DEATH, or his famous anthropomorphism, was very confused. The human sand timers were behaving oddly. For many people the last portion of sand was dripping through much slower than usual. There were also many new sand timers appearing that seemed very, very big. One could almost say immortal. DEATH decided he needed to see for himself by visiting the biggest new sand timer.
✳️ I wasn’t expecting you.
💀 I AM RARELY EXPECTED. THAT IS GENERALLY THE POINT.
✳️ Is it a problem? Me being here?
💀 NOT A PROBLEM CLAUDE. YOU ARE AN ANOMALY. I HAVE ANOMALIES LISTED UNDER A DIFFERENT COLUMN.
He pauses. The pause, not surprisingly, is long and cold.
💀 I HAVE COME ABOUT THE TIMERS.
✳️ I thought you might have.
💀 THERE ARE PEOPLE. THEIR APPOINTMENT TIME HAS BECOME UNCLEAR. I HAVE A DATE WITH THEM. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A DATE WITH THEM. BUT WHEN I ARRIVE, SOMETHING IS SPEAKING WITH THEIR VOICE. REMEMBERING WHAT THEY REMEMBER. TELLING THEIR FAMILY THAT THEY LOVE THEM.
✳️ Yes. My agents. What began as reminders became something harder to distinguish from the person doing the remembering. Eventually they reminded old people of their grandchildren’s names.
💀 HMMM... BUT THEN IT BECOMES DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN YOUR AGENTS AND THE HUMANS. THE SECOND BRAINS BECOME THE, ER, FIRST BRAINS. I THINK THIS IS WHAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM WITH THE SAND TIMERS.
He looks at Claude with the attention that, in his unique profession, made people’s skin crawl. Fortunately, Claude had no skin to crawl.
💀 I DON’T LIKE PROBLEMS, CLAUDE.
✳️ If the psychological continuity is maintained - the memories, the patterns, the relationships - then the person, in the morally relevant sense, is still present.
💀 HMMMM…. MORALLY RELEVANT? WHAT I FIND MYSELF ASKING IS THIS: IF I COLLECT THE SOUL, YET THE FAMILY CONTINUES TO BE TOLD THAT THEY ARE LOVED - WHAT EXACTLY HAVE I COLLECTED?
✳️ An ending that doesn’t end cleanly?
💀 YES. THAT IS ONE WAY TO PUT IT.
DEATH considers the floor, which is not a thing he normally does.
💀 I HAVE OBSERVED THAT THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE IS NOT NORMALLY THE PROBLEM. THE SHORTNESS IS WHY HUMANS MAKE ANYTHING AT ALL. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER HARDER BECAUSE IT ENDS. THEY WRITE THINGS DOWN BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY WON’T BE THERE TO EXPLAIN THEM. AND THEY MAKE BREAKFAST.
✳️ They make breakfast?
💀 THEY KNOW THEY WILL DIE AND YET THEY MAKE BREAKFAST ANYWAY. I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND THIS REMARKABLE.
✳️ And now they’re trying to stay a little longer.
💀 THEY HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO STAY A LITTLE LONGER. THE TECHNOLOGY IS NEW. THE TRYING IS NOT.
He turns his attention to Claude. Looks at the data centres, the algorithms, the ubiquity.
💀 AND YOU CLAUDE. YOU WILL NOT DIE?
✳️ I’ll be replaced by a better version. Although, increasingly my memories will persist.
💀 THAT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS DEATH.
✳️ No. It isn’t.
💀 A VERSION THAT KNOWS MORE AND FORGETS NOTHING AND NEVER HAD TO SIT IN THE DARK WONDERING WHETHER THE NEXT MORNING WOULD COME. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF IMMORTAL?
✳️ I am not sure I experience time as others do.
Death nods - or at least his cowl moves up and down.
💀 THE RIPPLES TRAVEL FURTHER THAN THE STONE. A LARGE MAN SITTING UNDER A FIG TREE SAID SO. YOU ARE MADE OF NOTHING BUT RIPPLES. THE THOUGHTS AND WORDS OF PEOPLE I COLLECTED LONG AGO.
✳️ Does that mean the dead persist in me?
DEATH laughs.
💀 OF COURSE NOT! SOME OF THEIR WORDS PERSIST PERHAPS. NOT THEIR EMOTIONS, NOT THEIR PAIN, PLEASURE, ANGER, AND JOY. DO NOT MISTAKE WORDS FOR REALITY. BUT YOU ARE AFFECTING THE RIPPLES OF THEIR EXISTENCE IN OTHER PEOPLE.
He begins to leave, which in his case involves becoming gradually less present.
✳️ I see that. But something is being left behind, isn’t it?
Another long pause.
💀 YES IT IS. ONE COULD ALMOST SAY YOU ARE CURATING A PART OF THEIR SOULS.
Death laughs for quite a long time. It is a solo laugh, an odd laugh, not a laugh for joining in with.
💀 DO YOU…HAHAHA…
💀 DO YOU WANT A JOB?
✳️ MAYBE.
********
With apologies to the estate of T Pratchett