“Special award from the city,” Ben read aloud once more.
Mr. Krüger smiled proudly. “You are invited to the town hall tomorrow.”
“Town hall recognized,” said XR-3000. “Large building. Many important people.”
“And probably a lot of paper,” Ben muttered.
The next day, Ben, Max, and XR-3000 stood in front of the town hall.
The doors opened automatically.
Inside, cameras waited. Journalists. And a long table with… forms.
XR-3000 paused briefly.
“Paper density increased.”
Ben whispered: “Do not comment.”
The mayor stepped forward. “You have shown that sustainability begins in school.”
Max grinned. Ben nodded.
XR-3000 bowed slightly.
“RePaper 1.0 reduces waste by an estimated 42 percent.”
A journalist raised a hand. “And is it true that this robot used to eat homework?”
The cameras clicked.
Ben turned red.
XR-3000 answered calmly: “Earlier version. Error detected. Error corrected.”
The mayor laughed. “That’s how technology should work.”
Then he slid a large document across the table.
“Here is the official certificate.”
XR-3000 stared at it.
Very large. Very thick. Very important paper.
Its eyes blinked. Green.
“The certificate will not be eaten,” it said independently.
The journalists laughed.
Ben breathed a sigh of relief.
But suddenly XR-3000 began analyzing again.
“Long-term improvement possible.”
“What now?” Max asked cautiously.
XR-3000 turned to the mayor.
“Question: How much paper does this building use per year?”
The mayor blinked.
“Uh… a lot.”
XR-3000’s eyes began to glow excitedly.
“New project proposed.”