The Power of Robots

Emma knelt down, feeling soft leafy tendrils brush against her skin. She took a deep breath, taking in the wonderful scents of ripe tomatoes and basil. Sunlight warmed her face, and she knew it was also warming up the solar panels lining the building's edges. Below her, the city hummed with life. Vertical farms sprouted out of the sides of skyscrapers, their color contrasting with the sleek metal and glass.

Her gaze drifted over towards Pip, her robotic companion. It was meticulously pruning a row of basil, impressively moving its hands with deft precision. Pip was one of the countless robots in the city built on top of open-source technology and standards, part of the city's collaborative spirit which defined their entire society.

But that spirit seemed on the verge of fading. She had felt a quiet dread that morning, when she saw a news alert flashing across her screen: “AmpCorp Announces 30% Electricity Price Hike.”