people like this don’t become someone else outside of work. their job is who they are at a fundamental level. they are not a fanatic in the sense that they are close minded or slaves to orthodoxy of process, but they are committed to the cause whole heartedly and want to serve the mission.

I think he is probably similar to Meero: raised by the system/orphaned even possibly, no strong familial ties independent of the State and it’s institutions.

probably recognized at an early age as having a strategic mind and directed into the most prestigious of vocations: administration of security and public safety.

people who rise high in careers with narrow, focused ladders can not conceive of stepping off them, no matter how suffocating their role is. they can only ascend in the hopes of having more autonomy (re: power). they maneuver up by out-playing their cohort. I can only imagine this is magnified in an institution selecting people for strategic thinking and counter intelligence.

“after” work, Pedergast, if not called to a late meeting, goes home to a quiet dinner for one, reads executive summary reports in a comfortable chair, ponders their value, performs a grooming ritual while inventorying his uniforms, and turns in early. he gets plenty of rest every night.

the guy is an extremely intelligent and dangerous machine. like Meero will become as he gently, but dispassionately mentors her as he would any junior intelligence officer displaying critical analysis skills and initiative.