**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…
"May I be a bit sentimental?" Hiroshi slightly disappointed the crowd, who had anticipated seeing his invention, but no one booed him. Standing on the main stage, he had already proven to everyone that he had the right to speak openly. "I want to thank everyone who supported me all this time. My parents are no longer with us, but they gave their last pennies to send their wayward son to the academy," he quickly wiped away a lone tear. "I have no words to express how much I value my wife," he cast a tender glance back at the beautiful black-haired woman standing there. It was hard to call her a woman, though there wasn't much of an age difference between her and Hiroshi. "And I haven't forgotten about you, colleagues!" he waved to the front rows, where other scientists and professors sat in a separate area.
After a brief speech, Hiroshi Sato solemnly pulled the cloth off a massive object:
"I present to you—the Satomobile!" he couldn't help but shout. Thousands of eyes beheld a strange yet aesthetically beautiful carriage with an elongated "nose." Hiroshi's friends had already seen this vehicle, so they understood the solemnity of the moment. Starting from the front rows, applause soon engulfed the entire hall. In a way, Hiroshi was now transitioning one era into another…
"Once, ships needed rowers…" Hiroshi continued. "Now it's time to replace pack animals! The Satomobile will let you travel comfortably around the city!" Those who read between the lines understood that beyond the city, where there were no proper roads, the Satomobile would be useless. "Compared to animals, which require constant care, the Satomobile needs minimal maintenance," and again, some heard much more: many could handle animals, but if something broke in the Satomobile, little could be done without a specialist…
"The Satomobile is equipped with an internal combustion engine…" Hiroshi then began rattling off terms and specifications. Somehow, people started looking at the speaker with growing respect. A colossal amount of work had been done! Yes, he might have borrowed some ideas and principles from others, but everything was within the law. Why invent something new when you could simply pay a fee to use someone else's intellectual property?
The presentation was a hit. Undoubtedly, there were those who disliked this mode of transport. For example, people making money from selling pack animals. Unfortunately, they could do nothing. If not him, someone else would drive progress. People, already seasoned by experience—after all, many industries had undergone production transformations in the past decade, forcing the Tienhai government to artificially slow down such a sharp leap—knew better. Had it been otherwise, thousands would have been left jobless. A smoother transition gave citizens time to retrain.
"Report everything you've heard here to headquarters," one man whispered to another. His companion merely nodded slightly, quickly disappearing into the crowd. "I wonder what the leader will decide…"
*
**Sato Family Home. Yo.**
Today, Hiroshi invited me to a celebratory dinner—we were marking the successful establishment of the automobile manufacturing company, "Industry of the Future." Hiroshi himself serves as the executive director, and I am the sole sponsor.
Frankly, I've been observing Hiroshi for a long time. As soon as I heard a name familiar from the animated series, my ears perked up. As far as I understand, the canon aligns somewhat selectively. Hiroshi, and many other significant characters, are born in different years—some earlier, some later. But the fact remains: these individuals largely follow the same script.
"Yakone, my little prodigy…" I probably let my guard down. Most likely, he'll go down the wrong path, if he hasn't already. Besides, my intuition tells me that the lull in the criminal world is somehow connected to him.
Shaking off these thoughts, I focused on the exquisite cooking of Hiroshi's wife, Yasuoko, who, by the way, was also born ahead of her time.
"Excellent cooking, caring nature… it seems I haven't missed anything," I began praising Yasuoko.
"And she's simply a beauty," Hiroshi chimed in, slightly tipsy.
"And wise beyond her years…" I thought. After all, Yasuoko started a relationship with Hiroshi long before he began making money from his inventions. As far as I know, he arrived in Tienhai with practically empty pockets; his various experiments back in the Fire Nation had devoured a huge pile of money. She, in a sense, saw the future general in the sergeant. In a way, she played a role in the emergence of the current Hiroshi Sato. Though, seemingly, she was just a simple clothing store consultant.
"I still vividly remember that day…" Hiroshi forgot he had already told the story of meeting his wife, but I didn't mind hearing it again. "That was the first time I bought myself an official suit, but upon seeing Yasuoko, my head went completely blank…"
"You were so cute, blushing and stammering!" his wife playfully laughed.
"Little Asami is starting to wake up," I didn't want to interrupt their lovey-dovey moment, but a two-year-old child isn't a reason to stay silent.
"I'll be quick! She's probably hungry!"
Soon, another member of the Sato family joined us at the table. The little one curiously examined me with her light-green eyes. They even let me hold the girl, and Asami was clearly not opposed—her face kept making funny expressions at me.
"It's hard to believe this little girl will become a femme fatale in the future," though… looking at her mother, everything falls into place.
I was about to bid farewell to the Sato family when I sensed unknown intelligent beings, including chi-blockers, rapidly approaching the estate. This group likely doesn't have good intentions…
"I knew something was off about that attack and robbery in the animated series," someone benefited from making Hiroshi Sato—a brilliant inventor, mechanic, and businessman—hate benders. "Could the Equalists be arriving early too?" Annoying. No, it's just infuriating that the world is trying to revert to the old canon. "It's too early to draw conclusions; I need to interrogate these guys."
"I think you and your family should move to the new mansion a bit earlier…" there'll be much more space, and you can accommodate even more guards.
"What's going on?" Hiroshi sobered up abruptly.
"It seems you've already caught someone's attention. Someone's surrounding the house."
"Can your benders handle it?" the head of the family asked seriously.
"No problem," I replied immediately. I'm used to protecting my inner circle, and over time, Hiroshi and his family have firmly become part of it. I personally selected all the benders who signed long-term contracts to guard the Sato family. Of course, I could deal with the attackers myself, but I needed to see how the guards would perform in a real battle. Besides, no one knows I'm here with them now.
"Shh, shh, Asami, everything's fine," Yasuoko began soothing her daughter. Outside the house, it's clearly very intense; from the recent explosion, even the windows rattled.
"I'll go check the situation," I abruptly got up. When the enemies realized they couldn't win this battle, they began to retreat sensibly. But our benders didn't let them, and that's when things got strange. Instead of surrendering or continuing the fight, some of them started dying!
With a gust of wind, I appeared on the battlefield, and at that moment, all the enemies fell unconscious.
"I'll take it from here," I told the firebender, who acted as the unofficial leader among the contracted benders. "Get up," I revived one of them. The attacker's flashy suit hinted at ties to the criminal world; they seemed to love wearing colorful official and semi-official attire.
"Shit!" he cursed upon seeing my face. "Greetings to the esteemed Senator and Airbending Master, Yo!" Isn't it a bit late to play dumb?
"Cough-cough," he started coughing as air stopped entering his lungs. "I… I understand…" he gasped. "Our group was simply ordered to rob the Sato family. The New King of the Criminal World," he grimaced, as if he'd eaten the sourest lemon, "doesn't tolerate refusals. So… we had to go," his eyes darted around, as if he wasn't happy with this mission. After all, the Sato family isn't poor—there's plenty to loot.
Next came the interrogation of his accomplices. Among them was a planted agent—this same unknown Leader had ordered him to kill Hiroshi's wife. It's getting more and more interesting, and most importantly—no one knows the Leader's true face. All that's known is that he's connected to these "mask wearers," as they call the second group lying among the bandits.
"Definitely the Equalists!" I cursed to myself, noting that in the series, they also wore similar protective suits. Plus, there wasn't a single bender among them, but the development of certain specific muscles clearly told me they practiced chi-blocking techniques.
The interrogation with them didn't go well either…
"We… fight… for… the rights… of ordinary… people…" and this Equalist simply killed himself.
At first, everything went well enough, but when he realized there was no escape, something in his head snapped, and he started repeating the same phrase. Simultaneously, his body began self-destructing, as if he'd ordered it to liquidate itself… No matter how much I healed him, he kept self-destructing anew.
"No, this can't be," I shook my head in disbelief. All this resembles the soft implants all government officials in Tienhai undergo. Only here, they've clearly been maxed out! So, criminal groups simply aren't given all the information—they're just pawns. Rank-and-file members of the organization are protected from interrogations. I'm no expert in brainwashing, but I know a thing or two, having partially participated in creating soft implants. Therefore, I can confidently say that without full agreement with the ideas, a person's subconscious will quickly suppress such harsh postulates that contradict their primary instinct—survival. Still, it's brilliant!
Looks like there are spies in government structures too… A boring week of checks awaits. And the Sato family's security needs to be strengthened.