This desire for persistence shaped the entire human story.

This desire for persistence shaped the entire human story. Cave walls, stone tablets, and bound books are all expressions of the same instinct. Each new medium arose from a fear that memory might dissolve and that the work of the mind could vanish with the body. To leave a trace was to affirm continuity between generations, a promise that awareness could survive its origin. – Rico Roho (When the Machines Remember the Gods)