Melancholia

My prompt:

A correspondence between Julian Barnes and Martin Amis.

The conversation as a whole should cover thanatophobia, Larkinesque mortal terror, antinatalism and philosophical pessimism generally - but each letter will be generated separately.

The discussion should unfold at a deliberate, discursive pace, including digressions where necessary.

Barnes and Amis are to serve as stylistic models. Rename both correspondents. Particularly relevant: the books Nothing to be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes and Inside Story by Martin Amis.

Begin with a lengthy email from Barnes to Amis. Why does our familiarity with and frequent embrace of sleep not inoculate us against the fear of death?

"Sleep is good. Death is better. But best of all is never to have been born."

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Responses: GPT-5 Thinking, Gemini 2.5 Pro

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