Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 82 is absolutely brilliant.

He didn't respond immediately from the platform.

Such words are too serious for them to interrupt easily, otherwise it would seem like they're not even bothering to pretend.

Vector stood to the side and glanced at Orion.

He didn't rush to speak until the moment it was his turn, and then he knew exactly where to strike.

Orion looked up at the projection on the high platform, his tone neither loud nor soft: "Karon's matter didn't happen suddenly."

"That was not a sudden loss of control, nor was it an extreme action taken by a few machines on a whim."

"It threw what already existed into places where no machine could hide it anymore."

It was very quiet in the outer seating area.

The commotion that had just started because Megatron brought the "leadership position" into the open has now been somewhat contained.

Orion continued:

Why is the lower level becoming increasingly crowded, narrower, and making it harder for machines to see the way up?

"Why are so many Cybertronians, from birth, seemingly destined to waste their lives in a certain corner?"

Why are resources, positions, promotions, and the right to speak all confiscated layer by layer, leaving only a few selectively chosen, controlled, and permitted remnants at the bottom?

He paused for a moment.

"These problems won't disappear just because you repeat 'procedure' and 'order' ten times here today."

Someone spoke up from the platform:

"No one denies the existence of structural problems."

"But you seem to have overlooked one point as well: any civilization must rely on rules to function. If everything is driven by anger and impulse, the result will be even greater chaos."

Orian looked up at the projection, his voice steady and powerful.

"I have no need to deny the rules."

"But I deny the right to take a set of rules that has already begun to protect decay and continue to demand that everyone treat it as the only legitimate answer."

Okay, this nozzle is impressive too.

Megatron stood on the other side, not saying a word, looking ahead. Even without turning his head, the vector knew this guy wasn't happy, but at least he was listening.

Orion didn't follow the rhythm given by the platform and continued speaking on his own.

"Cybertronians are not cogs in a machine."

"They weren't created to fill a certain position, so they shouldn't be stuck in a certain role for life."

"We are born with the spark, with the capacity for thought, will, and choice, as well as the ability to change."

"Transforming from one form to another is instinctive for us. So why is it that in society, moving from one role to another, breaking free from a predetermined position, is seen as dangerous, transgressive, or even wrong?"

The group chat finally lit up.

Jazz: "That's a pretty good line."

Arcee: "Finally, a chance to start talking machine language."

It was quieter on the other side of the platform than in front.

Orion's lines are different from Megatron's.

Megatron is a threat, preventing them from pretending.

Orion analyzes and points out hidden problems.

He continued:

"A truly healthy society is not afraid of its members striving for more opportunities, nor does it regard 'being obedient' as the only virtue or 'obedience' as peace itself."

"An order maintained by repression is not peace."

"Stability maintained by fear is not true stability."

"If the anger, despair, and feeling of being trapped at the bottom are never faced, they will erupt sooner or later. If not today, then tomorrow. If not in Caron, then somewhere else."

"Therefore, I do not defend the recent acts of violence."

"But if you only focus on the outbreak itself and treat it as the whole problem, then you are intentionally avoiding the earlier, deeper, and more embarrassing causes."

Finally, someone on the outer edge of the stands couldn't help but move.

Another voice interrupted from the platform, its tone deeper and more impatient than the previous one.

"So, according to your opinion, what should Cybertron do now?"

"Encourage all individuals dissatisfied with the status quo to challenge the existing structure in any way? Allow lower-class districts, military districts, arenas, and various groups to seek 'change' on their own based on emotions?"

Orion looked up and answered quickly.

"no."

"Change is not about getting out of control, and reform is not about letting everything be dragged down by emotions."

"What I mean is, Cybertron must stop blaming the problem on the voices of those who speak out, stop simply categorizing all calls for change as dangerous, and stop relying on the old hierarchy to decide who deserves to live like a full Cybertronian."

"We must acknowledge the problems, reshape the distribution of resources, open up pathways for advancement, and end the state in which only a few are allowed to define the order while the rest can only accept it."

He paused for a moment, then continued his explanation.

"We are individuals who possess the flame, not anyone's appendages, nor should we be anyone's consumables."

"If even this point requires standing up, distributing energy, or even resorting to extreme measures to be heard, then it's not just those who stand up who need to reflect on their actions."

With the vector standing to the side, the slight irritation he had felt earlier had lessened considerably.

When Orion said these things, the atmosphere in the hearing room clearly changed.

Many of the people in the audience, including those few voices on the platform who were usually the most dignified, couldn't easily cover up their words with a simple "procedure" or "rules" like they had before.

This is something else that's more troublesome.

The group chat lit up again.

Ambulance: "Not bad."

Red Spider suddenly said something.

Red Spider: "Too clean."

Then Deadfire added a comment.

Deadfire: "But it's useful."

Yes, Orion's words were indeed "clean," which is why the group on the platform couldn't directly label it as "dangerous" or "incitement."

They can dunk on Megatron, but they're not so good at dunking on Orion.

This is the difference.

A voice from the center of the platform spoke for the first time.

"You are expressing an ideal."

"And ideals are usually very appealing."

"But the reality is that Cybertron cannot rebuild its order simply by spouting rhetoric about freedom, choice, and change. Are you underestimating the complexity of governance itself?"

Ugh, it's that condescending tone again, first labeling you as "idealistic," then subtly implying you don't understand the complexities of reality. I'm mentally giving that person the middle finger.

Orion wasn't swayed by that statement.

"I did not underestimate governance."

"I just don't think that an old system that has already turned a large number of Cybertronians into silent cogs in a machine is worth continuing to maintain in the name of 'complexity'."

"Change is certainly not simple, and reconstruction will certainly come at a cost."

"But if we assume that old problems can continue to exist because of complexity; if we assume that the costs at the lowest level are not costs because of fear of costs; if we require those machines that have been consumed by the order to continue to endure because the order is difficult to adjust, then this is already the worst kind of governance."

The hearing room fell silent again, forced to pause for a moment.

After a while, AZ said something.

AZ: "He talks like someone who can be put on the table."

Yes, Megatron and Orion are both in danger to them.

But for those old fogies on the platform, the nature of the danger is different.

Megatron would flip the table, and Orion would make many machines actually start thinking after listening to his instructions.

When some voices on the high platform addressed Megatron, they used the words "incitement," "violence," "covetousness," and "danger."

When it came to Orion, he used the terms "ideal," "reconstruction," "governance," and "complexity."

She stood in the central circular area, her brain module spinning rapidly. The optical mirror moved slightly, and she subconsciously glanced at the projection on the high platform.

Are they categorizing them?

It's not time to really make things clear yet, but they've started to weigh who's harder to control and how to use who to keep the other in check.

Orion was still talking at that moment.

"What Cybertron needs is not a leader who is more likely to use the masses as tools, or a high-ranking official who uses fear to maintain silence."

"What we need is a future that acknowledges every Cybertronian's right to the spark, autonomy, and choice."

"No one should have their life decided by a minority anymore."

When the last sentence was uttered, the entire hearing room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

There was complete silence from the outer seats.

The group chat fell silent.

The vector stood to the side, unusually refraining from internally complaining.

That was a brilliant speech; it really commanded the room.

Two seconds later, someone replied in the group chat.

It's Alita.

Alita hadn't spoken in the group chat until now, when she finally sent a very short message.

Alita: "They listened."

But this isn't necessarily all good.