--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is American two-one-three to the…" description: "\"“This is American two-one-three to the cockpit voice recorder. Now we know what it’s like. It is worse than we’d ever imagined. They didn’t prepare us ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/don-delillo-294_death_this-is-american-two-one-three-to-the-co_2715701.jpg" --- # This is American two-one-three to the cockpit voice… ![“This is American two-one-three to the cockpit voice recorder. Now we know what it’s like. It is worse than we’d ever imagined. They didn’t prepare us for this at the death simulator in Denver. Our fear is pure, so totally stripped of distractions and pressures as to be a form of transcendental…” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/don-delillo-294_death_this-is-american-two-one-three-to-the-co_2715701.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/don-delillo-294_death_this-is-american-two-one-three-to-the-co_2715701.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/don-delillo-294_death_this-is-american-two-one-three-to-the-co_2715701.jpg) > ““This is American two-one-three to the cockpit voice recorder. Now we know what it’s like. It is worse than we’d ever imagined. They didn’t prepare us for this at the death simulator in Denver. Our fear is pure, so totally stripped of distractions and pressures as to be a form of transcendental meditation. In less than three minutes we will touch down, so to speak. They will find our bodies in some smoking field, strewn about in the grisly attitudes of death. I love you, Lance.” This time there was a brief pause before the mass wailing recommenced. Lance?”” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A simulated death experience strips away distractions, turning fear into a pure, meditative state, highlighting humanity's fragile grasp on life. **In simple terms:** Death simulation reveals raw, unfiltered fear. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality to find deeper meaning. Themes mortality fear meditation Mood introspective haunting Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - military training - virtual reality - psychological experiments - counseling Key Concepts existentialism psychology media influence Questions to Reflect On - What does confronting death teach us? - Can simulated fear be therapeutic? A Different Perspective Such simulations may cause trauma and ethical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Lance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lance/) [Transcendental meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendental-meditation/) ## Related quotes > [If you want to endure life, prepare yourself for death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/if-you-want-to-endure-life-prepare-yourself-for-death/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Old man,” she said. “Don’t you want to prepare or something?” “Prepare what?” “Yourself. For death.” Siri laughed. “Well, Bpoo. Let’s see. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-cotterill/old-man-she-said-don-t-you-want-to-prepare-or-something-prepare-what/) [Colin Cotterill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-cotterill/) > [Death is more certain than the morrow, than night following day, than winter following summer. Why is it then that we prepare for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/death-is-more-certain-than-the-morrow-than-night-following-day-than/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [ “Are you ready, sir? Orsino. Ay; prithee, sing. \[Music\] 945 SONG. Feste. Come away, come away, death, And in sad cypress let me be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/are-you-ready-sir-orsino-ay-prithee-sing-music-945-song-feste-come/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“We see our friends are round us falling. We see them buried deep in dust. In solemn silence yet they're calling. Prepare for death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leander-watts/we-see-our-friends-are-round-us-falling-we-see-them-buried-deep-in/) [Leander Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leander-watts/) > [The manner of your death is not your choosing. But how you prepare for death is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-byrne/the-manner-of-your-death-is-not-your-choosing-but-how-you-prepare-for/) [Gabriel Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-byrne/) > [“I prepare for death by living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-prepare-for-death-by-living/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The best way to prepare for death is to live life to its fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/the-best-way-to-prepare-for-death-is-to-live-life-to-its-fullest/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [One of the primary goals in life ... should be to prepare for death. Everything else should be secondary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-of-the-primary-goals-in-life-should-be-to-prepare-for-death/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Prepare for death and follow me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prepare-for-death-and-follow-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always think that in some way, art is the best tool we have to prepare for death. It's like a sculpture that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/i-always-think-that-in-some-way-art-is-the-best-tool-we-have-to/) [John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/) > [Prepare for death, if here at night you roam, and sign your will before you sup from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/prepare-for-death-if-here-at-night-you-roam-and-sign-your-will-before/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“She's not trying to prepare us for her death. She's trying to prepare us for her life. For what she has left of it."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/she-s-not-trying-to-prepare-us-for-her-death-she-s-trying-to-prepare/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [The best way to prepare for death is to spend every day of life as though it were the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-neri/the-best-way-to-prepare-for-death-is-to-spend-every-day-of-life-as/) [Philip Neri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-neri/) > [Whenever I prepare for a journey I prepare as though for death. Should I never return, all is in order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/whenever-i-prepare-for-a-journey-i-prepare-as-though-for-death-should/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is American two-one-three to the cockpit voice recorder. Now we know what it’s like. It is worse than we’d ever imagined. They didn’t prepare us for this at the death simulator in Denver. Our fear is pure, so totally stripped of distractions and pressures as to be a form of transcendental meditation. In less than three minutes we will touch down, so to speak. They will find our bodies in some smoking field, strewn about in the grisly attitudes of death. I love you, Lance.” This time there was a brief pause before the mass wailing recommenced. 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