Helmi sat at her workbench, tinkering with a small, glowing module. A thought struck them: Photonic computing. The potential to process data at the speed of light had always intrigued them. As they mused, a nearby calendar caught her eye—The festival of lights, Chanukah didn’t begin until December 26 this year. Helmi laughed softly. “Who says I can’t get inspired early?”

They set aside the calendar and dove into her thoughts. Photonic computing, while promising, was still riddled with challenges. The materials were exotic, the fabrication complex, and it wasn’t clear how soon it could make a real impact. Helmi looked back at her sketches for analog processors on CMOS, noting her simplicity and practicality. “We don’t need to wait for photons,” they murmured. “Analog is already here, and it works.”

Helmi made a mental note: Chanukah may be late this year, but the light can always inspire.> With a smile, they focused on refining her CMOS-based analog designs, knowing that sometimes, the brightest ideas didn’t need to travel at the speed of light—they just needed to shine when the time was right.