The Internet Oracle has pondered your question deeply. Your question was:

> Oracle, you are so awesome, that you make my feet hurt! > > Why do people have to die?

And in response, thus spake the Oracle:

} The simple biological reason is that evolution is really good at having } 'optimized' a human being (any creature, actually) to survive long } enough to reproduce and raise their children.  Since human children } need 8-15 years of care to have (at least a reasonable) chance of } survival on their own, and given that every human couple needs to have } '2' children to keep the numbers constant and that the children needs } to have a couple of years between them, a good lifespan target for a } human is in the range of 30-40 years.  However, from an evolutionary } standpoint the optimization stops there and humans above the age of 40 } (or so) just get in the way.  Eventually one of the critical parts } (heart, lungs, disease control, etc) that got the human to an age of } 40 just 'wears out' and death occurs. } } However, I think you are looking for an answer more like: } --- } First Supplicant: "Oracle, you are so awesome, that you make my feet } hurt.  Why do people have to die?" } } Oracle: "Great idea.  From now on, humans live forever.  NEXT!!!" } } First Supplicant: [Bows and exits stage left] } } Next Supplicant:  [Enters from stage left]  "Oh great and wonderful } Oracle, How much wood would a woodchuck..." } } Oracle: "You miserable, insolent cur.  TAKE THAT!!!" <<ZOT> [A bolt } of highly charged plasma arcs towards the supplicant and strikes him } on the chest]. } } Next Supplicant: [Cringes, expecting the worst, but nothing happens. } Slowly he straightens his back, brushes some dust off his jacket, } and continues].  "er, chuck if a woodchuck..." } } Oracle:  "What in tarnation?" <<ZOT>> <<ZOT>> <<ZOT>> <<ZZZOOOOTTTT>> } } Next Supplicant: [cringes yet again, but nothing happens]. "could } chuck" } } Oracle: "I take it back.  Humans don't live forever." } <<ZZZZZOOOOOOOOTTTT>> } } Next Supplicant: [doesn't exist any more; has been replaced with a } loose pile of dust and a whiff of smoke]. } } Oracle:  "I feel better already...  NEXT!!!" } --- } So you see, death exists so that stupidity can be adequately } rewarded...