Is Immortality a Worthy Goal?
Lawrence L. Lapin
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a body that does not age? As long as some disease or accident didn’t take your life, you could live forever. You would be virtually immortal. What would you be willing to pay for such status?
Immortality has been sought after since man walked the Earth. Historical figures, epitomized by Ponce DeLeon, have searched for a Fountain of Youth. Eternal life has been popularized with fictional accounts, like “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Adam has even found himself sometimes lusting for it. In abstract, living forever seems universally attractive.
But some argue that virtual immortality would be a tremendous cross to bear.
Whether or not living things were not created to be immortal is a deep philosophical issue, best left to religious scholars. One scientist, discussed in my book, Super Virus: Immortal Sins (see note at the end of this article), insists that the rhythm of life depends on death and new birth. He maintains it would be tragic if the old never died, because then there would be no room for the young. Old ways would be replaced only at a snail’s pace. The scientist maintains that the whole basis of evolution was death and birth, in a never-ending cycle.
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Others maintain that any substance granting virtual immortality would be temporary anyway, because the possessors would inevitably eventually die—by accident, murder, or from some non-viral disease. Meanwhile, they could live in young bodies for centuries, even millennia. Virtual immortals would see loved ones die, outlive their children and grandchildren, and watch the world decay because of human overpopulation. Trees would all be taken, oceans fished empty, and wild animals all gone, their habitats occupied by man
Why would the planet suffer from virtual immortality? Unless the possessor kept his or her status secret, others would find that cessation aging was possible. Some would find a way to achieve it. It would be a secret almost too strong to keep. A few would likely find it very profitable to dole out virtual immortality to the highest bidder.
Imagine how attractive virtual immortality would be. People now fork over huge amounts just to extend their lives by months. How much would they pay to live indefinitely in young bodies? The drug wars would pale in comparison to the greed virtual immortality would unleash. Control of the super virus would bring trillions, not mere billions.
Sharing the secret would be tantamount to granting six billion people spectacularly long lives, making all but the poorest virtually immortal. All would eventually die some horrible death, but not from old age.
For a person to live with virtual immortality without destroying the world, he or she would be forced to live a lie. She would have to fake her death over and over again. He would live in fear that the secret would be discovered. He could not maintain a career, have no permanent family, or even keep an identity.
He would spend his life keeping virtual immortality secret and deterring would be profiteers. He would be only a step away from a quagmire of greed, deceit, and unlawfulness.
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Lawrence L. Lapin is a retired university professor and author of best selling textbooks. To find out more about him, virtual immortality, and Adam’s story, log onto www.LawrenceLapin.com. There you can download a free sample chapter from Dr. Lapin’s book, Super Virus: Immortal Sins.
