[ WP ] You live on a world full of immortal beings . For the first time in the history of the world 's existence , somebody has died .

`` You know our code. We are here only to observe. To do anything else is to err.'' 
 
 `` Do not mock me. Of course I know the code. But we both know that this is something different. Every rule has its exception, no matter how rarely it occurs.'' 
 
 `` The last time we thought like that, we caused unimaginable abominations. Atrocities. We can not do so again.'' 
 
 `` Can you not see? The abomination is here in front of us. It has happened to one of us.'' 
 
 `` We can not know that for sure.'' 
 
 `` But we *can* know for sure... if we investigate.'' 
 
 The dissenting man frowned and looked into the bedroom once again. The body was still there, unmoving on the bed. At any moment, he expected the body to move... but it did not. He had to admit, it was strange. 
 
 `` We must take this to the Council,'' he said finally. `` Such a decision is beyond the two of us to make.'' 
 
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 `` Dead? Impossible.'' 
 
 `` We can not know that for certain. Nothing like this has ever happened to any of us; it is a completely new phenomenon. Until we study what has happened here, we will be at a loss. We have the records with which to check his conditions...'' 
 
 `` Absolutely not. Those records were sealed for a reason. And besides, you know the code. We all agreed upon it. We can not investigate. Even the act of observation, if done incorrectly, can change conditions. We must be careful.'' 
 
 `` If I am correct, none of that matters now. His condition will not change.'' 
 
 `` And if you are incorrect?'' 
 
 The Great Hall, full of murmurs a second before, grew suddenly quiet. The presiding Head Master of the Council looked upon the witness with sadness in his eyes. 
 
 `` You have been among us for a great time, but you were not here when we decided to become the Observers. You know what happened, but you did not experience it. I was there, those eons ago. I saw it. I experienced it. We can not risk it again. And if this man you bring before us is indeed alive, it would be foul of us to change that.'' 
 
 The Great Hall was still silent. Many of the Members nodded their heads slowly in agreement. The witness frowned. 
 
 `` You are correct. I was not there. I did not observe The Great Experiment. But it has been my duty to observe that which we left behind on that planet. And I tell you, this man appears in almost every way to resemble one of their dead.'' 
 
 `` *Almost* every way?'' 
 
 `` Yes. The bodies of their dead decay very quickly. This man has not decayed at all, despite being unmoving for several years.'' 
 
 `` Then, indeed, can we not deduce that he must be alive?'' 
 
 `` We can not. We do not know what cause death might have upon our bodies.'' 
 
 `` That is because we do not die.'' 
 
 `` As far as we know. In all our time, have we not learned that anything is possible? Before we attempted to create life on Earth, we had no concept of death.'' 
 
 `` This conversation is pointless,'' the Head Master said with a scowl. `` I will not argue with you any longer. This Council's decision is final.'' The Head Master waved his hand to dismiss the witness. 
 
 The witness turned to leave, then hesitated. He turned and looked at the Members. They had already turned their attention away from the witness and were murmuring once again. The witness felt a strange emotion gather in his gut: anger. 
 
 `` You have grown weak!'' he bellowed. The murmuring stopped. The Head Master looked at him, annoyed. `` You have become pathetic. The whole lot of you sit in this Great Hall and deliberate endlessly, always deciding not to act. Well I say that is nonsense.'' 
 
 The Head Master leaned forward. `` Are you quite done, young man?'' 
 
 `` I may be younger than you, but I have lived for several millennia, and I think that is long enough to have some wisdom. In fact, it seems likely to me that living much longer only puts you out of touch. You are all living proof of that.'' 
 
 `` How dare you...!'' 
 
 `` I'm not done yet,'' the witness interrupted. Indignant murmurs swelled in the Great Hall, but the Members listened. `` I was assigned to observe the humans of Earth. It was my job to watch as the abomination we created occurred every day. I have watched it for several thousands of years. The records on The Great Experiment have been sealed, but I have seen enough to know what happened. You attempted to create life, and you were almost successful. Life was indeed created, but so too was death. The humans of Earth life short lives and then pass away. You saw this... you saw what you had created, and you were appalled. You had not wished to create something so abysmal.'' 
 
 The witness paused. The Great Hall was completely silent. Many of the Members looked down in shame. 
 
 `` And things got even worse after you abandoned the Experiment. The humans of Earth do not just die, they sometimes purposely bring death upon one another. They desire the death of each other.'' 
 
 The Hall remained silent. The witness looked upon the Members with sadness in his eyes. 
 
 `` But you missed something. When you abandoned the Experiment and left it to me to observe, you did not see the beauty you had created.'' 
 
 The eyes of hundreds of Members rose to meet the eyes of the witness. 
 
 `` The humans of Earth lead short lives, it is true. Many of them die violently and without purpose. But I have also seen them learn to deal with death. Indeed, the very fact that they will die one day gives their lives meaning. Look at us. We go on for eons without end. What we do from day to day makes little difference. We have been around for so long, done so much, and seen so many things, that we have even enforced a code upon ourselves to make us... well, meaningless. Our lives have no meaning. We just sit and observe. Somewhere along the way, we made a mistake and we gave up.'' 
 
 The witness smiled as he continued. `` The humans of Earth do not give up. They are not perfect, and many of them are actually quite vile. But there is great beauty in the brief nature of their lives. They live with passion. They strive to make change. And they improve remarkably quickly. Do you know they have mastered the beginnings of space flight? They have already landed on several of the celestial bodies in their system. At this rate they may discover *us* soon. I hope we will have learned something from them by that time.'' 
 
 The witness looked down at the body on the table in front of him. `` This man has been observing the humans of Earth with me for a long time. He was my friend. But we have become so complacent and slow to react that I did n't even worry when he `` slept'' for several years. I suppose that if I was not used to seeing death I may have left him for many more years before growing suspicious. Come to think of it, he said something strange to me right before he laid down.'' 
 
 The Head Master looked intently at the witness. `` What did he tell you?'' 
 
 The witness smiled. `` He said that he and I still had a part to play. That we would be so much more than Observers. I think I see what he meant now.'' 
 
 The Head Master nodded slowly. `` I think I see it too.''
