2 replies to this topic

[jjf3]

Ok I just had to post something about this amazing plot and that it could be a manual if this would actually happen in real life.

Before Torchwood's idea of immortality hit the silver screen I, like the majority of the population, believed that immortality would allow me to live forever. Never aging, no sickness, no pain. Throughout history every single culture, every single person throughout time has wanted to find immortality in one form or another. Not so fast. Immortality might not be as much fun as we think.

The fictional immortality idea is more invincibility than immortality. In actuality, immortality without invincibility would suck!!!!! It wouldn't be fun at all! In fact it would be quite a disaster. What if we all become immortal at some point in the future? Then...

***If anybody who isn't caught up with every episode already aired there is spoilers below. And if don't like this season, this is NOT a Torchwood bashing thread, this is an immortality thread!!! Get over it.

Drug Companies (phicorp)-- kings of the market.
If you get hurt your body won't miraculously heal, you will just always be in pain.
Jumping from 45th floor of buildings will allow you to loose conciousness-- people will look for ways to die.
Government sanctioned death camps-- The ovens will burn people who are declared dead by insurance companies.
Should criminals get released if there is no way to execute them and they carried out their sentence? Lawsuits and crazy prophets will appear.
Death Categories-- For insurance reasons and government use the hurt/supposed to be dead people will have to be categorized.
Dead is Dead-- Where to draw the line between life and death? Who should die? Who should be allowed their rights?
Religious problems-- No death? No Heaven? No Soul?
Population will increase indefinitely squeezing resources and crowding.
Politics- will all stupid wars be stopped because now no one can die? inhumane?

And if you don't like Torchwood you can still participate in the discussion about your views about immortality. I don't believe that the concept of immortality has ever been thought about like this or the implications it could have on the entire world.

[WALKER888]

I like to say that it is possible that we may be able to live indefinitely. Saying that we would either "live forever" or "be immortal" would mean that there is no possible way to die.

I feel that the post-radical life extension, pre-mind uploading time (which is beginning now) will be rather dangerous for people who want to participate but are surrounded by people who find the idea of enhancing ourselves repulsive. It will still be very possible to get killed permanently, especially in our (what seems to be) fragile organic bodies.

[Caiman]

And if you don't like Torchwood you can still participate in the discussion about your views about immortality. I don't believe that the concept of immortality has ever been thought about like this or the implications it could have on the entire world.

Maybe not on prime time television but it’s definitely been explored in literature. To be honest, my own view on ‘immortality’ in the future has always been based on the idea of medically enhanced lifetime, i.e. the slowing down or prevention of aging, the replacement of body parts through cybernetics and cloning or ultimately the transference of mind and consciousness from one body to another. Such a world I imagine would be capable of repairing life threatening injuries with ease, though maybe not preventing death altogether due to accidents and the like.

I don’t believe we’ll ever achieve true immortality in the sense that we’ll have indestructible bodies, and indeed I don’t quite think the torchwood world which is evolving out of ‘miracle day’ would be applicable as those guys are dealing with unexpected immortality for the whole world, hence coming up with the ideas of still treating people who *should* be dead as though they were for instance- I imagine if a time ever comes when we achieve the ability to maintain the body and mind indefinitely then a lot of cultural change would have already happened and caveats would be in place to regulate it.