The Seeder

After a chase spanning nearly three thousand years, a Security Division officer finally catches up with Pop, an eccentric, ancient-looking alien who has been secretly scattering canisters of life across forbidden planets. Pop’s mission violates a strict central law, and the officer’s orders are simple: find the seeded worlds, sterilize them, and bring the renegade home.

But Pop is not merely a reckless nuisance. He fears that centuries of war may eventually destroy every living thing in their supposedly immortal civilization, leaving no future at all. As the two travelers leave behind a hostile planet and its methane-choked seas, the officer begins to wonder whether Pop’s strange campaign is madness—or a desperate act of preservation. Told with brisk pacing, dry humor, and an inventive alien perspective, this classic science-fiction story explores obedience, survival, and the audacity of creating life where no one expects it.