What does it mean to be alive? 

This is a question that we ask ourselves today in a multitude of ways. In the Middle Ages, alchemists longed to find the secret to immortality of both body and soul. Today, psychologists might explain that “feeling alive” depends upon our psychological state of mind. The science of medicine explores ways that we can extend our physical bodies. Futurists delve into ways that we might live on through digital means or cryonics. Still others believe in Einstein’s concept of “eternalism,” in which time itself is an illusion and death is a mere transition. 

Our “need to know” plagues us. We want to know the secrets of life. We want to know what becomes of us when life as we know it ends. Our curiosity nudges us, but our existential fear drives us.

Human beings fear d…