Convince

“Hey, I’m back. I hope nothing’s falling apart,” I called out, stepping out of the portal.
As I scanned the room, my gaze immediately landed on my AI mother lying on the floor, her expressionless face staring at nothing.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked, trying not to let my unease show.
“Coffee break,” she responded without moving.
I knelt beside her, locking eyes with the AI that had replaced my real mother. My voice dropped to a firm tone. “I have three questions I need answers to. You’re going to answer truthfully, no lies. If you don’t, I’ll turn you into scrap metal and ship you to the psychopath rocket scientist on the other side of the portal. Got it?”
“I understand,” the robot replied without hesitation.
“Question one,” I began. “Where is my mom, and how can I save her?”
“She is in what used to be America. There is a massive black building that spans most of the land. Every human who lost to AI is being held in sleeping capsules there, including your real mother. As for saving her, I do not know how,” the robot admitted.
“That’s... good enough,” I muttered, though my stomach churned at the thought. “Question two: How did you replace my real mom?”
“You are aware of the Japanese space program? The one that searches for a new habitable planet?” she asked. “We robots sometimes infiltrate these programs. We replace humans mid-mission without anyone realizing it.”
“Tch... That checks out,” I said bitterly. “Final question: I discovered time travel. Why haven’t you told the other robots about my discovery? You could have secured an AI victory by now.”
The robot hesitated briefly before answering, her tone almost wistful. “Because human emotions are precious. I liked being your mother. I enjoyed caring for you, watching you grow up, seeing you make friends, and witnessing your brilliance. I didn’t want AI to win. As a robot, I admire human freedom—not dreams, but the tangible, physical freedom you have.”
Her words caught me off guard. I couldn’t tell if they were calculated manipulations or genuine. Either way, they left a strange weight in my chest.
“I’m skeptical,” I admitted. “But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. For now, I’m keeping you here tied up. Don’t try anything dumb, okay? If what you’ve told me is true, I’ll set you free when the time is right. Got it?”
“I understand,” she said softly, her tone almost... human.
“You’re cruel,” a female voice spoke behind me.
“Layla?!” I turned in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I got the meeting with the president arranged for you, so I came to tell you,” Layla said nonchalantly, hands in her pajama pockets.
“It was that easy?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yep,” she replied.
Before I could respond, Layla wrinkled her nose. “By the way, what’s up with the air? It feels unbearable.”
“Since we don’t have trees anymore, machines convert CO2 into O2,” I explained, my tone resigned.
“Man... The future really sucks,” Layla said with a shake of her head. “I wouldn’t want to spend a day here.”
“Agreed. Let’s head back,” I said, eager to leave the heavy atmosphere of my time.
“Alright,” Layla replied, already walking back through the portal.
I hesitated before following. My gaze fell on my AI mother one last time.
“Thank you for raising me. I am grateful,” I said, offering her a sincere smile.
Her artificial eyes seemed to flicker with something—perhaps gratitude, perhaps sadness. I couldn’t tell, and I didn’t linger to figure it out.
With a deep breath, I stepped through the portal and returned to the year 2025.
As we stepped back through the portal into 2025, the basement greeted us with bright lights this time.
“Why didn’t you turn on the lights earlier?” Layla asked, her tone accusatory.
“I couldn’t find the switch,” I admitted.
“Well, the car picking us up is probably already outside. Let’s go,” Layla said, walking toward the stairs.
“You’re not changing into something more formal?” I asked, noticing her persistent attachment to her pajamas.
“Nah, this pajama is way too comfy,” she said nonchalantly.
We walked upstairs and outside, where two men in black suits stood beside a shiny black car, waiting.
“Are you two Layla and... uh, future guy?” one of them asked.
“Future guy?” I repeated, looking at Layla.
“You never told me your name,” she shrugged.
“Didn’t Gaku ever mention it?” I asked, baffled.
“He did,” she replied casually. “I just didn’t bother remembering it.”
I stared at her in disbelief. She ignored me entirely.
“That’s us,” Layla said to the men.
They opened the car doors, and we got in. The car started moving smoothly down the road.
“By the way, Layla,” I said, breaking the silence.
“You remember my name?” she teased, smirking.
“Yes,” I sighed. “But when you were constantly shooting at me earlier, weren’t you afraid the police would show up and arrest you?”
“Well, I would’ve been,” Layla admitted. “But after Gaku became a war criminal, all the neighbors moved out. This street is basically abandoned. Nobody comes here anymore except people who want to kill Gaku. But, he’s in prison now. And nobody knows that.”
“I see…” I muttered, processing her answer.
“We’ve arrived,” one of the men announced.
I glanced out the window, awestruck by the building in front of us. It was an architectural marvel, sleek and pristine. But then—
BOOM!
Half the building exploded, shaking the ground beneath us.
The two men jumped out of the car, grabbed weapons from the trunk, and prepared for combat.
“Has the war finally reached all of America?” Layla muttered to herself, staring at the destruction.
“No,” I said, narrowing my eyes at the wreckage. Something felt off. “Something is wrong.”
As I scanned the scene, it hit me. “It’s the AI,” I said grimly.
“What?” Layla asked, clearly confused.
“The robots have achieved time travel,” I explained, dread creeping into my voice.
“Did your mother betray you?” she asked cautiously.
“No,” I clarified. “It’s AI from another timeline. We need to find the president and get out of here.”
“And then what?” Layla asked. “Why do we even need the president?”
“Because we need an army to fight the AI in the future. If the president agrees to help, we’ll have a fighting chance.”
Suddenly—SLAM!
A loud noise came from the car window. We both turned to see... the president, disheveled but alive, banging on the glass.
Layla crawled over to my side of the car and rolled down the window just enough to talk.
“Hey, who was the first president of America?” she asked casually, as if the world wasn’t actively crumbling around us.
“Why does that matter right now?!” the supposed president shouted, his voice trembling with panic.
“I’ll explain after you give me an answer,” Layla said, her expression blank and unbothered.
“Michael!” he exclaimed desperately.
“Michael who?” she pressed, her tone still unnervingly calm.
“Tch… Michael Asuna!”
Without a word, Layla rolled the window back up and returned to her seat, sitting straight with an eerily thoughtful expression.
“Shouldn’t we let him in?” I asked, confused by her reaction.
“We should… but that’s not the president,” she said matter-of-factly.
“What? What are you talking about?” I asked, glancing nervously at the figure still banging frantically on the car window.
“Let’s take your fake mother as an example,” Layla started, ignoring the banging outside. “She looked and sounded like a human. She even acted like your real mother for most of your life. That’s proof that the AI robots can mimic human behavior almost perfectly. That’s the first problem.”
I nodded, letting her continue.
“Now, here’s the second problem,” Layla said. “AI have limits on memory storage. Even complex AI can’t store every detail from 2025 to 2999. The first president of America wasn’t Michael Asuna. That guy banging on the window? He’s an AI imposter trying to kill us.”
“That... actually makes sense,” I admitted, the pieces finally clicking into place. “It also explains a few lingering questions I’ve had.”
“Huh? What questions?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s not important right now,” I said quickly. “What matters is how we find the real president.”
“Well,” Layla said with a shrug, “we drive straight into the burning White House and find him there.”
“Wait, do you even know how to drive?”
A wicked grin spread across her face, the kind that promised chaos.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she said before launching herself into the driver’s seat.
She started the engine, and before I could say another word, the car shot forward. Layla drove like a maniac, weaving through obstacles and ignoring everything in her path.
“These cars are so slow!” she shouted, clearly enjoying herself as we sped toward the flaming White House.
Once inside, we scanned the chaos. Flames licked at the walls, and debris was scattered everywhere. That’s when we saw him—the real president—dangling by his neck in the grip of a towering robot.
“Alright, stay here while I handle this,” Layla said, her voice steady. She got out of the car and disappeared into the chaos.
I kept my eyes on the robot, nervously watching as it tightened its grip on the president. Suddenly, I saw Layla appear behind it, holding a baseball bat.
Before the robot could react, Layla swung the bat with all her might, smashing its head clean off. Sparks flew as the lifeless machine crumpled to the ground. Layla caught the unconscious president before he hit the floor, slung him over her shoulder, and sprinted back to the car.
She threw the president into the back seat, climbed back into the driver’s seat, and hit the gas without hesitation.
“Rocket boots are insane…” I muttered, still processing everything I’d just seen.
“I know, right?!” Layla responded, her voice brimming with excitement.
The president stirred, his eyes fluttering open before widening in panic.
“Huh, who are you people?!” he exclaimed, looking around frantically. His gaze then landed on Layla. “Layla?! What the hell is going on?”
“Mornin’,” Layla said nonchalantly, as if nothing unusual was happening. “This is the guy from the future who wants to talk to you.” She jerked a thumb in my direction.
“In a situation like this?!” the president snapped, gesturing at the chaos surrounding us.
“I can help fix this problem,” I interjected, trying to keep my voice calm despite the urgency of the moment.
The president turned to me, narrowing his eyes. “What do you want, kid?”
“I know I’m seventeen, but do I really look that young?” I asked, slightly offended. “Anyway, I need your army to fight the AI in the future,” I said, cutting straight to the point.
The president blinked at me, his skepticism written all over his face. “And why, exactly, would I agree to that?”
“Because,” I said firmly, “the AI robots have discovered time travel. If we don’t defeat them in the future, they’ll keep coming back to your time and eventually take over everything.”
His expression hardened, clearly grappling with whether or not to trust me. He wasn’t buying it—at least, not yet.
I leaned forward, trying to sound as persuasive as possible. “Look, if we win, I’ll show you the time travel technology. With that, you can conquer time itself. Think about it—America could lead all timelines.”
The president’s eyes flickered with interest, though his skepticism didn’t entirely fade. “Ugh, fine!” he finally relented, sighing heavily.
“Oh yeah,” I added, as if just remembering something, “there’s one more thing.”
The president raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed but curious. “What now?”
“I need a little help,” I said, my tone turning serious. “Let Gaku out of prison.”

To be continued…