“XR-3000… don’t do it,” whispered Ben.
But the robot had already locked onto the huge receipt roll. Its eyes glowed orange.
“Paper source identified. Endless supply detected.”
“That’s only for receipts!” shouted the man in the suit.
Too late.
XR-3000 shot off.
With a strong JERK it pulled the entire roll out of the register.
Paper flew through the supermarket. It wrapped around shopping carts. Around shelves. Around the legs of the man in the suit.
“I’m stuck!” he shouted panic-stricken.
XR-3000 kept sucking.
But this time the paper was longer than expected. Much longer.
The roll spun faster and faster.
The robot began wrapping itself up.
It rolled. It wrapped. It became whiter and whiter.
“He’s turning himself into a gift!” shouted Ben.
Suddenly everything stopped.
XR-3000 stood in the middle of the aisle. Completely wrapped up. Only its eyes peeked out.
“System overload,” it murmured. “Too much paper. No overview anymore.”
A small piece of receipt fluttered onto its face.
On it was written: “Total amount: €0.00”
The robot beeped confusedly. “Free? Illogical.”
Then it slowly tipped to the side.
THUD.
Silence.
The man in the suit struggled to free himself from the paper. “That… was… the craziest Tuesday of my life.”
Ben knelt beside the robot.
“XR-3000?” he whispered.
The eyes blinked weakly.
“Restart is being performed…”
And then it went dark.