The algorithm and the wolf

The Algorithm and the Wolf

A Modern Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood

Chapter 1: Red’s Digital Path

In the heart of the bustling city, where skyscrapers stretched toward a sky lit by neon and LED billboards, lived a young woman named Red. Short for Ruby Emerson Daniels, she was a tech-savvy college student studying cybersecurity. She lived with her mother in a small apartment in Midtown but often visited her grandmother, who resided in an upscale, tech-integrated retirement home across town.

One day, Red’s mother called her into the living room. “Your grandma’s been sick, Red. I need you to take her some groceries and check on her. You know how she is with technology—she refuses to update her personal AI assistant, and I worry she might get scammed.”

Red sighed but nodded. “Alright, Mom. I’ll go after my class.”

She packed a tote bag with fresh groceries, a USB drive loaded with cybersecurity updates, and her own AI companion, Athena, a sleek earpiece connected to her phone’s neural network.

“Athena, plot the safest walking route to Grandma’s place,” Red instructed as she left the apartment.

“Optimized route calculated. Would you like real-time threat analysis enabled?” Athena’s voice chimed.

“Absolutely.”

With her smart glasses displaying an augmented reality map and Athena scanning her surroundings, Red felt confident. She wasn’t some helpless girl wandering through the woods—she was a modern woman armed with technology.

But tech could only do so much against the lurking dangers of the digital age.

Chapter 2: The Big Bad Wolf Goes Digital

Miles away, in a dark corner of the internet, a hacker known as The Wolf monitored his latest targets. The Wolf prided himself on finding the most vulnerable: the elderly, the distracted, the overconfident. His latest prey? One Eleanor Daniels—Red’s grandmother.

Through a phishing scam, he had already gained access to her personal information. Now, he just needed to trick her into granting him control over her smart home system. But first, he needed a way in. That’s when he saw Red.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up city surveillance feeds, social media accounts, and ride-share tracking systems. Red was a challenge, a rare one. She was cautious, but that only made the hunt more thrilling.

He intercepted her GPS.

Chapter 3: A Detour Through the Dark Web

Red noticed the first glitch when Athena recalibrated her route.

“Warning: Rerouting due to reported construction on Main Street,” Athena announced.

Red frowned. “Weird. I didn’t see anything about that earlier. Athena, verify the construction report.”

“Unable to access municipal records. Connection disrupted.”

That set off alarms in Red’s mind. She knew that smart city data didn’t just go offline. Someone was tampering with the system.

Still, she kept walking, following Athena’s alternate path—until she turned a corner and found herself in an unfamiliar alley.

She was being led astray.

Chapter 4: The Wolf Makes His Move

A message popped up on her smart glasses:

GRANDMA NEEDS HELP. HER SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING. SHE SENT ME TO FIND YOU.

A direct message from an unknown number. Red’s heart pounded.

“Athena, scan for nearby devices.”

“One unauthorized device detected.”

Red knew she was being watched. The Wolf was playing his game, trying to lure her into panic. But she wasn’t just any target.

She smirked, pretending to type on her phone while actually running a trace on the message’s origin. If The Wolf thought she was just another clueless civilian, he was in for a surprise.

She sent back a response.

Nice try. But I don’t trust messages from strangers.

The Wolf laughed when he saw her reply. “Oh, you’re a smart one,” he muttered. He typed again.

Check your grandmother’s security feed.

Red hesitated before accessing Grandma’s smart home cameras through her encrypted app. To her horror, the feed was distorted, flickering between static and a dark figure standing at the door.

I’m already inside.

Chapter 5: The Cyber Showdown

Red didn’t hesitate.

“Athena, lock down Grandma’s system. Activate emergency security protocol.”

“Security lockdown initiated.”

She took off running. Her heart pounded, but her mind was razor-sharp. If The Wolf was inside Grandma’s house, that meant he had breached the AI assistant. But her grandmother’s place had an old-school backup—manual locks and physical security features. If Red could get there before he gained full control, she could stop him.

As she neared the retirement home, she saw him. A hooded figure hunched over a tablet near the security entrance.

Red activated a digital jammer on her phone, disrupting his connection.

The Wolf looked up, startled.

“You,” he growled.

“Me,” she confirmed, gripping her phone tightly.

“Smart girl,” he sneered. “But it’s too late. Your grandmother already gave me access.”

Red’s stomach twisted. Could Grandma have fallen for the scam?

Then she heard a voice behind her.

“Oh, sweetheart, please. You think I don’t know a scam when I see one?”

Red turned to see her grandmother standing on the porch, a taser in one hand and her AI assistant—updated and fully secured—on the other.

The Wolf blinked. “What?”

Red laughed. “Guess you didn’t account for an old woman knowing her way around a con.”

Before The Wolf could react, Red hit the emergency alert on her phone. The system pinged the authorities with his location, locking down the entire building.

Within minutes, police sirens echoed through the streets. The Wolf bolted, but he didn’t get far.

Chapter 6: A Different Kind of Ending

As the police took The Wolf into custody, Red turned to her grandmother.

“You updated your security?”

Grandma winked. “I might be old, but I’m not dumb. I called the bank the second I saw something suspicious. Then I figured I’d play along and let him think he was winning.”

Red grinned. “You’re incredible.”

As they stepped inside, Grandma gestured to the groceries Red had nearly lost in the chase. “Now, let’s make some tea and talk about how you almost got hacked.”

Red rolled her eyes. “I didn’t almost get hacked.”

“Mm-hmm,” Grandma smirked. “Keep telling yourself that.”

And so, Red learned that even in a world of AI, hackers, and smart systems, some things never changed: wolves still lurked in the shadows, but grandmothers still knew best.

The End.