You have been given a choice to become immortal. Would you?

Discuss the February 2017 Book of the Month, The Diary of an Immortal by David J Castello.
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Ginya
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Re: You have been given a choice to become immortal. Would y

Post by Ginya »

I really don't think I would be able to resist such a chance. I just know that I wouldn't be alone...because if I've been offered immortality than I known that others will have the same chance and I will always have kin that way (though I guess they could be foe as well as friend) I would find some way to ensure that a few people would join me in immortality. The possibilities are so exciting! You can literally watch history unfold, civilization collapse and rebuild...and if you wanted, have a hand in all of it. You could destroy those that are ruining our world or who hurt the innocent. You could see our progression into space or who knows where else.
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Post by Insightsintobooks »

I'm not sure. I think that if I did I would only so that I could have time to read every book ever written.
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Wasif Ahmed
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Post by Wasif Ahmed »

Ginya wrote:I really don't think I would be able to resist such a chance. I just know that I wouldn't be alone...because if I've been offered immortality than I known that others will have the same chance and I will always have kin that way (though I guess they could be foe as well as friend) I would find some way to ensure that a few people would join me in immortality. The possibilities are so exciting! You can literally watch history unfold, civilization collapse and rebuild...and if you wanted, have a hand in all of it. You could destroy those that are ruining our world or who hurt the innocent. You could see our progression into space or who knows where else.
I recently read an article why becoming immortal is worst than death. You see, humans are continously eveloving. In about a couple of 1000 years the physical characteristics of humans will completely change but you will be the same 2017 human. You will be the odd one out with a world with completely different people.

-- 02 Feb 2017, 11:41 --
Sparkletime wrote:I think this is an interesting question. Do I become an immortal like Logan/Wolverine where I still feel pain but am able to heal quickly and can't die at all? Or an immortal that can be killed or missing an arm, like Highlander (there can only be one!)? I think many immortals are often represented in books and movies and on TV as having to constantly change their identity. Would I have to do that? All of this is exhausting.

On the other hand, if I can be free of illness and not worry about governments testing on me and just be openly immortal, it's pretty easy to do but emotionally it might be draining unless some of the people you love also get this deal. I would love to travel the cosmos and immortality is needed for that sort of thing but it's at a huge cost. I think if it was a deal where I could die in an explosion or burned up by a star, I might take it because there's still an out if I eventually did feel like I had spent the right amount of time living, but to live forever is an awfully long time.
Really thoughtful views! Thanks for sharing them with us. ?
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Post by papaya12 »

I wouldn't want to become immortal. It would be awful to see everyone you loved die and you had to live on. If I knew someone that was also immortal (even if I didn't like the person) I think it would be more bearable.
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Post by LinaVidal »

I like the idea of immortality but only in a few different circumstances:

1) I am impervious to damage, so no illnesses or physical harm can come to me in general. Also I would like to be able to choose to die whenever I like. So if I'm alive at the heat death of the universe I can just say "I think that's enough for me" and blink out of existence. I'd also like to be able to have someone be immortal with me for company, but it would suck if you eventually grew distant with the person and you're just stuck with another immortal person you don't like.

2) Only woken up once every hundred years to see the progress of humanity. I'd ideally die once all sentient life that I have information access to has perished. This appeals the the sci-fi addict in me.

3) Have my sentience uploaded onto the internet and have it somehow stay in tact. Maybe other people would follow and I'd have company. Ideally I wouldn't be affected my viruses/malware/etc. This also appeals to the sci-fi addict in me.
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Post by Sindhu Srinath »

It's certainly a desirable choice. I hope I remain strong and fit. Yes, immortality is something I would accept. I'd get to accomplish all I want to, won't I?
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Post by Leese »

It's a very interesting question to think over, honestly, and I don't know that I have an answer either way. On one hand, I would love to be immortal so that I can stick around and see how technology advances and how much the human race as a whole develops and evolves. On the other, though, I don't think I'd want to be around FOREVER. To have infinite time kind of seems like some form of torture, especially when you consider that everyone you'll ever know and love will come and go and you'll just be... there. Forever.
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Post by Wasif Ahmed »

Swara Sangeet wrote:It's certainly a desirable choice. I hope I remain strong and fit. Yes, immortality is something I would accept. I'd get to accomplish all I want to, won't I?
Yes. The idea of immortality does sound more exciting if you were granted eternal youth.
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Post by ashley_claire »

I agree with previous posts that if I was the only one of my loved ones who would be immortal, I'd have to pass. However I do like the infinite amount of time I would have to read...
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Post by gali »

hsimone wrote:
gali wrote:
Wasif Ahmed wrote:If you were given the choice of not aging beyond a certain point, would you do it?
I am not sure. The idea of becoming immortal does sound interesting but.....

Please share your thoughts on this topic. ?
I will want to become immortal. There are endless possibilities in an immortal life, not to mention the endless time to read. 8)
Endless time time to read sounds pretty tempting... :) I would want to become immortal if my husband can too (and if my dog can too, that would be great!), so I would always have someone I love by my side.
That goes without saying. I would also like my family to become immortal.
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Post by mindyg123 »

I wouldn't because who would want to outlive everyone they love and everyone they know. I have my children and grandchildren and would never want to outlive them, plus my fiance and my best friend. It seems inconceivable to me to bury them and have to carry on without them.
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Post by Kitkat3 »

AbbyC wrote:I wouldn't want to live forever if it meant everyone I loved would die before me. It would also make meeting new people difficult because everyone, and everything, would eventually die and I would live on. And then there's the changing era's, styles, beliefs, politics. You could literally live through the downfall of your country, survive wars that destroyed everything you ever knew, or see your home culture die out. Personally, this would outweigh the pros and I wouldn't choose it given the chance.
This is exactly what I was thinking. Even though it would be nice to have endless time to explore the world and read, the death of everyone around me would make it not worth it. :cry:
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Post by CataclysmicKnight »

If I was immortal I could play video games and watch movies and read books forever and see what crazy technology the future brings. It would also mean losing everyone I love and having to work forever to earn money to pay bills and buy said entertainment. Worst of all, it would mean never being able to stay somewhere too long because people would get suspicious, job history would have to be recreated as time went on and new identities would likely have to be crafted. That sounds like way too much work! Unless my gal was also immortal, I'd turn it down.
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Post by sourav15 »

I would want to be an immortal if given a choice. Life is a golden opportunity to experience a lot of things, moments, feelings. But due to lack of time (whatever we have), it's always an unfinished task. I would want to live the life to the fullest for as long as possible.

-- 02 Feb 2017, 16:22 --
Wasif Ahmed wrote:I recently read an article why becoming immortal is worst than death. You see, humans are continously eveloving. In about a couple of 1000 years the physical characteristics of humans will completely change but you will be the same 2017 human. You will be the odd one out with a world with completely different people.
It's not exactly true, as per as I know. Though it is true that like every other species in the world, we are also under selection pressure and are evolving continuously but due to our large generation time (like around 30 years), it needs to be a long long time before you will feel the odd one out. 1000 years though seems a long time, it's only 30-32 generations or so, which is not much time to accumulate all the changes.

Now, if I were a mosquito :? :? ...... But then I guess, there's no point to be immortal being a mosquito.
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Post by Wasif Ahmed »

sourav15 wrote:I would want to be an immortal if given a choice. Life is a golden opportunity to experience a lot of things, moments, feelings. But due to lack of time (whatever we have), it's always an unfinished task. I would want to live the life to the fullest for as long as possible.

-- 02 Feb 2017, 16:22 --
Wasif Ahmed wrote:I recently read an article why becoming immortal is worst than death. You see, humans are continously eveloving. In about a couple of 1000 years the physical characteristics of humans will completely change but you will be the same 2017 human. You will be the odd one out with a world with completely different people.
It's not exactly true, as per as I know. Though it is true that like every other species in the world, we are also under selection pressure and are evolving continuously but due to our large generation time (like around 30 years), it needs to be a long long time before you will feel the odd one out. 1000 years though seems a long time, it's only 30-32 generations or so, which is not much time to accumulate all the changes.

Now, if I were a mosquito :? :? ...... But then I guess, there's no point to be immortal being a mosquito.
Lol. But I said a couple of thousand years. Not just thousand years. Anyway, humans will have to evolve someday and you would be present at that day......well.....because.....you will live forever. ?
When people say you've changed, it just means that you have stopped living your life, their way.
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