Worse Than Death – What fate is worse than death? The differences in philosophies between the two Nihileafs is almost perfectly understood in their responses to observing a dying fish. On the one branch Brump looks at the dying aquatic organism and sees imminent death, that which is most abhorred and so greatly feared that Brump can’t imagine anything worse, whereas on the other branch Stoke looks at the dying creature and knows that all its suffering will cease with its death. It should also be noted that if the fish was swimming around healthily and happily that the two Nihileafs would likely have the same reactions! And the fish itself, what does it think? Surely it must want its suffering to end, yet why doesn’t it flop around until it is back underwater. Perhaps it simply wants to die, a fish’s suicide is as simple as plopping up onto a rock and waiting for the end. Or does it not struggle for survival because a cruel and callous creator has fated it to die there, suffering in the process like Prometheus, for the sake of a simple metaphor meant for two unsuspecting plants. If that were the case than the fish’s suffering had meaning. It’s life had meaning! How joyous for the fish. And its suffering and life’s meaning was this, that life is suffering and has no meaning. And what a lesson for the Nihileafs to have made for them, surely they must be grateful and be thinking, ‘so long and thanks for all the fish’. – Zachary