The development of technology and society had made Steve Rogers Captain America.
There was a harsh saying, but it was not really wrong: "Without the Serum, Steve Rogers was nothing."
Without the Serum, he was merely a skinny kid full of passion. In the meat grinder of World War II, many young men like him had died on the battlefield.
Courage, spirit, compassion, a sense of justice... these were not Steve Rogers's exclusive traits.
The Serum had made Steve Rogers a Super Soldier. War had been his stage, and the identity of Captain America belonged to him, but he had not forged it alone.
"The development of technology and society made you who you are. Every compromise is made to obtain something you consider more important—such as the justice you value. If you think the people managing you cannot fulfill the deal, then refuse. It's a very simple principle."
"You really are... different. If the officer at the recruitment office had spoken like you back then, he might have been dismissed long ago."
"You flatter me. Besides, the Osborn Group is merely a manager recognized by the greatest number of people. Coercion has never been the most important means of supporting the Group's operations—"
Harry thought that the main thing was still to consider the thoughts of those troublemakers, or rather, those special talents.
"—but I still have to say that forcing people to sacrifice through sheer power remains an option—just not one I would use on my own employees."
Steve did not press further—he had always found the Osborn Group's human experimentation policies deeply objectionable.
But in broader matters, if someone else had taken Harry's position, he did not think anyone could have done better.
Thinking of that, he smiled bitterly. *This was a kind of compromise too, wasn't