--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The seconds tick. They always do. The…" description: "\"The seconds tick. They always do. The power of an entire sun cannot stop them even for a moment, and so death comes between the moments, like a thief o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/christopher-pike-3399_dark_the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-powe_1132590.png" --- # The seconds tick. They always do. The power of an entire… ![“The seconds tick. They always do. The power of an entire sun cannot stop them even for a moment, and so death comes between the moments, like a thief of light in the dark.” quote by Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/christopher-pike-3399_dark_the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-powe_1132590.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/christopher-pike-3399_dark_the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-powe_1132590.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/christopher-pike-3399_dark_the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-powe_1132590.png) > “The seconds tick. They always do. The power of an entire sun cannot stop them even for a moment, and so death comes between the moments, like a thief of light in the dark.” [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time moves inexorably; even cosmic forces cannot halt it, and death inevitably follows each moment like a silent thief. **In simple terms:** Time never stops, and death follows each moment. Key Takeaway Accept life's fleeting nature and live fully. Themes mortality time existence inevitability Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal loss - medical decisions - ethical debates - legacy planning Key Concepts philosophical spiritual psychological Questions to Reflect On - What does this perspective change about your daily choices? - How do you reconcile with with inevitable death? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex scientific concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-comes/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light In The Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-in-the-dark/) [Moment Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-death-1639160/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Seconds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seconds/) [Seconds Tick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seconds-tick-3118865/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves/) [Tick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tick/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [As the seconds tick down, Belgium are literally playing in time that doesn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-mowbray/as-the-seconds-tick-down-belgium-are-literally-playing-in-time-that/) [Guy Mowbray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-mowbray/) > [So on and on I go, the seconds tick the time out There's so much left to know, and I'm on the road to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-stevens/so-on-and-on-i-go-the-seconds-tick-the-time-out-there-s-so-much-left/) [Cat Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-stevens/) > [Death never comes at the right time, despite what mortals believe. Death always comes like a thief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/death-never-comes-at-the-right-time-despite-what-mortals-believe/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [Reading is a heady thing. You can be into the action of someone's thoughts and take a whole trip down someone's ruminations while seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-tudyk/reading-is-a-heady-thing-you-can-be-into-the-action-of-someone-s-2/) [Alan Tudyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-tudyk/) > [Reading is a heady thing. You can be into the action of someone's thoughts and take a whole trip down someone's ruminations while seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-tudyk/reading-is-a-heady-thing-you-can-be-into-the-action-of-someone-s/) [Alan Tudyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-tudyk/) > [I once read that you die because you see the Angel of Death, and you fall in love. And you fall in love so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-once-read-that-you-die-because-you-see-the-angel-of-death-and-you/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“That's when it happens. The moment of death is full of heat and sound and pain bigger than anything, a funnel of burning heat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/that-s-when-it-happens-the-moment-of-death-is-full-of-heat-and-sound/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“...he understood there was no way to escape Time, and that this moment he had been granted to watch as a child, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-marker/he-understood-there-was-no-way-to-escape-time-and-that-this-moment-he/) [Chris Marker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-marker/) > [“That’s when it happens. The moment of death is full of heat and sound and pain bigger than anything, a funnel of burning heat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/that-s-when-it-happens-the-moment-of-death-is-full-of-heat-and-sound-2/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“I wanted to see the bullet coming, wanted to know the exact moment of my death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-wanted-to-see-the-bullet-coming-wanted-to-know-the-exact-moment-of/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“To love someone from the moment of his death: is that friendship? I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-lev/to-love-someone-from-the-moment-of-his-death-is-that-friendship-i/) [Edouard Levé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-lev/) > [At the moment of death, when the seed atom in the heart is ruptured, which contains all the experience of the past life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/at-the-moment-of-death-when-the-seed-atom-in-the-heart-is-ruptured/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [I'm not scared, if that's what you're wondering. The moment of death is full of sound and warmth and light shooting away, arcing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-m-not-scared-if-that-s-what-you-re-wondering-the-moment-of-death-is/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [At the moment of death I hope to be surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/at-the-moment-of-death-i-hope-to-be-surprised/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [We don't admit it to ourselves, not until the very moment of death, but in that moment, we see all life before us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-don-t-admit-it-to-ourselves-not-until-the-very-moment-of-death-but/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More by Christopher Pike > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [In that moment, there was no place for doubt. I was sitting with the supreme being. I had always sat beside her. She was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/in-that-moment-there-was-no-place-for-doubt-i-was-sitting-with-the/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [Relationships are mysterious. We doubt the positive qualities in others,seldom the negative. You will say to your partner: do you really love me? Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/relationships-are-mysterious-we-doubt-the-positive-qualities-in/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [“Life is like that short visit on the road. Prayer is for those who wish to talk to God. Meditation is for those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/life-is-like-that-short-visit-on-the-road-prayer-is-for-those-who/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [No religion is perfect, not after man gets through with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/no-religion-is-perfect-not-after-man-gets-through-with-it/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [“Victim: I don't want to die! Sita: Then you should never have been born”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/victim-i-don-t-want-to-die-sita-then-you-should-never-have-been-born/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [Enjoy your life. No curse hangs over you, nor did it ever. No devil chases after your soul. Sing and dance and be merry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/enjoy-your-life-no-curse-hangs-over-you-nor-did-it-ever-no-devil/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [“we were here to become like God. To live like his blessed son. We just needed a few pints of Christ's blood to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/we-were-here-to-become-like-god-to-live-like-his-blessed-son-we-just/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [What you wish for, what you most hope for - that is your greatest illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/what-you-wish-for-what-you-most-hope-for-that-is-your-greatest/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [Sometimes, if I am not careful, and I stare too long at a flower, it shrivels and dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/sometimes-if-i-am-not-careful-and-i-stare-too-long-at-a-flower-it/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [He cries. 'Please! I don't want to die.' I lean over. My hair smothers him. 'Then you should never have been born,' I say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/he-cries-please-i-don-t-want-to-die-i-lean-over-my-hair-smothers-him/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [“A person is limited by his conception of himself, nothing more. If you really knew who you were, you could stop the sun from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/a-person-is-limited-by-his-conception-of-himself-nothing-more-if-you/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [I am a vampire. Blood does not bother me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/i-am-a-vampire-blood-does-not-bother-me/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [Nothing is as it seems. Black can appear white when the light is blinding but white loses all luster at the faintest sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/nothing-is-as-it-seems-black-can-appear-white-when-the-light-is/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [I would look up at the moon and see that it was not the smooth orb we had all believed, but a pitted and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/i-would-look-up-at-the-moon-and-see-that-it-was-not-the-smooth-orb-we/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) [Explore all 129 Christopher Pike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) ## More Dark quotes > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“I could see her will leaving and death seeping through her skin to skewer her soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/i-could-see-her-will-leaving-and-death-seeping-through-her-skin-to/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [The soul wanders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-zimmerman/the-soul-wanders-in-the-dark-until-it-finds-love-and-so-wherever-our/) [Mary Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-zimmerman/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [All comedy comes from a dark place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katt-williams/all-comedy-comes-from-a-dark-place/) [Katt Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katt-williams/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Let death bless me with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-death-bless-me-with-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“what do you call/that space between the dark geographies of sex?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethaway/what-do-you-call-that-space-between-the-dark-geographies-of-sex/) [Natasha Trethaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethaway/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) > [Even in the dark your shadow is like a guide to me! you are my rising sun that brings forth hope just as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkemjika-linus/even-in-the-dark-your-shadow-is-like-a-guide-to-me-you-are-my-rising/) [Nkemjika Linus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkemjika-linus/) [Browse all 10,198 Dark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The seconds tick. They always do. The power of an entire sun cannot stop them even for a moment, and so death comes between the moments, like a thief of light in the dark.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Pike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-power-of-an-entire-sun-cannot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dark" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-power-of-an-entire-sun-cannot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/christopher-pike-3399_dark_the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-powe_1132590.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/christopher-pike-3399_dark_the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-powe_1132590.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/christopher-pike-3399_dark_the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-powe_1132590.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The seconds tick. They always do. The power of an entire sun cannot stop them even for a moment, and so…” — Christopher Pike", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Pike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The seconds tick. They always do....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-power-of-an-entire-sun-cannot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/the-seconds-tick-they-always-do-the-power-of-an-entire-sun-cannot/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```