[ WP ] Killing another human now allows you to exchange your remaining lifespan the victim 's . Young people live in fear while the elderly plan their attacks .

`` I'm sorry,'' the doctor said. `` A few years ago I might have been willing to operate, but now? I just ca n't take the risk.'' He looked at me, old eyes peering out of an unlined face, and I realized just how serious my situation was. At 21, I should have been an ideal candidate. 
 
 `` How long?'' 
 
 Dr Snow shook his head. `` I'm a brain surgeon, son, not an oncologist. You'll have to speak with Dr. Broad again. She'll tell you about your available options.'' 
 
 Four to five months, as it turns out. That's how long she gave me. She tried to be gentle, but I was in no mood to hear how surgery was a long shot anyway. I wanted to scream, to throw tables, smash everything in her pristine little office. 
 
 `` There are options,'' she told me, `` Regarding the way you'd like to die. Most people choose suicide to make sure they do n't inadvertently change spans with anyone.'' Because when you've only got 4 months left, what are a few extra days? 
 
 If I was feeling Catholic, there were the gladiator tourneys, she said, though she did n't approve of them herself. The terminally ill generally did n't fare well against convicts. There were also the `` special care homes''. 
 
 `` How much do those cost?'' I asked. 
 
 `` They pay you.'' 
 
 I must have looked confused, because she quickly went on. `` You've heard of 12 month abortions? Think of it as that in reverse. Not everyone wants dear old mum and dad to live forever.'' 
 
 God. 
 
 `` Is it legal?'' I asked. 
 
 Apparently it was. Officially, I'd be a `` personal caretaker'', and any illegal activity after that would be up to me and a geriatric psychopath. I thought about those people in their hospital beds, desperate for another few decades on Earth. I thought about the 12 month abortionists, using their wombs as a means of achieving temporary immortality. I thought about Dr Snow, who might go on perverting *primum non nocere* until the end of the world. I thought about all these things and chose the best option. 
 
 `` Suicide. I'll go with suicide.'' 
 
 Dr. Broad smiled sympathetically. `` A brave decision, and do n't let anyone tell you otherwise.'' 
 
 There were papers to sign after that, people to inform, a date to be chosen. That would wait for our next appointment, she said. I was too tired to walk unassisted, so she had an orderly fetch a chair then walked me to the front of the clinic. My mother and father were there, looking older than they had an hour ago. They had been speaking with Dr. Snow, who received a slight nod from Dr. Broad then clapped my father on the shoulder. 
 
 `` You raised a good boy, Mr Cooper.'' 
 
 The words hung in the quiet air of the clinic. Finally, my father moved to take the handles of the chair. 
 
 `` Thank you, Dr. Broad,'' my father said, but he would n't look her in the eye.
