Chapter 8: Lessons in Power

Eli woke up early, the excitement of the previous day still lingering in his mind. Today, though, was different. He wasn't thinking about experiments with his powers; today was a lesson with his dad. They had these classes regularly since Eli was homeschooled, and today's subject was about something called resistors and why they were important when working with LEDs.

Eli quickly brushed his teeth, got dressed, and headed downstairs, the smell of metal and flux hitting him as he entered the kitchen. His father was already in the workshop area, soldering something under the fume hood.

"Finally up?" his father said with a playful grin, not looking up from his work. "You're five minutes late."

Eli scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," his father replied, finishing his soldering and pointing toward the table where three small circuits were laid out. "Take a look over there. I want you to turn on each circuit and tell me what you see."

Eli walked over to the table. There were three circuits in front of him, each one simple but slightly different. One circuit had an LED and a resistor, the second had just an LED, and the third had one resistor and two LEDs.

Eli followed his dad's instructions. He turned on the first circuit—the one with the resistor and the LED—and watched as the small light glowed steadily. He moved to the second circuit, but when he turned it on, the LED shone brightly for a split second before flickering off.

He flipped the switch back and forth a few times, but the LED stayed dead. Eli frowned, confused.

Finally, he turned on the third circuit. Only one of the two LEDs lit up, the other staying dark.

"Why did only one light up?" Eli asked, scratching his head. "And why did the second one burn out?"

His father smiled knowingly and didn't answer right away. Instead, he walked over to the side of the room and grabbed a large bucket of water, setting it on a chair in front of him.

"Let's try something," his father said. "I want you to fill this cup for me by tipping the bucket."

Eli sighed, already sensing this was going to be one of his dad's weird lessons. His father had a habit of teaching by comparison—he called it "learning through experience." Eli had heard him say many times, "Everything is in everything else. Understand one thing, and you can understand something else."

Eli grabbed the bucket and tried to tip it toward the cup. But halfway down, the strain on his arms became too much, and the bucket slipped from his grasp. Water splashed everywhere, knocking the cup to the floor and making a mess of the workshop.

His dad chuckled softly. "How did that feel?"

"It was too heavy," Eli admitted, wiping his wet hands on his shirt.

"Good. Write that down," his father said, handing him a small notebook. "Now let's try again."

He filled the bucket halfway this time. The sound of his shoes squelching on the wet floor made Eli wince, but he slowly tipped the bucket, managing to pour water into the cup without spilling it. However, if he tipped the bucket too quickly or too much, the cup overflowed or splashed water out of the sides.

"Write that down too," his father said. "Now, think of yourself as the resistor, the water in the bucket as the energy, and the LED as the cup."

Eli stared at his dad, completely lost. How was he supposed to connect this to the circuits? This was crazy. But then again, his father's lessons always started confusing and made sense later. His dad had already moved on to another project, giving Eli time to think it through on his own.

After his lesson, Eli sat in the car with his mother, who was driving him to the hospital. She wasn't much of a talker, but she always radiated a sense of calm. Her presence was enough to make him feel comfortable, even in silence. Eli glanced down at the ring on his finger, then back at his notes. His father's metaphor about the bucket was still bouncing around in his head.

Then it hit him.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. His powers were like energy. If he could act like a resistor and regulate the flow of his energy, maybe he wouldn't be so drained every time he upgraded something. A small amount of energy over time might be just enough to use my powers without exhausting myself.

As Eli looked out the window, lost in thought, he felt a quiet confidence building inside him. His father's lesson had given him a new perspective. His powers weren't just random or out of control—they were something he could understand, something he could manage.

The drive was peaceful, the sound of the car's engine humming gently beneath them. Eli's mother glanced over at him, a soft smile on her face.

"Thinking about your dad's lesson?" she asked quietly, her voice full of warmth.

Eli nodded, still holding his notebook in his lap. "Yeah... I think I get it now."

She smiled at him, her eyes briefly lingering on the ring on his finger. "Good. He always has a way of teaching things."

Eli smiled back, feeling more connected to his parents than ever. His father's strange way of teaching had unlocked something in him—a way to think about his powers as part of a bigger picture. Everything was connected. Just like his dad always said, "Everything is in everything else."