“I want to save his life. The reconditioning is merely... a necessary component of survival.”
Dresner corrected.
Fury and horror warred in my chest.
Xavier would rather die than go back to being Blackout.
“No.” The word came out flat. Absolute. “You can’t do that to him.”
“Can’t? Ms. Bolton, I’m offering him survival. Maybe a few hours versus indefinite operational lifespan. The mathematics are quite simple.”
Dresner’s eyebrow rose.
“It’s not about math!” I was shouting now, past caring about control or strategy. “You’d be erasing him! Everything he fought to retrieve!”
“I’d be preserving the neural architecture before it deteriorates beyond salvage. What he ‘fought for’ is irrelevant if he’s dead.”
Dresner’s calm never wavered.
Xavier made a sound, low, agonized. Convulsed again, harder this time.
“See? He’s suffering. Unnecessarily. I can end this.”
Dresner gestured to the displays.
“Don’t.” Xavier’s rasp was barely audible. Directed at Dresner. “Don’t... help.”
“The subject is delirious.”
“He knows exactly what he’s saying!” I yanked against the restraints so hard the table rattled. “Xavier, I’m here. Tell him...”
Xavier sought me again. Clearer for a moment.
“Kill me.” Each word came with visible effort. “Or... reactivate. Can’t... can’t take this... anymore.”
The plea shattered something in my chest.
He was begging for death. Preferring it to this slow, agonizing deterioration.
“I’ll do it.” Xavier continued, looking at Dresner now. Desperate. Broken. “Whatever... you want. Just... please.”
Wetness streamed down my cheeks. “Xavier, don’t...”
“Please.” His eyes squeezed shut. “Make it... stop.”
Dresner’s expression shifted. Satisfaction. Xavier had confirmed a hypothesis.
“You see, Ms. Bolton? Even the strongest will breaks under sufficient pain. Survival instinct overrides sentiment eventually.”
He moved to the technical equipment, fingers dancing across touchscreens.
“Don’t do this.” I was begging now. Past pride. Past strategy. “Please. Just let him go.”
“Letting him go means letting him die. Is that what you want? To watch him suffer and then expire?”
Dresner didn’t look up from his preparations.
“I want you to fix him without erasing him!”
