White Noise

by Don DeLillo

A person has to be told he is going to die before he can begin to live life to the fullest. True or false?” “False. Once your death is established, it becomes impossible to live a satisfying life.”

This is the whole point of technology. It creates an appetite for immortality on the one hand. It threatens universal extinction on the other.

This is why we are here. A tiny minority. To embody old things, old beliefs. The devil, the angels, heaven, hell. If we did not pretend to believe these things, the world would collapse.”