The fact his position made that answer seem surprising amused him to no small extent. "Heh. Is it really that surprising? Of course it's what I want, my MO's always been that simple. I want all the things I felt I never had." A tilt of the head and a smirk following this response made it seem as if he was implying she already knew that, and his only reason for reinforcing it now was to act as a reminder.
What she brought up next was dismissed quite decisively, but there was an exception in the back of his mind that he was yet to get to. "I knew who my extended family were, but they weren't much different and didn't like me. My parents were a lot more successful than any of them were, and I was their perfect son, a literal product of a service none of them could afford. Most of them were like this, with the exception of one of my uncle's from my mother's side. He was different." Since the subject of how he'd essentially been made to order had come up before, he felt no need to elaborate.
To establish how this person he'd just brought up was different, he needed to go quite far back in his life and dig through memories which felt remarkably fuzzy. But recollection was possible, even if the finer details felt like they were lost. "Had no kids of his own, wife died in a shuttle crash and he never remarried, probably still hasn't. So on the rare occasion he was allowed to spend time with me, he treated me like a son. And those were the only times in my life I felt like a son. He took me to my first concert, would buy me ice cream if he met me after school, and when I was much older he was the only person willing to argue on my behalf when my parents were adamant that I follow the decisions being made for me. I think the tragedy is he knew what was wrong with me and was fighting as hard as he could to stop me from becoming this. Wonder how he'd react if he could see me now." There was a lot to unpack in his melancholic elaboration, the fact his nature was essentially an error in the genetic code his parents had paid top credit to meddle with, effectively denying him the right to be a person of his own determination. So of course he sided with the cause seeking independence above all else, of course he fought tooth and nail to keep external influence out, because these things were the most basic foundations of the things he craved on a deep and personal level. But he was also acutely aware of how cruel, ruthless and morally culpable his nature was. So while the fault might not have been entirely his, he made no attempts to excuse what he was and his enjoyment of violence.
It was no wonder official media omitted the nuance, people might understand, or worse yet, relate to him otherwise.
