Chapter 12: First Training
Wayne brought the robot to the library entrance.
Today was his day off. The final day of the week, when both workers and students could rest if their duties allowed it.
Wayne Enterprises offered limited entertainment, so most workers chose to sleep or recover from the week's labor.
Many nobles couldn't fathom why Wayne granted his workers a day off, yet those same workers outperformed laborers under direct noble oversight.
Wayne provided free healthcare and affordable housing. In return, they were willing to have children and pledge their loyalty to him.
The nobles understood none of it. Neither why Wayne cared for these people, nor why they gave back so willingly.
Children came to the library to read comics, since there were few other diversions.
Wayne observed the teenagers absorbed in their reading. It was novel and exciting for them, at least. Still, the city's quality of life remained a persistent problem. Wayne had ruled this region for less than 20 years, an insufficient time to raise the population's overall standard of living.
To prevent incidents during the library's opening, hundreds of cameras and at least thirty patrolling security guards had been deployed. Even so, book thieves were already being caught at the entrance.
Wayne sighed. There were times when he simply had no choice. Manners couldn't be reformed overnight.
He climbed to the second floor, where Konrad was reading, and smiled as he approached. Little Primarch was studying a text on political theory.
"I've arranged a training exercise for you."
"What kind of training, Father?" Konrad stood up slowly. His prophetic abilities still failed to predict Wayne's immediate movements.
The visions showed only darkness and distant futures, never the present moment. He looked at his father, uncertain.
Wayne set down the robot and gestured for Konrad to examine it more closely.
The Primarch circled the machine once. It wouldn't last a minute in his hands. Why would such a device warrant his training? Its construction was unremarkable, an ordinary silicone composite that Konrad could tear apart with ease.
"Father?" The Primarch looked at him in confusion.
"Don't you understand yet, son?" Wayne smiled, tapped Konrad's forehead, and led him toward the training grounds.
"This robot isn't as powerful as you, but it has a red button on its back panel. Press it, and it stops functioning."
"Simple enough." Konrad nodded.
"It has a high-frequency response system, enabling rapid defense and counterattacks. Konrad, do you understand what that means?"
The Primarch's intelligence quickly identified the machine's characteristics: rapid response, immediate defense.
"I understand. It's difficult to shut down."
Wayne nodded. Primarchs learned faster than any mortal. They stood far above ordinary humans, and even without teachers, they would become the most powerful beings in existence.
But without education or love, they wouldn't become human at all. They would become monsters.
Wayne brought his son to the sergeant training base, where Wayne Enterprises trained its soldiers. At Wayne's arrival, the black-armored soldiers stepped back in unison, clearing a space.
Each of them was an orphan Wayne had saved, or the eldest child of an impoverished family. They carried a famous designation in this world: Robin.
Some claimed it referenced Robin Hood, robbing from the rich to help the poor and innocent.
Others believed Wayne's comparison of his army to birds long extinct on ancient Terra meant they were merely caged creatures in his hands.
Perhaps Wayne simply liked the character from old comic books.
No one knew why Wayne had given his soldiers that name, but they remained loyal to him unto death. This devotion baffled many nobles.
The reason was straightforward: Wayne fed them and educated their younger siblings. He gave their hardworking parents a day of rest, gave them rest as well, and allowed them to pursue relationships freely.
Most importantly, Wayne gave them gifts on their birthdays, perhaps a hundred-thousand-throne gelt voucher, maybe a pastry.
Whatever the gift, these children experienced genuine human consideration for the first time around Wayne. They were treated as people.
Compared to orphans and destitute families elsewhere in Nostramo, Wayne was a saint among saints, the greatest man on the planet.
Furthermore, Wayne executed any Robin who betrayed him with ruthless efficiency. His authority was absolute. Wayne Enterprises did not define him. He was Wayne.
The man nodded to everyone present.
"It's adaptive, and it will continue attacking you with electrical discharges while emitting high-intensity electromagnetic waves. The attacks won't cause serious physical damage. They'll, however, aggravate your nervous system and make you impulsive and aggressive."
"Really?" Konrad didn't believe this device could trouble him. "Father, are you underestimating me?"
"....We'll see." Wayne activated the machine, placed it in the training area, then withdrew to an elevated platform surrounded by other Robin warriors.
The Black Guards were Wayne's personal guard, an elite force composed of adults, while the Robins represented Wayne's future military strength.
"Begin, Konrad."
Konrad nodded and charged at the robot. The machine's high-frequency processor reacted instantly, predicting the Primarch's movements. After all, it was based on archeotech from the Dark Age of Technology, capable of anticipating even a Primarch's actions.
Before Konrad could adjust, the robot released an electrical discharge that struck him, dropping him to the ground with a cry of pain.
Wayne remained impassive as he watched his son. This was training. Konrad would pay the price for underestimating his opponent.
Of course, it was natural for him to feel suppressed at first. He was only six months old, after all. Wayne checked his watch, deciding that if Konrad couldn't fight back within three minutes, he would end the exercise.
Konrad gritted his teeth and forced himself to move, but each attempt was met with stronger electrical currents. Twenty seconds later, the Little Primarch felt the humiliation of being dominated by a machine, and instinctive fury began to rise.
As that feeling eroded, Konrad's control, anger, and the darkest impulses within him finally took over.
He roared and lunged at the robot, crushing its outer shell with one blow and destroying its core components with another. The enraged Primarch seized the machine's head and tore it from its neck mount. Engine oil sprayed across Konrad as he took a ragged breath.
The next moment, Konrad regretted it. He was supposed to shut down the robot, not obliterate it.
"Father?"
Konrad looked up, afraid his father would blame him. After all, this was the second time he had failed to accomplish Wayne's objective.
The Robins glanced at Wayne without speaking. They had all experienced similar failures. But at this moment, Wayne watched the destroyed robot in silence, tapping his finger.
[End of Chapter]