lol eventually that "soul" would develop a technology to purposly off itself
it was just the soul, the presence, somehow embedded in a machine. it was given an option at death - you can "end" now and no longer exist, or you can be the one selected to travel thru eternity with no means, except to ust fly by and observe things. And it saw some amazing things on its journey, but its fate was to just travel forever.
I'm sure the story was meant to make us ponder the "die and accept it, or be trapped in the same existence forever" quandary... it's been years since I read it. The narrator in the story chose eternity in this machine just traveling alone.