"How peculiar," I thought, "to have your life saved by fried chicken. I saw eternity; they saw food." (Para. 26)
Meaning: I thought it was very strange that fried chicken had saved my life. I thought I had seen the state of time after my death and they had seen something to take care of their hunger: my fried chicken.
eternity: n. the state or time after death
Eternity has neither a beginning nor an end. 永恒既没有起点，也没有终点。
Please take care that the adjective form of "eternity" is "eternal".
eternal: a. without end; lasting for ever
These scientists are engaged in the eternal search for a way to cure people of AIDS. 这些科学家一直在致力于寻找治愈爱滋病患者的方法。