The great commandment of the narratives is that your life must be meaningful, said Charon. If knowing the truth strips the meaning away, then the tru… - Karl Schroeder

“Which do you prefer?”
Armiger leaned over her and kissed her cheek. “Which what do I prefer?”
“Do you prefer making love or reading?” Her voice held a teasing note, but he had learned there were frequently hidden needs behind her teasing questions.
“To read is to make love to the world,” he said. “But to make love to a woman is to feel like the world is reading you.”
She smiled, not comprehending, and fell asleep.

In the end, her written ideology, the philosophy and new morals she had preached, were all means to an end. That end could never be reached; Armiger had taught her that. If so, then what mattered their disappointment, their disillusionment? They would hate her for leaving them alive, but they would be alive, and a life lived in bitterness was still better than a death colored by useless fanaticism.

You know I was once a human being, too, Doran. I remember how hard it was to marshal all the resources I needed to cure myself of the affliction. I also remember, quite clearly, how I always told people I had no interest in self-deification. It was a useful and sometimes necessary shield against interference.
Blow off, said Doran. Unless you have some specific threat you want to use on me.
Choronzon laughed. Not a threat. Just curiosity as to why someone so violently opposed to improving on the human model should decide to go against all his principles.
Sometimes, said Doran icily, mature people do things they don't want to do. It's called following higher principles. But someone without mortal concerns, say, like yourself, wouldn't understand that.