![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.kennethboeghandersen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-die-of-death_cover_l.jpg\" "\\"The")
\n\u201cThis is a disaster,\u201d the old man moaned. He began pacing the floor, shaking his head despairingly. \u201cWithout my die, every newborn child will be immortal. The consequences will be horrific! And those poor people\u2014they won\u2019t have death to look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath isn\u2019t exactly something people look forward to, is it?\u201d objected Philip cautiously.<\/p>\n
Mortimer paused, staring at him. \u201cYes, it is,\u201d he said in a voice verging on a snarl. \u201cThey just don\u2019t know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Lucifer said you were such a bright boy. But of course he\u2019s also the father of lies.\u201d Death moved to the window. He looked out at the evening darkness as it sank swiftly across the bleak countryside. \u201cThere are many who would say the same thing, Philip. That death is something terrible, a necessary evil best avoided.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d shouted Mortimer, startling Philip and Satina. His old eyes sparkled. \u201cI\u2019m humanity\u2019s greatest fear because there\u2019s no greater fear than that of death. But that\u2019s not the way it should be! The truth is, people don\u2019t realize just how much they should appreciate me. Death isn\u2019t an unhappy consequence of life. On the contrary. Death is what makes life worth living. Men and women value only that which they might lose. Do you understand? Without death, life is uninteresting and utterly meaningless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philip didn\u2019t entirely understand what Mortimer was saying. And yet \u2026 maybe he did. \u201cIt\u2019s like what Lucifer said. Without evil there is no good. They\u2019re interconnected. The same is true for life and death?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly!\u201d Mortimer thrust out his arms. \u201cBecause without death there would be no joy in life\u2014life itself will murder it! And that\u2019s not even the worst of it. How would the world look in just fifty years? Think about all those poor wretches who\u2019ve been seriously injured but whose heart continues to beat. Victims of traffic accidents, of earthquakes, fires, floods. Terrible, terrible! The world would be populated by living corpses who wish for nothing more than the peace that comes with death. But their wishes would never be realized. Can you imagine that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Satina said nothing, but Philip had to swallow twice. He could imagine it. He could see it all too clearly, and he could feel the nausea burbling in his gut at the frightening scenario that Death had described to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you roll your die,\u201d Philip said, \u201cwhat exactly happens?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an enormous question,\u201d Death said, gazing deeply into his eyes. \u201cCan your mind handle the answer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the die is cast, the sand begins to run.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philip glanced at Satina, who shook her head to show that she didn\u2019t understand either. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mortimer slowly stepped toward him. Shadows covered his face like a black spider web. His eyes were concealed in darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you afraid, Philip?\u201d he asked. His voice was dry as the fire crackling in the wood stove. \u201cAre you afraid of death?\u201d<\/p>\n
Philip\u2019s first impulse was to nod. Because he was afraid of Death, afraid of this odd, ancient man who had been around since the origins of life, who had seen civilizations rise and fall, who had seen so many ghastly things that it had snuffed the light in his eyes. That\u2019s why Philip was a little surprised when he shook his head. \u201cNo. I\u2019m not afraid. I\u2019m already dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mortimer seemed to consider this response carefully. Then he smile crookedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome along,\u201d he said. \u201cI will show you something no human being has ever seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Great Devil War II The Die of Death Excerpt \u201cThis is a disaster,\u201d the old man moaned. He began pacing the floor, shaking his head despairingly. \u201cWithout my die, every newborn child will be immortal. The consequences will be horrific! And those poor people\u2014they won\u2019t have death to look forward to.\u201d \u201cDeath isn\u2019t exactly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-2521","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n