Is death the only thing guaranteed in our lives?

[ROSEY-ANN]

Death, the only thing in life that is guaranteed. That’s what people say and that’s what we all think. However, what if it isn’t?

(Location 26 of Kindle version)

The author gets a start to his story with the above statement. He says that 'people say so'. Do actually people say like that? Do you too think like that? What is the actual relevance of this statement to this story?

This is about the book, not the subject in general, so you MUST answer the second question as well. (the mod)

People do say that death is guaranteed. No, I do not think that death is the only thing based on the book that is guaranteed since there were so many outcomes to Gary's decisions. The statement becomes relevant as one of the main characters died.

[ROSEY-ANN]

That statement was not relevant to the entire story but I agree with it. When you are alive, you have a freewill, you can do anything and control almost every thing about your life, but death you can't. It is guaranteed and no matter how cautious we can get, we can't run away from it.

In addition, Michelle's death seemed inevitable once Garry made lucidly dreamed about harming her. Gary took Michelle's life and all he did, in the end, was trying to save himself from reaping the consequences.

[ROSEY-ANN]

I agree that death is the only thing that is guaranteed. It is the only thing we cannot escape. But for me what is more important is how you view life before you meet that guarantee. How you can make a difference. Knowing that death is a guarantee can lead you in two directions, make the most out of it and enjoy life to the fullest. Or just go with the flow and endure life. For me, I always choose the first. It is relevant as a whole because it talks about life and how the different Garry's perceived life.

Michelle's character embodied the sentiment you expressed. Michelle was outgoing and was keen on enjoying life. In fact, so were Sinead and Gary. When you looked at the main characters there were young, vibrant, and full of life.

[ROSEY-ANN]

I don't think people say that. What I've heard a lot is that we'll all die one day, so why not live your life today. With regards to real life, I think it is guaranteed though what comes after, not so much. I think it's relevance is that people are freed from the infinite number of things that could happen because of them or that they could do.

When one looks at the author's statement. I think it was hinting at the fact that someone will die and this death is what the story surrounds without this event the book would have been different.

[ROSEY-ANN]

Yes, I think people believe that "death is the only thing in life that is guaranteed". But the statement assumes one death and one life, the story opens up the possibility of many lives and therefore many deaths? In a world of multi-universes, is there a first life that splits off into many? The questions surrounding this subject are myriad and fascinating. I think the statement is enormously relevant.

I definitely agree with you. The author's statement regarding death opened up thinking about the possibility of many lives and many deaths. Additional the statement also opens up the thinking of continuing to live in another dimension (worldline).

[ROSEY-ANN]

I think that this is an excellent question to think about. I'm on the fritz about this because part of me feels like it is guaranteed but the other part of me wonders if it isn't. The part of me that thinks it isn't is only because I have watched waaaayyyy too many Sci-Fi movies about incubating people for centuries and when they wake up they are perfectly fine. The other part of me that feels like it is guaranteed is because by nature, we as humans all pass at one point. Then the other question that arises is whether we can become reincarnated, which would be a WHOLE other thing.

This author has brought the concept of reincarnation to a whole new level, and it is more convincing with his scientific backing rather than a mere spiritual explanation. Yes, there are many things that we do not know about death. So this author's theory of quantum immortality is worth to give some consideration, and it is hard to totally disregard.

Well said. The author's theory of quantum immortality provides us with something to think about. I think the author developed the story around questioning the finality of death and offering another perspective on how life could be.

[ROSEY-ANN]

The whole idea of so called quantum immortality is very engaging. It's even philosophical, I would say I learned about it from this book, and I'm very grateful to the author for this. But, yes, people use to say that death is the only thing that's guaranteed. The author tried to show that human consciousness can travel from one universe to other, thus being immortal.

Well said!! I think the author did a great job building a story around the whole idea of immortality. How he connected Gary's ability to lucid dream with that of the concept of Gary's consciousness moving between worldlines was excellent.

[Daniella Dhanesar]

Where I'm from, this is frequently said, mainly in the phrase "I don't absolutely have to do anything but die" which refers to death being the only thing that we all must face. Yes death is the only guarantee, in my opinion

[Ashley-Osuna]

I think I have heard that same phrase somewhere before, but I don't think I completely agree with it. I think that while it is true that death is guaranteed, change is also something that is guaranteed during our lifetimes. I'm not sure about how relevant it was to the story, but it was definitely an engaging way to begin the story.

[yomide]

I think I have heard that same phrase somewhere before, but I don't think I completely agree with it. I think that while it is true that death is guaranteed, change is also something that is guaranteed during our lifetimes. I'm not sure about how relevant it was to the story, but it was definitely an engaging way to begin the story.

You are right about change being a guaranteed part of life. I mean if death be the only thing guaranteed, what about change. We all change every now and then, even death is a part of change, and i am darn certain that tax is too. Because taxes started at a point, which means it has not always been there, even life is.Mothers change physically when they give birth so i even life is a change. That which i am trying to say is maybe change is the ONLY thing guaranteed.

[lavkathleen]

I have heard people say this. Oftentimes it is used to mean "don't take anything for granted" because death is the only thing you are guaranteed in life. I think it's true to some extent; there should be certain things/people you can rely on in life, but you should be grateful for those things/people and not take them for granted. I think the statement just serves as an interesting introduction to the story, setting up the sentence: "My name is Gary Jackson, and I, like you, will probably live forever."

Wow, that's a nice meaning to it. I just keep on saying depressing things. Anyway, it is an introduction to that sentence but it wasn't teased that they were taking the immortality route either. It was discussed as a thought experiment by other scientists, but there was nothing else other than that. I suspect that the author is going to explore this in the next books, though.

[lavkathleen]

That statement was not relevant to the entire story but I agree with it. When you are alive, you have a freewill, you can do anything and control almost every thing about your life, but death you can't. It is guaranteed and no matter how cautious we can get, we can't run away from it.

Hmm, that's an interesting way of saying it. I didn't just think of it as a random statement, though. Like some has already pointed out, it was an introduction to another sentence where Gary said that we're all going to live forever. It wasn't explored in the book, but I feel like it's a teaser for the following installments.

[lavkathleen]

I didn't really understand what the author meant by this statement, but death is guaranteed. I don't think that it's the only guaranteed thing, though.

I thought it was an angsty way to open your story; I was intrigued right away. You're right, though, it's not the only thing guaranteed. As some have said, the events before that are just as important. I want to see the author's plans with this statement, though! How is he going to put Gary and immortality together?

[lavkathleen]

I agree that death is the only thing that is guaranteed. It is the only thing we cannot escape. But for me what is more important is how you view life before you meet that guarantee. How you can make a difference. Knowing that death is a guarantee can lead you in two directions, make the most out of it and enjoy life to the fullest. Or just go with the flow and endure life. For me, I always choose the first. It is relevant as a whole because it talks about life and how the different Garry's perceived life.

It's such an awesome way to open the story. Or depressing. By "how different Gary's perceived life," do you mean how he sees life? That's interesting. He probably didn't think this way until the reality of the multiverse was revealed to him.

[lavkathleen]

The plot of the story doesn't seem to agree with it but I do. Life is so unpredictable and the only guaranteed thing would be death which we come to all of us some day. The author says 'people say so' and so I guess the author is right.

I feel like it doesn't only concern the first book, though. We still have the rest of the series in front of us. And I just realized that if he believes that all of us, including him, are going to live forever, then does that mean he believes Michelle lives forever, too? Is the author planning on going down that route, showing us his journey there?