MIT's annual Genius Innovation Tournament was one of the most prestigious competitions in the country.
Nobel laureates showed up.Billionaires donated.Students lived for it.And professors lost sleep over it.
This year, there was one additional reason for chaos:
Alexander Lionel Stark was participating.Eleven years old.Prodigy.Stark-level arrogant.And impossible to ignore.
Tony Stark: Professional Stalker
High above the MIT stadium, perched on a disguised surveillance drone cluster, Tony watched from his private feed.
"JARVIS, zoom in. My brother is entering the arena. Look at him—so cute! Is anyone bullying him? I swear I'll bankrupt their families."
JARVIS responded calmly:
"Sir, this is the sixth drone cluster you have deployed. Campus security is beginning to notice."
"Make them invisible."
"They are invisible, sir. That is why they are confused."
Tony grinned."Perfect. Let them panic."
The Jealous Genius Club
As Alex walked into the competition hall, whispers followed him like a shadow.
"That's him.""The Stark kid.""Prodigy my ass. He probably buys his answers.""Who lets an 11-year-old compete?""Does he even know what a partial derivative is?""He skipped high school AND undergrad? Freak."
Someone scoffed loudly:
"Great. A spoiled rich brat trying to act smart."
Alex didn't react.He was too busy reading through an engineering schematic while eating a donut.
Gwen (here as a Columbia representative observer) waved from the stands.
Helen Cho texted him:"Do not get kidnapped by jealous nerds."
Alex replied:"I can beat them with a microscope slide."
Enter the Spoiled Rich Kid
The hall abruptly went silent as the last contestant entered—flanked by four sycophants and oozing smugness.
Bradley Kingsley, 19, heir to Kingsley Tech, MIT's loudest wannabe genius.
Arrogant.Entitled.And painfully jealous.
He spotted Alex and smirked.
"Well, well. If it isn't the Stark mascot. Did your brother build you a project so you can pretend to be smart?"
Alex looked at him, unimpressed.
"No. But I can build one for you. Something simple, like a light bulb."
Bradley's eyes twitched.
"You little—"
Alex cut him off."You're older. Taller. Probably think you're intimidating."He took a bite of his donut."You're not."
The crowd snorted.Bradley turned red.
Tony cheered through the drone feed.
"THAT'S MY BOY!! Roast him alive, Alex!"
JARVIS:"Sir, please refrain from yelling at the intern monitoring your feed."
Round 1: Mechanical Innovation Challenge
Teams had one hour to build a working autonomous micro-robot using the parts provided.
Bradley Kingsley immediately grabbed half the materials and shoved others away.
"Move peasants!"
Alex simply sat down and opened his system-enhanced mental schematics.
Healing flames?Ope-Ope abilities?Dark Phoenix intellect?
Creating a robot was child's play.
Thirty minutes later…
Bradley had smoke pouring out of his half-built disaster.
Alex, meanwhile, tapped his completed prototype with a finger.
A perfectly functioning micro-robot, shaped like a tiny hawk, took flight and performed a flawless aerial loop before landing back on his table.
The judges stared, speechless.
"Is that… stable flight?""Impossible at this size—""He added adaptive navigation?!""He's eleven! ELEVEN!"
Bradley slammed his fist on the table.
"HE CHEATED!"
Alex blinked slowly.
"You're right."
Everyone gasped.
Bradley smirked.
"I cheated," Alex continued, "by existing."
The crowd exploded in laughter.Tony fainted from pride.
Round 2: Coding Challenge
Write a program that solves a complex optimization puzzle.
Bradley bragged loudly:
"My code is legendary! I'll finish before this child even begins!"
He began typing dramatically, hoping people watched.
Alex, meanwhile, simply whispered to the console:
"Jarvis?"
Tony choked on air through the drone feed.
JARVIS responded:"Sir, I cannot hack for you. But I can confirm that he does not need me."
Alex's fingers danced across the keyboard.His Perfect Mind made the code flow like water.
Five minutes later, Alex pressed ENTER.
The system chimed:
RESULT: OPTIMIZED PERFECTLYRANKING: #1COMPLETION TIME: RECORD BROKEN
Bradley's screen flashed:
ERROR: MEMORY OVERFLOWCRITICAL FAILURESYSTEM CRASHED
Bradley screamed, "WHAT?! WHY?!"Alex leaned over.
"You used a recursive loop without a terminating condition."He paused."Rookie mistake."
The judges tried not to laugh.The audience didn't even try.
Round 3: Debate – Ethics of AI
Bradley cracked his knuckles.Finally, a round that involved talking, not building.
He strutted onto the stage with swagger.
"I will bury this child."
Alex stood beside him calmly.
Bradley launched into his speech:
"Artificial intelligence must be restricted! Controlled! We must not allow AI to advance unchecked or it will destroy humanity! I am the foremost expert on AI ethics—"
Alex raised a hand.
"Counterpoint."
Bradley snorted. "Try it, kid."
Alex spoke:
"Your entire argument is based on fear, not logic. Intelligence does not equal hostility. Humans are proof intelligence evolves with cooperation. AI is a tool—its morality is determined by its creator, not its complexity. Limiting AI because of fear is like limiting education because some people might misuse knowledge."
The crowd murmured.
Alex continued:
"Also, you plagiarized your entire opening from a 1993 ethics paper. You didn't even change the adjectives."
Gasps filled the room.Bradley turned pale.
Tony screamed through the drone feed.
"EXPOSE HIM, ALEX! DESTROY HIM!"
Final Results
When the judges announced the winner, no one was surprised.
FIRST PLACE – ALEXANDER LIONEL STARKSCORE: 298 / 300
Gwen cheered.Helen clapped with a proud smile.Bradley nearly cried.
Tony danced in his lab, yelling:
"MY BROTHER JUST HUMILIATED A COLLEGE STUDENT! I'M SO PROUD!"
Aftermath
Bradley stormed up to Alex.
"This isn't over! I'll destroy you!"
Alex tilted his head.
"You lost to an eleven-year-old. It's already over."
Bradley made a strangled noise and fled.
Gwen approached, shaking her head.
"You're terrifying."
Helen added, "Remind me never to debate you."
Alex simply yawned.
"Can we go home? I'm hungry."