'Insert the coin to continue' says a small text box before my vision. I groan and try to swipe left. Left. Left. Left, damn you! I have 3 more hours!

I sigh. I take the virtual reality headset off and rifle around in my pockets. I don't have a single Action coin. Shit.

I put the headset on the coffee table and head to my room. I used to have a whole tin of the shiny little buggers. Now I only have my emergency one in my wallet... It'll have to do.

I grab my wallet and get the coin out. Knowing it's my last one, I realise I have to be careful with it. No more fooling around.

I insert the coin into my headset and put it on. I'm brought back to the last place I was: the school coffee shop. I was chatting instead of doing my essay and now I only have 4 hours due to my old-ass set's malfunction. Fuck.

I run to the library so I can concentrate. I'm left with silence in my brain as well as in this building hologram. Maybe creativity really is dead.

Maybe that's the subject of my paper! But what can I say if I can't be creative? I guess it isn't dead. I'm just lazy and uninspired.

I try to move on to the next topic but I keep hearing this ticking sound. It sounds like one of those old clocks that had hands that really moved and stuff. The ticking starts to get louder.

I take off my headset and look around. There's nothing in the real world that would make that sound. I put my headset back on and listen harder. The ticking seems to be coming from inside the program.

I get up and start looking around. There's no pretend old-style clock around. Then I look around at the students. No one seems to notice the sound but me.

I must be going insane. I take my headset off and jump at the sight of an old man. The bearded old man is holding an old pocketwatch right in front of my face.

"Who-who are you? Why didn't I see you before?" I ask, putting my headset down.

"I'm a representative. You didn't see me because I didn't want you to yet." He says, chuckling.

"What do you want?" I ask impatiently, putting my hands on my hips.

"Just a little bit of your time." He answers, putting the clock in his giant, black trenchcoat.

"I don't have time. I have an essay to work on." I say, sourly.

"Oh. And how's that going, Christina?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Not well but if you hadn't interrupted me maybe I-" I let myself trail off. I know damn well I was getting nowhere. And, hey, how does he know my name?

"Why do you waste so much time in that thing? It isn't good for you." He says, pointing at my headset.

"So? What's it to you? And how did you get in here?" I ask, turning it off to save the hours I have.

"The door was unlocked. I'm from the future. I'm here to warn you about the singularity." He says.

"It's 2022. It should happen any day now, right? What a joke." I say, scoffing.

"Oh, it will come. And when it does, people like you will be lost without your machines to guide you. The machines will take over and humanity will become almost extinct." He says, matter-of-factly.

"Why should I trust you?" I say, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I'm your dad from the year 2040. I know he is too stubborn to listen but you're not." He says, pulling at his beard. I look at his eyes. They are my dad's. I almost fall down in shock.

"Say I do believe you. What do I do?" I ask, grabbing onto my coffee table for support.

"Remember how to use the analog things that have been thrown away and don't trust machines. Stop relying on computers to bring you joy. In the end they will only bring horrible, horrible pain." He says, handing me his pocketwatch. "I saved this for you."

And with that, he walks out of my house. 

I am left in shock but not sure what to believe. He could have left me some more information. When is the singularity going to happen? Is it all at once or gradual? 

All of a sudden I know what my essay topic is and always was: Surviving the Singularity. I decide to hand-write it and use the computer for only my final copy. I just hope I remember how to write...