philipkglass 1 day ago

I'm of accord with the Utopians of Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning:

When a Utopian dies, of anything, the cause is marked and not forgotten until solved. A fall? They rebuild the site to make it safe. A criminal? They do not rest until he is rendered harmless. An illness? It is researched until cured, regardless of the time, the cost, over generations if need be. A car crash? They create their separate system, slower, less efficient, costing hours, but which has never cost a single life. Even for suicide they track the cause, and so, patiently, blade by blade, disarm Death. Death, of course, has many weapons, and, if they have deprived him of a hundred million, he still has enough at hand to keep them mortal. For now.

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paulryanrogers 8 hours ago

So we should not even try to help the sick because 'death' has too many other ways to kill them?

philipkglass 7 hours ago

I mean the opposite. We should continue seeking cures to every fatal condition, from the common to the rare.

paulryanrogers 6 hours ago

Thanks for clarifying. Apparently returning to Reddit has made me cynical.