What do this quote mean "the die was cast"

we can solve this via the kinematic equation:

where the vertical velocity is zero and so:

since the height of the building is 29.3 meters then:

the ball was in motion for approximately 2.45 seconds

the answer is solomon northrup. he was a free-born african american, abolitionist and professional violinist that was drugged, kidnapped and sold as slave in 1841 and remained in captivity until 1853 where he regained his freedom with the of the then-governor of new york, washington hunt. he wrote and published his memoirs "twelve years a slave" in 1853, and in this text, he tells the story of his escape thru one of louisiana's swamps (the great pacoudrie swamp) in which he ended up covered in green slime from crossing the surface of the dead water.