The Advanced Engineering Lab was a sterile sanctuary of high-end circuitry and the steady, rhythmic hum of liquid-cooled servers. Usually, it was a place where Rohini could disappear into the logic of a machine, but today, the air was thick with the scent of expensive cologne and the crushing weight of university politics.

The Dean had made it clear: the University was pushing for a massive influx of private tech funding, and to get it, they needed to showcase their "rising stars." Kabir Malhotra’s project, a revolutionary networking architecture that had dominated the recent university gala, was the crown jewel of the presentation.