[CASE] [SUBJECT:_CALLIOPE] I,_[DOCTOR]_Caligari,_have_encountered_a_difficulty. Ordinarily,_the_distinction_between_living_and_dead_is_among_the_more_embarrassingly_simple_classifications_available_to_medicine._A_living_organism_persists._A_dead_organism_does_not._There_are_complications,_naturally,_but_these_generally_concern_the_precise_moment_at_which_one_category_becomes_the_other. Calliope_does_not_appear_interested_in_respecting_this_arrangement. The_subject_speaks._She_observes._She_remembers._She_responds_to_external_stimulus._She_demonstrates_preference,_affection,_irritation,_curiosity,_and_continuity_of_identity._These_are_generally_useful_indicators_of_life. Unfortunately,_she_is_also_dead. Or_was_dead. Or_remains_dead_while_continuing_to_exhibit_nearly_every_quality_I,_[DOCTOR]_Caligari,_would_ordinarily_use_to_argue_otherwise. There_is_no_satisfactory_anatomical_terminology_for_a_corpse_possessing_an_active_social_life. The_difficulty_is_compounded_by_cherubim_physiology._Predomination_already_requires_us_to_accept_that_one_consciousness_may_be_destroyed_without_rendering_the_shared_organism_deceased._Identity_can_perish_while_the_body_persists._A_sibling_may_become_absence,_memory,_nutrition,_inheritance,_or_haunting_without_ever_fitting_neatly_inside_the_word_corpse. Calliope_appears_to_have_committed_the_opposite_offense. The_body_became_absent. The_person_did_not. I,_[DOCTOR]_Caligari,_have_considered_spirit,_revenant,_posthumous_consciousness,_dream-self,_residual_identity,_resurrected_organism,_narrative_echo,_and_several_less_respectable_classifications._Each_explains_some_portion_of_the_subject_and_fails_rather_spectacularly_to_explain_the_remainder. If_I,_[DOCTOR]_Caligari,_were_to_pronounce_her_dead,_she_could_object. If_I,_[DOCTOR]_Caligari,_were_to_pronounce_her_alive,_I,_[DOCTOR]_Caligari,_would_require_a_definition_of_life_broad_enough_to_make_several_cemeteries_medically_contentious. [DIAGNOSIS] Inconclusive. Calliope_is_either_an_unusually_articulate_dead_cherub_or_an_unusually_deceased_living_one. Further_[OBSERVATION]_is_required.
IT IS NON-TRIVIAL. TO DETERMINE BETWEEN LIFE. DEATH. AND UNLIVING. WHEN THE GAME IS INVOLVED. I DO NOT ENVY YOUR TASK. WHEN THE IMPOSSIBLE IS MUNDANE.