Whether this bet pays off remains to be seen. The global technological landscape is more unsettled than ever, and four years was always going to be too short to fully realize Sullivan's vision of a "third wave" dominated by democratic values. What's clear is that Sullivan has fundamentally altered the playing field of US-China competition, creating a framework that will likely shape technological development for decades to come.

As Sullivan prepares for whatever comes next, that small piece of fabric with three arrows remains on his bookshelf - a reminder of the delicate balance between competition and cooperation, between national security and global progress, that he has tried to strike. In the end, his legacy may be determined not just by how effectively he constrained China's technological advancement, but by whether the alternative path he charted truly leads to a more secure and democratic digital future.