By Mingyu Kim
Wen woke to a loud beeping right next to his ear. He rubbed his eyes and rolled over to turn the alarm off when he saw the time on the clock. Suddenly wide awake, Wen jumped up out of his hovering bed and ran down the stairs. He rushed into the bathroom and stood while a robot brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and helped him get his clothes on. When the robot was finished, Wen practically leaped over the kitchen table and nearly ripped his coat on his way out. Wen jumped into his solar powered, self-driving car and the car drove out of the garage and onto the road.
Wen admired the view outside the window of the car. All of the houses were exactly like his, with robots and machines outside, tending to gardens and fixing hydroelectric dams. His country was built on technology working with nature in peace and harmony, and his neighborhood was a perfect example of that. Gadgets and machines cared for animals and helped construct wildlife conservation areas. All of the machines were run on solar energy, wind energy, or other eco-friendly energies. As the car turned onto the main road, Wen could see the solar panels gleaming in the sun.
In return for technology helping nature, nature also helped technology. It allowed for certain plants to be harvested for food and biofuel, and for repairing machines. Wen watched the world go by outside the car. Although he passed the natural reserves every day, the expanse of trees and the abundance of creatures never ceased to amaze him. The car pulled into the parking lot of a large building. Wen took the elevator up to the highest office. He was greeted with the sight of ten, giant, bug-like robots. A man in a suit walked up to him.
“Good morning, Mr. Wornar,” Wen said.
“Good morning, Wen. Now, do you see these beauties?” Mr. Wornar gestured to the large machines behind him. Wen nodded.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“I was born ready!,” Wen said.
Mr. Wornar chuckled. “Then what are you waiting for?”
Wen ran to the nearest robot and climbed the ladder. Wen hopped into the cockpit and pulled a lever. The machine walked to the back of the room and onto a balcony that jutted out over the ground far below. The balcony retracted into the floor of the office. Wen’s hands flew over the controls, and the robot started flying with its insect legs.
Wen took the main steering controller in his hands and steered the machine towards North Park. The machine roared over the vast forest until it came to a patch of trees where the trees had started decaying. Wen pushed a button and seeds started dropping from the belly of the machine. He was doing the most important job in his country: replanting the forests. His entire life had led up to this, and now he was supporting the harmony between technology and nature.