There’s this quote from the game Batman: Arkham Origins in which there’s the phrase “She dies” which Ferris says about Mr. Freeze’s wife Nora, who’s suffering an uncurable disease.
Shouldn’t it be something like “She’s dying”, given that that’s what she is, “dying”, as in “suffering an uncurable condition and awaiting certain death”? What would such a phrase as “She dies” mean?
Unless you were a phoenix whose gimmick is to keep on dying and reviving, or you’re talking about things in general as a matter of fact (as in “People die” or “Male shrews die after mating”), or you’re using it in a hypothetical/conditional or future sense (as in “if/until/the day I die”), using the verb die in the present simple when talking about a single individual doesn’t seem to make much sense.
Answer
The context is as follows:
Mr. Freeze: Please, you can save her. You just have to bypass the–
Ferris Boyle: No, Victor. She dies. But I’ll keep you alive just long enough to see her go.
The simple present (or non-past) form used in a future or "planning" sense in this context. "She dies" = "She is going to/must die". It doesn’t have to do with her state at the moment when the sentence is spoken.
This kind of use of the simple present is more common in sentences with a time adverb, but it’s possible even without one. I’m not sure about the exact conditions for its use. Other examples I can think of that would sound fairly natural in this kind of context are "She comes with me" or "They stay here."
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Vun-Hugh Vaw , Answer Author : herisson