Entertainments nearly always end with triumph or disaster-happiness achieved, or total, tragic defeat precluding any hope of it. But there is always more after the ending-always the next morning and the next, always changes, losses and gains. Always one step after the other. Until the one true ending that none of us can escape. But even that ending is only a small one, large as it looms for us. There is still the next morning for everyone else. For the vast majority of the rest of the universe, that ending might as well not ever have happened. Every ending is an arbitrary one. Every ending is, from another angle, not really an ending.
In "Ancillary Mercy," Ann Leckie reflects on the nature of endings in entertainment, highlighting how they often conclude with clear outcomes, either triumph or tragic defeat. However, she suggests that life continues beyond these climactic moments, with new days bringing changes, gains, and losses. Each ending is just a pause in an ongoing journey, where every resolution opens up new possibilities for the future.
The author emphasizes that while personal endings...
