One of the oldest themes in science fiction writing has been the idea of eternal youth. Robert A. Heinlein wrote arguably the definitive book on the subject, Time Enough For Love, which I have read several times. Poul Anderson’s The Boat of a Million Years also takes eternal youth as a driving theme. And in recent years techniques such as cryonics have been in movies and books such as the interesting crime thriller Chiller, by Sterling Blake.
One of the most recent treatments of the issues of anti-ageing and its impact on society is Peter F. Hamilton’s Misspent Youth, which like a lot of his books is set in the near future in deepest Cambridgeshire, where he lives. I rather like that. He projects an age, set about 20-odd years from now, where our understanding of genomics and nano-delivery of medicines has partly halted the ageing process and also made it possible for some very rich folk to have decades removed from their lives. It also raises issues that are extremely relevant now: such as what happens to tax-funded state pensions if people live for far longer.
Hamilton nicely shows how a father – in his 70s in Earth-time – has decades wiped off his physique and how this affects his relationship with the rest of his family and friends. I love the twists and turns of the plot, showing how the main character, Jeff Baker, has troubles dealing with his teenage son and family. The story works so well since the technology is kept to a minimum in order not to intefere with the human story.
Hamilton also holds up a picture of an England now totally absorbed in a Euro-superstate, while much of human life is now subject to draconian environmental laws regulating things like transport and energy use. There is a violent British separatist movement and culture dominated by fear of risk and danger. Yes, it does not become all that long before one realises that Hamilton ought to be writing for this blog. If he is not a free-market libertarian then I would be very surprised.
You ought to try reading his earlier ‘Greg Mandell’ (sp?) sci-fi detective books, ‘The Nano Flower’ is the only title that springs immediately to mind.
The backstory to those would make it clear that he REALLY ought to be writing for this blog.
If you need a state pension, you are not in a position to object to how it is being eroded by inflation. If you can afford to have rejuvination gene therapy (any guesses what the market value of life itself is likely to be?), you won’t know what a state pension is. If life-extension gets cheap enough for plebs, the state pension will only be payable after your 65,000th birthday.
The real issue is the disgruntlement of rich people’s kids waiting a damn long time to inherit. Ha ha ha ha ha.
If you have spent your working life paying in to the state’s National Insurance scheme then of course you are entitled to a state pension, in the same way that you are entitled to a pension that you have from paying a percentage of your salary into a corporate scheme.
Sounds an interesting book and I have put in on my wish list but the reviews are not encouraging, most reviewers preferring previous works.
Julian Taylor, someone inferring such an entitlement from the words “National Insurance” is in a similar position to those of PT Barnum’s customers who reputedly hurried to see an exotic creature, following the sign “This way to the Egress”.
“Holy fire” by Bruce Sterling is rather good – an examination of the early stages of a long-lived world.
I think that such a technology would be the greatest curse imaginable to the human race. That’s because of the problem of immortal political leaders.
There are some political problems in the world for which the only real solution is to outlive them. Castro is going to die soon, for instance. Old age and death comes for every man eventually.
But what if it doesn’t, or what if it only does after a very, very long time? The only way we were able to get rid of Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms was to outlive them — but they’re gone now. The only way we can get rid of Ted Kennedy is to outlive him, and he’ll be gone soon. Time will solve the problem of Chirac that cannot be solved any other way. Time solved the problem of Stalin and the problem of Mao.
What would the world be like if Stalin had been able to access this technology? Or Mao?
I hope the human race never finds out.
Whether you are entitled to a pension is nothing to do with whether you will get it. If you need a state pension you will not be hiring Perry Masonic to wrest a decent sum out of the government.
Hamilton’s most recent books (Pandora’s Star, Judas Unchained) continue in the same timeline as Misspent Youth but a few centuries later – instead of saving for pensions, you save for being regenerated instead, and even “bodyloss” (phsyical death) can be fixed – if the chips you use for memory backups are still working.
Mind you, they suffer the same problem as all of his works – interesting ideas wrapped up in a deus ex machina about ten pages from the end.
What would the world be like if Stalin had been able to access this technology? Or Mao?
An argument in no way against longevity, an argument very much against cowardice in standing up to the monsters in the world.
Waiting it out and hoping for evil to die off is the Chickenshit’s way of dealing with things.
Of course, dying off didn’t work too well in the Communist bloc, did it?
Even Monsters reproduce.
Invite him to join.
One might get the impression, by reading 1632 et sequelea, that Eric Flint is a free-market libertarian but he swears up and down that he’s still a Trotskyist.
Triticale: I’ve heart this about Flint, and it makes me shake my head in wonder every single time.
To borrow from another SF fan, John Hertz, “there are things that I do not know how to understand” — and that’s high on my list.
I remember reading a fascinating interview with him about currencies in the SF magazine “Analog” (if memory serves). He seems pretty sound in his opinions – for example using “fuseodollars” as a currency – backed by deuterium, the primary fuel source for the widespread use of fusion in his vision of the future.
For what it’s worth, his novel “Fallen Dragon” is one of my favourite SF works.
I read the Greg Mandel series, which are very good.
Steven: your argument about longevity treatment might apply to any form of medical care, so I am not sure if I buy your argument.
Of course, as far as pensions are concerned, if we live longer, we’ll have to create wealth and work for longer, which is pretty much how policy is headed anyway in the West.