4 And upon all the noonday sun poured its torrid rays out of a cloudless sky.
5 “Where on earth can we be?” I asked, turning to Perry.
6 For some moments the old man did not reply. He stood with bowed head, buried in deep thought. But at last he spoke.
7“David,” he said, “I am not so sure that we are ON earth.”
8 “What do you mean, Perry?” I cried. “Do you think that we are dead, and this is heaven?” He smiled, and turning, pointing to the nose of the prospector protruding from the ground at our backs.
The novel At the Earth's Core includes characters David, a mining heir, and his elderly friend and inventor, Perry. In this excerpt, what comment does the author seem to make with the dialogue between them?
A) Everyone fears death.
B) With age comes insight and wisdom.
C) Today's youth are spoiled and rash.
D) Advancing years clouds one's judgment.