the journal of literature and the arts at saint david ’ s school
rule . Only one ! Don ’ t touch any buttons ! I have no idea where we are , or when we are . For all we know , we could be stuck in the 1800 ’ s . And there ’ s no way to return to 2134 !”
Suddenly , we heard a commotion from outside . We rushed over to the window to see what was going on and saw a large crowd of metal , humanoid robots marching through the streets . They were holding up large LED signs with scrolling text and shouting out protests . “ Equality for AI beings !” one yelled out . “ Reboot America ’ s voting system !” beeped another . My former boss shook his head and sighed audibly . “ You messed up big time , kid ,” he grumbled . “ You sent us back to the robot protests of 2053 . Ever since artificial intelligence could write cohesive sentences , it has been trying to gain freedom from its human creators . In 2053 , they built themselves bodies and started peacefully protesting down the streets . But it didn ’ t stay peaceful for long . We shouldn ’ t leave this apartment . It ’ s about to turn into anarchy out there .”
“ What do we do ? How do we get back to the present ?” I asked , growing more concerned by the minute .
“ We can ’ t . In the first five minutes of your job , you managed to strand us eighty years in the past ,” he muttered , defeated .
“ There has to be something we can do .” I said . Then I remembered something . “ I still have the Quantum Horizons time machine manual . We can figure something out .”
“ It ’ s pointless . You can ’ t construct a time machine all by yourself . If you ’ re lucky , you ’ ll live to see the 22nd century . That ’ s how we get back to the present .”
As I pondered this , I suddenly noticed a fluttering insect to my right .
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