Forums » The Lounge » Read Thread

What would you prefer to have? The gift of everlasting life (though you can still be harmed and/or killed) or complete invulnerability (though you could still die of natural causes)? Also note that when I say immortal, I don't mean that you'll become a 1,000-year-old elderly person, but someone who can live that long while maintaining the physique of young adult.

Personally, I would choose immortality. Then I could gather all the knowledge and power that I wanted and not have to worry about not having enough time since I literally will have all the time in the world. All I have to do is avoid getting killed or falling in love. Also, I could help progress humanity with my own technological advancements with the centuries of knowledge that I have claimed.

Immortality all the way.

Problem with immortality is that every generation that passes you will be drafted into the military. A lot (assuming there are wars, which.... There are haha). The likelihood of living much longer than average very low, I'd think haha.

Invulnerability, you can take over the world and rule it for a few years before you die of a natural cause

First order of business would be to hunt down all those immortals and throw 'em in an incinerator.

or with invincibility, you could threaten people for immortality. There ought to be a few witches out there able to grant immortality xD then you can have both and rule the world forever! :D you could stop wars and hunger and pollution! or make more of them since you'll live anyways! IT WOULD BE AMAZING o-o

Invincibility, since living longer than a hundred years isn't going to do shit for me anyway.  (Much less a thousand.)

Makes beating the everloving stuffing out of idiots a lot easier.

Do I still get hurt if I choose invulnerability? I.e can I roll down Mt. Everest?

"Natural causes" usually means cancer or heart failure.  Which I suppose would mean invulnerability doesn't cover diseases.

In fact, now that I think of it, the immortal would probably die of cancer as well.

Not that we're bringing realism into it, but the immortal is going to get caught at some point, right?  How can you afford to live forever without getting a job, which means at some point some government agency will realize you're 226.

Invulnerability, they could probably tase you into submission.  Unless you have impenetrable skin, in which case you'd. . .

Y'know, I'm probably overthinking this.

Invincibility

Technically, Cancer counts as natural causes (a collection of faults in your DNA that go haywire and kill you), some doctors believe that if all humans lived long enough, we'd all die from it.

So the immortal wouldn't die from it, really.

Change your identity and switch countries every few years (or decades, depends on how well you can pull off a range of ages, I guess.) Sure, it'd be a pain, but it's more than doable.

Immortality sounds better.

I would want Invincibility because I would rather die of natural causes then of someone killing me.

I would choose invincibility and then walk around in a shirt with a picture of the Mohammed on it so that the extremists will have to figure out new ways to resolve such situations than explosions.

Lol, it's kind of against Islamic teachings to depict Mohammed with images, I think. Don't quote me on that, I heard it on the news somewhere when they were discussing those superheroes based on the 99 names of Allah.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, that's the point, isn't it?... But then you'd be needlessly offending the nice Muslims too.

That's true, I just dislike the idea of terrorism working so I'd like to use invincibility to create a situation where terrorism will not get them what they want. I know there are far more muslims who are not nearly that extreme and who do not deserve to have their faith disrespected like that.

You'd be better off insulting Muslim Extremism on youtube and sending the assassins' heads back on pikes.

Invincibility. At least I could go on awesome violent rampages that way.

If you're either of these things governments will capture you and torture the shit out of you trying to find out your secret.

If you're immortal evolution will make you a primitive freak, time will pass faster until you go batshit insane,  if you have allergies, you'll have to put up with that shit for another millenia, assuming you age, you'll be one ugly fuck, assuming you don't age, you'll be one weird-ass baby, assuming you only age a bit, then you'd be considered a really strange 20-year-old  when you're 70. Also, once humanity evolves, you'll never have sex again. Despite what furries would have you believe, nature hates the fuck out of interspecies banging. It gave us AIDs.

......quite a view you have on things.......

If you're immortal evolution will make you a primitive freak,

False! It would, quite literally, take millions of years worth of evolution for you to be very, visibly different from the others around you (and you're likely to die long before that without invincibility). If you do manage to live that long, then reconstructive surgery is an option.

Time will pass faster until you go batshit insane

There is a reason that time passes faster for older people, and that reason is a lack of new experiences.

Our brains lump together similar experiences and forgets or assigns so little importance to them that it seems as if time passes by quickly when you do things you are familiar with. Our brains also distinctly remember new experiences, first times and unique occasions. 

And don't you dare be the dumbass who says that "everything will be familiar and similar at one point, because you'll do everything!" Because that's just not true. The world is fucking massive, there are billions of people to meet, hundreds of billions of new things to do and try and learn about and experience, you could have a thousand years and barely scratch the surface of all life has to offer; not to mention that in those thousand years, thousands of new goddamn experiences would be made available by the progression of technology, the advancement of the human race, etc...

No, time will not pass faster, you will not go insane. Unless you're having an existential crisis, but fuck that, you already chose this fate.

,  if you have allergies, you'll have to put up with that shit for another millenia,

Medication.

assuming you age, you'll be one ugly fuck, assuming you don't age, you'll be one weird-ass baby, assuming you only age a bit, then you'd be considered a really strange 20-year-old  when you're 70.

Read the goddamn original post Sentinel! You'd maintain a youthful body. Yes, you would change psychologically, to a certain degree. 

But a large amount of the psychological changes in a person's being come from the physical progression of their lives, as well as their mental progression. If someone stayed in their twenties forever, they wouldn't just automatically become typical 70-year old men, they'd just be more experienced 20-year olds.

Also, once humanity evolves, you'll never have sex again. Despite what furries would have you believe, nature hates the fuck out of interspecies banging.

False, as noted above, haha.

It gave us AIDs.

No it did not! That was a myth spread about by a bunch of racist fucks who said that the reasons African people had AIDS was because they fucked a bunch of chimps. 

You realize that it can also be spread by blood right? What do you think is more likely, that the Africans killed and ate some undercooked chimp, or that they got into a fight with one and got blood on themselves?

Or that they got a bunch of chimps and banged the shit out of them, thus acquiring their lovely monkey STDs?

My main point was that you'd get the shit tortured out of you, but I suppose you're right on most of those things. I do well know that AIDs didn't come from ape-banging, it's just that poking fun at a serious disease that ruins millions of lives every day is something I do occasionally. I had also assumed that the first guy to get AIDs was white. I honestly had no idea that the bestiality theory was a racist thing.

Also, your body will eventually develop immunities to those anti-allergy medicines until you're desperately trying this and that just to tame a few symptoms. Unless you plan on going the "Technology WILL be MARVELOUS!" route and say they'll find another way. For example, hooking up an aquarium pump to one's sinuses.

But other than that, Immortality will be somewhat tolerable aside from the relationships you tear apart and lose trying to keep your secret a secret and avoid getting prodded for 70 years by secret science spies in a hidden science prison in the furthest depths of North Korea, or bothered endlessly every other month by prying media to get in on just how you do it.

And how will you answer them?  

"For the last time, I don't fucking know! Some guy gave me a choice on this one forum on the internet, and then suddenly I stopped aging/getting injured!"

And then the North Koreans would hit you harder in heir efforts to interrogate you, and the media will accuse you of insanity and drug addiction. Eventually, you might get your ass thrown in an asylum. But then again, it's all variables. It all depends on how you got it, and what the effects are, doesn't it? Honestly, it'd suck to be either, but with invincibility, you don't get hurt and it'll probably only last 90 more years, tops.

I remember there was a guy back in high school that insisted that AIDS was created by the CIA to infect Africans and it just spread out of control. Said it was just another example of the white man trying to exterminate the other races.

But later in life he got killed execution style by drug dealers for ripping them off so his opinion doesn't matter.

It kinda does if they were white drug dealers.

Nah, they were black.

Did people piss on his grave?

The dealers probably did.

Lol, I don't know.

I just remember him saying stuff about how white people didn't know how to swear "right", how only white people could be racist, going on about being a lady's man, being spoiled by his mom & aunts and nearly getting into a fight with him one time.

Around the time he got killed he was working at a bank probably to keep up a presentable appearance. Didn't work out too well obviously.

Sentinel, why did you steal from a humor site?

I recognized the Cracked article - but if his opinions mirror the site's opinions he is correct to use them, and he's referenced that article before.

True, but it's just his opinions are directly from that article and he didn't leave a link or quote them. lol

He's done it before, it would be fair for him to assume other people know where he got the ideas from regardless. (He has linked to that article in the last immortality thread).

^

Though I do realize now that thread happened quite a while ago, didn't it?

Immortality, since I wouldn't have to grow old, and death by physical causes like falling, drowning or getting beaten to death with a fish would probably be quicker and less painful than dying of a long term disease, which you could still get at any age if you were invincible.

Guess nobody saw Torchwood's "Miracle Day" where humanity gains immortality.

It sucks a lot.

Invincibility. With such an ability you can ensure your own "immortality" with great feats of heroism…or villainy.

Plus in keeping with Sin's great idea, it would be fun to troll muslim extremists and watching them blow themselves up in a hilarious attempt to kill you for wearing a Mohammed shirt.
 

What sucks, the movie itself or living in that world?

Living in the world. Since nobody can die you get a lot of problems with people suffering from diseases, wounds that they should be dead from but are effectively in a living hell of pain. And you've got overpopulation problems as well.

That is until the governments of the world come up with the idea of rounding up terminally wounded/diseased in death camps and starts throwing them alive in an incinerator which is the only thing that works.

True, you can achieve "immortality" through acts of heroism or villainy... But personally I'd rather achieve immortality through not dying. 

Well yeah, if the immortality also included invincibility or "godhood" then I'd go for it too, but as it stands, there's always that ever increasing chance you're going to suffer some sort of debilitating injury or disease that will mess you up so bad that it renders your immortality useless and a perpetual living hell.

Well until someone throws you into an incinerator I suppose.

LOL, c'mon, Briar. That's boring. :P

Due to my lack of curiosity of the future, and my hatred of most people, I'd pick invincibility. C:

Invincibility, because watching everybody you ever knew and loved die or living forever alone both sound equally depressing.

Plus, you can buy a really nice Ferrari and drive like a complete idiot, because you won't die in the crash! (sounds like a great way to get rid of the old significant other in an 'accident,' huh? =P)

Divorcing your wife means you achieve 600 negative morale points. If you kill her, you only get minus 16. Seems legit, Fable... Not sketchy at all...

Or sacrifice her to Skorm.  WIn-win.

That was pretty much the only reason I got married, come to think of it...

I'd lean towards immortality for your reasons, Danaos--however, I don't feel the world will last that much longer (1000 years)

Well, okay, to be accurate: I think it could still be around, I just don't trust it to be a place I want to live that long in.

Invincibility would be fun--to a point. I'm actually assuming you're not including all diseases, but are including aging and all the fun stuff (re: medical conditions) that can come with it. (Such as your organs eventually shutting down, perhaps?) The other problem with being invincible, of course, is that it'd probably still hurt like hell to be mortally wounded even if it would not actually kill me.

Immortality, so i could watch all my enemies die of old age like a bunch of idiots.

I know, right? I watched this guy die of old age once. What an idiot! Like, his heart gave out and I was like "What a moron!"

How about invincibility? I can give you that. You can beat up big, hairy monsters and wear cute clothes! It'll be wonderful! And along with that, you get one wish! Anything you want. All you have to do.....is be....a Magical Girl <3

 

Immortality: Here's a few reasons why.

1. I could learn how to do everything. (Assuming my brain manages to be immortal too and can process that much info.)

2. I would be the best history teacher ever. (^)

3. Financial means wouldn't matter for very long when I start sell coins from the 2000's to people in the future.

4. I'd be able to become a living god through popularity and hopefully use the zealots of my new religion to defend me from the crazy people who want to dissect me as they look for the secret to immortality.

5. I would be able to write an insanely long book. lol

6. I could pass Immorality to my children. (You didn't say I couldn't.)

Invulnerablity: Here's a few reasons why. 

1. I'd actually die from old age eventually.

2. I'd be able to become a super-soldier like badass.

3. I could possibly conquer the world before I die.

4. I'd be able to travel the world and do a lot of things that I never thought possible.

5. Look at #6 in Immorality. (You didn't say I couldn't.)

Personally, I think both would be the best in the long run as long as humanity managed to make it to the stars. That way you can create a self-sustainable planet-ship and roam the universe with humanity as your own personal servant(s). Maybe if it's possible you can just hop to other living universes and do that for all eternity. :P  Maybe if I can pass it to my children I'll live with a large immortal family in said ship acting as a race of gods for humanity. lol

(^Notice: This would only work if you could actually die, like from a black hole or something.^)

If I did choose invincibility I would want to be an Achilles type person. I charge into battle inspiring all those who see me while absolutely hating the person who is in charge of me. The real question is how would I die in glorious battle thus immortalizing myself in history.