[ WP ] When a person dies , they do not leave their body . They are sentient inside their corpse until it is destroyed/decomposed .

`` We are gathered here, in the sight of the Gods and in the presence of friends and family, to observe the passing of Mr. John Carlyle.'' 
 
 The soft *woosh* of the beginning flames punctuates the Speaker's introduction. John was an Orson Scott Card fanatic. This sendoff was in his will. 
 
 `` John died just this morning. It has been said,'only the dead have seen the end of war.' Today, John has seen the end of his. As he wished, I have come to speak the truth of his life as best I have been able to gather it, while he is still with us, to hear it spoken.'' 
 
 And Speak he did. As the flames rose up around the body of John Carlyle, the truths of his life were laid out in plain, simple language. His indiscretions. His love of life and family. The pain he suffered battling cancer for three long years. 
 
 Inside the silent flesh of his corpse, John heard it all. The flames drowned out the sound of his wife crying, and for that he was grateful. Almost as grateful as he was that his corpse could not feel the flames consuming it. 
 
 `` And so,'' the Speaker concluded, `` We see John off for one last time. As it has been since the days of our ancestors, we commit his body to the cleansing flames, so that his soul may be set free. Go, John, and be at peace.'' 
 
 The bones of John heard no more.
