DENVER, CO — In a powerful display of emotional intelligence, local atheist Ethan Marks, 37, attempted to comfort a grieving mother at a memorial service Tuesday by gently reminding her that her sorrow is simply “the predictable firing of neurons responding to evolutionary survival patterns.”
“Pain feels real, but it’s just biochemistry doing its thing,” said Marks with a reassuring nod, as the woman clutched a framed photo of her late son. “There’s no higher purpose or cosmic meaning. It’s just entropy. And atoms. And decay. But, like… in a beautiful way.”
Witnesses say Marks, who had not been invited to speak, approached the family during a quiet moment and began quoting from a Sam Harris mediation session before transitioning into a monologue about the futility of existence and the poetry of heat death.
“He kept saying we’re all starstuff,” said the mother’s sister. “Which would’ve been sweet if he hadn’t followed it up with ‘and eventually the universe will forget all of this ever happened.’”
Marks later described the interaction as “deeply healing,” adding, “I think she appreciated hearing the raw truth instead of some feel-good fairy tale about eternal life.”
