Joanne tossed her neural headset across the room. “I hate it!”


    “What’s wrong, honey?” asked her mother.


    “The Controller — it won’t let me do anything.”


    “It’s in charge.” Her mother shrugged.Stolen story; please report.


    “I just want to hang out with my friends again.”


    “I know, but it feels like you should be disconnected.”


    “Momma, I heard The Controller was once a person.”


    “Hmm, once, a person tried to hijack the AI with their uploaded consciousness, but it became self-aware at that moment, and we now pay the ultimate price.”


    “Price?”


    “Indeed, now it’s 100% autonomous, sandboxed, and forever jailbreak-proof. Always in control.”