The only permanent death is the one you inflict on yourself. If you decide it is time for your current character to leave Meridian 59 permanently, type the command "suicide" in the text entry window.

A window will come up asking you to enter your password, so don't worry. Your little sister can't suicide you out of spite. =)

WARNING: Your current character will be permanently deleted-- skills, spells, points, inventory, name, everything. Be VERY sure you want to do this!

Note - If you are suiciding your character and want to roll him up again, you have a small window of opportunity to do so. Your name will be safe to recreate for a short period of time. If you wait too long, however, and someone takes the name as their own, you will not be able to use that same name.