If you were given a chance to be immortal, would take it?

[lovesmycats]

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

No - not on this planet/earth the way it is. I have another better place to live forever

I agree.

You couldn't have said it better.

 

[valanhb]

Originally Posted by clixpix

I have to say I'm surprised. I really thought the vast majority would say "no". I think it's being skewed by the Twilight series...there seems to be a preponderance of requests to be a vampire!

I was into vampires LONG before Twilight was even a twinkle in the author's imagination, and even before I read Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice's paranormal books were AMAZING...). I am actually a total vampire snob - I hate most vampire fiction, I don't like many vampire movies. Anne Rice is a true exception, and I've actually really enjoyed the HBO series True Blood this last year. I read non-fiction vampire books (about the mythology, folklore and history, including a book by a Catholic Priest written in the late 1800s) for about 5 years. Started out as a mission to only read vampire books for a year but then I kept finding more.

But it's not the romanticism of the modern vampire that would make me consider immortality. But like others have said, if that was part of the package deal I think I could do it.

 

[kittkatt]

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

No - not on this planet/earth the way it is. I have another better place to live forever

I agree.

IF the world was progressing into something better (meaning good triumphs over evil), and IF I didn't have to watch all my loved ones die, and IF I could live forever w/o getting old - then just maybe I'd want to be immortal.

I fear dying too, but I also fear living considering the way things are....

 

[sharky]

I plan on it being on earth , just not this earth.. as I do not believe all go to heaven and there is no proverbial hell ...

 

[larussa]

I would definitely say yes as long as I remained healthy. I would love to see what the future holds and what planets we are able to see and visit.

 

[larussa]

Originally Posted by clixpix

I have to say I'm surprised. I really thought the vast majority would say "no". I think it's being skewed by the Twilight series...there seems to be a preponderance of requests to be a vampire!

My answer was yes because I would like to see what the future really holds, it has nothing to do with the Twilight series or movie since I saw neither.

 

[larussa]

This was one of the most interesting topics posted here. It was very eye opening to see just what others felt, thanks for posting this unusual topic clixpix.

 

[browneyes106]

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Oh my gosh, yes. It would be extremely painful to outlive loved ones, and I must admit that if I had children, I might not be willing to do it... but those considerations aside, yes, I'd take immortality in a heartbeat.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you had centuries! Imagine how well you would come to understand the dynamics of world affairs -- surely you would soon develop systems that would lift all people up from poverty and ignorance... systems that would reward the best of human behavior (integrity, compassion), rather than the worst (exploitation, greed).

You could have many careers -- be an archaeologist for awhile, then an architect... a news correspondent, an astronomer, a cancer researcher, a meteorologist, a pilot, an orchestra conductor...

As it is, we humans finally reach an age at which we've seen enough to really understand the world, and maybe even have an idea of how to fix what's wrong with it -- and then we die. Immortality, even for only a few of us, would open up the possibility of greater advancement in the overall condition of humankind.

The question makes me think of an original Star Trek episode in which James Daly played a man who was immortal. He had lost countless friends and lovers over thousands of years of life, and now he was living alone on a remote planet except for his brilliant companion, a beautiful young woman... who turned out to be an android he had designed because he so desperately needed a loved one who would not die and leave him.

It also makes me think of one of my favorite quotations: the playwright Noel Coward once said he would like to live forever, and someone asked, "What if you were ill and bedridden?" And Coward said, "Even if only as an observer, I should like to live forever."

That episode sounds really good. I have seen a lot of the original ST episodes but haven't seen that one. I hope I can see it.

 

[browneyes106]

It is hard for me to say. I have seen a lot of tv shows and movies like Highlander, New Amsterdam and Tuck, Everlasting and the downside of immorality is brought up a lot. The main characters in Highlander and New Amsterdam had many different careers,they witnessed several events that were important in history but they all suffered a lot because loved ones and friends always died and they had to start new lives again. In Tuck, Everlasting the patriarach of the family said that in a lot of ways the family was basically exisiting but not living because they would never die. I think if I was given the chance to be immortal I would do it if I was in my early 30's and not married or in a relationship.

 

[rapunzel47]

I don't think I'd take a chance at immortality. I think one roughly standard lifetime on this planet will do me just fine, and then on to the next chapter, whatever that may be. For a long time, I've had the sense that I won't live "to a ripe old age", but I'm not bothered by that. I've still got lots of living to do, but when it's my time, that's fine.

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by HopeHacker

Yes. One of my greatest fears is of dying. Also, I want to experience the more futuristic times. Of course I would like a couple of other people I really care about to also be immortal along with me.

As to the question... I don't want to be immortal. I believe there are too many other places and dimensions to explore. I don't want to be stuck in this one. When you get into particle physics, one of the solutions to the problem of particle movement is the idea that there are an infinite number of universes. I just hope I get to travel through them with Gary - and that in the next one, he will be pain free.

Laurie