Ben was absolutely sure: This birthday would be special. Not because of cake. Not because of presents. But because of his plan.
For weeks he had told his parents about nothing else but robots. Big robots. Small robots. Robots with laser eyes.
“I don’t need a dog,” he had explained. “A robot sheds less.”
On the morning of his birthday, there really was a huge silver box in the living room. It blinked. It buzzed. And it had a sticker that said: “XR-3000 – Multifunctional School Support Robot.”
Ben held his breath.
“It can calculate, read, write, and even tell jokes,” said his father. “And it’s absolutely child’s play to operate.”
“What does that mean?” Ben asked suspiciously.
“That this time you don’t have to explain the manual to us,” said his mother.
With a quiet “Beep!” the box opened. A shiny robot rolled out. It had round eyes, small antennas – and a very large mouth slit.
“Hello, user Ben,” said the robot kindly. “I am XR-3000. I improve your school life.”
Ben grinned. “Perfect,” he whispered. “You start with math tomorrow.”
The antennas blinked. “Math detected. Goal: Homework.”
Ben smiled contentedly. He did not yet suspect that XR-3000 had a small problem.
A very hungry problem.