I used to think death was the worst thing in the world, the cessation of existence, the great unknown. But now I see differently, if not better. Let me begin with an example: my cat Misty. Always bitter and neurotic, she now causes innumerable hours of suffering and pain to herself and others. Seeing her stuck in an infinite loop, in a short circuit hurts so bad sometimes. She'll do the same task over and over again, or continue forward even when it's hurt her before. To see her chewing at invisible food on the plate... ugh.
Yeah, she's probably going to be executed pretty soon. We can't keep cleaning up her mess since she won't use the litterbox anymore. One of these days she'll be dead, but on the other hand she won't spend all those nights locked in the garage, crying in stupid agony in the cold because she is so messed up to deliberately urinate on the carpet. Death for her would probably be an improvement. Sure we won't have her soft body to cuddle anymore, but all the pain and hardship we suffer will go away as well.
The real evil is not her death, it's the slow degradation of her mind and body: the weakening joints, the thinning frame, the dimming mind, all products of Entropy. Even aging wouldn't be so bad if it was balanced, but Entropy is not balanced; it is one way, inexorable, irreversible, ultimate. I wouldn't mind a temporary death. I could forgive Misty's aging and destructive senility in a second if she would just get better someday.
But like a shattered teacup, the tyrant Entropy ensures that she will never ever get better. In that case, as nonaggressive a creature as I am, I would have to agree that death is no longer a tragedy; it pales in comparison to the Great Unbalancer: Entropy. The Nothing. It. The Dark. Denier of magic, taker of joy and life, the fact that Entropy always increases is the cause of all suffering in this world.
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