I Don’t Even Want To Think About How Many Nonfiction Stories Wouldn’t Have Ever Happened

Just finished reading a very good film-noir style story, but when it was over I couldn’t help but thinking how many fictional tragedies could never have been told if humans were just incapable of getting angry and/or blackout drunk . . .

Today’s Life Lesson From Fiction

If you ever get into one of those suspended animation pods, whatever you do, do not get into the one closest to the door because that’s the one that always malfunctions and has a skeleton in it when the explorers arrive.

Maybe They Just Think It’s Funny (Watch Out For This One In Particular)

It’s a cliché of fiction that the deathbed confession (as well as its close cousin, the confession made by person so old that it qualifies as a near-deathbed confession) is always true.  “What possible reason would they have to not tell the truth at this point?” the thinking goes.  “What would they have to gain?

In real life, potentially a lot.

Maybe they’re protecting a legacy, maybe they’re trying to create a legacy (“Yeah, you know that unsolved crime?  That was me!”), maybe they’re an habitual liar, maybe they’re an habitual manipulator, maybe they think it’s true, but they’re actually just delusional . . .

The list goes on and on.

So Tread With Care And Respect

In fiction, as in real life, after breaking the news of the death of a loved one to someone, the question of “Did they have a ‘good’ death?” is frequently asked.  Depending upon who’s asking, ‘good’ is sometimes defined as “not suffering”, other times it’s defined as “brave”, and so on, but even the flat question of “How did they die?” almost always seems to come with the implied plea of “Please tell me something I can take even some small comfort from.”

Lying as necessary is expected from all but the most heartless in this circumstance; we all know this (And if you didn’t, you might want to have your heart checked.), but since we all know this, doesn’t that mean the person asking the question on some level knows this as well?

Yes, yes it does.