Just like the signs and visual images of death, thoughts of death have always been in Bill's mind. Ever since he reached what he considered to be the halfway point of his life, he always had the same thought: "You'll only get older." Bill then dreams of his moment on his deathbed, surrounded by people he doesn't even recognize, and in that moment he realizes how long death took him. As he thinks about it, prepares for it, and worries about it, he realizes how much of his life has simply revolved around its end. This shows the future compromise Bill will have with death towards the very end of the term.