Hi Turil,
thank you for reading my essay, for your comments and question.
On the contrary there is a lot of freedom. The children do a lot of personal study of topics that interest them, they collaborate on virtual reality projects, they are able to freely access the Knowledge Hub, they can indulge in pass-times that are classed as stress relieving such as spending time with the companion animals. They have Greenspace play times. High culture and creativity are measures of success in the sanctuary. I can imagine music composition, virtual,immerse and interactive arts, theater, dance and story telling; as well as scientific investigation of the sanctuary itself to optimize the environment for survival and quality of life. Also biomimicry and bioengineering research and development, and study of weather data for prediction of future challenges. People choose to dedicate their lives to serving the sanctuary in some way, I mentioned also that they can choose to alter their dedication if they desire.
It was not my intention to be depressing but rather to be optimistic that a technological civilization can survive while allowing humanity an enhanced quality of life, better health, dignity and purpose. Yes it is set in a background of devastating climate change and strife but as Vladimir noted it is also based around current scientific knowledge and might be seen as a warning of what might come to pass. I'm afraid I do not think everyone can live happily in the sanctaries as I have talked to Tommaso and Michael about. People can leave if they wish, it is not a prison. They can join the warriors or take their chances, which are not good.
I think it is a far cheerier vision of the future than rise of the machines oppressing humanity, Borg like hive mind post humans, complete collapse of civilization and return to a new dark ages, or a tale of feral, savage humanity trying to survive against the odds, cannibalism as an answer to food shortages and other such horrific scenarios.