Oh dear. The Man asks himself if he can kill The Boy – to prevent others from harming him in worse ways – if and when "the time comes." McCarthy's language reaches a beautiful, sympathetic pitch here – "Hold him in your arms. Just so. The soul is quick." We also want to point out other famous conundrums of this sort, in which a father has to sacrifice what he most loves for a greater good. The biblical story of Abraham and Isaac comes to mind, in which God asks Abraham to kill his only son, then at the last minute says "just kidding." God and Jesus also come to mind.