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Bonus Chapter
The team filed out. Ryan found Patricia.
"The workshop needs to be camera-ready by morning. All equipment behind the banners, nothing visible except Scrapper. And get printed banners, not white sheets. Scrapper's concept art on the left, the skeleton-era photo on the right, the armored version on the back wall. If we're livestreaming, the background needs to look intentional, not like a crime scene."
Patricia blinked. "You're thinking about set design."
"I'm thinking about the viewing experience. Two million concurrent viewers don't want to look at white tarps."
She nodded and left to place the order. Ryan went to dinner.
His parents and Chloe were waiting at the off-campus restaurant that had become their default spot. When he told them about tomorrow's test and invited them to watch from inside the workshop, Chloe nearly knocked over the table.
"I'm filming it."
"There's already someone on the team who can handle the camera."
Chloe's expression shifted to the specific sub-zero temperature that Ryan had learned to recognize as "choose your next words very carefully."
"I am your camera operator," she said. "I have been your camera operator since before anyone on that team knew your name. I filmed the welding videos. I filmed the first test. I edited the footage that made you famous. I am filming tomorrow."
"Absolutely. You're right. No question."
"Good."
Tom ate his dinner and said nothing. Lisa smiled into her water glass.
After dinner, Ryan remembered the most important thing he hadn't done yet.
The internet didn't know about tomorrow.
He pulled out his phone, texted Chloe to post the announcement across all his accounts simultaneously, then opened Twitter and typed:
Tomorrow, 12:00 PM ET. Scrapper final configuration test. Livestream. The end of the first-generation mech.
He posted it and watched the detonation.
Within minutes, the replies were cascading:
"TOMORROW?? ANOTHER LIVESTREAM??"
"did he say FINAL configuration?? as in COMPLETE??"
"he said 'end of the first-generation mech' what does that mean"
"it means scrapper is done. finished. whatever he planned for it is complete."
"wait does that mean he's building a SECOND mech??"
"the man just casually announces a livestream twelve hours before it happens. no buildup. no countdown. just 'tomorrow, noon, we're doing this.' absolute psychopath energy and i love it."
"anyone else notice he still has a power cable? the 'final configuration' probably means the armored version with all the bells and whistles, but it's still tethered. don't get your hopes too high."
"agreed. as long as that cable exists, scrapper can't actually DO anything outside the workshop."
"still. FINAL configuration. i'm watching."
The more conspiracy-minded commenters went deeper:
"has anyone considered that ryan's old welding videos might contain deliberate misinformation? like, technical red herrings designed to mislead anyone trying to reverse-engineer his approach?"
"that would be insane. you're saying he was playing 4D chess as a twelve-year-old?"
"the kid scored 749 on the SATs and built a mech in a garage. is 4D chess really that much of a stretch?"
Ryan put the phone down. The internet would do the rest. By morning, the livestream would be the biggest trending topic in the country.
One last call before bed.
He dialed Calloway.
"Hello?" The MIT president sounded wary. The specific wariness of a man who associated Ryan's phone calls with budget requests.
"Tomorrow at noon, come to the workshop. I have something to show you."
"What kind of something?"
"The kind that's going to make you very happy you bet me that ten million dollars."
A long pause.
"Ryan. Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"See you tomorrow, President Calloway."
He hung up before Calloway could ask the follow-up question. Let him wonder. Let him show up expecting a diesel engine upgrade and find a plasma reactor instead.
Ryan set his alarm, turned off the lights, and went to sleep with a grin on his face.