Would you like to live for 300 years? The benevolent global government of LIV can help. With the miracle of Extender Technology, you can be a fit, healthy, sexy specimen for centuries.
All that's required is a bit of genetic engineering, a daily dose of True Age Bromide and complete loyalty to a new world order.
While science can provide remarkable longevity for the individual, it also gives an unstoppable power base to those who control the technology. High Tier master Gemini has a plan to stretch the human lifespan to 1,000 years and beyond. His experimental group of Pioneers has already reached the 500 year mark.
Told through a series of vignettes, the novel weaves a world where the concept of time, at the mere human level, becomes warped beyond imagining.
In this new society, concepts such as marriage, work and the meaning of life must be retooled for the billions of people now fighting for their place on the planet. The search for fulfillment in an era when life goes on and on −even as resources dwindle −can be daunting.
How do people cope? Lara decides a sex change will help her deal with the extra time on her hands. Raba seeks solace in virtual reality. Sol escapes to a tiny corner of the world where nature's way is still revered. The government provides a robust menu of options, it’s up to you to decide what will make your life worth living.
While most people decide to become Extenders and embrace the chance to live for centuries, there is a growing resistance. A faction known as Choosers keeps to the old ways and rejects unnatural longevity of the government’s Life Intensive Venture. Arnold Bonner is a Chooser. He won't take the True Age Bromide that would keep him alive and instead grows his own herbal remedies – with noteworthy results.
A rebellion brews and soon explodes into a war between Extenders and Choosers that asks you to decide what matters most - living long or living well?
There is no easy answer.
