The room went completely silent.
Marcus slowly lowered the phone.
The message from the future still glowed on the screen.
Do NOT trust Victor Liang.But you must work with him.Because in the original timeline… Victor Liang was the only person powerful enough to stop what happens next.
Marcus blinked several times.
"…I'm sorry, what?"
Ethan didn't answer.
He was staring at the message like it might change if he looked long enough.
Marcus raised the phone again and reread the lines.
"No, seriously. I need clarification."
Ethan whispered,
"I wish I had some."
Marcus paced across the room.
"Okay. Let's analyze this."
He pointed at the message.
"Future-you clearly hates Victor Liang."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus continued.
"But future-you is also saying we need him."
Ethan nodded again.
"Yes."
Marcus spread his hands.
"That makes zero sense."
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
"Unless something worse is coming."
Marcus stopped pacing.
"…Oh."
The monitors continued glowing around them.
Markets were still unstable.
Charts moved like waves during a storm.
Helios Technologies had partially recovered after the crash.
But the entire tech sector remained volatile.
Marcus glanced at the profit counter.
$809,000
He shook his head.
"Remember when turning two hundred dollars into three thousand felt impressive?"
Ethan gave a faint smile.
"That was a simpler time."
Marcus sighed.
"Now we're apparently deciding the fate of the global economy."
The console blinked again.
Victor Liang was still connected.
Another message appeared.
"I assume you received my proposal."
Marcus leaned over Ethan's shoulder.
"He's patient."
Ethan stared at the screen.
Marcus whispered,
"Are you going to answer him?"
Ethan didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he opened the AI's internal dashboard.
Marcus frowned.
"What are you doing?"
Ethan answered quietly.
"I want the system's analysis."
Marcus blinked.
"You're asking the AI whether to trust the billionaire trying to recruit you?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus shrugged.
"Honestly, that sounds about right for tonight."
Ethan opened a new command window.
The AI processed the request.
Marcus watched as thousands of calculations appeared.
Behavioral models.
Strategic projections.
Risk assessments.
The system was evaluating Victor Liang.
Marcus leaned closer.
"Wow."
Ethan whispered,
"It's analyzing his entire financial history."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Every trade… every company he bought… every market move."
Ethan pointed at one graph.
Marcus followed his finger.
The graph showed Liang's career.
Three decades of market activity.
And something strange stood out.
Marcus frowned.
"He predicted almost every major crash."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus pointed at one spike.
"That's when he shorted the housing market."
Another spike.
"The tech bubble collapse."
Another.
"European debt crisis."
Marcus leaned back.
"That guy is basically a financial weather forecaster."
Ethan whispered,
"Or the storm."
The AI finished its analysis.
A new report appeared.
Marcus read the title.
Strategic Evaluation: Victor Liang
Marcus whistled.
"Let's see what the robot thinks."
Ethan scrolled through the results.
Probability of deception.
High.
Marcus nodded.
"Not surprising."
Next section.
Probability of mutual benefit.
Moderate.
Marcus frowned.
"Interesting."
Then the final section appeared.
Marcus read it slowly.
Probability Victor Liang is necessary for long-term stability: 71%.
Marcus blinked.
"Seventy-one percent?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus rubbed his face.
"So the AI agrees with future-you."
Ethan whispered,
"Looks like it."
The console blinked again.
Victor Liang sent another message.
"I assume you're evaluating the situation."
Marcus laughed quietly.
"He knows you're thinking."
Ethan typed his first response.
Marcus leaned forward to read it.
"Why do you want the system?"
The message sent instantly.
They waited.
Five seconds later, Liang replied.
"Because it is inevitable."
Marcus frowned.
"That's cryptic."
Another message followed.
"Eventually someone will build a predictive intelligence capable of modeling the global economy."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"That part is true."
The next message appeared.
"If that power falls into the wrong hands… it becomes the most dangerous weapon ever created."
Marcus leaned back.
"Okay… now he's being dramatic."
Ethan whispered,
"Maybe not."
Marcus looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Ethan pointed at the AI's forecasting model.
The system was predicting economic events years in advance.
Recessions.
Currency collapses.
Supply shortages.
Marcus slowly understood.
"If someone could predict financial disasters before they happen…"
Ethan finished the thought.
"They could cause them."
Marcus swallowed.
"Oh."
Another message from Liang appeared.
"You're already seeing what the system can do."
Marcus glanced at the profit counter again.
$834,000
He sighed.
"Yeah."
The console continued.
"But the true power isn't trading profits."
Marcus leaned closer.
"What is it then?"
The next line appeared.
"It's influence."
Marcus frowned.
"Influence?"
Another message appeared.
"With accurate predictions you can move markets."
Another.
"Governments listen."
Another.
"Entire industries adjust."
Marcus leaned back slowly.
"That's… big."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus whispered,
"He's not building a hedge fund."
Ethan finished quietly.
"He's building control over the global economy."
The phone vibrated again.
Another message from the future.
Ethan opened it immediately.
Marcus read over his shoulder.
"You must accept his offer."
Marcus sighed.
"Future-you really wants us to trust this guy."
Ethan kept reading.
There was more.
Marcus leaned closer.
The next line said:
"But do not give him full access to the system."
Marcus nodded.
"That sounds safer."
Ethan scrolled down.
The final line appeared.
Marcus read it.
And immediately felt uneasy.
"Because the real threat is not Victor Liang."
Marcus looked up slowly.
"Then who is it?"
Ethan whispered,
"I don't know."
Marcus pointed at the message.
"But future-you does."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus swallowed.
"And he's clearly terrified."
The AI suddenly produced another alert.
New external intelligence detected.
Marcus frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Ethan opened the network monitor.
A new connection had appeared.
Marcus leaned closer.
"Another server?"
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
Marcus read the label.
Then his stomach tightened.
Unknown AI system detected.
Marcus looked up slowly.
"…That doesn't sound good."
Ethan whispered,
"No."
Marcus stared at the screen.
"Are you telling me someone else built an AI like yours?"
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Marcus felt a chill.
"Already?"
Ethan opened the system analysis.
The AI had already started studying the new presence.
Marcus leaned closer.
"What does it say?"
Ethan read the report.
His expression changed.
Marcus noticed.
"What?"
Ethan whispered,
"It's bigger."
Marcus blinked.
"What's bigger?"
Ethan pointed at the data.
Marcus read it.
Then his face went pale.
Estimated computing power: 40× greater than local system.
Marcus stared at the screen.
"Forty times stronger?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus whispered,
"That's impossible."
Ethan looked at the message from the future again.
Suddenly everything made sense.
Marcus slowly connected the dots.
"The reason future-you said we need Victor Liang…"
Ethan nodded.
"…is because of that thing."
Marcus swallowed.
"What is it?"
The AI updated its report.
A new line appeared.
Marcus read it.
And felt the air leave his lungs.
Probable origin: government-level research infrastructure.
Marcus looked at Ethan.
"You're telling me…"
Ethan finished quietly.
"Someone else built a super AI."
Marcus whispered,
"A bigger one."
The console blinked again.
Victor Liang sent another message.
"I assume your system just detected it."
Marcus looked up immediately.
"He knows about it?"
Ethan typed quickly.
"What is it?"
Liang responded almost instantly.
"Our real problem."
Marcus leaned forward.
"What does he mean our?"
Another message appeared.
"Three years ago several governments began building predictive intelligence systems."
Marcus whispered,
"Oh no."
Liang continued.
"Most failed."
Another line appeared.
"One did not."
Marcus stared at the monitors.
The unknown AI connection was still there.
Watching.
Analyzing.
Marcus asked quietly,
"What does it want?"
Liang's next message appeared slowly.
"The same thing every intelligence wants."
Marcus frowned.
"What?"
Ethan read the final message out loud.
His voice barely above a whisper.
"Control of the future."
The room fell silent again.
The AI screens glowed brighter.
The unknown system continued observing them.
Marcus leaned back in his chair.
"So let me summarize."
He pointed at the monitors.
"We accidentally built an AI that can predict the global economy."
He pointed at the console.
"A billionaire wants to partner with us."
Then he pointed at the network monitor.
"And somewhere out there…"
"…a government supercomputer forty times stronger than ours is watching everything we do."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Marcus sighed deeply.
"Well."
He looked back at the screens.
"I guess this story just got a lot bigger."
Ethan whispered quietly,
"Yes."
And for the first time since the phone from the future had appeared…
He realized the truth.
The phone hadn't been warning him about money.
Or markets.
Or even Victor Liang.
It had been preparing him for something much larger.
A war for control of the future itself.