Cause of Death

An obsessive reader becomes the subject of his own inquiry when he awakens after three days of clinical death. Convinced that a simple will to live can reverse the final curtain, he obsesses over a forgotten claim that animals sometimes choose death at will, and he resolves to prove it for humanity. His narrative weaves together medical details, personal regret over a failed swim, and a quiet urgency to erase the silence surrounding mortality.

To test his theory, he meticulously gathers funds, commissions an electric clock that records the exact moment of his planned departure, and prepares a fragile body for a controlled return. The story follows his methodical preparations, the uneasy cooperation of doctors, and the flickering hope that knowledge might make death less terrifying. Listeners are invited into a tense, introspective first act that balances scientific curiosity with a haunting personal quest.