So many random thoughts about Al Bester today.

Like, he is both the Hero of the Corps and the Demon. The baby teeps look up to him, and then the longer they spend with the Corps - or perhaps just as a registered teep? - the more they realize there is something strange here.

And I mean, it makes sense: the Corps found him as an orphan infant. He literally knows nothing else. They gave him everything. Of course he is relentlessly, doggedly loyal to them. Without them, what would he be? I’m sure he doesn’t waste much time thinking about it. And he has absolutely no tolerance for disloyalty in others. Parents, family… what are these things when it comes to the Corps? Why don’t these teeps realize that this is their family now?It’s so much better, so much stronger!

But he’s, what, a p-12? He can dip into your mind just like dipping chips in salsa, he can grab out all the yummy bits. Sure, he’s not supposed to, but he doesn’t seem to give a shit. Doesn’t he ever see the memories of family, or love, of things that mattered more than the Corps? Does he understand them? Are they weaker, filtered through someone else’s mind?

What would he have been, if he’d been raised with love? An Ivanova? A Talia? 

So much random thinking.