Tomorrow would be the last day of his current life, he thought, as he finished his day of work and got ready to go home… his wife would be waiting for him, they had decided to celebrate the night, not by hosting a huge party, but in each other’s company.. before he left, he made sure he had passed on all his responsibilities to his colleagues…
he drove slowly, as though savouring each moment, for he didnt know if he would be seeing these sights again… well, he could know if he chose to, but he liked it this way… he shifted his thoughts, for these thoughts were for later in the night…
she was waiting for him, wearing the dress he loved to see her in… she smiled at him, a smile with a feeling he couldn’t place… strange, for though he couldn’t place it, he knew exactly what she was feeling.. no, it was not sadness, death was an inevitability they were all taught to accept… dinner was everything that he loved, and finally it was time for the one thing he had been postponing… he took out their box, the one branded ‘lifefiles’…
it was programmed to accept only his and his wife’s unique codes, he adjusted the controls so he could see his life the next day…. as the images flicked across the screen, he got to know that he would be dying on the way to work.. he had always hated the turn in the tunnel just before his office.. his wife was watching too, and again he could sense the strange feeling in both of them…a lot of people saw these images early in their life, for the day of death was given to you on the day you were born, along with your unique code, so you could access ‘lifefiles’ anytime you wished…
but to know your past and future lives, special permission was required from the authorities…a long time ago, people had tried to play around with their death situation, like not being at the place of death, but they realised that it led to unnecessary complications, and they died anyway,so gradually people stopped the fiddling and accepted the facts… the same way they had accepted the presence of a superior power a longer time ago… accepted it, when the power had started direct communication to them, at a time when humanity was its worst, with its continuous obsession for others, within the species and without..
well, times were different now, for after getting convinced that humanity was behaving itself,the power had told them the secrets of life and death… he also told them that he had revealed it to their ancestors aeons ago, but the knowledge had got lost as time passed…he wondered about his ancestors, how would it have been to wonder about the cycles of life and death, not knowing when you would die… to wonder about your existence and its meaning… all of which was impossible these days, for you knew the answers and the questions already… he wondered what was better, not knowing the answers or knowing them and not being able to do anything about them…. both of them were strange feelings…
until next time, whats the question??
quote
for you knew the answers and the questions already… he wondered what was better, not knowing the answers or knowing them and not being able to do anything about them…. both of them were strange feelings…
unquote
speechless!
ignorance is my security blanket…
austere
oww!!
For a second there I thought that finally we had a science-fiction post here… and then it turned into one of those very strong thought-provoking ones.. but really I don’t know whats better – though sometimes I do wish I knew the future/could see the future. Then that would take all the excitement away though – wouldn’t it??
Love a dialogue from Troy by Brad Pitt which goes around the point that – Gods they envy us, because they are immortal while we humans are mortal and can die the next minute.. something like that! 🙂
nice read this post…
but for me , death doesnt scare me … my death that is , i wudn mind o know my “deathday” but of the others – its a horrific thot to know the day / time of the death of loved ones …poor wife ..
and this is one of woody allen’s gem for you
“It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
HA !
whoa .. nice!
‘he wondered what was better, not knowing the answers or knowing them and not being able to do anything about them.’
And the worst is i guess knowing and not doing anything about it …
More! More! 🙂
austere: mine too, but i love to peep out from under it 🙂
nupur: ah, would love to try science fiction, was an asimov addict, he’s the best..:)
sanguine: yeah, have read that woody allen line, a real gem.. doubt if death scares anyone, its the after death uncertainty..
coolcat: now not doing anything when u can is a kickable offense..hehe 🙂
whoa!!! one o those again!!!!
hmm but since im on holiday now, i wont think bout da question n da answer…jus live…live till u die living 😀
wow…wonder why I didn’t come here earlier 🙂 and congrats abt two years of blogging…I’m finishing one year soon :)….can I link you???
Thought-provocating.
I think id rather not know. Life would be too predictable and bland.
I like to believe Im in control of my decisions.
Even if Im not.
I like to believe.
well this one took a completely different turn from the others that preceded. i would go for not knowing.. it would make things a lot simpler i say. also we would not have lines like ‘we gotta live like it was our last day today’..
elixir: oh my…holiday!! enjoy 🙂
angel: well u did, sometime back..:).. and er, hmm, still thinking on y would i not like u linking me.. of course u can 🙂
ash: now that, i can underatand 🙂
aqua: would it??.. i still believe that with each answer comes a whole new set of questions..:)
Ohhh!! Same pinch – I love Asimov tooo… he’s written some great stuff!! 🙂
Interesting….but I prefer NO-At-all to Know-it-all 🙂
nupur: have u read dean koontz, he writes thrillers, but sometimes adds science fiction to it..
stone: but why??
its fun to know things before hand. but death?? no way!
At least we choose our fate while we live… our destiny is not sealed with a lock, untouchable, we can change it right now with good actions…
I don´t want to see my day of departure either! 🙂
the question is how do u come up with these stunnears again and again??
erratica: but why not??…
tyler: can we? what if those good actions are anyway part of the destiny??