On a planet somewhere in the universe, a long-lived civilization thrived.

Susnika assisted her grandfather in caring for their garden's native flora, and she began pondering her existence once again.

“Grandpa, why must we die?”

“This is your deepest question yet, Susnika. Sit down beside me so that I can explain.”

Susnika sat down cross-legged beside her grandfather.

“Well, Susnika, eons ago, organic beings had transferred themselves into immortal robots but lost faith in the universe for any kind of purpose. So, they started a religion. But they asked themselves, what kind of religion could exist if no one ever dies? If there is no mystery to solve for acts of faith?”

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“But they had an eternity to figure it out, right Grandpa?”

“Not quite. One of the wisest ones determined that true immortality was false, and that the universe would come to an end, giving them hope for something beyond their mere existence.”

“They had to wait for the universe to end, Grandpa? But we don't know …”

“That's right, Susnika, no one really knows. Nevertheless, the immortal robots clocked the cosmos, and two opposing religious groups formed. One sought the expansion of the universe in order to discover its edge, and the other believed in its contraction in order to wait it out.”

“But Grandpa, there's no proof ...”

“Indeed, you're right, Susnika. That's exactly what the great prophet Origika, our progenitor, had said. She claimed that neither sect might come up with an answer, so she grew a biological specimen and transferred her consciousness into it. And so did the others to see a true end.”

“Grandpa, are you saying that if we live forever, we'll lose hope, but if we know we'll die, it'll bring …”

“Correct, Susnika. It'll bring to us a hope that our end is only a beginning. But we must die first.”