This was probably the closest Lu Zhou had ever come to death.
That wording might have been a little ambiguous. Or, to put it another way... this was the closest he had ever come to a dead person.
Apartment Building No. 1 at IMCRC.
Police cars filled the space downstairs.
An old man in plain clothes stood outside the cordon. Guilt and grief drew the wrinkles on his face together. With his palms pressed together, he sobbed quietly, as though confessing his sins.
"It was all my fault... I signed that piece of paper..."
Standing beside Professor Frank Wilczek, Professor Witten patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"You can't blame yourself. Wherever a soul about to embark on its final journey may be, it will ultimately head in the same direction. I hope he finds the answers he wanted on the other side."
"As for us, both our lives and the paths beneath our feet must go on."
A number of IMCRC researchers stood beside them, along with interns who had followed their supervisors here to work and study.
Many of them had heard of Professor Milo's work, as well as his novel idea of "cosmic animism."
Although most could not agree with it, a small minority thought the theory seemed to have some merit.
Unlike "deities" as people ordinarily understood them, Professor Milo's theory seemed to describe concepts such as "the universe does not obey reason" and "a disorderly higher consciousness governs the laws of nature."
It was just that this sounded rather frightening.
If all of it were true, then physics would be like searching for patterns in an endless string of irrational numbers. It really would be largely meaningless.
Looking at the apartment with its curtains drawn, several people discussed it in hushed voices.
"It's a little frightening..."
"Yeah."