Since the James Webb Space Telescope began returning images from the earliest epochs of cosmic time, astronomers have confronted a disquieting possibility: that the universe built its largest structures far faster than our theories allowed. Black holes of staggering mass appeared where none should yet exist, accompanied by enigmatic bright objects no one could classify. Now, detailed computer simulations suggest the cosmos needed no exotic shortcuts — only the familiar forces of gravity, accretion, and collision, operating in conditions far more turbulent and concentrated than those we inhabit