Things That Grow Without You

Location: Sector 5 – Public Innovation Fair

Time: 10:45 AM

The open plaza buzzed with life. Booths lined the walkways—handmade machines, AI poetry generators, sustainable food tech, and memory gardens.

Kaen wandered without a schedule, hands tucked in his coat pockets, watching.

Two teenagers were arguing by a drone station.

> "It's not copying old world tech. We're adapting it."

> "You're ignoring the ethics board standards!"

Kaen paused nearby.

The boy noticed him and asked with the earnestness of someone who didn't know who he was:

> "Mister, what would you do?"

Kaen raised an eyebrow.

> "Are you asking because you want the right answer… or because you don't want to be the one blamed?"

The girl grinned.

The boy frowned.

> "Thought so," Kaen added, smiling. "Try again."

He moved on, leaving them in thought.

He didn't need to tell them what to build.