If there had been a better option, Stephanie Malik would never have chosen the delicate, fragile-looking girl before her. From the very beginning, Ruby's worldview had differed from that of humans raised on universal education. For years, General Hale had constantly emphasized just how special Ruby was, telling her that she would someday become an extraordinary figure. Stephanie Malik knew she herself had once been raised the same way, but her father, Gideon Malick, had approached it more from the family's perspective. While making her aware of the power she would possess in the future, he had also made clear the responsibilities she would have to bear.
General Hale had no family backing. Her true identity was that of an infant girl adopted by Hydra, and from childhood she had been indoctrinated with the utilitarian ideals of Radical Hydra. Stopping meant losing value, and losing value meant death. Now, that worthless abandoned infant had climbed to the summit of military power in the United States, yet that insecurity had remained with General Hale throughout her life. Thus, in educating Ruby, she had only passed on the radical doctrines taught by Dr. Whitehall.
In her view, if she and Ruby lost their value, the Malik family, the List Family, and other monstrous beasts lurking beneath the surface would devour them like man-eating fiends, leaving not even bone fragments behind. For the sake of the only daughter she could trust in this world, she had to create a perfect environment for Ruby's survival. General Hale's thinking was not entirely wrong. The vicious competition within Hydra truly was brutal, particularly among the younger, stronger members of the radical faction. Those above allowed an environment of the strong preying on the weak to flourish freely among their subordinates. So long as their own positions