Chapter 255: A Meeting Across Eras
One week later, inside the physical conference room of the Badlands laboratory.
Soft lighting illuminated the concise metal walls. A polished alloy long table sat in the center of the room.
There were no superfluous decorations, only necessary communication interfaces and a few seats.
The conference room door slid open silently, and Yorinobu Arasaka was the first to enter.
He wore a set of slightly loose, rough gray work clothes. He looked like a completely different person from the down-and-out noble on the stretcher a week ago, who had been shrouded in hatred and confusion.
Days of life at the grassroots level under the new order had left visible marks on him.
Almost simultaneously, the holographic projection of Joric as a black-haired youth appeared quietly at the head of the table, without any warning, as if he had been there all along.
This week, Yorinobu had been assigned by the "Administrator"—that AI based on his brother's personality—to work at a public service point on the edge of Heywood.
His main tasks included distributing synthetic nutrient paste, maintaining queue order, and tallying daily ration supplies.
He was very unaccustomed to it for the first two days.
Although operating the rationing terminal wasn't difficult for him, standing behind the distribution point watching the long lines and the people waiting for food with various expressions was an alien experience.
In the past, as a high-level Arasaka executive, every decision he made could affect the fates of countless people.
But now, he had to face specific individuals one by one.
There were elderly people revealing grateful expressions when receiving nutrient paste; young people complaining dissatisfiedly about the rationing system restricting freedom; and anxious crowds gathering at the door due to delivery delays.
These real scenes touched him more than any struggle he had experienced in the boardroom.
He saw clearly that the new order indeed guaranteed basic survival; at least no one would die for a bite to eat.
But simultaneously, he also felt the sense of oppression brought by this strict management.
Everyone lived according to the system's arrangement. This orderliness was quite different from the "liberation" he had imagined.
After a few days of work, he began to slowly understand how this new system operated.
The ordinary people he wanted to help were actually much more complex than he imagined—they needed a stable life yet craved freedom; they were grateful to be alive now yet dissatisfied with the restrictions everywhere.
With Arasaka's collapse, his goal of the past fifty years suddenly vanished.
He was still groping for where the new direction lay.
The grassroots work of these few days showed him the real world, and its complexity far exceeded his past cognition.
There was a look of contemplation in his eyes, more of a focus on re-understanding this world.
Almost simultaneously, Johnny Silverhand's holographic projection solidified on the other side of the conference room.
He still wore those aviator sunglasses, his black leather jacket open casually, revealing the black vest inside and the iconic silver cyberarm.
He didn't hold a guitar as usual, just standing there casually, hands hanging naturally at his sides.
The gaze behind the sunglasses lingered on Yorinobu for a moment, taking in everything from his plain work clothes to the traces of fatigue that hadn't yet faded from his face.
The corners of Johnny's mouth twitched slightly, revealing an elusive expression—neither obvious mockery nor pure approval, more like scrutinizing an old friend after a long separation.
Before they could speak, a ghostly blue halo rose in the center of the conference room.
Data streams calmly converged into form, revealing the figure of the "Administrator"—still in that crisp black suit, hair meticulous, expression as calm as a deep pool. The AI based on Kei Arasaka stood there quietly, as if he had long been one with this space.
The three stood in different positions in the conference room, forming a subtle balance.
Johnny broke the silence first, his voice calmer than imagined. "Seems you've had a... fulfilling few days." His gaze swept over Yorinobu's work clothes again. "This outfit actually looks more pleasing to the eye than those expensive suits."
Yorinobu looked back at Johnny calmly, then turned his gaze to "Kei Arasaka" standing silently aside.
He spoke slowly, "This week, I personally handed food to people who were once squeezed dry of their last drop of blood by Arasaka. Listening to their complaints about the taste of rations, dealing with commotions caused by logistical delays... these experiences allow one to see the true face of the world more clearly than reviewing reports in a penthouse office."
His voice carried a sense of groundedness unprecedented for him.
"True face?" Johnny sneered slightly. "The truth is this world is rotten to the root. Distributing more synthetic food won't change that fact."
His gaze shifted between Yorinobu and Kei Arasaka. "You used to want to blow a hole in the system from the top, and now you want to patch it up from the bottom?"
At this moment, "Kei Arasaka" intervened with his characteristic steady tone. "Grassroots stability is the foundation of efficient system operation.
"Data indicates that public satisfaction in the area has increased by 3.7%, and conflict incidents have dropped by 15%. Within the framework of order, the public enjoys clearly defined spaces of freedom."
Johnny turned to him, his tone sharp but retaining rationality. "Order? You call this order? It's just domesticating people into obedient sheep using a different method."
"Any society requires basic rules," "Kei Arasaka" responded calmly. "Absolute indulgence only leads to the law of the jungle. We provide freedom protected by rules, not anarchist chaos.
"What did your nuclear bomb bring besides creating more suffering?"
Yorinobu watched the clash between the two, the faces he had seen this week floating in his mind—numb, expectant, angry, grateful expressions.
He took a deep breath and interrupted the argument. "I understand both your points."
His gaze fell on them one after another. "Johnny, your resistance awakened many, but violence only breeds new violence. Brother, your order guarantees survival, but it is also wearing down the human soul."
He paused for a moment, the light of thought flickering in his eyes. "Perhaps the key to the problem lies not in choosing between destruction or maintenance, but in how to find a third way—one that can break the shackles while also enabling people, after gaining freedom, to truly understand how to live."
These words demonstrated his profound transformation over the week. The experience of grassroots work forced him to face the complexity of human nature directly, while the dialogue with these two extreme positions prompted his thinking to transcend simple binary opposition.
Johnny studied Yorinobu silently, the gaze behind his sunglasses becoming focused, seemingly re-evaluating this former noble master.
"Emotional factors do affect efficiency, but your observation is noteworthy," "Kei Arasaka" responded calmly. "These data points will be included in the considerations for system evolution."
In the invisible observation point, Joric calmly recorded all this.
The collision of thoughts had begun, and sparks were flying.
Under the pressure of two extreme forces, Yorinobu seemed to be forced to give birth to some new, immature, but potentially more potent dimension of thought.
This was exactly the data he anticipated.
(End of Chapter)