I’ve heard it said that if we just hang on for 10 to 15 years more, science will be able to reverse our body’s age to that of a 20-year-old. That’s quite a claim. But what are the implications of living indefinitely? I’ve read many science fiction stories that discuss immortality, always in some distant future. But what if it truly happens in my lifetime?

First of all, I need my life partner and soulmate to make it too, otherwise what’s the point? So that’s a given. Now moving on: we have two children. They have to make it. And my friends, too.

But, back to the children, it was hard to raise them. Now that we’re helping to raise our three year old granddaughter, my memories of raising my own children are more vivid. Raising children is one of the most difficult things we do in life. We will never love as unconditionally, never be expected to give up as much, and never have someone who loves us “with all of their minds” as a little kid. And the difficulties grow exponentially as kids grow. Our society has long ago given up on “it takes a village,” so parents are largely on their own.

Now consider what it would mean if age was no longer a barrier to having healthy children. If you knew that you could have the body of a 20-year-old when you are 80, why spoil your fun and career in your actual twenties? Childbirth will get postponed…indefinitely. Birth rates will plummet, but the population of those who could access the treatment will remain steady; why have children at all? The cost of having children is high. Retirement, too, will have to be postponed forever and finances will have to be rethought to make immortality a successful long-term investment. In fact, the whole idea of career and education — work-life balance — will need to be reconsidered in the light of very extended and perpetually healthy lives.

Trying to reverse aging without addressing the halo of grave implications to our society and to being human seems amateurish. It’s the kind of venture funded by billionaires who wish to enjoy their wealth forever. I’d rather they funded more libraries and museums and left immortality to speculative fiction.

Steve Jobs said in a commencement address: “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”

That said, I have a few stories that deal with interesting changes in lifespans or at least with non-linear lives. Please check them out along with other indie science fiction and fantasy. Happy reading!