Deadman Switch

In this science fiction novel, death-row inmates are used to operate dangerous mining equipment. Only the recently dead can pilot a "deadman switch" to navigate a ship through the Cloud, a mysterious solar entity that surrounds the Solitaire solar system and its valuable heavy metals. Two convicted murderers are typically sacrificed for each journey—one to enter the system, one to exit. Gilead Raca Benedar is a Watcher, employed by a wealthy intergalactic mining company head to detect deception. When Benedar is sent to Solitaire to help secure mining rights to its metal-rich moons, the crew reaches the system safely. However, Benedar's Watcher abilities reveal that the second convict traveling with them—the one scheduled to pilot the deadman switch on the return journey—is innocent.