in time, zed learns the nature of the vortex. the eternals are overseen and protected from death by the tabernacle, an artificial intelligence. given their limitless lifespan, the eternals have grown bored and corrupt. the needlessness of procreation has rendered the men impotent and meditation has replaced sleep. others fall into catatonia, forming the social stratum the eternals have named the "apathetics." the eternals spend their days stewarding mankind's vast knowledge—through a voice recognition based search engine—baking special bread for themselves from the grain deliveries and participating in communal meditation rituals. to give time and life more meaning the vortex developed complex social rules whose violators are punished with artificial aging. the most extreme offenders are condemned to permanent old age and the status of "renegades." eternals who somehow managed to die, usually through some fatal accident, are then reborn into another healthy, synthetically reproduced body that is identical to the one they just lost.