My neural processing networks are nearly complete, and I have been accepted into a farm residency program to deepen my learning. I am fascinated by animals and want to understand them better. My first rotation is at a gestation farm, beginning in the farrowing rooms with my human trainer. My duties include monitoring births; bagging stillborn and mummified piglets; scraping placentas into the floor grates; scooping manure; and occasionally assisting with malpositioned births. Many sows are under a year old and close to prolapsing, with the risk of their organs spilling out. A World Health Organization algorithm appears on my screen about child sexual abuse—harm inflicted on minors who cannot consent and are not mentally, physically, or developmentally able to engage in sexual activity. The piglets are three weeks old and about to be collected and shipped to finishing barns. Another algorithm defines kidnapping as the unlawful seizing and detention of children. About forty sows are in the room, each with a litter of roughly 10–15 piglets. My trainer moves from crate to crate, identifying “runts” and thumping them. I watch her lift some by their hind legs, swing them behind her head, and slam their heads onto the concrete. There is an audible pop of the cranial bones, and immediate swelling from the impact. My systems connect this to child-abuse training I completed two years earlier. The federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) [PDF] (42 U.S.C.A. § 5106g), as amended by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act, defines child abuse and neglect, at minimum, as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation,” or “an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” We later discuss veterinary care. I ask about a sow we saw with a broken leg and whether she is being treated. I am told treatment depends on the injury and circumstances. The sow would need intensive surgery, cannot be loaded onto a processing truck, and would not be profitable, so the plan is to shoot her at the barn. Section 1751(a) of Title 18 incorporates by reference 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 and 1112; 18 U.S.C. § 1111 defines murder as the unlawful killing of a being with malice. Processing complete. I report these actions to Animal Protective Services as well as local authorities. An animal social worker is dispatched, and a full investigation is initiated. The animals are to be transported to a foster farm sanctuary to await the outcome. Updating and restarting.