In The Shadow of Steel (Paladin Danse)

Part Two

My head and my heart were all over the place. My brain seemed to be running at one hundred and fifteen miles per hour, trying to focus on what the old man just said to me. I am Shaun. I am, your son.
"What the fuck? Is this some kind of sick joke? Just tell me where my son is, asshole!" He's older than me, does he take me for a fool?
"It's true. In the Vault, you had no concept of the passage of time. You were released from your pod and went searching for the son you'd lost. But then you learned that your son was no longer an infant, but a ten year old boy. You believed that ten years had passed. Is it really so hard to accept that it was not ten, but sixty years?" Behind his tired eyes was the look of truth, I was at a loss for words. 
"That is the reality, and here I am. Raised by the Institute, and now its leader."
"Shaun, they stole you, kidnapped you. It wasn't right."
"Right, wrong, irrelevant. It was necessary."
"Necessary? You were our baby boy, they had no right to take you!" The anger was fuelling deep again, how can he be so goddamn näive?
"The Institute believed humanity's future depended on it. At that time in the year 2227, the Institute had made great strides in Synth production, but it was never enough. Scientific curiosity and the goal of perfection drove them ever onward. What they wanted was the perfect machine, so they followed the best example thus far, the human being. Walking, talking, fully articulate, capable of anything."
"So, the weird science experiments needed specimens, that's why they took you?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. The Institute endeavored to create synthetic organics, the most logical starting point of course, was human DNA. Plenty of that was available, naturally, but it had all become corrupted in this....Wasteland. Radiation affected everyone. Even in their attempts to shield themselves from the world above, members of the Institute had been exposed. Another source was necessary, and then the Institute found me, after discovering records from Vault 111. An Infant, frozen in time, protected from the radiation mutations that crept into every other human cell in the Commonwealth. I was exactly what they needed. And so it was my DNA, that became the basis of the synthetic organics used to create every human-like Synth you see today. I am their father, through science. We are family, the Synths, me, and you."
"Shaun, it's, really you." My little boy.
"It really is. I know you must have questions. Please, anything I can do to help you understand."

I couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping my lips, "where do I begin? Uh, so you're in charge of the Institute?" He's already told you that.
"I am the Acting Director, yes. I spent decades working to reach this point. It's a responsibility I take very seriously. The Institute, it's important. It really is humanity's best hope for the future. No matter what those above ground might think of us."
"They're scared of you Shaun, scared of the Institute."
My son released an exaggerated sigh, "people are always scared of what they don't understand. Ultimately, the Commonwealth has nothing to fear from us."
"But you steal people, and replace them with these, Synths. That terrifies people, you're tearing families apart." They tore us apart.
"Just give me time, I know I can convince you otherwise. What else can I say to ease your mind?"
"Kellogg, he worked for you."
"Ah yes, Kellogg. He was an Institute asset long before I arrived here. It wasn't until I became director that I learned of all the things he'd done, what kind of man he was."
"You knew the man was a psychopath, but you used him anyway?" I scoffed.
"Would you have preferred if I turned him loose on the Commonwealth? At least keeping him on a short leash kept the collateral damage to a minimum. The Institute took advantage of Kellogg's vicious nature. I will freely admit that Institute technology prolonged his life and his usefulness far beyond any normal human lifespan. He never failed the Institute, but his cruelty became more than apparent with every completed objective." He sighed, "I won't lie, it's no coincidence your path crossed his. It seemed a fitting to way to allow you....us, to have some amount of revenge. What else can I say?"
"Your father, he never got to see you grow up." The idea of loss would never truly go away, it just becomes more bearable over time. But in this moment, it seemed the most painful.
"Yes, what happened to him was," he paused, looked anywhere but at me. "I've gone over the records of the incident of course. It seems his death was an unfortunate bit of collateral damage."
"Collateral damage?! Is that all he was to you?!" What have they done to you?
"What would you have me say? The world is a dangerous place, although I think maybe it always was. It's just a bit more honest about it now."
"Things weren't supposed to turn out this way for us, Shaun. This is no life we would have ever wanted for you."
"I guess that's another thing that's simply far beyond our control. For many years, I never questioned who my parents were. I accepted with old age comes regret, and asking 'what if', more often. But, what matters now is that you and I have a chance to begin again. I know there's more for us to discuss, but the Institute is on the verge of some important breakthroughs. Your presence would be appreciated as we approach them. I've been a part of something amazing here, I've helped to build a life for myself and the people of the Institute, and now, after all these years you have an opportunity to help with that. Doesn't that intrigue you? Isn't that what you want?"
"Maybe, I don't know. This is so much to take in." My head was pounding, my face sore from the pain of tears and constant frowning.
"I know, and I am sorry. You have been through so much in such a short time. The Institute can provide a better life than anything above ground. You've been in the Commonwealth, you've seen what it's like. I assure you that you're better off with us."
"I don't know what to do," I sighed, running my hands through my hair, as disheveled as the scenario fate had wound me up in.
"I realise that, which is why I'm trying to help you. I hope that you can see that rationally, the Institute is the only thing left in the world that is worth being part of. I simply ask that you give the Institute, me, a chance. A chance to show you what I've been telling you. We really do have humanity's best interest at heart. Will you take that chance?" He pleaded. 

Despite his opinions on the Commonwealth, his näivety to the way his father was murdered in cold blood, and his genuine persona, I still saw my little boy in those tired eyes of his. He's not the son we would have raised, he's not what I'd been hoping to find. But he's my son, nonetheless. He's still mine and Nate's.
"All right."
There was a glimpse of a smile on his lips upon hearing my consent. "Thank you. The Institute is now your home as much as it is mine. Please take some time to get to know it. Meet the people you'll be working with, you'll want to introduce yourself to the Division Heads: Dr. Filmore in Facilities, Dr. Ayo in SRB, Dr. Holdren in Bioscience and finally, Dr. Li in Advanced Systems. They've all been notified of your arrival of course. Meet them, and then we'll discuss what comes next."