Chapter 256: The Argument of Three
Johnny Silverhand propped one foot onto the chair, his silver cyberarm gleaming with a cold, hard luster under the lights.
"Rules? Order?" He sneered, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Isn't that just the collar corpo dogs put on everyone? True freedom? It's letting street vendors set up shop without looking at anyone's face for permission, letting workers dare to slam the table in front of their boss, letting everyone be the master of their own turf!"
He scanned the conference room, his gaze finally settling on Yorinobu.
"You people sitting high up... you don't know a thing about the life down below. They don't need someone to dictate their lives; they just need to take back what belongs to them—the confidence to speak, the room to choose, and the dignity to live like a human being!"
Kei Arasaka responded calmly, "Disordered freedom will eventually lead to the weak becoming meat for the strong. The experience of Japan's post-war reconstruction proves that a stable social structure is the cornerstone of development. Only when everyone is clear about their duties can society operate efficiently."
"Efficiency?" Johnny slammed the table violently. "Just for your 'efficiency,' you want to snuff out all different voices? Stuff everyone into the same mold? How the fuck is that any different from those Arasaka bastards?"
Yorinobu took a deep breath and interjected. "What I saw at the distribution point this week is more complex than what either of you are saying. The elderly indeed need stable rationing, but the young crave more possibilities.
"Perhaps... we can leave room for different choices for different people, while guaranteeing basic survival?"
"Choice?" Johnny laughed coldly. "Under corporate rule, the poor never had a choice. Either be a good dog or die. What I want is to completely rewrite this rule—so that the street sweeper and the CEO can stand up straight and talk!"
Kei shook his head slightly. "Idealism doesn't fill stomachs. Without a comprehensive management system, the equality you pursue will only trigger chaos. Look back at the history of Night City; every so-called 'liberation movement' eventually evolved into a new tyranny."
"That's because they changed the soup but not the medicine!" Johnny stood up in agitation. "We don't want a new master; we want to thoroughly smash this system that ranks people into grades! Let the janitor sit as an equal with the CEO, let the street kid have the same voice as the corporate executive!"
Yorinobu looked thoughtful. "Maybe... we don't have to negate everything entirely. We can proceed gradually, piloting it at the community level first. Let residents decide how to plan public spaces, let workers participate in formulating work systems. Maintain overall stability while leaving room for change."
Johnny fell silent for a moment, then suddenly grinned. "You know what? I hate your lukewarm reforms the most. But..." He took off his sunglasses, revealing sharp eyes. "If it really lets the people at the bottom find their own voice, I'd actually like to see what kind of waves they can make."
Kei nodded slightly. "Limited autonomy can be trialed in non-core areas. But a perfect supervision mechanism must be established to ensure it does not affect the overall operation of society."
Joric's projection stood silently throughout, observing this clash of thoughts.
Three philosophies were colliding, gradually outlining a possible future landscape: between order and freedom, perhaps a new path could indeed be found.
The conference room fell into a brief silence, like the calm before a storm.
Everyone was digesting the sparks of thought that had burst forth from the exchange.
Yorinobu slowly raised his head, his gaze deepening. "Johnny, you advocate for the janitor and the CEO to sit as equals. But in my week at the grassroots, what I saw was not just oppression, but the heavy burden of responsibility.
"When a person is worried about tomorrow's meal, their first consideration is not the right to speak, but the right to survive."
He turned to Kei. "Brother, your order indeed provides survival security, but have you considered this? When a person's channels to express dissatisfaction are completely blocked, how long can this order last?
"I saw the unwillingness in the eyes of the young people at the distribution point. It wasn't just a craving for food, but a thirst for dignity."
Johnny huffed coldly, but this time he didn't refute immediately.
He rubbed his silver prosthetic limb, deep in thought. "You're right. Hungry people think of filling their bellies first. But the problem is, under the corporate system, the poor are forced to only think about filling their bellies forever, never having the chance to think about higher-level needs. I want to break this damn cycle!"
"And after breaking it?" Kei asked calmly. "The nuclear bomb fifty years ago broke the old order. And then? Did a new order descend automatically? Or do you expect Utopia to grow naturally out of ruins?"
His voice remained calm but carried a deeper weight. "Japan was able to recover quickly after the war precisely because we understood that after destruction, a new order must be established immediately."
"But whose order was that?" Johnny looked up sharply. "It was an order imposed from the top down! I want an order that grows from the bottom up! Let every community find a way of living that suits them, let workers decide their own work rhythm, let students participate in curriculum setting..."
Yorinobu suddenly interrupted, his eyes flashing with new light. "Perhaps we are all limited by binary thinking. Why can't we do both? Under a macro-order ensuring basic survival, allow micro-level autonomy?
"Let different communities try different management models. Let time prove which method is more suitable for Night City?"
For the first time, Kei showed a thoughtful expression. "Your proposal reminds me of the Sankin-kotai system of the Tokugawa era. Under a unified central regime, the domains enjoyed considerable autonomy, guaranteeing overall stability while retaining local characteristics."
"Stop looking for answers in fucking history books!" Johnny interrupted dissatisfiedly. "We want to create something brand new! Not old antiques dug out of piles of paper!" But he immediately changed his tone. "However... letting different places try different things, that's not a bad idea.
"Let the Corporate Plaza continue your order experiment, let Watson try real autonomy, and see who wins the hearts of the people in the end."
Yorinobu continued, "The key lies in the transition mechanism. We cannot overthrow everything existing overnight, but we can design a gradual reform plan.
"For example, start with the use of community public budgets, letting residents participate directly in decisions; then pilot worker committees in workplaces, but initially only grant advisory power rather than decision-making power..."
"Advisory power?" Johnny scoffed. "That's just giving slaves a chance to whine!"
"But it is a necessary first step!" Yorinobu insisted. "Let people learn how to use rights first, then gradually expand the scope of those rights. Otherwise, suddenly acquired freedom will only lead to chaos, inevitably calling for the return of authoritarianism. This lesson has been played out too many times in history."
Kei nodded slightly. "This view conforms to the objective laws of development. We can design a graded empowerment system, gradually devolving management authority according to the readiness of each region. At the same time, establish a comprehensive supervision and evaluation mechanism."
Johnny remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly. "I still think this is too slow... But," he took off his sunglasses again, revealing sharp and lucid eyes, "maybe this time I'm willing to see how far moderate reform can go. But I'm warning you—"
His voice suddenly became hard. "If this turns into another corporate scam, my guitar is ready to play the notes of resistance again at any time."
A bitter smile surfaced on the corner of Yorinobu's mouth. "This is exactly the check-and-balance mechanism we need to establish. Give reform enough time to show effects, while retaining channels for supervision and correction.
"Perhaps true democracy lies not in choosing a specific system, but in forever maintaining the possibility of changing the system."
Kei's gaze moved between the two, finally settling on Yorinobu. "Your thinking is beginning to show surprising depth. Perhaps this is why the Lord Sage arranged this meeting—to let us see that outside of destruction and order, a third way does indeed exist."
At the invisible observation point, the Sage's recording continued.
This clash of thoughts had transcended simple ideological confrontation and began to outline a three-dimensional, multi-dimensional landscape of social governance.
Three different philosophies collided and merged here, giving birth to unprecedented possibilities.
(End of Chapter)