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Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Immortals

I had a fairly quiet day at school. Forensic science class. They had a video. And I was so depending on the day for a good post topic. Ah well. 

On the drive in, I started thinking about immortality in fiction. I think one of the reasons that vampires are so popular has to do with a fascination with the idea of remaining young forever. Well, that and the not dying part. Immortality fascinated me when I was in my twenties. I have since outgrown that. 

Anyway, the thought I had had to do with what it would do to one's psyche to outlive everyone you ever knew. And if you never aged, you would at some point have to leave behind your friends and your family. 

So, I wonder about the fictional immortal. How could he/she remain sane? Wouldn't immortality drive a person insane? 

It's not exactly a "what if?" (unless I phrase it differently: If immortality was possible, would the immortal person remain sane? Nope, still not a "what if?"). Ah well. What do you think? Have you read (or seen) a story where the author explored this idea? How did they handle it? 
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1 comment:

  1. Michael Offutt, Phantom ReaderFebruary 24, 2012 at 10:08 AM

    This theme is explored really well in Highlander. I suggest taking a look at either the original movie or the series.

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.