Chapter 7: Library of the Future
The Saturday morning sun streamed through the open window, casting golden streaks across Elias's desk. His room—usually pristine, minimalist, and organized—was now a battlefield of ambition. Stacks of reference books towered beside his laptop, each brimming with sticky notes and dog-eared pages. Crumpled drafts filled the trash bin, and multiple devices blinked quietly—his tablet, a secondary monitor, and a Raspberry Pi kit humming beside an open soldering toolset. The faint smell of solder and coffee lingered in the air.
On the main screen, a carefully crafted to-do list sat in stark clarity, rendered in bold font over a dark-coded terminal:
Master Next.js or Astro for Frontend AI Interfaces
Use ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs for AI Data Pipelines
Implement OpenID Connect with OAuth2 & PKCE
Connect and Simulate IoT Devices with Azure IoT Central
Build with OpenAI + LangChain.NET
Experiment with Pinecone or Redis Vector DB
Design AI-Augmented UI/UX using Figma + Design Tokens
Study Event-Driven Architecture with MassTransit and RabbitMQ
Each item on the list felt like a milestone carved into the mountain he was determined to climb—but Elias was ready. He wasn't intimidated. Not anymore.
He zipped his worn-out laptop bag, carefully sliding in his development journal—an old leather notebook packed with rough diagrams, system flows, and late-night ideas written in sharp, slanted strokes. He packed two chargers, a portable mouse, an Ethernet cable, a backup SSD, and a flask of strong black coffee.
From the kitchen came the faint clang of a spoon hitting a mug and the soft shuffle of slippers across linoleum.
"You're heading out this early, anak?" his father asked, leaning into the doorway, towel slung over his shoulder. His voice was tinged with fatigue, but behind it was something deeper—pride.
Elias gave a tired smile, swinging his bag onto his shoulder. "Library, Dad. I need uninterrupted time this weekend. The innovation program starts next week."
His father glanced at the desk—half-covered in tangled wires, coffee cups, and blinking devices—then back at Elias. "You've been working like that all week."
"I have to," Elias replied, his tone low but steady. "They gave me a chance. I don't want to waste it."
His father paused, then nodded. He stepped forward and rested a firm hand on Elias's shoulder. "Go change the world. But eat something, alright?"
Elias chuckled. "Copy that, sir."
As he stepped out into the quiet morning, Upper Bicutan still felt half-asleep. Vendors were just wheeling out carts. Tricycle drivers wiped down seats with rags. A group of kids kicked a plastic bottle along the road, their laughter light and echoing.
The air was cool. The sun was soft. The world felt like it had paused—waiting for him to start.
And somewhere, just beneath his conscious thoughts, a new notification shimmered in silence:
[SYSTEM LOG]
Environment scan: Optimal learning conditions detected• Mental state: Peak focus• Background processing enabled
Skill Progress:
→ Programming +2
→ System Design +1
→ Mental Fortitude +1
Focus Mode Enabled
Distractions Blocked
Cognitive Load Stable
Programming +1
Elias began with front-end development frameworks. Not because he was told to, but because he knew that in modern development, the interface was as vital as the logic behind it. React first.
He studied JSX from free tutorials on Mozilla Developer Network and navigated CodeSandbox for live demos. Even with only two tabs open at a time to avoid crashing the system, he managed to create a static mockup of a student dashboard.
During lunch, he sat on the cracked library bench outside, flipping through his journal and sketching out user interface flows.
By closing time, he had this scrawled across his notes:
"React - components, props, state… Recreate in plain JS tomorrow."
[Skill Update]Frontend Concepts: +1Focus Duration Extended
Monday came with drizzle and dim skies, but Elias returned to the library early. The old PC took forever to boot, but he was patient.
He dove into ASP.NET Core Web API. No Azure, no Docker—just local simulation. He used a free sandbox site to build a basic RESTful service and mocked data manually since he couldn't install SQL Server on the shared computer.
He reviewed how HttpClient worked, explored GET and POST calls, and documented error handling in his notebook. There were no flashy debuggers—just trial, error, and notes.
By late afternoon, he had this:
"StudentRecordsController -> Return JSON → Use in React mockup?"
[System Notification]API Integration: +1Problem Solving: +2Backend Familiarity: Unlocked
Tuesday morning. More crowded than usual, and Elias had to wait for his turn on the computer. He used the time reading OAuth2 documentation on his tablet, barely readable under the scratched screen protector.
His time on the PC was used testing token-based authentication with a mock identity provider. He didn't have full control over the environment, so he improvised—writing pseudocode for JWT handling and thinking through the architecture of a login flow.
The second half of the day, he rewrote the UI sketch with authentication states: login screen, access restrictions, and redirect flows.
[Skill Notification]Logical Architecture: +1Security Concepts: +1Adaptive Thinking: +1
Sunday: The Last Day Before the Program
The library's fan hummed overhead, struggling against the summer heat. Elias sat in the back corner, surrounded by a stack of borrowed books, an old spiral notebook filled to its edges, and his worn-out laptop. On the table: a half-eaten pandesal, a plastic thermos of now-bitter instant coffee, and a pencil with no eraser left.
No IDE open. Just diagrams. Logic flows. Screens drawn by hand. Today wasn't about writing code. It was about understanding it.
He reviewed yesterday's notes:
Responsive design — check.
EF Core entity relationships — check.
JWT implementation flow — needs cleanup.
Future plans: "AI-based grading alerts (requires ML — not now)."
He was about to pack up when a wave of complaints burst from the far end of the room.
"Bro, our SignalR isn't working again!"
"It says 404. Is it even reaching the hub?"
"We're dead. This is due in two hours!"
Elias glanced up. A group of four students—older, stressed—crowded around a laptop with tangled charging cords and error logs splattered across the screen.
"…We should just drop that feature."
One of them, spotting Elias, whispered, "Wait. Isn't that the kid who made it into the Innovator Program?"
Another squinted. "He's a first-year? Are you kidding me?"
One of them stood and approached.
"Hey. Elias, right?"
"Yeah."
"We heard about your project. Listen, our system's real-time attendance tracking isn't working. The SignalR hub's not firing. The backend's a mess. We're stuck."
Elias tilted his head. "What's your stack?"
"ASP.NET Core. SignalR. EF Core. Angular frontend."
He paused, then asked, "How much work are we talking?"
"Fix the SignalR hub, get the barcode input to trigger a database insert, and reflect that real-time to a client. Plus some form validation. Can you do it? We'll pay you ₱5,000."
₱5,000.
That was a month of groceries at home.
Elias gave a slight nod. "Let me see the code."
Within ten minutes, he was in their project folder. Messy services. Poorly injected dependencies. Incorrect Hub endpoint mappings. But Elias moved with precision.
He fixed their startup file first:
// Startup.cs services.AddSignalR();
app.UseEndpoints(endpoints => {
endpoints.MapHub
});
Then he scaffolded the backend service:
// AttendanceHub.cs public class AttendanceHub : Hub
{ public async Task SendScan(string studentId)
{ await Clients.All.SendAsync("ReceiveScan", studentId, DateTime.Now.ToString());
} }
In the controller, he injected IHubContext and handled database logging:
// AttendanceController.cs [HttpPost("scan")]
public async Task
{
var log = new AttendanceLog
{ StudentId = dto.StudentId, TimeScanned = DateTime.Now }; _context.AttendanceLogs.Add(log); await _context.SaveChangesAsync();
await _hub.Clients.All.SendAsync("ReceiveScan", dto.StudentId, log.TimeScanned.ToString("hh:mm tt"));
return Ok();
}
On the Angular side, he added this snippet:
// attendance.component.ts
this.hubConnection.on('ReceiveScan', (studentId, time) => {
this.attendanceList.push({ studentId, time });
this.toast.success(`Scanned: ${studentId} at ${time}`); });
He typed like it was muscle memory.
No wasted clicks. No hesitation.
Within 45 minutes, they had a functioning attendance tracker with real-time updates, logging, and toast notifications.
"Try scanning now," Elias said, handing them the mouse.
They typed a test ID.
Scanned: 21-0007 at 04:17 PM
The frontend blinked with a real-time update.
"IT'S WORKING!"
"No errors!"
"Bro... you're insane."
The team leader reached for his wallet. "We agreed—₱5,000, right?"
Elias hesitated, but nodded.
The cash was handed over, quiet and genuine.
"Thanks, man. You saved our capstone."
He closed their laptop gently. "Make sure to validate against duplicates before final defense."
As he walked back to his table, he overheard:
"He's the first-year, dude. Just fixed it like he's been doing this for years."
"No wonder he made it to the Innovator Program."
"₱5k was a steal."
Back at his seat, Elias finally opened his notebook to the last page. He scribbled:
"Fixed 4th-year SignalR integration. Wired barcode scan to hub + EF Core save. Wrote toast feedback on client. ₱5,000 earned."
Programming +2
Real-Time Architecture +2
SignalR Mastery +2
Backend Engineering +2
Freelancing Unlocked
Cash Gained: ₱5,000
Confidence: Reinforced
The library lights dimmed. Elias stood, notebook in hand, and walked past the older students still staring at their screen in awe.
Tomorrow, the Innovator Program would start.
But tonight, Elias walked out having earned more than just money.
He walked out knowing he belonged.