Inspired by Life Extension, by Isaac Arthur.
…People will obviously still leave jobs, but they’re no longer retiring.
You are not going to get the management slot when Sally retires in two years, you are not inheriting Dad’s business, at least not for several centuries.You’re not inheriting his house either.When he does die odds are good he will have several thousand descendants kicking around.
You also now have a de facto gerontocracy….
His sci-fi videos are chewy but really interesting.
A story of Cya Red Doomsday, who does not get old, and one of her descendants, who hasn’t had time to grow up yet.
Addergoole Year 79, approx. 62 years past the apocalypse
“You don’t get old!”
Cya was being yelled at by a teenager.
By one of her great-great grandchildren.
Cya raised her eyebrows and shifted her Mask to be that of an 80-year-old woman, which was, more or less, what she was. “I’m sorry?”
“You. You fae. You, Grandpa Leo, Grandpa Viðrou, Grandpa Tilden – do you see the problem?”
“I get to enjoy not being decrepit with my son and grandsons? As well as the small problem that Addergoole encourages very short generations?”
“You don’t get it!”
“Well.” Cya sat down, shifting her Mask back to her preferred mid-to-late twenties appearance. “It’s been a long time since I was seventeen, so why don’t you explain it to me?”
“You’re not going anywhere! You’re not getting out of the way! There’s no place to go.”
Cya was fairly certain she had not been quite this hysterical when she was seventeen. Then again, she was pretty sure she’d been insane at the age of seventeen, so that wasn’t saying a great deal. Broken, at the very least.
She raised an eyebrow at her great-great grandchild. Addergoole had not broken this child. She should be pleased. She was pleased. On the other hand, she was being yelled at, and she had never really enjoyed that.
“Don’t look at me like that!”
“Young miss.” Cya made her voice firm. “You may be angry at me. You may shout at me. But you may not tell me what expressions to use.”
“I didn’t – I.” The girl flailed and flopped down in the other armchair. “Every time I think of something cool to do, one of my grands is already doing it. And it’s not like you’re just going to retire.”
“Well, I probably will,” Cya considered. “Leo doesn’t stick to anything for long. I can’t speak for Viddie or Tilden, but you have plenty of grands with short attention spans. It runs in the family. And besides…” Cya gestured around. “There’s a lot of world. Come up with something you really want to do after graduation, and you and I can find a niche place for it, how’s that?”
It was reasonable, was what it was. Her great-great-grandchild sulked at her. “You just don’t get it.”
“No,” Cya sighed. “I suppose I don’t.”
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