Books
LONGER
A cerebral story concerning the ethics and emotional influence of
extending the human life span.
Cav and Gunjita are scientists. They’re conducting analysis on the
area station Gleem One, testing a cutting-edge drug to see the way it responds to
zero-gravity situations. They’re additionally married—for 50 years already, and
Gunjita’s wanting ahead to a different 60. She has simply “juved” on the age of 82,
returning her physique to youth and well being. However Cav is ready, contemplating, asking
himself whether or not three lifetimes is greater than an individual ought to wish. Greater than
he wants. When a deep-space mining probe returns to the station with an
asteroid pattern that has a mysterious yellow-green lump of one thing—one thing
alive?—connected to it, the scientific thriller will have an effect on each Cav and Gunjita
deeply, testing their relationship at the same time as they wrestle with the query of
whether or not or not Cav goes to increase his life a second time. Blumlein (All
I Ever Dreamed, 2018, and so on.) is tackling the largest attainable questions in
this slim quantity: If it had been attainable to stay three or extra lifetimes, would
you? Do you have to? What will we owe the individuals we love? What makes life value
dwelling? The story itself is spare and calls for shut consideration, as entire worlds
and lives are sketched with just a few well-chosen particulars. The result’s
thought-provoking, if not all the time emotionally affecting.
This intriguing thought experiment will please readers who wish to
ponder the which means of all of it.