Rebuttal and Counterclaim

"Come again? You wanna start a revolution?"

"Yeah, I am, Iwan."

"But you said you haven't followed the news."

"Nanomachines son, I have a Neurotik implant. Accessing information and posting my dissatisfaction to the regional government on Remark is easy peasy."

"How rich are you to get that implant? You know it's hazardous for the user."

"My mind slightly went off rarely, but that's no problem. A good price to pay."

"No wonder you said that I'm the chief of the student council on my university day despite the fact I never joined one in my 17 years of formal education."

"Yup, that blunder was unexpected. But let me continue, in case your attention span is lesser than a goldfish, these are my opinions about our current regime."

"I won't go as far as calling it a regime. Our regional government is imperfect but way better than any other regional government in Indonesia."

"Just hear me out, 5 offenses in the span of several weeks. Unprecedented since the reform's birth. This is a sign that the regional government has failed to control its populace behavior; they refuse to extract the rich natural resources this region has to offer with the pretext of 'environmental protection and conservation.' They banned the distribution of extremely nutritious meal pills that can fill your belly with only one pill a day. This region's infrastructure can develop even better with cargo teleport pads, hyperpods, and flying cars. More people are moving here seeking a better life, but our zoning law limits the amount of residential space. Soon, we'll be cramped and as dense as a neutron star. At the beginning of the reform, they guaranteed that no officials would perform corruption, collusion, and nepotism. Because 90% of the officials are AI and humanoid droids. With the last case of money laundering and drug production, that bloody guarantee has been broken! A revolution is necessary!"

"I've prepared my rebuttal, so you better hear me out as well. Humans make mistakes; we are no robots or AI or straight-up Gods. We're mortals, and mistakes are normal; absolute and perfect control of the populace is impossible because of human nature itself. We may have abundant natural resources like sand and limestone. But we only mine sand after Mount Merapi erupts to clear debris, and that's it. Mine more at the river, and our crystal clear rivers are done for. Even worse, with limestone mining, the entire geopark would vanish, and there would be no tourism, and those underground rivers might be disrupted. No tourism and destroyed environment; what will become of this reg-… Excuse me…"

Iwan talks so much that his saliva turns into mouthwash. He gargles at a sink, turns himself into a fountain statue for a few seconds, drinks his bottled warm water, and continues his rebuttal.

"My apologies, let me continue. Meal pills make your digestive system lazy, breaking down nutrition without biting anything, and digestive enzymes are suppressed so that the fragile nutrients won't be butchered by your own stomach acid. Less work for the liver, kidney, and intestines, and less excrement. Your digestive system may be precious, but it can withstand meat, rice, fruit, milk, expired bread, and even alcohol. Those pills can weaken your digestive system, and you'll be a tenant of the hospital's ER or ICU. Hyperpod is basically a train with one wagon, no rails, fits one person, and costs the same to construct as building a metro system. It's inefficient, right? Oh, I know! Why don't we build a wagon that fits 250 people, multiply that by 8, 10, or 16, and call it a commuter or metro train. Flying cars? Please, we have enough flying creatures in this era. Birds, mosquitoes, flies, airplanes, blimps, drones, and you still expect a flying car? With our public transport that reaches every spot on the map, no one needs a flying car. An era of car traffic in the sky would be a pain to handle. Oh yeah, cargo pads are still being researched. During last month's test, teleported eggs ended up inside the ISS. People moving here? It's their choice; it's their right. To handle overpopulation, the governor created a policy in which newcomers are not allowed to have free housing. It's only available for the natives; the newcomers can live in satellite cities outside this region and commute to work, school, or anything else. Please keep your brain on and don't yap about inequality in this case."

"It's on; how about the last case?"

"Back to my first explanation about human nature, but let me add something. Humans in the government make policies humane; the capital city tried with 100% AI and humanoid droids. That place turned into hell for a week. Don't fret about a broken promise; you shouldn't put too much trust in politicians! Promises are eventually broken or implemented; there's a fifty-fifty chance. Just accept it and carry on. Don't be easily surprised; your revolution won't win people's hearts and minds. You only create enemies, and life becomes turbulent. No true peace and prosperity."

"Good, if I have enemies, it means that I've stood up for something. A life that lacks challenge and turbulence is not worth living for."

"Well, if your life gets flat, you better not summon a persona."

"What's a persona?"

"Never mind… Anyway, I have to go now. I need to remember all my arguments to counter yours at Remark."

"Good luck accessing that forum. I've banned your account. Only once in a super blue blood moon, eh?"

"Just when I need it the most!"

Iwan left the station holding his rage. Since his account was gone, he paid Bayu for a visit."

"Hey Bayu, sorry for visiting you this early. Can I borrow your Remark account?"

"Yours got banned? Didja support a separatist movement?"

"Nope, someone reports my account. I want to get my revenge."

"That's rare! I've never seen you like this!"

"Everyone has their limits, right? I'll just have to counter his arguments… This does not look good; why did everyone support his backward idea? He even made a petition 30 minutes ago, and it has been signed by 30.000 people!"

"I've never seen you get so worked up with politics; count me in. An alias won't be enough, but I have a trick up my sleeve."

"What sleeve? You wear a singlet, you know."

"Idiom, you know this idiom?"

"Nope."

"This is awkward. I'm still working, so you should crack a joke."

"How am I supposed to crack a joke if the author's dead serious most of the time."

"What author?"

"Dude, we live in a fabricated world. A wonderful future where most issues are no more, yet problems keep showing up. I can foresee my own future and act-"

"Instead of rambling, why don't you grab and eat a carang gesing inside my fridge? My work's not done yet."

A translucent fridge shows a pack of carang gesing; Iwan takes it and opens the banana leaf wrapping. The smell of coconut milk, pandan leaf, and sugar dissipates. Coconut milk broth, chopped banana, and a piece of pandan leaf all fit in Iwan's mouth except the wrapping and pandan leaf. A white ball with red stripes opened its lid; Iwan put the wrapping and pandan leaf there. In under a minute, it was all gone, and the ball made a cricket noise.

"It's been a long time since I made tiny forums flooded with opinions like this. It's done, dude; you better make breakfast for me!"

"Aye, aye, captain! Thank you for your help!"

"Thank me for your breakfast later!"