Editing Brian Laborn (section)

====[[PRT]]/Authority Figures====
Grue didn’t trust authority figures, preferring to be self-sufficient rather than relying on them.<ref>“The boss is helping on that last bit,” Lisa said, “The allowance and a share of the other income Brian is getting is coming back to him in the form of a paycheck from a legitimate company, and the manager of said company is both willing and able to provide a glowing recommendation on his behalf.”<br/><br/>“Which I’m less than thrilled about,” Brian admitted, “It’s… convenient, I don’t know how else I’d manage it, but I don’t like being so reliant on someone I don’t know at all." - [[Shell 4.4]]</ref> Brian's reasoning on not joining the Wards was tied into the restrictions they would have placed upon him.<ref>If he signs up, he's adopting this more regimented, official lifestyle, and he's seen how his dad has struggled to deal with Aisha from the same vantage point. Once he confines himself, limits himself, then that just gives Aisha more leeway to mess with him or go do her own thing. If he's stuck with official stuff to do, what can he do if Aisha recognizes that and decides that every time she's going to run away, she's going to hop on the first bus out of town?<br><br>Could the PRT deal with that? Maybe. Probably. Could they give him leeway? Bend rules or pull resources, as part of his bargaining with them to join? From Brian's standpoint, even if he's cynical about it, I imagine he imagines they could.<br><br>But Brian has to weigh the negatives against the positives, and keep in mind that he's dealt with the 'system' for a time (CPS and Aisha and his parents), and even if he's more like his dad than his mom, pay attention to the small details - he does martial arts but doesn't stick with one class. He's in school but he's doing it online, more freeform. He walks his own path, he doesn't subscribe to much - he could theoretically ditch the Undersiders at any time. Less so with the PRT.<br>If it goes wrong, he can't back out easily. - [http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/2468389 comment] by Wildbow on Sufficent Velocity.</ref><!--may have to cut this up a bit more-->