The subject is immortality

I'm working on a new story idea, and thought I would garner some opinions on this part of the story.

If you were given immortality, with your closest family members as well, would you take it? And if so, would you want to stay alive forever, or just for a few centuries? You would be able to essentially look any age you wanted, and you would be given perfect health.

Some people I've talked to cite that looking good for centuries would be boring. Some also cite their religious views as a deterrant, saying that getting to heaven could only be delayed if someone chose to skirt the means of getting there.

Personally, I have many reasons to accept such a deal, one of which is I'm always game to try something at least once in my life.

no. thanks anyway.

w/ my closest family members.

Can't tolerate them for an hour, much less eternity....

You could do it on your own if you wanted to dump off the relatives. Some people just like to know that their families could join them if they wanted them to be there.

Oh, and BTW: Pets are loved ones, too. You can bring them in lieu of human family members. ;)

In a friggin heartbeat.

... but I bet it turns into a huge hassle. You know how fucking hard it is to get a drivers license? Just imagine how hard that would be if you had to explain that you really are 250 years old. Imagine having to fill out a job application and all your information goes back a couple centuries. It would make everything impossible from a bureaucratic standpoint.

You'd never have to work again!

... you'd probably be a hideous midget compared to all the other people around you. Just think how much we as a species have changed in 10,000 years. Combine that with technology and better nutrition and you'd stick out like a sore thumb.

It might require a little manipulation, but it would work out. If you can afford to live forever, you can put a lawyer on retainer to take care of a lot of things, like putting in for legal documents for births, licenses, etc. You can retain your own home (homes) by "willing" it to a niece, nephew, or other, and other such potential "heirs" along the way.

I would imagine that living longer is something we (as humans) will do more and more in the future, so it will become less and less important to hide our identities. And in fact, I would be of the mind that says put a little money into the bank, and let it ride. You really wouldn't need to hold own a regular job unless you wanted to, and you would be better able to do creative work--writing, art, photography, etc. instead. Pay would go directly to your lawyer or other such confidential person, who would make sure you kept your ID secret.

imagine being poor forever, working the night shift at 7-11 for the next 7000 years. or, god forbid, imagine being incarcerated. or trapped under a mudslide, frozen in place for millennia. good times.

in the story. I'm the dungeon master, so to speak.

I personally choose the people, and most of them would come from my "own" lifetime in some way, that I think would merit bringing along for the ride. I was talking to some friends about the story, and I wass surprised to hear some of them wouldn't want to be immortal. So I had to ask of a fairly large crowd with whom I share some ideology, to see what the reasons would be to forgo the "gift" of immortality.

In the current setting of the story, the main character is so rich, Donald Trump would be a pauper in comparison, and yet she shares expansively, with anyone who needs it. Massive amounts go to charities, and other places that need money to survive. And like me, people who have harmed animals (or children) get the punishment they were doling out to their prey--trying to bag a bear or a lion with a stake-filled pit? Gee, I hope you like human kabobs just as much!

It's a fairly long story, but I'm trying to get it to be novel length, which isn't always easy without padding. but I digress.....

I had the power to alleviate suffering.

I don't think I'd want to live through an eternity of war and oppression; and common sense tells me they'll always be around as long as there are human beings.

and part of my life would be to try and help out as much as I can. Animals and children would be my choices to get the most attention, and anyone who harmed any of them would not be living too much longer. People who harm those who cannot defend themselves are bottom of the barrel scrapers, and they shouldn't continue to breathe--or breed for that matter!

Do I get to bring anyone with me, or is it just me by my lonesome?

What happens if I get hit by a car? stabbed by an irritated capuchin monkey? poisoned by a lover who doesn't want to die without me?

Does everyone else get to know I am the only immortal, and thus want to dissect me to see how they can get some, or are there others to share the running and hiding?

Can I get some plastic surgery, now that I am going to be stuck with this face for millenia, or would I just regenerate to me?


There are more, but that will do for a start

Do I get to bring anyone with me, or is it just me by my lonesome?


You will be able to take anyone you wish to along for that ride. Providing they're part of your immediate family or friends, but unless you have a huge family, keep it around a total of about 10 people.

What happens if I get hit by a car? stabbed by an irritated capuchin monkey? poisoned by a lover who doesn't want to die without me?


You're on your own, for the most part. While you might be able to keep your health, physical injury could put the brakes on your eternal life. You would be offered some protection adequate to your situation, as the ability to clot blood quicker, and therefore stop from bleeding out, or having poison not working because it would go against your health.


Does everyone else get to know I am the only immortal, and thus want to dissect me to see how they can get some, or are there others to share the running and hiding?

Over time, there will be plenty of others--in fact, about 10% of the world's population will be either immortal or living long enough to enjoy their lives. And I personally don't see why anyone would need to hide, because there would be ways to get away with that kind of stuff. In fact, the presidents along the way will be likely immortal as well, and others in such places of power.


Can I get some plastic surgery, now that I am going to be stuck with this face for millenia, or would I just regenerate to me?

You can live with whatever image you want of yourself. I personally want to go back when I was about 35. And don't forget--your immortality will bring your skin to perfection, and handle anything that it can to make these things right.

I do believe in an afterlife, but I have no issues with staying here longer. Its not at the top of my to do list, but not at the bottom either. But the people around one really do make or break the quality of life.

I work with the elderly, and I regret the life prolonging measures society has imposed on many of them. Many of them seem to as well, but are still human and will not willingly relinquish life as long as it is up to them, no matter how much they may despise the day to day reality of it. I personally hope that I am so lucky as to pass peacefully before my mind or body disintegrate in drastic ways. This is not a knock on those who are older, as there are many people who live very worthwhile lives well beyond the situations i fear. I just don't know that I have it in me to do so. I don't mind becoming old. But becoming incompetent(not incontinent, though that's concerning as well) is terrifying to me. Its a personal hope, nothing more. So for me, the ability to not have that as a factor in my living would be worth something.

If one was the only immortal, I could see it being a problem. With my background in science and history, I have no doubt that a lone or effectively lone immortal would be quickly dissected for learning purposes. And if one was forcedly immortal, Highlander style, that would be most unpleasant. And while presidents might be immortal, I do not have the charisma and drive or desire to pull off secret society crap. I enjoy being an open book. And people have a tendency to dislike those who seem to have a "leg" up. Look at how Americans look at the educated, or how good progressives think about the rich.

So would becoming immortal induct one into the halls of powerbroking, or is that (I am assuming) random cellular change the only difference between that scenario and the reality?

I am not as symmetrical as I would like. Never have been, and barring unlikely and unnecessary surgery I never will be. But If I am living for a few k years, I would want to get that looked at.

My wife would take it, as long as all her scars would heal up. Mainly the bellybutton, as it freaks her out.

I'd take it any way I could: vampire, werewolf, or a god. There's just too much to do that one cannot accomplish in one lifetime. I would choose to stay alive forever (vampire) versus a few centuries (werewolf). Of course, in 4.6 billion years, I'd be toast because of the whole sun expanding...

:)

;)

my main driving force for wanting to stay alive would be, basically "to see how it ends" to see, record the history of mankind, and to see how its all going to pan out.

With my family being alive forever as well, at least I can have the ones I care/love the most with me, through the journey.

But, I would take immortality in a heartbeat. :D

who wants to live forever?

That would be like being told your mind is going to stay awake for a week. Your body will be running on empty, but "oh boy" your mind is buzzing. Who would want that? You've got to rest sometime.

And forever with some of my closest family members, while we all watch our not so close family members and our friends and those we know die? Ick!

And to have to watch the suffering you cannot end, the wars and the oppression, the poverty and apathy.

No thank you very much.

Let me live until I die.

I would go insane if they were following me around for thousands of years.


But anyways I would take it cause I want to live on the moon or mars one day. I've seen the show Highlander and Immortals are always the coolest guys in the room. I'd have me a big loft in Paris or something. Before I go live on the moon of course.

He cursed him with IMMORTALITY.

That guy is about 2100 years old at this point,
he's still creeping around the planet somewhere,
and he's probably REALLY sorry about what he did.

Immortality? Yeah, I'll pass.

...you haven't aged.

You would have your family, but would otherwise be rootless out of necessity.

Consider that your children would never grow up. Pretty soon they'd have the life experience of a 40, 60, or 80 year old.
Fine if they are already adults, but disturbing if their bodies are stuck at 8 years old.

I think any sane person would be begging for death after a couple of thousand years.

If the Earth is destroyed, do you just float around space forever?

You would eventually out last all life you knew. The universe would probably become a vast wasteland of nothingness.

How would that be fun?


Not to mention your time perception would speed up infinitely the older you got. Eventually you would not be able to perceive reality. You'd just be a floating body in space with no capacity for consciousness.

But you can theoretically live one heck of an epicly long time. I don't see what the issue is really. Once you get close to the uncomprimising heat death of the universe just turn yourself off.

of the implicatons of long lives (not exactly immortality but humans that live for centuries).

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series and Asimov's Robot series.

Both provide examples of how people who live for centuries might adapt how they live and what kind of culture they would develop and how the dichotomy of long lived humans living in proximity to short lived (normal life span) humans would develop.

In the beginning, God said "pull my finger". And, lo, the Big Bang happened.

Remember when we were all hydrogen? All that combining into complex atoms? Sheesh, what an orgy that was!

:party:

(or maybe in the beginning there was a big turtle ... )

:hi:

quien sabe?

I'm tired of this shit.

Would I like to come back sometime far in the future with a memory of this time? Maybe. But to continue to slog through eternity to get there, no.

:thumbsup:

Who wants to die?

That said, I'm sure life would get boring after a few thousand years or so. I'd like immortality with a suicide clause, maybe. Like, I'm the only thing that can kill me.

Would perfect health be a consideration if I was immortal?

Someone once asked (on DU) if people felt they were born too early (in time) or too late. I said too early. I think there is so much more to come and I'd like to see it. Immortality would perfect for that - as I do want to see how it comes about as well.

I would not like to continue the life I'm living now any longer than I have to under nature's requirements. It's depressing enough now, I would not like to continue this state of existence for centuries.

Besides, I think the world is going rapidly downhill and I do not want to be alive for the next few centuries when global warming, hunger and water shortages and goodness knows what else reaches its peak

you were stuck at 3am with a bout of insomnia that had lasted like 500 years, and there was nothing on TV, except 7000 channels of infomercials, all of which you had already watched?

:)

Not that I fear death at all, but that I am a person of incredible curiosity, and what annoys me the most about death is that I don't get to witness the next 15 billion years of the universe.

I want to be part of it all. I want to see us achieve faster than light travel; I want to be part of exploring the cosmos; I love the idea of being the "Wise, aged counselor" for a few billion generations.

And, actually, even if you mean "closest related", I'd take the deal, because I assume that at some point humanity's technology is gonna hit a point that I could easily move a galaxy away.

I'd live forever only if I never had to work again to survive. I';d take one job or another to pass the time, but I don't have to work for all of forever to pay my rent.