“Above all,” Spock said, “the universe is ordered by logic, in both the realm of normal space that we inhabit and the other dimensions we have observed. Even in the chaos of quantum and subspace mechanics, we can see the elegant symmetry of the universe.” (p. 191)
Yet they were here now, and looking to him for a palliative that would relieve them of the pain they were in. And as their teacher, he would do his best to ease their passage.
“Surak tells us to find order in chaos,” he explained, “so that we may better understand the nature of all that is. When asked about the possibility of life after death—a realm most often left to less practical philosophers—Surak said, ‘It would be illogical for the universe to create complex, reasoning beings only to dispose of their minds when their bodies no longer functioned.’”
That principle was the basis of the Vulcan practice of preserving the Katra—the sentient soul of the dying—in the Hall of Thought. Unfortunately, none of this students would have their minds saved in such a way.
Few of them had mastered the required mental techniques for the transfer of the Katra to a living being. And even if all of them had the skills, there would be no one to whom they might transfer their Katras.
Still, Spock knew that the universe was logical, and trusted that the natural order was not wasteful. That granted him the ability to accept what would come. (p.192)
from Crossover (Star Trek TNG novel) 1995 by Michael Jan Friedman
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