As far as Robert was concerned, the Book of Life was closed on him a year ago, on Yom Kippur. The next day he dropped out of the race – the political race, the rat race, and in many ways the human race.

The Bible says, in the end days men will seek death, but death will elude them. So, maybe we’ll find immortality after all.

In other words, man is on an eternal quest for immortality and when he finds it, the search for God becomes irrelevant.

Oh, don’t tell me you’re shy. We are both adults, Helene. We are about to form a bond to which there is no foreseeable end. We will be together for a very long time.

If she came out of this, she would surely schedule a face lift.

He wasn’t classically handsome, but for a moment Helene thought he was very appealing – seductive in power, real or imagined – the power of life itself.

At first, when she started to lose weight, everyone commented on how great she looked. Finally, those last ten, ugly pounds were gone. But then the weight just kept coming off. She was left with sagging jowls and eyes that had lost their glimmer, like an old dog relegated to a sleepy corner.

In a matter of minutes, nothing was left of Spider but a large black soot mark on the ceiling.

To first of all do no harm, he thought. Despite popular perception, that line had never been part of the Hippocratic Oath. For the first time he found himself wondering why not.

The Bible says, in the end days men will seek death, but death will elude them. So, maybe we’ll find immortality after all