Jack Parsons and the Conflict of Interest
"Excuse me, general, for saying so, but I'm not sure I understand," came the response of the Minuteman sergeant leading the squad.
It was a tense moment. Guns were drawn, pointed in every which direction. Some were even pointed at Jack Parsons, the very leader of the Minutemen. And now, the de facto leader of the Institute.
See, Jack Parsons had been put in charge of the Commonwealth Minutemen by Preston Garvey after he had decided to help them rebuild, partially by killing a bunch of Raiders and partially by digging wells. He had held this position for the past few months, slowly building strength until they could take charge of a castle and start broadcasting radio signals around the entire region. After that, the organization known as the Minutemen had boomed, with many outlying settlements declaring their allegiance, and their military growing in force until it challenged the other powers of the region. Jack was glad to be in charge.
However, he had also been put in charge of the Commonwealth Institute by a man named Shaun Parsons, but better known as Father. Father was Jack's son, and Jack had tracked him down after traipsing throughout the Commonwealth for months, making a slough of friends and enemies. Father had released Jack from cryo-sleep in vain hopes that Jack would eventually find him and that they could have a relationship. Part of the reason Father made this uncharacteristic decision was that he was dying from terminal cancer, which he disclosed to Jack after Jack had run a few jobs for the Institute and thus proven his loyalty. Against the wishes of basically everyone at the Institute, Jack Parsons was made the acting Director.
Being in charge of both a powerful militia that had the hearts and best interests of the common people, and an underground scientific research facilities with highly advanced weaponry, had its perks. One of them, however, was not the inevitable conflicts of interests which would arise. Which is why everyone was pointing their guns at each other.
You see, Father, sick as he was, still desired strongly to see the Institute reach all of its goals. In order to do that, sometimes they would recruit scientists or otherwise bright individuals from topside, and sometimes replace those individuals with Synths. Recruitment meant sending an armed detachment of Synths to the surface to forcibly take the bright individual, preferably in the middle of the night. T.S. Wallace was one such individual. During a routine kidnapping, er, recruitment, however, Wallace refused to give up so easily. He successfully barricaded himself in his bedroom, and raised such a commotion that the local squad of Minutemen was dispatched to find out what was going on. Upon arriving, of course, the Minutemen found the detachment of Synths, and what ensued was a very hostile standoff.
Jack Parsons was sent to convince the bright individual to let himself be recruited, and had no idea about the squad of Minutemen until he arrived at the house. At that moment, Jack froze in his tracks. The Minutemen knew he was loosely associated with the Institute, and believed that he was working as a double agent. They did not know, however, that Jack had actually become the leader of the place and was considering sticking around, long-term. In their mind the plan was to find out the Institute's weaknesses from inside, and then destroy them when they least suspected it. This was because the Minutemen felt obligated to protect the people living in the Commonwealth, and the Institute had the habit of well, "recruiting" some of those people out of their homes in the middle of the night.
Before Jack could say anything, the opposing groups of Synths who were inside the house spotted their leader, and stepped out to meet him and request his assistance with T.S. Wallace.
At that point, one of the Minutemen raised their rifle and pointed it at the nearest Synth. In response, the Synths all raised and pointed their laser guns at the Minutemen. Jack then pointed a pistol at the leader of the Synths, and in response that Synth raised his gun and pointed it at Jack. Noticing that the Synth's attention was no longer on any of his troops, the Minuteman sergeant pointed his gun at the Synth leader. Witnessing that, Jack raised a second gun at the sergeant. Needless to say, this was a tense and confusing situation for everybody involved, not least the scientist barricaded in his room.
"Stand down," said the Minuteman General and Institute Acting Director. The Synths instantly lowered their weapons, as they had been programmed to do exactly as the Director said with no delay. The humans, however, weren't so eager to comply.
"Excuse me, general, for saying so, but I'm not sure I understand," came the response of the Minuteman sergeant leading the squad. He then trained his gun on Jack.
"I ordered you to stand down, you don't have to understand," responded Jack through gritted teeth. Here was the real test of his leadership. Had he built the Minutemen into a legitimate military force, or had he just given guns and a smidgeon of authority to some uncontrollable wastelanders?
"Will you explain to me what's going on," the sergeant asked, "because it sure as hell looks like you've been brainwashed by the Institute or replaced with a Synth. You walk up to Minuteman territory that you helped secure in order to kidnap this Wallace fella, and then you tell us to desist when we intervene? This is not like you." Jack gulped, and took a moment to formulate a response. A wrong step here could mean damaging his relationship with either faction beyond repair, or worse, a bullet to the head.
"Look, I need you to trust me on this one. You don't have the full picture. The Institute is changing," said Jack, as gently and confidently as he could.
"My ass!" came the reply from the Sergeant, "How can you call it change when I see a robotic death squad come to tear away a man from his home? You expect us to just sit back and watch you kidnap this guy to get replaced by a Synth? Over my dead body, I say," said the Sergeant, just as confidently. The privates behind him though, were no longer looking as confident.
"First of all, he's not going to get replaced with anything. I've been to the Institute. It's safe and comfortable. This man will get the chance to contribute to the advancement of science with some very powerful tools at his fingertips. Once I explain the situation to him, inside, I'm sure he'll agree to come wholeheartedly," Jack lied.
"And if he doesn't?" the Sergeant called his bluff. Jack sighed, and then looked at the men standing behind his opponent. He could see some doubt beginning to form in their faces. He decided to work that angle instead, addressing them.
"Look guys, your commanding officer is about to disregard a direct command from his general. More than that, he's about to engage in an unsanctioned, even treasonous military action. You do not have to be a part of this. Nobody is going to get hurt if you walk away. But Sergeant," he said, addressing the man pointing the rifle at him once more, "If you continue, things are not going to end well."
Here was the moment of truth. The minuteman had to decide whether to back down, or double down. He had no assurance that the soldiers behind him were going to back him up, which meant he was outgunned four to one. He steadied his rifle and took a couple of deep breaths.
Then he lowered his rifle.
"Fine," he spat, "but rest assured, I'm going straight to Garvey to tell him about what is happening here, and what you're really up to. Then I'm turning in my rifle and this stupid hat and leaving."
"Consider it a dishonorable discharge," Jack replied.