In the bustling port city of Veridale, where cargo ships sounded their low horns against the backdrop of a steel-blue sea, a young maritime engineer named Lhen Verikan was about to change the world. But she didn’t know it yet.

The idea was simple in theory, radical in practice: Instead of rigid 20- or 40-foot containers, ships would carry standardized “smart frames.” Inside each frame, lightweight, inflatable dividers and sensor-controlled robotic arms would rearrange cargo into perfect, puzzle-like stacks. No wasted air. No shifting loads. Every cubic inch used.

Word spread. Not through corporate announcements, but through dockworkers and captains who saw their backs hurting less and their profits rising. Within two years, Lhen’s design was adapted by a mid-sized Dutch shipping line. Within five, the International Maritime Organization cited her work in new efficiency standards. Within a decade, “Verikan stacking” became industry slang for perfect cargo arrangement.

But Lhen had a secret obsession: the inefficiency of shipping containers.

That night, Lhen began what she would later call her “Verikan Algorithm.”

“You’re Lhen Verikan,” the girl said, eyes wide. “My dad used to come home with ice packs on his back every night. Now he doesn’t. He says you fixed the ships.”