He was raised as a Career tribute, trained to kill in the arena so that he could volunteer at seventeen or eighteen when his chance of victory was highest, and knew from a very young age that fuck that noise. The exact plan took shape gradually over the course of his years in training. He played the role of a child-gladiator, learned every necessary skill, honed them to perfection, demonstrated his prowess in front of the judges impressively enough to earn the highest possible score... and then threw it all away with deliberate theatricality, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that his death was a refusal to play the game even with all possible advantages on his side. That he died because he didn't want to kill anyone, not because he couldn't.
And now?
If they're serious about giving him a chance to take over the world... he can't turn that down. Or, more precisely, he won't. He has a choice, and he chooses to take responsibility for his country - or planet, if there are more people on it than he thought. He doesn't yet know what exactly he's going to do, but he knows what he wants: as many people as possible safe and happy and well-fed and leading flourishing lives. Even the ones he hates, if he can manage it. Under the unaccustomed pressure of potential omnipotence, hatred falls away with surprising ease. If he can do anything, then what he'll do is help.
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He was raised as a Career tribute, trained to kill in the arena so that he could volunteer at seventeen or eighteen when his chance of victory was highest, and knew from a very young age that fuck that noise. The exact plan took shape gradually over the course of his years in training. He played the role of a child-gladiator, learned every necessary skill, honed them to perfection, demonstrated his prowess in front of the judges impressively enough to earn the highest possible score... and then threw it all away with deliberate theatricality, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that his death was a refusal to play the game even with all possible advantages on his side. That he died because he didn't want to kill anyone, not because he couldn't.
And now?
If they're serious about giving him a chance to take over the world... he can't turn that down. Or, more precisely, he won't. He has a choice, and he chooses to take responsibility for his country - or planet, if there are more people on it than he thought. He doesn't yet know what exactly he's going to do, but he knows what he wants: as many people as possible safe and happy and well-fed and leading flourishing lives. Even the ones he hates, if he can manage it. Under the unaccustomed pressure of potential omnipotence, hatred falls away with surprising ease. If he can do anything, then what he'll do is help.