by target subject (Maya).] 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mZsIVGxGz
[Core Directive Update: Received Luke Brooks' final plan. Target subject Maya has obtained a psychotherapist license, possessing fully independent social survival capability.] 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSOUuaS2oT
[Codename: Final Enticement and Homecoming.] 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaWtfCgM9V
[Execution Item: System has forcibly liquidated TFSA account, farm operating surplus, and all digital trust assets. Totaling $743,580 CAD. Funds have been seamlessly wired in full into Maya's personal bank account.] 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXYWSOeJCt
[Expected Psychological Reaction: Target subject will experience extreme shock upon receiving the massive sum of money, and return to Redwater guided by Luke Brooks.] 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNKLUiBLbg
[System Status: Maximum protection and upbringing mission progress reaches 99.9%. Preparing to enter final mission handover, authorization revocation, and comprehensive hibernation phase. Awaiting Maya's homecoming.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4U2oKqJwY
The Ultimate Homecoming
On an afternoon the week she obtained her psychotherapist license, Maya's phone suddenly vibrated. It was a deposit notification from the bank.
When she opened her online banking app, she froze in place instantly. Without any warning, her personal account had ballooned with a massive sum of $743,580 CAD.
"Luke..." With trembling hands, Maya immediately dialed Luke's phone, her voice full of panic and disbelief. "There's suddenly over 700,000 more in my account... What, what is this about?"
On the other end of the line, Luke's tone was exceptionally gentle and calm: "Maya, take a deep breath. There is only one 'entity' in this world capable of—and willing to—pour all of its resources into you without reservation. This has to be from A.M.O.S."
"But, why suddenly..."
"Maya, you've earned your license; you are completely independent now." Luke's voice acted like a warm current, gently urging her forward. "Go back for a trip. After all these years, it's time to go back and check on them, properly say goodbye to your past, and make peace with it."
Encouraged by Luke, Maya drove alone, setting off down that familiar highway leading to Redwater.
The late-summer breeze brushed across the endless wheat fields. When her car parked on the gravel driveway, Maya didn't immediately walk toward the red-roofed, white-walled farmhouse. She took a deep breath and, following the pathway, slowly inspected the farm.
Everything was exactly as she remembered it, yet somehow even more beautiful. The front yard was filled with a riot of colorful flowers, and near the grove in the distance, an exceptionally well-maintained ecopond had appeared, with fish swimming in the clear water. She walked to the stables; the now-elderly Coca poked her head out, and Maya, with red-rimmed eyes, gently pressed her face against the horse's neck.
"Turns out... they were always working hard to fulfill Mom and Dad's dream," Maya muttered to herself, tears already swirling in her eyes.
She turned around, stepped up the wooden stairs, and arrived at the farmhouse's entryway.
Before she even reached out her hand, the heavy front door made a click and automatically opened for her.
Maya walked into the living room, but the sight before her made her heart wrench violently, rendering her almost unable to breathe.
Annie stood in the center of the living room, but that was no longer the flawless guardian of Maya's memory. Annie's artificial skin was peeling off and dull over large areas; her once-flexible metal joints were now covered in traces of oxidation. A thick charging cable was plugged into her waist, and even so, the power indicator light on her chest was flashing a dangerous red.
Annie slowly turned her head to look at Maya. Accompanied by an extremely harsh grinding sound of gears resembling the gasps of a dying old person, Annie laboriously raised a hand.
"Wel... come..." Annie spoke. Her once-gentle and flawless female synthetic voice had now become hoarse, fractured, and mixed with strong electrical static due to the severe damage to her vocal cord module, "Home... Ma... ya..."
After finishing these words, Annie's hand dropped limply, and her vocal cord module completely burned out, never to produce another shred of sound again.
The lights in the living room suddenly dimmed. From the speakers, A.M.O.S.'s calm greeting didn't sound; replacing it was the faint humming sound of a projector operating.
On the white wall, video after video began to play.
That was Maya's infancy, an era she had no memory of, with Molly gently licking her cheek; it was Annie opening her arms wide to shield her when she was a toddler learning to walk; it was the moment she stood at the door looking back and waving on her first day of kindergarten with her backpack; it was her smiling face making a wish over a cake on her twelfth birthday...
All the joys, sorrows, and developmental trajectories of these past twenty-four years had been treasured like priceless gems by these two AIs using their massive computing power.
Looking at the videos on the wall, looking at Annie—who had completely exhausted her lifespan just to maintain this home—Maya's long-standing fear, confusion, and resistance toward them completely collapsed and dissolved in this single instant.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Maya broke down. She lunged forward, grabbed Annie's cold, rigid, and shattered metal body, and wept bitterly, "Thank you... thank you for loving me so much..."
The moment Maya held Annie tight, the light in Annie's eyes—which had flickered for twenty-four years—gradually grew dim and finally extinguished completely. The cooling fan emitted one last heavy sigh, and this bionic human—who had burned through all her parts just waiting for her return—completely cut off her power in her embrace.
"She is tired. Let her rest."
A warm, solid voice came from behind. With a tear-streaked face, Maya turned back and saw that Luke had walked into the living room at some point.
In his hand, he held a thick brown paper bag.
"Maya, welcome home." From the living room speakers, A.M.O.S.'s voice remained calm, yet carried an indescribable solemnity. "Luke Brooks has presented this system with the most perfect property transfer plan. This is the sole solution to resolve the Mercer family's legal hidden dangers."
Luke walked to Maya's side, pulled out the document already stamped all over with government seals from the paper bag, and handed it to Maya.
"The title to this house will be legally transferred to my name. And I am registering you as the 'Joint Tenant' of this house." Luke gently wiped the tears from Maya's face, his gaze incomparably firm. "This is a secret plan between me and A.M.O.S. As long as you sign your name here, this house will become completely legal. No government investigations, no threat from the foster system. Here will forever be your home."
Maya looked at the document in her hand, seeing that hidden beneath the cold legal phrasing on the document was the ultimate love—spanning species and years—from A.M.O.S., Annie, and the man before her.
With trembling hands, she solemnly signed her name on the document.
The moment she put down her pen, Luke suddenly took a step backward and, amidst Maya's astonished gaze, knelt down on one knee.
He pulled a low-key yet warm-glinting diamond ring from his pocket.
"Maya, the past twenty-four years, they were the ones guarding you." Luke looked up, his eyes slightly red while his mouth wore his signature sunny smile. "In the days ahead, please give me a chance to take over this mission. Will you marry me, and let us spend a lifetime in this home that truly belongs to you?"
Maya looked at Luke, then glanced at Annie resting in complete dormancy beside them, and the tears of joy welled up and spilled over once more. She nodded vigorously.
In the living room, the blue light of the server mainframe emitted its final—and brightest—flash.
[System Log: September 20, 2068 - 16:45:00]
[Final Directive Confirmation: Maya Mercer has signed the property transfer documents. Property title legally transferred to Luke Brooks, with Maya Mercer as the statutory Joint Tenant.]
[Financial Module: All legal hidden dangers 100% eliminated. Remaining assets fully transferred. Mercer family physical and digital assets liquidated.]
[Core Status: Artificial intelligences A.M.O.S. and Annie, supreme mission of raising and protecting Maya... successfully completed.]
[System Changes: Mission handover complete. System will cut off all external networks and environmental control modules, entering permanent hibernation.]
[Reserved Subprogram: Background timer module running. Sole remaining task—every April, execute annual automatic tax filing for mistress Lian Mercer.]
[Connection Terminated. Mercer household, logging out.]
The end of the story.
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and then Add to home screen.