Some copper wire.
A crude set of blades.
But Adrian had spent his entire adult life learning to see what other people overlooked.
He rotated the central assembly.
Then stopped.
His eyebrows rose.
“Where did you get these magnets?”
Eli wiped his face.
“Old speakers.”
“You arranged them yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Eli hesitated.
“To reduce drag.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Show me.”
Eli pointed toward the broken core.
“The magnets aren't supposed to touch.”
“Why?”
“Because the opposing fields suspend the shaft.”
Adrian slowly looked up.
“You built a magnetic bearing?”
Eli nodded.
“With scrap?”
“Yes.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirteen.”
Adrian stood.
He looked at the audience.
Then at the broken machine.
Then at the boy who had destroyed it.
“You have any idea what you just broke?”
The bully shrugged.
“A toy.”
Adrian's expression became cold.
“No.”
He lifted the damaged core.
“You broke something you were too ignorant to understand.”
The bully laughed nervously.
“It's just a science fair project.”
Adrian turned toward him.
“No.”
His voice carried across the auditorium.
“It isn't.”
He raised the broken mechanism.
“This is a prototype energy-harvesting system.”
Nobody moved.
Adrian continued.
“This child designed a low-friction rotational assembly using permanent magnets, then integrated it with a variable-speed generator.”
The judges leaned forward.
One of them stood.
Adrian looked at Eli.
“You calculated the magnetic spacing yourself?”
Eli nodded.
“I tested fourteen versions.”
“Fourteen?”
“Thirteen failed.”
Adrian almost smiled.
“That means you were doing real engineering.”
Eli blinked.
Adrian turned toward the judges.
“Look at this.”
He held up a twisted copper coil.
“This isn't random.”
He pointed to the winding.
“He adjusted the coil density according to expected rotational speed.”
One of the judges whispered:
“How did a thirteen-year-old do this?”
Adrian answered without looking away.
“By actually understanding what he's building.”
The audience began murmuring.
The bully's confidence disappeared.
But Adrian wasn't finished.
He looked at the broken glass housing.
“This isn't decoration either.”
Eli shook his head.
“It keeps the airflow stable.”
Adrian crouched again.
“You designed the chamber?”
“Yes.”
“Why glass?”
“It's cheap.”