¡®Where do we go when we die?¡±

Every child, or the child in all of us, asks that at some point, with parents and philosophers saying this or that in reply: ¡°We go to heaven,¡± ¡°We merge with the Absolute,¡± and so on ¡ª or, to borrow the language of ancient and not-so-ancient Japanese nationalism, we ¡°fall like cherry blossoms in spring¡± and are ¡°reborn seven times into this world of men to continue destroying enemies of the Emperor.¡±

Nothing we say about death, of course, passes scientific muster, however satisfying it may be on other fronts. Scientifically speaking, our knowledge of post-death is as close to absolute zero as anything pertaining to our lives and our universe can be 200,000-odd years after a select group of animals first distinguished themselves with certain traits to which today we affix the adjective ¡°human.¡±