I haven't finished the main quest yet so don't spoil things for me. I've only recently started with the institute.

So, I'm not one of those smartasses who try to guess where the story is going. I did expect my son to be older than I expected but I didn't expect that he would be older than me and that he would be the head of the institute. I love this little plot twist. I really thought the little synth boy was my son but he had been brainwashed.

The really fun part for me is the moral question. What would you do if "Father" was really your flesh and blood son? Could you really betray him? And how would you feel if your own son had turned...evil? And it's so creepy that this old man is my son!

I would like to think that I would try to talk him out of his current strategy and try to get him to change the way the institute is dealing with the Commonwealth to once again work honestly and helpfully. But if that didn't work, I would reluctantly work against the institute. I've never had a child though so maybe I'm not qualified to judge. That would include destroying the institute.

I haven't gotten there yet in my game (I'm just about to beam into the Institute) but I've seen enough online to say that the Institute could slap "Enclave" on all their signs and not even change one thing they're doing. It's fortunate the BoS are such idiots because if they weren't they would be "helping" the Institute kill all the non humans in the wasteland. THEN they'd be resolving their own differences. That would be a lot harder to stop.

There is a lot more to being a parent than donating DNA. Father is fully grown by the time you meet him. You haven't had the slightest influence on who he is. In a big way, he isn't your son at all. When I first met him in-game, I realized quite well that my son was entirely and truly lost to me. This man isn't my son in the way that counts most. He may or may not be a good person, redeemable, or acceptable is future family. I gave him a chance, as having some relationship could help ease the loss I'd already felt...and he proved to be an evil arrogant brat. I killed him, and felt sad about it, but I'd already mourned the loss of my son when I realized he had grown up without me. I think I'd be find my peace with it in the hyopthetical situation where it all actually happened. I think it will come down to your personal views on whether nature or nurture is most important aspect of raising a child. They both play big parts to be sure, but I'd assert nurture is far more important as long as a decent baseline nature is in place.

What will really blow your mind when you consdier it is that all gen 3 synths are based on Father's DNA, making them all grandchildren by blood.... and that includes many NPCs that you can romance long before you learn that they are synths or that synths are your blood relation. That could lead to some very peculiar distress...

So the institute storyline was already spoiled for you? I was shocked when I discovered the truth. My own son is essentially a Bond villain.

In the game, I'm working against him, but if this were real life I wouldn't. I just couldn't kill my own son. If he's evil then it's ultimately my fault.

Other than sharing DNA your really don't know 'Father'. He's like one of those cousins you've been told about but never met until you were both advlts. But when you meet him you find out he lives the rich life, but does it by manufacturing and selling crack and ruining the lives of less fortunate people.

If this was a rl scenario... I do believe I'd side with my son no matter my personal beliefs. Blood is thicker than purified water.

Your son is a grown man. Whether I raised him myself all his life or only knew him for the end of his, it doesn't matter: he's an advlt, can make his own decisions. If you disagree with him, feel free. Blood is thicker than water? Guess that's why he openly disagrees with you and treats you like an idiot for siding with surface dwellers.

If this was a real life scenario, my actions would be the same: hear him out, see what his Institute is about, call him out for being a reclusive elitist who thinks surface dwellers are less human than radroaches, try to convince him otherwise, then let him live with the consequences of his decisions.

Same.

I mean I side with him anyway in-game, but I'm always a "never go against the family" type of guy in real life as well.

I'm just sayin'... I sided with the BoS in my virgin playthrough because I agree with their approach the most, but that talk with Shaun during the final mission still felt ooc (on a personal level). I literally couldn't have done that if it was me rather than a character I was playing. I just wouldn't be able to do that to him. That's my son. The one person in the world I'm obliged to keep safe and sound. And in rl, I would, even if he was basically Hitler.

True, my son may be cold blooded but I'm not. I just can't kill my own son. I loved his mother too much. lol

If there were a way I could wrestle power away from my son and control the institute taking it in a different direction, then that's what I would do.

I'll return to this when I finish the main quest. I've so far avoided all spoilers and I want to keep it that way.

But I'm really enjoying the story so far. It's far more interesting than FO3. I just hope I'm not forced to kill my own son. I won't do it. Common Wealth be damned. I'll just return to the cryo chamber and sleep with my dear wife and pretend it was all an awful dream.