Another Version of the Cat’s Path to Immortality

Books often say that death happens in three stages, as information gradually disappears, like a picture being erased bit by bit by a magical eraser. The first stage is physical death: your heartbeat and breathing stop in the hospital, your brain and heart scans show no activity, and the doctor pronounces you dead. The second stage is social death: family and friends observe a moment of silence at your funeral, mourners recall the important events of your life, and your family cancels your ID, social insurance card, and other records. The matter is finally laid to rest, and unless something extraordinary happens, no one will ever talk about you again. The ancients valued their names above all else. It was another kind of immortality. The third stage is complete extinction: the last person who remembers you is gone, and not a trace of information about you remains in the world. Even the final fragment of your existence is gone. Cats are the same. But is eternal life really what they want? Immortality is both a blessing and a misfortune, both a reward and a punishment...