the head of Security is giving a briefing.....

The alien was first contacted by the crew of a Martian asteroid mining vessel, the M.S. Catfish....in the words of the crewmembers, they were placed under a spell for some hours, during which time the alien entity presented to them some understanding of what she was and what she wanted to do. By the time the spell was ended, a Security robot probe had almost reached the distressed vessel, and a direct line of communication could be established through this link to Security Headquarters. While under the spell of the alien, the crewmembers report that they were taught that when something on a living planet, such as our Earth, dies, then the accumulated pattern of it's time alive, which the alien calls it's dead soul, is left behind in cold space, as the living planet continues on it's orbit. Thus, a dusty trail of dead souls is hanging in space around the Sun. The alien, who calls herself an Eater of Dead Souls, has proposed to the Government that she be allowed to graze on the dead souls of our ancestors, for her sustenance. In return, she will give humanity the stars. She will convey to us the needed information to travel faster than light, to build bridges to planets where our kind can live. There are many questions to be considered here, moral, technical, and other questions.