"[The black hole observation station] appeared in [Kilbirnie's] screen, a lumpy globule, now under command of its own computer, retreating against the Milky Way." (p. 342)
However, Kilbirnie, unable to retreat, plunges into the accretion disk and:
"...through the gate of death..." (p. 343)
Death is the cessation of life processes so I expect Kilbirnie, and anyone else, to go to but not through it. Can mental states exist independently of matter? Logically possible (I think) but inherently unverifiable. Empirically, mental states are generated by neural processes but can they be recorded or reproduced by some other process? And does this ever happen? IIRC, the Envoy crew theorize that it might happen in the accretion disk. I will be interested to reread the rationale for this.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I also thought of the "Sky Cave" we see in WE CLAIM THESE STARS. Some of the Ardazirho in that story considered the Sky Cave the entrance to their version of Hell. Another "gate of death"!
I think it's an advance if you concede at least the possibility of some kind of existence after bodily death. (Smiles)
Ad astra! Sean
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