Slight spoilers for Exhalation ahead. > So far, the stories all seem built on the foundation that we reside in an immutable clockwork universe and that the not

Slight spoilers for Exhalation ahead. > So far, the stories all seem built on the foundation that we reside in an immutable clockwork universe and that the notion of "Free Will" is a complete illusion. I do not find this depressing, because that is how reality appears to me. I can't say for sure if that's what Ted Chiang thinks as well, but the way I interpret his work is that he is attempting to point out the beauty in the universe as it is, not as it might appear to be. The protagonist of Exhalation is a perfect example. Having pulled aside the veil to the inner workings of his mind (the movement of air through intricate channels is in principle, deterministic, there is hardly room for "free will"), he finds greater understanding and an expansive wonder at what life is, not depression.