Blake lunged forward. «Don’t answer that! These systems control critical infrastructure. One mistake could…»
«Could what?» Maya looked at him curiously. «Make them work better like the car system?»
The room went silent at her simple logic. Blake realized his objection made no sense. If Maya improved the vehicle AI, why wouldn’t she improve other systems too?
Ford’s representative pulled out his laptop. «Dr. Blake, our internal analysis shows Maya’s fixes have eliminated 93% of processing errors. Our liability insurance costs could drop by millions.»
Blake’s desperation peaked. «This is insane. She’s a child. She doesn’t understand liability regulations, compliance standards, corporate responsibility…»
Maya tilted her head. «Do computers care about those things?»
«What?»
«The computers just want clear instructions, right? They don’t care who gives the instructions as long as they make sense.»
Dr. Carter smiled despite the tension. «She has a point, Blake.»
Blake felt his last shred of authority slipping away. The child was too logical, too correct, too devastatingly effective. His assistant rushed over with urgent news.
«Sir, Microsoft is on line one. Google is holding on line two. They both want to discuss partnership opportunities with Maya.»
The room buzzed with excitement. The biggest tech companies in the world were trying to poach an eight-year-old who had outperformed Blake’s entire team. Blake’s board members began calling. Investors were demanding emergency meetings. Competitors were circling like sharks, sensing blood in the water.
«This has gone too far,» Blake announced desperately. «Maya, thank you for your contribution, but I think it’s time for you and your mother to go home.»
«Actually,» Toyota’s CEO stood up. «We’d like Maya to stay. We’re prepared to pay consultancy fees for her continued assistance.»
Blake’s face turned red. «You can’t hire her. She’s eight! There are child labor laws, legal restrictions, educational requirements.»
Maya looked at the adults arguing about her like she wasn’t there. «Can I just look at the other screens? I promise I won’t break anything.»
Her innocent request silenced the room. How do you deny a child who’s already saved your company millions? Dr. Carter pulled up the hospital management system.
«What do you think, Maya?»
Maya studied the display with intense concentration. Within minutes, she pointed to several areas. «Same problems. The computers are getting confused about questions and commands.»
More frantic verification. More confirmed errors. Each fix improved system performance dramatically. Blake watched his professional world crumble. A child was systematically exposing years of his team’s failures in front of the most important clients in the industry.
The financial trading system was next. Maya found 17 critical errors in 20 minutes — errors that could have cost investors billions in miscalculated trades. Blake’s phone rang constantly. Job offers for Maya poured in from tech giants. Media requests multiplied by the hour. His own shareholders were questioning his leadership competence.
«Stop,» Blake said quietly.
The room turned to him.
«I said stop,» Blake’s voice cracked with desperation. «This is my company, my systems, my team. I won’t have some…» He paused, searching for words that wouldn’t sound completely cruel. «Some untrained child making us look incompetent.»
Maya looked at him with the devastating honesty only children possess. «But Mr. Blake, I’m not making you look incompetent. You already were incompetent. I’m just showing everyone.»
The room fell dead silent. Blake realized he’d just been publicly destroyed by an eight-year-old’s perfectly logical observation. But Maya wasn’t done with him yet. The biggest revelation was still coming.
Blake’s humiliation went viral instantly. The clip of Maya’s devastating comeback spread across every social platform. #MayaRoastsBlake became the number one trending topic worldwide.
But Blake wasn’t finished. If he was going down, he’d take this arrogant child with him. «Fine,» Blake announced with dangerous calm. «You think you’re so clever? Let’s make this interesting.»
He gestured to his assistant, who wheeled in a massive display showing Mathcore’s complete system architecture. Millions of lines of code controlling everything from traffic lights to hospital life support.
«24 hours,» Blake declared. «Find and fix every error in our entire infrastructure. All of it. If you succeed, I’ll personally write you a check for $100 million.»
The room gasped. Blake was betting his entire fortune on destroying an eight-year-old’s confidence.
«But when you fail,» Blake’s smile turned cruel, «you and your mother leave this building forever, and we announce to the world that your earlier success was just beginner’s luck.»
Maya looked at the overwhelming wall of data. Thousands of systems, millions of potential errors — an impossible task for a team of experts, let alone one small girl.
Rosa stepped protectively toward her daughter. «Maya, we don’t need to do this. You’ve already proven yourself.»
But Maya studied the screens with quiet intensity. «It’s okay, Mommy. I see the patterns now.»
Dr. Carter looked worried. «Maya, this is different from the simple fixes before. This is enterprise-level complexity. Infrastructure that can’t fail.»
Blake’s confidence returned as doubt crept across the room. «Exactly. Real systems require real expertise, not party tricks from a child who got lucky.»
The automotive executives exchanged uncertain glances. Maybe Blake was right. Maybe Maya’s success had been coincidental. Blake pushed his advantage.
«Of course, if you’re scared, we can call this whole thing off. No shame in admitting when you’re out of your depth.»
Maya looked up at him with calm determination. «I’m not scared, Mr. Blake. Are you?»
The challenge hung in the air like electricity. Blake realized he’d just been goaded into a public bet by an eight-year-old, but backing down now would look even worse.
«Fine. 24 hours, starting now.»
The clock began ticking at 2:17 PM. Maya sat at Dr. Carter’s workstation, her small hands barely reaching the keyboard. The main screen showed system after system: financial networks, medical databases, transportation grids, communication infrastructures.
Hour one: Maya developed her strategy. Instead of reading every line of code, she looked for pattern repetitions. The same types of mistakes appeared across different systems.
Hour three: First breakthrough. Maya identified five common error patterns that appeared hundreds of times throughout Mathcore’s code. Each pattern represented the same basic confusion between asking and telling.
Blake paced nervously, checking his watch every few minutes. The livestream audience had grown to 6 million viewers. Betting pools opened on social media about Maya’s chances.
Hour five: Maya’s systematic approach began paying off. She found clusters of errors in the financial trading system that could have triggered market crashes. Dr. Carter verified each discovery with growing amazement.
Blake started his psychological warfare. «Getting tired yet, Maya? This isn’t like finding one or two simple mistakes. This is serious work.»
Hour eight: Maya had identified over 200 critical errors. Each fix improved system performance measurably. Her method was working, but the scope was enormous. Blake sensed doubt creeping into the room.
«Look at her, she’s exhausted. This is exactly why we have age restrictions in professional environments.»
Rosa brought Maya a sandwich, worried about her daughter pushing so hard. «Mija, maybe you should rest.»
«I’m okay, Mommy. I’m starting to understand how Mr. Blake’s programmers think. They make the same mistakes over and over.»
Hour 12, midnight. Maya had found over 400 errors across dozens of systems, but thousands more lines of code remained unchecked. Blake’s confidence grew as fatigue showed on Maya’s young face.
«Perhaps we should call this off. It’s past a reasonable bedtime for children.»
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