SHIELD Agent Rhapsodos: A Part That Remains

:: Deceptive ::

Ever since Genesis told Robert of his secret, the former SOLDIER had to give some credit to the old man for being highly discreet and accepting about the subject.

The old man later told Hazel that he and Genesis had made amends and were at a better level understanding. That was when the short girl got too curious for her own good and started to ask questions; questions that Genesis was not comfortable with Robert answering them for him about his past life.

Being unaware that Robert made another topic to rally up her ire at him, the girl's focus on the real question was diverted away. Robert and Hazel then took up to their casual arguments as usual, with Genesis chuckling in the background and letting the two fight it off until they cooled down. The former 1st Class inwardly thanked Robert he was keeping that secret like he promised; taking it with him to the grave.

It wasn't until near lunch Genesis found out his own answers from Robert about the red herring.

"So," Genesis motioned, "was that a diversion tactic?"

Robert shrugged, "If that's what the military calls it, but I would prefer calling it the decoy effect. A lot of people use it every day; mostly marketers do, but I wouldn't be shocked at anyone who's smart enough to con on others to pull it off." The old man then pointed out, "The best thing about it is that you don't lie."

The adolescent leaned his head sideways in thought before he stated, "You gave Hazel another option or topic she wouldn't back down on. That made my past explanation irrelevant and your argument more dominantly appealing."

"Good, good!" the old man smiled at Genesis' conclusion. "I don't think you need any training to spot out what was going on. You've got enough experience to breeze through practical, but you could get to know more on the theory."

"You don't think that military strategic training isn't enough?"

Robert shook his head, "Knowing the roots or basic knowledge to it is one way to have strong foundations in whatever you want to do. Empirically, the decoy effect is just one of the ways to override a person's decision-making."

Genesis understood. As a former commander, he was taught on what 'to do' and 'not to do' during certain situations, and relied on his instincts of what his opponents would think ahead. In this case, Robert was teaching him how and why people made decisions in the first place. It may seem like a lesser sort of knowledge to acquire after being a commander for years; however, Genesis wasn't going to reject any new knowledge if it gave him the upper hand in any situation.

While Genesis had always been aware of decoy tactics, he had never really seen someone using it deliberately on something as trivial as an everyday argument. Robert was fascinating in that way; the reason why the former SOLDIER was drawn to him. He would bet that some of the Turks would use them during assignments and missions, but not on a day-to-day basis. Being so accepting discussing of any sort of knowledge, Robert earned Genesis' approval for the first person he admired on Earth.

"So if I want to know more about the basics of decision-making, what knowledge am I looking for?" he inquired.

As Robert wrote down numerous titles of books on a note, he replied, "Next time you go to the library, I want you to take out these books. They're old, but I'm guessing they'll have updated editions in the recent years. You're going to cover a large range here; economics, philosophy, psychology, mathematics, and statistics. In economics, if you can find a particular book about it, I want you to search something called the 'Game Theory'."

That caused Genesis' brow to rise, "Game Theory?"

"In economics, it's the study of strategic decision-making," the elder man justified. "If you're feeling a little overwhelmed, I think Hazel would be happier to help you with it."