The Persistence of Memory is inspired by the Hinduism concept of reincarnation in which after death a soul will become human and be born once again, forgetting all past memories and learning experiences. Focal to the story is an entity which defies the principle of memory loss after reincarnation, accumulating knowledge and experience across thousands of lifetimes. This entity, Lazarus, blurs the line between human and deity. Countless lifetimes allow him to act and think in terms incomprehensible to us, as he is not concerned about the outcome of his current life but the strategic position he'll achieve in the next hundred years by influencing current events. A complete lifetime to us is only a day in the eyes of Lazarus.