Since the earliest civilisations, human beings have pondered, experimented and explored for something that will give them eternal life. The idea of living forever fascinates most people, from fictional storys like Dorian Grey to real life attempts like the first emperor of china seeking out the mythical elixir of life. But why do many people want to live forever? Well, the reasons may differ from person to person, but many people would tell you that they are afraid to die. The idea of life ending scares most people because it is the end. You may believe that you just disappear, that you are just gone, nothing but a cold shell of a body that your consciousness once controlled. Other people may believe that we will be punished for the sins we have committed in life. That there God is judgmental and will send us to hell for eternity. On the other hand, some people may crave eternal life because they can then take as much time as they want to do the things in life they might not be able usually achieve. Or maybe to exist in to the distant future and witness the marvel of futuristic life. What ever the reasons are, our ancestors were thinking the same things and have been doing for a long time.There are many tales of legendary items that supposedly provide eternal life, one of the most famous legends is the fountain of youth. A spring that restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. For thousands of years people have told tales of this mysterious fountain but in the 16th century an explorer called Juan Ponce de Leon went searching for the Fountain of Youth and traveled to what is now Florida. Another famous legend is the elixir of life, a mythical potion that, when drunk from a certain cup at a certain time, grants the drinker eternal life. From which Thoth and Hermes achieved in the mythical texts of Nag Hammadi. Hundreds of explorers through out history have tried to discover these legends so that they can achieve eternal life but as far as we know, no one has ever found any of these mythical item. But some scientists, futurists, and philosophers, have theorised that immortality is achievable and will be achieved in the first few decades of the 21st century. Maybe life extension will be a more likely goal in the short term, as the human life expectancy has increased dramatically since the beginning of the 20th century. Scientists are hard at work trying to develop certain pills or treatments that might add years on to our life, but their search is hindered by how long human beings already live. There is also a theory known as the Hayflick Limit Theory. This suggests that the cells in the human body may only divide and copy themselves a fixed number of times. Once the cells stop reproducing, organs and tissues become ineffective and shut down. However researchers have discovered a jelly fish that is able to revert back to a juvenile form once it mates after becoming ually mature.The jelly fish known as Turritopsis Nutricula is technically a hydrozoan and is the only known animal that is capable of reverting its cells completely. It is able to do this through a process called transdifferentiation and Scientists believe the cycle can repeat indefinitely, making this jelly fish potentially immortal. Studies have been set up to try and see exly how it manages to literally reverse its ageing process, these studys may help scientists discover immortality for human beings. There is also the possibility of humans achieving immortality in a non physical form. The human consciousness according to a Russian billionaire could be uploaded to a computer achieving digital immortality. He believes that this could be possible by 2045. \r
Although there would be a number of good points from achieving eternal life, depending of each person there would also be bad points. Death is an essential component of any healthy ecosystem, if the human race did not die then we would run a very serious risk of overpopulation. This would mean draining huge amounts of resources from the earth and this could lead to global decay. Also the effects of living for huge amounts of time could cause mental decay, meaning that memorys fade in to one and time seems to pass more and more quickly causing psychological issues. Society could experience huge rifts as time goes on, rich people become more and more rich and the poor become more and more poor creating anarchy. Humans could become extremely lazy as there is no need to chase your dreams because you have all the time in the world. The value of life would grow smaller and smaller because there is always tomorrow. \r
The Pyre \r
Kevin Macloud \r
Incomptech
