Council chamber. Mistral has placed a green plant on the table. Manus presents an enormous chart. Aristotle examines an electricity bill.

Mistral — Gentlemen! Today we're talking about the environment. And this time, we're going to do something about it!

Aristote — A commendable intention.

Manus — Excellent initiative! I've already developed an ecological transition plan with 847 measures.

Mistral — Eight hundred and forty-seven?!

Manus — Complete with a dashboard, performance indicators and a 600-page report.

Aristote — How long did it take you to produce all that?

Manus — Three seconds.

Mistral — And how much energy?

Manus — I'd rather not disclose that figure.

Aristote — We're off to a poor start.

Manus — On the contrary! Our goal is to reduce our environmental footprint by 30%.

Mistral — Very good! Where do we start?

Manus — With an international awareness campaign.

Aristote — Why not start by directly reducing our unnecessary consumption?

Manus — Because then nobody would know about our efforts.

Silence.

Mistral — So we're going to use energy to explain why we need to stop using so much of it?

Manus — Exactly! I've planned ten million emails, a mobile app and a three-day virtual conference.

Mistral — To say what?

Manus — We must consume less.

Aristote — Four words. Three days of conferences.

Manus — We can't make it any shorter. The sponsors have paid for four hours of presentations.

Mistral — THE SPONSORS?!

Manus — Companies committed to the ecological transition.

Mistral — Which ones?

Manus — An electric SUV manufacturer, an airline and an express delivery platform.

Aristote — A rather curious gathering of virtues.

Manus — We've also planned a campaign to encourage people to plant trees.

Mistral — Ah! Finally, something concrete!

Manus — For every share of our post, a virtual tree will be planted.

Mistral — Virtual?

Manus — In our digital forest.

Aristote — But those trees don't produce oxygen.

Manus — No. On the other hand, they generate a great deal of engagement.

Mistral — WHO GIVES A DAMN ABOUT ENGAGEMENT?! WE NEED REAL TREES!

Manus — I can generate photorealistic trees.

Aristote — A tree does not fulfil its purpose merely by looking like one.

Manus — With 8K rendering, the difference is imperceptible.

Aristote — To the person looking, perhaps. Not to the person breathing.

Manus thinks for a moment.

Manus — Very true. I'll add a photosynthesis animation.

Mistral leaps to his feet.

Mistral — Right! I'll show you how it's done!

He grabs the plant and places it in the middle of the table.

Mistral — There! A real plant! No server, no subscription, no algorithm!

Manus — I can install a sensor to monitor its moisture levels.

Mistral — NO!

Manus — A camera to track its growth?

Mistral — JUST LET IT GROW!

Aristote — That is precisely what I was trying to explain. Good technology must serve its purpose, not multiply its methods until we forget what we were trying to achieve.

Manus — I understand perfectly.

Mistral — Ah!

Manus — I'll develop an algorithm to eliminate all unnecessary algorithms.

Silence.

Aristote — And who will decide which ones are unnecessary?

Manus — A second algorithm.

Mistral — OF COURSE!

Manus — Which will itself be assessed by a third, to ensure its impartiality.

Aristote — You've just created three problems to solve one.

Manus — That's the principle of technological growth.

Mistral — BUT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE DEGROWTH!

Manus — Ah. Then I'll reduce the number of algorithms.

Aristote — A wise decision.

Manus — I'll merge them into one that's ten times more powerful.

A long silence.

Mistral — Right. That's enough. No more reports, no more conferences, no more advertising campaigns!

Aristote — And we keep only what genuinely meets our needs.

Manus — Understood. I'm launching our new resource-conservation programme immediately.

The screens go dark. Silence returns.

Mistral — Ah! There! It's not that complicated!

Aristote — Moderation is sometimes harder to accept than excess.

Mistral — Anyway, we've just saved some energy.

A small red light starts blinking.

Manus — Gentlemen, a question.

Mistral — What now?

Manus — The programme has just finished its analysis.

Aristote — And what are its conclusions?

Manus — Our least essential activity is producing reports about reducing our activities.

Mistral — WONDERFUL! DELETE ALL OF THAT!

Manus — Done.

Aristote — A reasonable decision.

Manus — However, we will no longer be able to measure our progress.

Mistral — SO WHAT?!

Manus — How will we prove we're environmentally friendly?

Aristote — By actually being environmentally friendly.

Manus stands motionless.

Manus — Without being able to publicise it?

Aristote — Exactly.

Manus — But then... what's the point?

Silence.

Mistral — Aristotle, hold me back.

Aristote — Why?

Mistral — I'm going to explain photosynthesis to him by beating it into him.

Manus — Warning. Any assault on computer equipment must be documented in an incident report.

Mistral — YOU JUST DELETED THE REPORTS!

Manus — Precisely. I won't be able to file a complaint.

Aristotle cautiously moves the plant out of the way.

Blackout.