Please read ‘How to Stop Time’ by Matt Haig It’s a beautiful short novel exploring this idea.
I vaguely recall a Heinlein novel which explored it too. Methuselah's Children maybe?
The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
21–30 of 139 posts
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#22[flagged]
Reminiscent of Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#23Gonna go out on a limb here and say that old age and dying are actually good, and that many of the problems in Western society are due to people living too long and holding onto power longer than they should / not passing on power and resources to younger generations.
Looking at heads of states in non-western countries I'm not sure why you think it's a western thing. African countries got multiple 90+ year olds as head of state for example.
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#24Gonna go out on a limb here and say that old age and dying are actually good, and that many of the problems in Western society are due to people living too long and holding onto power longer than they should / not passing on power and resources to younger generations.
Then what you're looking for is mandatory retirement ages and term limits, not condemnation to death.
Wars or pandemics like COVID-19 are more effective solutions.
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#25Thank God they can't buy immorality.
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#26Why rich and powerful? Everyone, no?
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#27Another good book exploring this idea of not dying is Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton. Only in this book almost everyone has access to the technology by paying into a rejuvenation fund instead of a retirement one as we have today. It is a pretty realistic exploration of the consequences and benefits of such technology. Good food for thoughts.
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#28[flagged]
Very few wouldn't, unless very much driven by their religion to fetish death. Who wouldn't select a part of the population they find unsaveable, say evil genocidal billionaires, and sacrifice them for extending their own lifespan + improving how they believe the world should be? Win-win.
I would not because it’s evil.
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
> longer than they should Just great. And who is to decide how long is "too long"? You?
I am sure people said the same 100 years back when they probably thought living beyond say 60 was too much. I know that in poorer countries due to high infant mortality rate and other issues just reaching 60 was a big milestone for the average person. The bigger question is how will the existing financial system adapt for such a scenario if even 10% of the population manages to extend from 82 to 100+
AFAIK most societies historically respected the wisdom attributed to old age, and many cultures still do.
Re: The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?
#30Gonna go out on a limb here and say that old age and dying are actually good, and that many of the problems in Western society are due to people living too long and holding onto power longer than they should / not passing on power and resources to younger generations.
> longer than they should Just great. And who is to decide how long is "too long"? You?
Term limits.