Soul Music - Life

In the giant black study of Death one candle burned, and got no shorter. Susan leafed frantically through the books. Life wasn't simple. She knew that; it was the Knowledge, which went with the job. There was the simple life of living things but that was, well . . . simple . . .

There were other kinds of life. Cities had life. Anthills and swarms of bees had life, a whole greater than the sum of the parts. Worlds had life. Gods had a life made up of the belief of their believers. The universe danced towards life. Life was a remarkably common commodity.

Anything sufficiently complicated seemed to get cut in for some, in the same way that anything massive enough got a generous helping of gravity. The universe had a definite tendency towards awareness. This suggested a certain subtle cruelty woven into the very fabric of space-time.

Perhaps even a music could be alive, if it was old enough. Life is a habit. People said: I can't get that darn tune out of my head . . . Not just a beat, but a heartbeat.

And anything alive wants to breed.

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Soul Music - p176-177