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after Alice for me. Deep breath. Can t do that ... from prison.
A joke, Toby realized. No doctor had actually gone to jail for helping a
terminal patient die. But both knew doctors who d lost their licenses for it.
Toby laughed quietly. Okay, Ben. Whatever you say. He turned to go.
Cryonics is a longshot. Don t risk your career ... for a longshot.
Toby did not turn back, nor did he answer. He wasn t sure how his voice would
sound right then.
Max had been talking to Harvey Bacon, the chief cryonic tech-nician.
She was sure that her own expression was now a portrait of her disbelief
and disgust.
You can go back in, Toby said.
Did you know about this? she asked.
No. I just found out. Like you.
Incredible, she muttered, going back inside. To Max, cry-onics was a fraud,
a waste of money. And worse, it deprived living people of healthy, lifesaving
organs that might otherwise have been donated.
How could her father have fallen for this scam? He used to be such a realist.
But Toby refused to play judge. Some people spent $100,000 on their own
goddamn funeral, didn t they? Or left their money to some televangelist,
looking to buy a place in heaven. Maybe cryonics would actually work. Who the
hell could know? Ben had always been smart, even prescient, so maybe he was
right again.
Jan and Rebecca followed Max into the ICU.
Rebecca s reservations were quite different from her sister s: What would she
tell Katie and George?
Was their grandfather dead or in limbo? They d want to know what had happened
to his soul. She knew damn well he d never be revived, but he wouldn t be at
rest either at least not in their minds. They d never be able to let go of
him. How could he have done this to them?
Financial problems had beset Noah and Jan s law partnership. Their
practice now consisted almost exclusively of personal in-jury cases, which
required large capital outlay against uncertain outcome. No meaningful
settlements had been forthcoming, while competition in that field had
intensified. They both seemed to be working much harder even as they fell
further into debt; starving hamsters on a relentless treadmill.
And just four days ago Jan had learned that she was pregnant with their third
child, a fact she hadn t yet revealed to anyone. Noah would not be pleased
with the news. What would happen to all of her father s money? she wondered.
Jan felt guilty for thinking it, but the thoughts still came: Was he going to
keep it? He couldn t spend it where he was going, but they sure could use it.
He d never try to take it with him, would he? Damn! Noah had been right, as
usual. She should ve helped her father prepare his will.
You re gonna be frozen
? Max was saying to Ben, appar-ently struggling to keep a sympathetic tone
to her voice. Why didn t you tell us, Dad?
Knew you d ... try to ... talk me out of it, he whispered. But ... I had to
... do it ... Needed to know ... there s a chance ... my death ... might not
be ... permanent. Any chance.
Jan could feel her own fingernails biting into her palm. You can t be
serious.
Rebecca glared at her. Whoops. Jan said nothing more. I m sorry, Ben said.
All three women began to cry again.
I never wanted to hurt you. Any of you. I m so sorry. I didn t ... think ...
Suddenly monitor alarms were going off. Then Ben s right hand lurched toward
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his chest.
Oh my God, Max gasped, running out of the room, calling after Toby. Another
infarction. Come quick!
Now Ben s discomfort and anxiety had vanished. He felt him-self hovering near
the ceiling, as if floating atop a swimming pool filled with a thickly saline
emulsion. Below him, with wires and tubes attached, was a comatose body. His
body. People strode about it resolutely, but he detected little energy
emanating from the body itself. He thought he saw it me? he wondered
dazedly still breathing, just barely. Now
Toby was barking instructions at the nurse, who ran out to fetch some-thing.
Then Toby asked Rebecca and Jan to wait outside. But I might need you, Max,
so stay right here, just in case.
Max nodded.
In fact, Toby said moments later, maybe you d better go get a crash cart.
She nodded again, and rushed out to find a nurse.
Now they were alone, just Toby and Ben, and Toby seemed to be at the cusp of
decision; Ben could almost feel his friend s mind at work.
I hope you really want this, Toby whispered. His hands were trembling as he
carefully removed a syringe from his pocket and covertly injected the contents
into the port on the IV pouch. Goodbye, Ben.
You will be missed.
Even with his mind shutting down, Ben understood.
Morphine
.
Toby called Harvey Bacon and the rest of the Phoenix team in-side. His heart
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