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@scarletimmortalized

Ooh, more questions. To be honest, this is a really interesting subject that I love thinking about, so I’ll talk about it as much as I can. XD

First off, I like his interest in philosophy, but there’s one small issue that I think you should really think about. How does he come into contact with the resources to read/study philosophy? I highly doubt a government program designed to make the perfect operative tool would allow him to read things that might make him question their actions/orders. You’re probably going to need an external source that he gains these things from.

Secondly, I looooooove the goal of finding a real family. That is something that readers will sympathize and empathize with, because having a family is something everyone wants. We’re social beings, we need support and love to function. A family offers this and so much more.

Murder I would consider as definitely a possibility. Or at least murder in self-defense. A lot of Christian stories annoy me because they have a character that is an anti-hero or such, and would not hesitate to kill from the way they’ve built him up, but then he never does because….. it’s Christian, we can’t show blood. I’m not saying that your character has to kill, but if you’re going to build him up as a perfect tool for the government’s shady business, like it or not he’s going to have had to killed more people than you probably want to think about. And that doesn’t mean you need to show it–but don’t ignore it.

In regards to the other half of this question, yes, lying, stealing, cheating, etc. would all be very good ways to show his amorality. Don’t doubt the little things–for one, people are naturally selfish and self-centered, and an amoral character only hypes this up more because he doesn’t have a reputation to uphold–he can lie, and steal, and cheat, and he won’t feel guilty because he doesn’t care. Use this to your advantage–maybe in the pursuit of trying to get his perfect family, your character starts lying a little to them to try and keep them all together when times get rough. Maybe those lies build up and up until finally, they come crashing down on his head and that is what makes his family turn away from him a little.

Then you drop the bomb, that little thing that makes them unable to see him as the same person they thought they knew, and they leave him. And then he needs to get them back. Murder would be an easy thing to use here, but if I were you I’d do something more fitting to his amorality. Anyone can murder, given the choice. So instead maybe have him abandon a close to friend to die, or maybe it’s his fault that one of his family members has gotten kidnapped but he doesn’t want to go rescue them because it would put the rest of his family at risk, and he doesn’t understand why they’re all so determined to get their family member back. Maybe he thinks someone has betrayed them, and ruthlessly interrogates them even though they’ve been a close friend for months or weeks now.

Use your imagination. Murder can work, but there as so, so many more things that will just yank on your reader’s heartstrings.

Also, can I just say, I looove that you’re giving him an older brother/father figure. That’s something a lot of books definitely skip out on, plus father-son bonding time is like, the best. I’d personally rather see a father figure, because this character, being amoral, needs someone with authority that can tell him no, not someone to coddle him really. He needs to be taught what is right and what is wrong, and I just feel that a firm father figure would do that better. That would help him start to realize what the line is, and help him slowly come to respect the father figure and his morals, and in turn start building your character’s morals.

I hope this helps! If you have any more questions just tag me. XD