He nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but I held one hand up.

“No one will ever test that more than I will test it now,” I warned him.

He waited, eyes confused and wary.

I took a deep breath, felt it expand my lungs.

“I know how to do what you’ve been ending so many lives to discover. I know how to take the souls from your bodies without harm to either. Of course I know that. We all have to, in case of an emergency. I even performed the emergency procedure once, when I was a Bear.”

I stared at him, waiting for his response. It took him a long moment, and his eyes grew wilder every second.

“Why are you telling me this?” he finally gasped.

“Because I… I am going to give you the knowledge you need.” I held up my hand again. “But only if you will give me what I want in return. I’m warning you right now, it won’t be any easier for you to give me what I want than it will be for me to give you what you want.”

His face was fiercer than I’d ever seen it. “Name your terms.”

“You can’t kill them—the souls you remove. You must give me your word—your promise, your oath, your vow—that you will give them safe conduct on to another life. This means some danger; you will have to have cryotanks, and you will have to get those souls onto shuttles off-planet. You have to send them to another world to live. But they won’t be able to hurt you. By the time they reach their next planet, your grandchildren will be dead.”

Would my conditions mitigate my guilt in this? Only if Doc could be trusted.

He was thinking very hard as I explained. I watched his face to see what he would make of my demand. He didn’t look angry, but his eyes were still wild.

“You don’t want us to kill the Seeker?” he guessed.

I didn’t answer his question because he wouldn’t understand the answer; I did want them to kill her. That was the whole problem. Instead, I explained further.

“She’ll be the first, the test. I want to make sure, while I’m still here, that you’re going to follow through. I will do the separation myself. When she is safe, I’ll teach you how it’s done.”

“On who?”

“Kidnapped souls. The same as before. I can’t guarantee you that the human minds will come back. I don’t know if the erased can return. We’ll see with the Seeker.”

Doc blinked, processing something. “What do you mean, while you are still here? Are you leaving?”

I stared at him, waiting for the realization to hit. He stared back, uncomprehending.

“Don’t you realize what I’m giving you?” I whispered.