Excerpt from Dr. Spriggan’s published thesis: White light.
I suspect that one of the largest concerns for us, as mortals, is the prospect of an afterlife. Ever since man has become self-aware of his own mortality, a continuation of consciousness has been created, be it heaven, hell, reincarnation or limbo.
Why does our mortality haunt us so? I believe it is simply because death is the one mystery that will always plague and fascinate mankind. Even those who have experienced a closeness to death only to be brought back by miracle or medicine, have not been given any substantial answers.
In short, the unknown scares us and we feel an instinctive need to combat the fear. Some of us will use a shield of faith to protect us from that fear; others will arm themselves with a lance of logic ironed together from personal dogmas to try to slay the frightening inevitability of death.
While we can find comfort in dogmas and logic, I doubt we will ever truly understand what awaits us after our last breath. There are simply too many variables to ever render death into a manageable equation. Even among those who experienced similarities while on death's door found a unique situation awaiting them. Common clichés include great tunnels of white light, voices of loved ones calling, or even the sound of the living fading away… yet none of these examples were entirely unified.
Oddly enough, I find comfort in these tales. There is a certain solace that death is distinctive and how, when crossing into whatever lay beyond, your death will be yours. A truly unique end for a truly unique life.