# Coping with immortality



## Svrtnsse (Aug 6, 2012)

How do immortals deal with their long lifespans in your world?

I'm thinking that if you live long enough you may eventually become bored, or even worse, bitter and cynical. At least, I think, that's what would happen to a human if they suddenly turned out to be imortal. 
Chances are that for races that are immortal by default (elves) the mindset will be a bit different, but it's still an interesting question. How does immortality affect the way you view the world around you and the way you live your life?


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## Caged Maiden (Aug 6, 2012)

I want to be immortal.  I'd live dangerously, though, tempting fate.


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## Lunaairis (Aug 6, 2012)

In a comic of mine the only immortal races are Angels, Demons and the infected (which is like a combination of Vampirism and Lycanthropy) Out of the main cast only one character is an immortal (Was once an Angel and then got infected; Damgel) Her name is Astrid and she takes immortality very seriously. She knows how fleeting time is, and if she keeps putting things off she knows she will miss exciting moments in time. So she tries very hard to be able to see as much as she can.  Even if that means stealing a spaceship from the local Celestial Refugee Organization of Secret Services (A.K.A. CROSS) and possibly putting her own life in danger in the process. 

She is rather unique, as Angel's are servants to their gods (all powerful), while she discovered how to best her's; leading to her freedom. She's lived for a relatively long time and hasn't really gotten bored yet, for she tends to surround her self with a few mortals and listens to them all through out their life, before finding some new ones. 

 Other Angels are usually rather busy following their god's orders till they get killed. ( God's literally have a a legion of angels and fight each other till they killed.) These angel's then not to notice how much time has actually gone by. 

(Hopes this is relatively interesting)


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## Queshire (Aug 6, 2012)

Well, very few of my immortals fall into that whole "who wants to live forever" trap, because those that do tend to find ways to remove their immortality and commit suicide. For those remaining, they think immortality is freakin' sweet! Yeah, sure they out live a bunch of stuff, and that's kinda sad, but there's always new stuff just waiting to be discovered!


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## Wynnara (Aug 6, 2012)

One of my favourite interpretations of immortality that I've seen was in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager entitled "Death Wish" in which a member of the Q Continuum requests asylum on Voyager so that he can commit suicide. As the immortality of the Q is a big part of being a Q, the Continuum was doing everything in its power to stop this from happening. But the Q with the suicidal intent made the argument that once you've seen everything, done everything and know the possibility of every outcome... what is there really left to live for? 

Not that I'm condoning suicide in the slightest, but the episode left an impression and made me think that immortality wouldn't be such a great blessing after all.


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## Ireth (Aug 6, 2012)

Both of my immortal peoples (Fae and vampires) are largely pleasure-seekers; what sort of pleasure they typically seek tends to vary. Some are after sex, some want constant amusement (often at the expense of us humans), others just want companionship.


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## Penpilot (Aug 6, 2012)

Well, it depends on the person. If you think about it even within a normal human lifespan, there are those who think it's too long and for what ever reason want to end it. Then there are those who can't get enough of life. I'd think it'd be like that. Some could do the marathon, see the continual wonder in it all while others couldn't handle it. They'll fall into despair and want it to end.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 7, 2012)

I don't have any "immortal" characters that are unkillable. They do have the ability to live forever, but they still have to be careful!

I think it affects different people differently. I mean, the old Tolkien staple (and previously faery tales and legends) where they end up withdrawing from the world is crap in my opinion, but a lot of people go that route. I have some god-like characters that become disillusioned and go through decades of meditation or wasting away, only to become inspired and fall in love with life again. Then I have others that are imprisoned and unable to escape but when they do it is explosive. And yet there are still more that are always active and involved. 

Everyone is different!


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## Svrtnsse (Aug 7, 2012)

I think it's as you all say that it's a matter of having the right state of mind. 

In my current WIP the elves are immortal. They're not invincible and they can be killed, but they don't die of old age like the other races. I've toyed with a few different ideas for things they do to maintain an interest in life throughout the millenia. One is a tendency to engage in very long-term hobby projects and another is a kind of active hibernation.

The first one is fairly simple; start a project that it'll take you thousands of years to complete but which doesn't require your constant care and attention. Things like breeding the perfect race horses or hunting dogs from scratch come to mind.

The other is less obvious and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. The idea is that in order to get away from the world for a while the elf will be able to shut away all of their memories and higher mental abilities while still remaining functional. This transforms them from civilized, intelligent beings into something little more than an animal; they go feral, litteraly. While in this state the elf spends their time in the wild, hunting or foraging for food, alone or with other elves also gone feral. 
The elf would be able to remain in this state for years, decades or even centuries before reverting back to their original civilized self. This return to the self can probably be triggered by some subconscious need of the elf or through some external mean. When the feral elf goes back to its own self it'll be a bit like waking up from a long sleep.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 7, 2012)

Svrtnsse said:


> The other is less obvious and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. The idea is that in order to get away from the world for a while the elf will be able to shut away all of their memories and higher mental abilities while still remaining functional. This transforms them from civilized, intelligent beings into something little more than an animal; they go feral, litteraly. While in this state the elf spends their time in the wild, hunting or foraging for food, alone or with other elves also gone feral.
> The elf would be able to remain in this state for years, decades or even centuries before reverting back to their original civilized self. This return to the self can probably be triggered by some subconscious need of the elf or through some external mean. When the feral elf goes back to its own self it'll be a bit like waking up from a long sleep.



I like it. I have races that go feral, but never thought of elves doing this as a way to cope with immortality. Of course, my elves live between 600 - 1000 years on average depending on the race of elf. I would think a lot more would die while being feral though! Maybe you could have an order of rangers dedicated to looking out for their feral cousins. This seems sort of like the night elf druids in Warcraft. Partly because of their shape-changing abilities, some of them ended up going feral. Might be worth looking into.


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## Svrtnsse (Aug 7, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> I like it. I have races that go feral, but never thought of elves doing this as a way to cope with immortality. Of course, my elves live between 600 - 1000 years on average depending on the race of elf. I would think a lot more would die while being feral though! Maybe you could have an order of rangers dedicated to looking out for their feral cousins. This seems sort of like the night elf druids in Warcraft. Partly because of their shape-changing abilities, some of them ended up going feral. Might be worth looking into.



I've thought of this as well and there's likely going to be something like this. Both to keep an eye on the feral elves and to keep the lands free from intruders/poachers.


Another thing I thought about is the breeding cycle. Elves have been around on my planet for over 12,000 years and there are those who are that old. If elves bred at the same rate as humans and never died the world would suffer rather badly from overpopulation. I'm thinking that elven women will be fertile from around 200 to 500 years old. In this time they have on average 2 children. I haven't done the maths on this though - nor do I really have a clue about fertility (even among humans) so there may be some rather big plot holes to fill here...


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## Zophos (Aug 7, 2012)

Caged Maiden said:


> I want to be immortal.  I'd live dangerously, though, tempting fate.



Except for the scars one accumulates from dangerous behavior, of course. 



Queshire said:


> Well, very few of my immortals fall into that whole "who wants to live forever" trap, because those that do tend to find ways to remove their immortality and commit suicide...



Funny, I wrote a short about a cult that worshipped a god whose name roughly translated to suicide in the human tongue; it was a godslayer.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 7, 2012)

If I was immortal, first thing I'd do is fund research to figure out how to alter my brain to make me never get tired of being immortal.


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## shangrila (Aug 7, 2012)

Science says that the older you get, the faster you perceive time. So if you were 1000 years old people you knew their entire lives would be about as significant as someone you were friends with in college and then never saw again. Kind of depressing, but then reality seems to go that way.

In my fantasy world, immortality just means you can't die of old age. There's a few mages, known as the Fifth (as in, a fifth of a percent, or the number of mages that reach that level) who've mastered enough magic to stop aging. However, depending on how it's done, it can lead to mental instability. A few of the different races do as well; the Bruzol are naturally long lived to the point of being practically immortal, the King is the last of his race and thus has been using the leftovers of his race to keep himself alive. There's a few gods that pop up from time to time as well, which are naturally immortal.

As far as how they deal with it, the King is a custodian for an ultimate evil type thing, while the Bruzol spend their days studying magic. The Fifth manipulate the world by playing games with each other, though they're careful not to take an active role in fear that several of the other mages will come down on them. Psycologically, most have mental problems; Bruzol are intensely reclusive, only meeting with others of their race every few hundred years to try and reproduce. Most don't even do that. The King has forgotten most everything except why he's where he is, meaning he's little more than a husk of a being. The Fifth tend to be bored easily, with several suffering from depression as well.


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## SeverinR (Aug 7, 2012)

Imagine that,
When I first read the title, I thought it said immorality.  

If you live as long as you want, there would be no reason to rush around. You will get to it eventually.
You can learn all you want, experience all you want as often as you want.  Indulge in all the arts, see all the world (live as long as you want, just keep walking.)

I assume we mean no age limit, rather then unkillable. Ie They have to have enough to eat, drink and need to breathe.


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## psychotick (Aug 7, 2012)

Hi,

My thought is that someone who is immortal, assuming he started out as something more normal, would head for boredom fairlyquickly. After all if he was a farmer in the middle ages, well there's only so many fields you can plough. So as time passed one of his driving ambitions / reasons for living, would be to find new things. 

Equally he would become seperated emotionally from all others. You can't have a family and friends and watch them die without failure, without slowly realising that everyone you love must eventually go away. So sooner or later you'd stop creating firm attachments to people knowing that eventually they must leave you.

As to death wishes, not so much. My thought would be that the older you get, the more comfortable you become in your rut, and the less you want to die, and the more likely you are to become cowardly as death becomes less the end of life and more an enemy to be feared. An enemy that you don't needto fight. Maybe though they would go through periods of needing an adrenaline fix every now and then just to remind them that they still live. But too many and they'd be dead, so obviously anyone who had already achieved an advanced age, had already learned to deal with them.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Svrtnsse (Aug 7, 2012)

SeverinR said:


> If you live as long as you want, there would be no reason to rush around. You will get to it eventually.
> You can learn all you want, experience all you want as often as you want.  Indulge in all the arts, see all the world (live as long as you want, just keep walking.)



I think this is significant. You can take your time doing things and there's no need to rush. You may even see a value in doing things "properly" or in doing something "the right way". 
I think this is why elves won't make great inventors. They have no need to automate tasks or to make things more efficient. Instead I think they may be more likely to strive for perfection in the things they do.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 8, 2012)

Svrtnsse said:


> Another thing I thought about is the breeding cycle. Elves have been around on my planet for over 12,000 years and there are those who are that old. If elves bred at the same rate as humans and never died the world would suffer rather badly from overpopulation. I'm thinking that elven women will be fertile from around 200 to 500 years old. In this time they have on average 2 children. I haven't done the maths on this though - nor do I really have a clue about fertility (even among humans) so there may be some rather big plot holes to fill here...



You could have them, and this would be really radical, have sex less. 

...on top of less fertility, but if you make it so unlikely that they only have two kids in 300 years, then I think that is pushing the limits (personally). Can you imagine the elf that wants to have a kid try for 200 years until being successful?

I think creatures that live that long are probably more likely to have non-permanent unions (only for 50 - 100 years), although it makes the permanent ones that much more significant. 

Another option is to have the woman be pregnant for 50-100 years and not even notice a physiological change until the last year of pregnancy--although it should probably be detectable so they can plan and celebrate and so forth.

Yet again, another option is to change their cycle. Woman are purportedly only fertile for 3 days during their cycle, called ovulation, (although sex before these days sometimes lingers--be warned!). If you have elven females ovulate once a century or once a decade, then that means they have to have the means and desire to have kids during a small span of time that happens 120 times less (for the per decade option) than it does for humans. It also means a successful pregnancy would require that they wouldn't take measures to prevent the pregnancy during that time. For a race that lives that long, they may think it is their duty to control the population.

Finally, one thing that you can do is have their biology be "psychic". This is what I generally do. Basically, let their bodies respond to the _need_ for more population or less. If there is a terrible epidemic, then their bodies start to be a little more fertile and the average goes from 2 every 3 centuries to 4 or 5 or maybe it lasts for 5 centuries when there is a need. If the carrying capacity of the ecosystem for elves has been reached due to whatever limiting factors, then even elves that try might not be able to produce offspring at the rate they would like. Also, maybe they would be naturally less amorous. Clearly this would not be absolute (there would be variation), but I think there is definitely something in communal organisms that responds to the environment and this is not absurd to say that it would affect creatures like elves that would overpopulate given different physiology.


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## psychotick (Aug 13, 2012)

Hi Zero Angel,

Why would it be really radical? I've always thought that a lot of the inspiration for Vulcans in Star Trek comes from elves. (Pointed ears, wise, non-violent (ish), long life spans) And they have sex every seven years.

Cheers, Greg.


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 13, 2012)

This question is tangently addressed in my second novel. There are immortals in my world (some call them greater elves, others immortal bloods, others gods).

There are also creatures that are immortal that were once human.

One thing that keeps them going the challenges that they're presented with--to survive, to hold their own or to conquer--powerful mortals and other immortal bloods. But they think in terms of decades and centuries in planning and execution. It's just a different mindset.  Think of it as a child today, 3 months until Christmas or a birthday is an eternity. To an adult, the 3 three months arrives before it's realized. It's a matter of experience and perspective.

The daughter of an immortal blood, Belinda the Cursed, is asked by the main character how she deals with the deaths of those who have served her over the years. Flank Hawk, the main character is asking this in relation to his friend, Lilly, who is a lycanthrope and who's life span is shorter than a human's.

Here's an exceprt from Blood Sword to better explain:

I shrugged and looked out the window. “It’s not who I am, or want to be.” 

She laughed–more like a cackle and not filled with mirth. 

I reached for the cup and took another drink, knowing I’d regret continuing to talk, but I thought it’d be worth it. I probably would never get another chance to ask a question that’d been bothering me. “You’ve lived a long time. You’ve seen a lot of people age and die while you go on.” I took another drink. “How do you deal with it? How do you treat them as this happens?” 

“Thinking about your lycanthrope friend, are you?” 

I nodded, knowing that Lilly would become an old woman before I reached thirty-five summers. I thought about First Mate, Belinda Iceheart’s trusted sailor aboard her ship. 

“You have posed a question few ever consider,” Belinda the Cursed said. She sat down in the chair and ran her fingers along the runes in her staff. “How to describe it…” 

After moment of thought she said, “Have you ever had a faithful dog?” 

I nodded, thinking back to Old Chip. He’d died three summers ago. 

“Do not take this the wrong way, Mercenary, but this is the best relevant comparison I can come up with. You know First Mate. I think of him far more highly than any animal. He’s served me for many years, just as a faithful dog. I have watched him learn, mature and come into his own, and now he is beginning to show his years. Unlike an animal, he is cognizant of it happening, but accepts it. Once he cannot do what I expect of him, I will replace him.” 

“Just like that?” I asked. 

“The_ Sunset Siren _needs a competent and able first mate. What would you have me do, Mercenary? With your lycanthrope friend, remember life is never equal, never fair, and continued life is never certain. Treat her as you do now until age changes the relationship, then move on.” She raised a hand before I could object. “Don’t forget her, but allow your friend her life cycle. For you, visit her. Let her know when she passes, you’ll remember her. 

“First Mate has seen in my cabin. There, scribed on the wall, are the marks of all first mates who have served aboard the _Sunset Siren_, including his that he placed there.” She stood and started hobbling toward the door. “In your line of work, Mercenary, the mortality rate makes it a moot concern.” 

That is just Belinda Iceheart's view on immortality, or an aspect of it. In another, the Colonel of the West, Iceheart's father, occasionally dines upon chicken and dumplings based on the recipe from his mother and grandmother nearly 3000 years ago. Of course, none of the cooks ever get it just right. 

Here's an excerpt from the novel:

The Colonel appeared just past middle age. He wore an olive green jacket over a light green collared shirt with a black ribbon knotted at his throat. He walked with a straight back, alert and without expression–just like countless officers I’d seen. But the Colonel of the West was a greater elf, an immortal blood. He’d walked the earth for nearly 3000 years. 

Lilly made a point of tasting Grand Wizard Seelain’s food and drink for poison before he reached the table. Seelain lifted a hand to stop her but changed her mind, knowing Lilly would object. Lilly was right and it was better to move forward than draw attention to it. 

At the Colonel’s invitation we all sat. He bowed his head, as did Major Parks, and said a silent prayer. When he looked up he said, “This is a humble meal, lacking the splendor of a distinguished visitor’s banquet. But it is nutritious.” He took a gray cloth napkin and placed it on his lap. “Whether I eat alone or with my officers, or occasionally among the enlisted men, I partake in the same food as they do.” 

Grand Wizard Seelain said, “You honor us by your presence and we expect no better than what you share with your soldiers.” 

He nodded and gazed across the table at Lilly. “Scout, you look as if you have a question.” 

Lilly hesitated but finally spoke after being urged by Wizard Seelain. “After all the years you’ve lived, doesn’t it get boring to eat? I mean, this food smells really good. But how many times have you eaten it?” 

“Many things have lost their luster, Scout.” He spoke as if lecturing a newly recruited soldier, but in a friendly manner. “I encounter very few new or unique experiences.” His voice softened as he pointed with his spoon to the food on his plate. “This chicken and dumplings is my mother’s recipe. As always, the cook won’t get it exactly right. Nobody but my mother could, except my grandmother.” 

He put a bite in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. “Although I think of them whenever this meal is prepared, I haven’t shared this information with anyone in three generations.” 

Lilly’s eyes widened. “Who was the last person you told about this?” 

“A cook. A corporal named McCombs. He thought the recipe called for too much salt.” 

I took a bite of the chicken and dumplings. I’d never had it before. It was good and not too salty. Out of the corner of my eye I watched the Colonel eat. It was hard to reconcile the fact that he was a powerful immortal being. Some thought him equal to, if not a god. Yet he had his cooks prepare a meal that reminded him of his centuries upon centuries-dead mother. 

Was he using guile to put us at ease when we should be on our guard? 

The point being that I don't think one immortal would deal with such long lives exactly the same way as another. They'd each find their own path through that forest.


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## Svrtnsse (Aug 13, 2012)

In my WIP channelling the Aether (doing magic) has a rejuvenating effect on the physical body of the channeler. A side effect of this is that the physical body of the channeller does not age. As long as a channeller keeps channelling regularly they will go on living forever.
However, mortal minds aren't fit to cope with immortality and the channellers will eventually go insane. Some of them kill themselves while others have to be killed. It's also not uncommon for old channellers to disappear. Usually they're assumed to have disintegrated themselves in some way but occasionally there's no reasonable explanation for the disappearance.
I decided on putting the highest recorded age for a channeling human at somewhere between 400 and 500 years. This is a totally arbitrary decision with no other reasoning behind it than that I feel like it.


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## Graylorne (Aug 13, 2012)

I think that this 'channeling prolongs life-principle' perfectly satisfactory. Especially as they go mad or disappear after living so long.
To my mind there's a big differende between a mortal human, who suddenly becomes immortal, and a being that has immortality as his birthright. The first is psychologically nor physically adjusted to living forever, the second one sees it as normal and must have developed ways to cope with it (external memory storage?).


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## Zero Angel (Aug 14, 2012)

psychotick said:


> Hi Zero Angel,
> 
> Why would it be really radical? I've always thought that a lot of the inspiration for Vulcans in Star Trek comes from elves. (Pointed ears, wise, non-violent (ish), long life spans) And they have sex every seven years.



...I was being sarcastic. I didn't think it was radical either, but rather perfectly logical. Apologies


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## psychotick (Aug 14, 2012)

Hi Zero Angel,

Likewise. I'm obviously reading too fast and thinking too slow again.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Anders Ã„mting (Aug 14, 2012)

I personally don't buy the idea that immortality would be something depressing that wears you down the longer you go on. It seems to me like something we mortals tell ourselves to feel a little bit better about the prospect of dying. 

I have seen no evidence that simply living a long life makes you cynical or bitter - even people who are very old usually come in all types of personalities, and then you need to factor in that growing old kinda sucks. One can argue humans were not meant to live forever, but there's a lot of things humans were not meant for that we take for granted today. As a species, we are _incredibly _adaptable. 

As for becoming bored and "having experienced everything"... have you guys _seen _the last hundred years alone? We are actually inventing new things to experience on a constant basis. And it's not like your average person requires a constant stimuli of ever new experiences, anyway. Most people spend the majority of their lives repeating their firmly established routines over and over and_ over_ every single day, only seeking out something different on the odd occasion. We are typically pretty good at dealing with monotonous and uneventful lifestyles.

Show of hands, how many here think they are ever going to get bored of writing, simply by doing it a lot? How many stories do you think you need to write before you've written literally every single story you can possibly produce? And how many here have some other profession or hobby you've considered pursuing but decided you didn't have the time and talent to spend on at the expense of your current craft? See, most people have to pick only a couple things to focus on because a hundred years tops simply isn't enough.


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## Svrtnsse (Aug 15, 2012)

Anders Ã„mting said:


> I personally don't buy the idea that immortality would be something depressing that wears you down the longer you go on. It seems to me like something we mortals tell ourselves to feel a little bit better about the prospect of dying.



I think you have a point, but it would require immortality to be quite common - or apply to everyone. Humans are (generally), social creatures and we like to have other humans around us. If everyone was immortal this wouldn't be much of an issue, but when immortality is rare it starts to become significant.
I'm not talking about how your friends and family grow old and die, even though that may be an issue of sorts. What I'm thinking about is how it starts the become an issue to find friends you can relate to. Those among the mortals that would have the most in common with you would be the oldest ones. They're the ones who are the most likely to share memories of the past with you. However, not being immortal they'd be old, frail and tired. They wouldn't have the time or energy to engage in any of the activites you enjoy.
You could of course hang out with younger and healthier humans and do the silly things they do. That could probably be fun once in a while. But as time passes you'll probably have a hard time feeling like you fit in.

The only place you'd fit in would be among other imortals, this would probably be the option most people would go for? I think that in the long run this would lead to the immortals isolating and distancing themselves more and more from the rest of the world. If on top of that the immortals are powerful magic users there's a potential for all kinds of bad stuff to happen.


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## Akahige (Aug 19, 2012)

I think immortality would produce considerably reflective people who valued tradition.  They would also likely value simple things such as the change of seasons and would have put off any hints of pettiness.  Also since they'd have likely established a culture well capable of meeting everyday needs, they'd focus more on the creative aspects of life which would remain fresh to them.


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## Shockley (Aug 19, 2012)

If you were born into immortality, then I don't think you would get bored at all. It would be the only thing you'd ever known, so it wouldn't seem particularly long or important.


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## FatCat (Aug 22, 2012)

Personally I think immortality is a tough issue to tackle, as some others have said before if a character was born mortal and achieved immortality there are some serious consequences psychologically speaking, the character would eventually lose interest in the world, that seems only logical. Hibernation, endless study/experimentation, ect. would to only sustain the mind for a matter of time (which of course is meaningless, in their specific case). Svrtnsse makes a good point, after awhile the only people you could ever relate to would be other immortals, and even if they had their own immortal culture, how long could that last? The point of a story is the development of characters, but how does an immortal develop? after so long, could they even learn more, or do they become static and one-dimensional i.e. the "evil" guy who is obsessed with world domination or whatever. I'm contemplating having an immortal race in my WIP, but there is no chance in hell I am going to attempt to write how they think or what motivates them for these reasons. If I do include them, I'm damn sure that they will be extinct by the time the story takes place haha, take the easy way out and let the artifacts do the talking!


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## Androxine Vortex (Aug 22, 2012)

Well the Gods of my world live forever but with worship and praise their power waxes and thrives. So being Gods and having supreme sovereignty, they only desire one thing: More power. So they wage war against each other and use humanity as instruments and weapons.

There is also a character in that same story who made pacts with demons. He realizes that selling his soul was a grave mistake and now wishes to renounce his oaths to the dark forces. Obviously they will in no way accept his plea and so he takes power from the dark forces (steals it) and has to constantly flee from them as they try and hunt him. He can't allow himself to die because then his soul will be sent to their domain, so he searches for unholy artifacts of legend and absorbs their power to lengthen his lifespan. He can also drain life force from other living things. So he has to constantly drain and siphon life from other beings to stay immortal and keep his soul from being damned forever.


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## mbartelsm (Aug 27, 2012)

The problem with immortality is the human mind, when you are a kid 5 minutes seem like half an hour, as you grow this changes, after a while 5 minutes become 4, then 3, then 2, the time that passes seems shorter and shorter, you look to your past an realize everything has gone so quick even though time remains the same. Someone with immortality would suffer from this, at certain point they will only enjoy thing that actually take a long time since they have a lot of time to offer, suddenly they are thinking to the future in terms of decades, this may be good or bad, however whats actually pretty bad is that memories start to fill the person's mind and either start to push away other memories or are left without space to be stored, this is why old people tend to forget things that happened to them 5 minutes ago yet they remember things from when they were kids.

I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing, I didn't really knew how to express it.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 28, 2012)

mbartelsm said:


> The problem with immortality is the human mind,



Note know that they don't have to be human. Or whatever thing that would cause the immortality could change the way they perceive time also. 

There are arguments to be made that most life-forms would have this acceleration of time, but there are arguments any way that you want to take it.


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## squishybug87 (Aug 28, 2012)

I don't know if anyone mentioned this (I'm feeling lazy ) but I found that Anne Rice's 'Vampire Chronicles' dealt with the pressures of immortality very convincingly. It's worth checking out.


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