She opened her notebook and held up a detailed diagram that made several engineers gasp. It showed the tower's position, elevation angles, the parking space coordinates, and the car's internal layout with mathematical precision.
"I've been calculating the interference vector for three days. Every time that tower transmits high-power test signals, your car's AI gets overwhelmed by electromagnetic interference and triggers its safety shutdown protocol."
Dr. Vasquez stared at the diagram with growing amazement. The drawing was crude but technically sophisticated, showing an understanding of concepts most high school students never encountered.
"But our electromagnetic scans didn't detect anything significant," protested engineer Sarah Carter.
"Because you scanned when the tower wasn't testing! The interference is intermittent, not constant." Zara flipped through her notebook pages, revealing charts that tracked scanning times versus interference windows. "Check your scan logs. I bet they were all done outside the 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. testing periods."
James Mitchell's face went white as he scrolled through diagnostic records on his tablet: every scan—morning sessions at 9:00 a.m., evening verification at 6:00 p.m.—never during afternoon testing periods.
"Exactly," Zara confirmed. "You missed the problem because you weren't looking when the problem was happening."
Timer: 15 seconds.
The parking lot buzzed with urgent whispers as engineers realized the implications: their diagnostic approach had been fundamentally flawed not because of incompetence, but because of timing assumptions.
"The solution is simple," Zara announced to the stunned crowd. "Move the car fifty feet in any direction to break the direct line of sight, or install electromagnetic shielding around the AI processing unit."
She pointed to three different parking spaces within the complex. "Any of those locations would work. Or you could add a Faraday cage around the AI housing. That's a mesh barrier that blocks electromagnetic signals while allowing normal operation."
Carl Rodriguez exchanged shocked glances with his colleagues. "She's describing industrial-grade electromagnetic interference mitigation. How do you know about Faraday cages?"
"Public library," Zara replied simply. "Physics textbooks in the reference section. I've been reading them for three years."
Timer: 5 seconds.
"Test my theory," Zara challenged the assembled engineers. "Move the car and watch what happens. If I'm wrong, you've lost nothing. If I'm right, you've saved your presentation and everyone's jobs."
The crowd leaned forward in collective anticipation. Phones zoomed in on Zara's confident face. The live stream viewer count had exploded to over 10,000 people watching the showdown.
Timer: 0 seconds.
Dr. Vasquez's phone beeped. "Time."