Living Forever
 

Would you want to live forever?

Hypothetically, if you were given the opportunity to drink from a fountain that gave eternal life. But, as in the book Tuck Everlasting, you had the choice of sharing it, or keeping it a secret, would you choose to drink?

If you shared it you would most likely create overpopulation. On the other hand if you kept it a secret and drank from it yourself you would see all those around you eventually die. You would most likely be forced to relocate every few decades for fear of arousing suspicion because of your lack of aging.

Which would you chose: drink or not, share or not?

Are there any other choices that could be contrived.

Negative.

Tuck said it himself: No dying... you can't call that living.

Now, to have my lifespan extended into the hundreds of years? I could get interested in that. But I wouldn't want to have to know I could NEVER shuffle off this mortal coil.

Being an atheist I have one thing to say....

Drink up.

booyah!

having something to die for makes life worth living. i wouldnt vaule a thing if i knew i would out-last it all. fuck friends, fuck love...hah...

Would you share the secret with others? Make money off selling it or give it to people who you deem as valuable to the human race?

Are we talking eternal youth? or eternal life?

It was eternal youth in Tuck Everlasting.

I'd drink.

Of course I would drink from the fountain of eternal life. I can't think of any good reasons why I should not.

I'd drink. I want to see what happens later, whichever one it is.

I don't think I'd drink, and I'd definitely destroy the fountain/pool/geyser etc. so no one else could.

I don't want to live forever. I do think I'm not going to have enough time on this rock to do everything I want to before I go. If it is eternal youth, I guess I would drink, and I'd die from something else later.

There has always been something utterly romantic about the thought of living happily for as long as time permits.. It seems to be innate that we are propelled to fully appreciate something that may at one point, cease to exist. I love the fact that one day the curtains will close and a determination can be made if the life I led was the best that I could make it. Living eternally may just perpetuate a sense of emptiness, that you haven't, can't, will never do/accomplish enough. Like you wake up the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that thinking, 'what now'.. Hell sometimes I find myself doing that now, and I know for damn sure I won't be living beyond 60. I guess the point is, I eventually would like to die.

To the elixir of youth/life, I shall remain sober.

I should have clarified this. It was eternal life. In Tuck Everlasting the people who HAD drunk of the fountain were frozen in time in a sense. The youngest of the family when he had drunk from it was, if I remember correctly, frozen in an appearance of 12 yrs old but the adults were frozen at an older age.

Eternal youth WOULD be more attractive to me. But eternal life in this world would not be attractive.

If perchance though the fountain only offered youth while one regularly drank from it and when one stopped they would then continue to age as before - I would be much more tempted.

Can some one explain to me why one should not drink from it. :confused:

I think I'd drink it. Although I fear I'd be damaging my psyche by having to endure the loss of loved ones over and over again for infinity.

But I think I'd continue loving, regardless. And mourning, at the appropriate time.

I figure I'm likely to outlive much of my friends and family anyways, barring an accident or something.

Although now I kinda don't want to post that last sentence, LOL.

I'd drink and share. I hate death, I've lost far too many friends to it. I'd share.

I would drink, I want to have time to do everything that seems interesting to me, even with the average lifespan being what it is I can't learn or do everything I want to. Would life get less interesting, I doubt it, I wouldn't mind it, it would be hard if my family members didn't want to drink, but I think I could accept it after all it would be their choice. I would share it but not with everyone, assuming I continue meeting people I would make judgments as to whom I would tell about the fountain, as to how the judgment would be made I don't know I suppose I won't ever know. But the thought of living forever is appealing to me. At a younger age I wished I could freeze time and read all the books in the world, learn every language etc. This is what I liken it more to, not necessarily the age to which I would live in, but the myriad of things I could do or learn, that’s what would draw me to the fountain.

I haven't read the book, so I'd want to clarify a few things.
Can you die? Like if you got shot or something.

If the first one no, then I would say no, unless there is some other powers attached. What if you got stuck under a rock? Would you just lie there in pain forever? Or when the world ended (in the scientific sence, sun expanding in 5 billion years), would you just drift forever in horrible pain as you can't breath and were just enveloped by the sun.
Maybe you are invulnerable, and can choose to feel no pain. Maybe then it's getting closer to yes, but even then, do you really want to be drifting through space for millions of years?

If it was eternal youth, but you could still die, then I would say yes, and proably not share it, or share it with a select few.

In the book a family drank from a spring that they found while crossing the country looking for a place to live. The book begins when a girl comes upon the spring and goes to drink from it but the 'youngest' of the family that DID drink stops her. Eventually she learns the implications of drinking and makes a choice whether to drink or not. The family cannot die. I forget which one but one of them is shot in the story and heals within minutes. I think I remember them feeling some pain but it's only very temporary. That is another fear of the family in the book. During their time people still hung 'witches' and since they could not be harmed and did not age they feared they would be labled as witches. Hung or burned or shot, feel the pain, but be unable to die. Imagine being hung from a rope but not being able to die and free from that.

I'm reading the book Hyperion for the second time and just finished the priest's story. The image from raenna reminded me of what happened in the story: another priest became a member of the "cruciform," a strange seemingly organic object that melded with the person and granted lasting life. But when you died, you felt the pain, and then were reborn, losing part of what made you human; furthermore, you were limited in traveling distance. The person couldn't stand it, and eventually climbed up a fire-inducing tree, cruicified himself, and lived and died for seven years. "feel the pain, but unable to die" indeed.

What would I choose? When I was younger, I definitely would have chosen eternal life. I'm too curious about so many different things, in our world and just the universe in general, that it would be neat to see different things. That being said, I do have some doubts; it certainly would get old after the first million years, after everyone dies away, and no matter how many adventures you have, you won't have the (cliche) adventure of death. I think I'd still choose eternal life, but that philosophy could easily change in the coming years.

Its easy to think of horrific ways to be immortal and there are down sides even in the best of circumstances, but if it was just eternal youth, sign me up. Getting old sucks and youth is wasted on the young.

Eternal youth? Fuck yea I'd drink it, and I'd sell the leftovers for an incredibly ridiculous price. No sense being immortal and poor.

Imagine 10,000 years from now. You've done everything. You've seen everything. Every person you meet seems insignificant--they have a gnat's lifespan, and can't possibly tell you anything you don't already know. There's no chance you'll get involved in anyone's else's life, because you've buried hundreds or thousands of best friends and lovers.

Or, worse yet, the world moves on at a breakneck pace and you, with your glacial lifespan, can't possibly keep up. Imagine being as lost as a great-grandmother on the Internet for the rest of eternity. It's not the physical effects of age that does that to people, it's the slowness with which they live relative to the rest of the world. That's not because of age itself, per se, it's because of those people's longevity changing their perspective. Imagine spending eternity in a world that seems increasingly alien and dangerous to you, surrounded by people who you can't possibly understand.

No thanks. I mean, it seems like a great idea, but most people don't have a grip on the sheer foreverness of it. I don't really want ANYTHING that's literally forever.

This is of course assuming I am not crowned God Emperor who can dictate the future :D

I would rather face boredom than oblivion.

So this is when you off yourself, or put yourself in a coma with instuctions to revive you in 100 years...

I don't know...think of all the talent and genius that's walked the Earth in the last...500 years? Imagine getting to talk to the next Einstein...or the next Steinbeck? I bet everlasting youth/life/whatever and eventually the world's oldest anything would be more than enough to buy you a ticket their table for a chat.

I don't fear oblivion, but I wouldn't mind postponing it for a while. :)

I guess, ultimately, it would depend upon the particulars, but "Highlander" immortal? "Tuck Everlasting" immortal? Sure, I'd probably walk that road.

I'd drink. I'd share.

It would change the world in ways I could not imagine. I know the impact would be large. Given a change whose impact is unknown, I can only evaluate "do I want those I love to die", and the answer is no.

Ratbastid I think you are letting your imagination run away.

You can never do everything nor can you ever see everything. You can visit the same place an infinate number of times and get something new out of it. People are infinitely deep and they always change. I don't see how one can ever get bored with people or society there is simply too much to do and just when you think you've done it all, cultural change comes allong and the variables are realigned. As you lose countless friends and lover you will still be earning for those same feelings. The good and the bad go hand in hand.

I would imagine you get used to the changing ways of the world sooner or later. At times you may fall behind at other times you may understand culture better then anyone on the plannet.

I agree, most people don't have a grip on the sheer foreverness of it, so I say why not? There are ups there are down, that is life.

I couldn't agree with you more. It's just like driving, the road to where you want to go may be paved with the most beautiful surroundings, but you'd have to reach a destination at some point, otherwise, the beautiful surroundings just becomes, well, ordinary. There wouldn't be much to be ecstatic for cause everything eventually falls into some routine humdrum....And that's a loooong time to be humdrummin.

I would say we never reach a destination and death is but the end of our travels.

I guess in a sense, each stop or milestone we make in life, especially the ones we work our asses off for serves as some sort of a mini-destination, but yes death would be the end of our travels. I surely wouldnt want to be trekking about six feet under....haha..thanks for the input mantus

I'd have to say it's the journey and not the destination...

The hardest thing about this thread is getting that stupid Queen song from "The Highlander" out of my head....


If you'll forgive my little "Freddie Mercury moment"

"Who wants to live.....FOREVER?!?!?!"

Damn, I knew we'd get there eventually :lol:

Oooh and we just found ourselves another mini destination...

I wouldn't drink it (although it seems interesting to stay like a 19-year-old forever) but I'd share it.

I can see it getting a little bit boring after a million years, seeing the same thing, same sort of people, same changes happening again and again.

When changes becomes so boring that you don't feel the thrill of it, there isn't really any point anymore I guess. Also when you know there won't be a litmit for your lifespan, you won't treasure it that much. A immortal would probably say, 'well I still have [infinite] years to live, I can try that later...' The satisfaction of doing EVERY single thing just decreased by half if one knows s/he is not going to die...

Then again somebody would like to give it a shot (and remain bored to death- oh wait- ), so I wouldn't mind drawing the little map to the fountain for those. Probably one of those drinkers would publish a book called 'When death becomes a jolly event' or 'When changes don't change anymore' and become a bestseller.

I'd live forever, if I could do it in a way that would give me good health and mind... I would love to see the rise and fall of civilisations, or to travel and learn multiple languages. I'd like to see what different cultures are like, or even travel in space when that becomes available. I'm one of those people for whom the world is always interesting, and if it isn't I'll take a nap and when I wake up there will be stuff I will want to think about or dream about. It'd just be interesting to see that much of the world/time, and to watch things change and remember.

Perhaps one's memories would get foggy though, and one wouldn't remember the past accurately anymore and that could make things weird.

Yeah I wouldn't take it myself, but I wouldn't take the opportunity away from others who may want to venture into that sort of thing.

No way in hell. I've watch enough people I care about die. An eternity of that? No thank you. Besides, I already have my imortality, and I don't have to hang out on this dirt ball any longer. Between my friends back home elivating me to urban legend status, and my ex's two sons, Part of me will always be here. So I can go on fucking with all of you for eternity. ;)

I'd drink from it, maybe slip a bit into a friend's drink, but I dont want to live forever. I'm guessing that in 500 or so years I could accomplish everything that I ever wanted.

I do know that it would be one hell of a goodbye party when I did decide not to drink anymore.

Hell yes.

I often fret that I don't have enough time on my hands.

Although the point above about being left aside when technology accelerates was something I hadn't thought about!

I would read every book. Every one.

Then I would paint, and sculpt. I would visit famous museums.

I would join a monestary every once in a while, to become centred. It would probably freak the monks out when they saw that I didn't age.

I would ensure that I specialized in martial arts, and then combine them and my knowledge into a super-martial-art, Ben Fu. I would run around the country, kicking ass, and people would say "How do I learn that style, master?" and I would say "Live forever!"

Getting caught under a landslide and waiting fo erosion to free me would NOT be fun, and in such a case I would go absolutely insane.

Then once freed, I would probably turn into some kind of super-villan, since I would be insane and a combat master!

I would join different armies, and go on the front lines and do stupid heroic shit; I would save lives and have fun, knowing that I was going to live forever!

Jeez. I just read what I wrote, and boy does that sound delusional. Hmmm. I guess that is the mood I am in today.