Chapter 11: Reflections on Konrad
Konrad understood that his adoptive father was, in many respects, a despicable man. The evidence was there in his actions.
Yet that despicable nature stemmed from desperation. From the drive to secure a better future. And the hope that Konrad himself might forge an even brighter one for humanity.
He glanced at the security captain standing by the door. "Cole, when did my father worry you most?"
"Young Master, there are some things I shouldn't say openly."
"What's difficult about it? Just say it."
"Sigh~" Cole's expression softened with old memory. "Master Wayne is ruthless and unscrupulous, but underneath it all, he is kind."
"That kindness. Buried beneath everything else. That's what worries me most." He paused.
"Years ago, I was penniless. My wife was dying in childbirth. Lord Wayne performed the surgery himself and saved her life. We had nothing to offer him. He knelt on the ground to operate. His clothes, worth a fortune in throne gelt, were ruined. Blood soaked through everything, but he...he didn't care. Didn't stand until both mother and daughter were safe."
Konrad, listening attentively, asked, "And yet you remain wary of that kindness. Why?"
Cole took a deep breath and replied, "I worried deeply about what would become of Lord Wayne. He was only fourteen when Lord Thomas died."
"Lord Thomas was...far too kind, and it got him killed. The man he saved, the children he helped bring into this world. No one came. Everyone just watched. Silent and Indifferent."
"Later, after Wayne took power, he moved swiftly and eliminated any threats without hesitation. That's when I knew he was exactly what we needed."
"And what did we 'need', Cole?"
Cole tapped his chest, where a family photo was tucked inside his uniform. "Kindness is what everyone longs for. Compassion is what everyone desires. But those don't exist on Nostramo, not naturally. Lord Wayne has been teaching them to us, bit by bit."
Konrad's mouth opened slightly. Wayne had never been as simple as he appeared. He was genuinely restoring moral concepts, gradually rebuilding what Nostramo had lost.
Konrad realized with uncomfortable clarity that he couldn't do the same. Couldn't kneel before mortals. The idea seemed beneath him somehow in his fibre of flesh.
How superficial that seemed now.
"More than once, Young Master. His medical care system was born from moments like that. Our Master, Your Father, is a good man. But he has to be worse, a nightmare to protect his goodness."
Konrad was silent for a moment, "I understand. Thank you for being honest."
"It is my duty," Cole replied, "I will be outside now. Please call me immediately if you need to."
"Hmm," Knorad hummed.
If Wayne wanted the Primarch to serve as a true role model for humanity, he had first to shape him into a proper human being. Because only humans would genuinely protect humans, demigods, mad creatures, or gods would not.
Wayne understood the severe limitations of Konrad Curze's absolutist view of justice.
Current circumstances alone demonstrated that justice could only function within specific, limited contexts.
When Konrad entered the wider galaxy, he would encounter countless human civilizations, each with distinct laws and customs. When their perspective expanded to the galactic scale, they would face wars and politics on that same scale.
Where multiple interests came into direct conflict, any singular concept of justice lost its universal value.
As a Primarch, Konrad could enforce justice within a stable human society. But how could he maintain justice across a galaxy that transcended species, faiths, and dimensions?
How could Konrad manage that alone?
An interstellar war raged between fundamentally disparate forces. Conquerors and Conquered, the Powerful and the Weak.
Just as in the future, if humanity lacked sufficient strength and numbers, it would have perished long ago in the unforgiving void.
Curze ranked among the weakest Primarchs in conventional warfare. Wayne knew the VIII Legion couldn't match the more powerful Legions in sustained conflict.
Beyond his talent for striking first and killing efficiently, Curze's political and military capabilities ranked among the lowest of his brothers. His only reliable method for defeating other Legions required swift, decisive single combat, eliminating the opposing Primarch before they adapted to his fighting style.
If Konrad lost his initial advantage in a duel, everything collapsed. His first encounter with the Lion exemplified this. Konrad had gained the upper hand, nearly strangling his brother, before Dark Angels' honor guard intervened.
But their second meeting during the Thramas Crusade told a different story. The Lion ambushed Curze's fleet and, in their rematch, inflicted eleven wounds that would instantly kill an Astartes, putting Konrad into a coma.
Sanguinius, despite his deep concern for his gene-sons, could duel Konrad without losing composure.
Guilliman used his gladius and shield methodically to exhaust Konrad's stamina.
During the trap on Macragge, Konrad managed to hold off both Guilliman and the Lion, but only long enough to detonate his prepared explosives; he wasn't winning. Without that contingency, he would have eventually fallen.
If Konrad failed to achieve a quick victory, he faced a brutal defeat.
If Konrad remained merely an enforcer on a single world, a judge bringing peace to Nostramo through terror, then that would suffice.
But Wayne wouldn't rely solely on training exercises.
If Konrad was to become the true master of the VIII Legion, if he was to bring sector-wide justice and peace across the stars, he needed much more than raw skill and fear.
Konrad was Wayne's son now. Wayne refused to let him become the broken figure of the original timeline. He would train Konrad with everything he could. He would be the father Konrad deserved.
In direct contrast to Konrad's approach of isolating and amplifying the darkness within human nature, the Emperor accepted all aspects of humanity. Both its wickedness and its nobility.
What mattered was human independence and autonomy, human supremacy above all else.
Ensuring that humanity remained superior to other species. Free of control by external forces, including the Warp.
Therefore, the Emperor employed whatever means were necessary and took whatever action was required. He stood firm on the foundation of species survival and transcended mere notions of justice or injustice.
As a transmigrator, Wayne understood that the Emperor should not die. Humanity could not exist without the Emperor. The Emperor was humanity itself, and humanity was the Emperor.
Their fates had become inseparable.
The Emperor represented humanity's only effective weapon against the Chaos Gods of the Warp. Despite His godlike power, He remained human, willing to sacrifice himself for the species as a whole.
Yet the Emperor's performance as a father was hollow, consisting of naked pragmatism, endless sacrifice, and dedication to the human race, but utterly lacking in care for His gene-forged sons. Only exploitation.
Konrad certainly hadn't received the Emperor's love. Few of the Primarchs had.
Wayne smiled ruefully as he watched the elevator slowly ascend.
While others had a father who was practically a god, he was now worrying about Konrad's future relationship with the Emperor and the state of the Astartes Legion.
He was overthinking this.
In the past, he would have solved problems simply, publicly dismember some criminals, ensure the people feared him, and secure obedience through terror. Then, after throwing some feebies and welfare. Fed and obedient.
But now he had far too many considerations pulling at him.
"What could cause a man more anxiety than raising a son?"
Wayne reflected on his understanding of the Emperor and His terrible grandeur.
The light the Emperor spoke of must be the light of humanity itself, the light of the Imperium to come, the ideal burning in His heart. But it was profoundly deceptive to the Primarchs, especially to Konrad.
"Sometimes being an adoptive father is harder than being a biological one. I've changed, become wiser perhaps, but you'd better remember what kind of person I used to be." Wayne stared directly at the elevator camera above.
Then the doors opened, and he stepped out as if nothing had happened.
To the artificial intelligence observing him, he must have seemed like a mad scientist from the Dark Age of Technology, only stranger. Kindness and madness are concentrated in equal measure.
"Truly baffling. Having experienced the worst of humanity, why would anyone still believe in human beings?"
[End of Chapter]