Chapter 159
115 years after the genocide of the Air Nomads.
City of Tienhai. New Technology Exhibition Center.
Inside the nearly all-glass building, which exuded a futuristic vibe, crowds of people bustled about. The scorching July sun baked their heads, but they seemed oblivious to the heat, fully engrossed in marveling at the inventors' creations.
Today marked the fifth annual World New Technology Exhibition. Anyone who believed they had the right to showcase their genius invention could pass a special committee's evaluation and secure a booth in this building. Every second summer month, the concentration of talented individuals in Tienhai surpassed all imaginable limits.
Some participants aimed to show off their inventions to the world, feeding their egos. Others sought buyers interested in their creations. Many young students were convinced their DIY projects would attract sponsors with just a wave of their hand.
Each year during this month, a dozen new companies emerged in the city-state of Tienhai. Too many? Perhaps. But it's important to understand that the exhibition center featured the top three hundred inventions selected from thousands of others that didn't make the cut. Only a measly dozen could compete for survival in the market. Most often, due to the underdevelopment of related technologies, an invention discovered by a shrewd businessman at the exhibition couldn't be mass-produced: either thousands of skilled professionals would be needed to manually create the product, or one would have to wait for the missing pieces to be invented by others.
The largest crowd, as expected, gathered around this year's dark horse. The location and size of a booth signaled the significance of an invention to the attendees. It's worth noting that the committee members rarely erred in their rankings; after all, they selected knowledgeable people.
The sun had almost dipped below the horizon when soft, unobtrusive music played. In contrast, the crowd, as if gone mad, rushed toward the most prominent booth. "Heated up" by various gadgets, the audience had no idea what to expect from this year's favorite.
"Dear friends, I'm delighted to welcome you to the fifth annual gathering of brilliant minds," said a mature and dignified man, his hair still untouched by gray, with only faint wrinkles around his eyes. Despite his serious tone, he effortlessly energized the crowd, shattering some preconceived notions. Having seen other scholars, they expected a different character. "This is my fifth visit to this wonderful place," he smiled. "Though my previous spots weren't as good..."
A small circle of people already knew him well, and he had even taught shipbuilding to some of the younger attendees. Born in the Fire Nation's capital, Hiroshi Sato dedicated himself to science. As a young man, he graduated from an academy specializing in shipbuilding. But at some point, he felt stuck in his development—a midlife crisis arriving prematurely. And let's be honest, ambition drove him; his soul craved creating something of his own.
Thus, Hiroshi became one of the first students at Tienhai University and simultaneously taught a subject he knew inside out: shipbuilding. In some areas, he was clearly "out of his depth," which is why he had to feel like a student again. Years of hard work bore fruit...