Q. Do you seriously
think people will be able to live to 300 years of age someday?
A. Yes, without a
doubt. Science is nearly there already. This book is more science illustrated
through fiction, rather than science fiction of the outlandish idea genre. The
bigger question, in my mind is, not if the human lifespan will be expanded but
how will we manage all that extra time.
Q. So how do people, with
these extra-long lives, cope in your story?
A. In True Age, we find people struggling with the two extra
centuries they’ve been given. For one thing, there are not enough resources to
adequately support them. On the up side, people are given the tools to ensure
that they live relatively healthy, youthful lives for the duration – it’s not
as if they are aging as we do now.
Q. The book talks about
the Great Horror of Boredom, what’s that about?
A. Right, it is definitely the biggest challenge for the
characters – to find meaning in life. Especially as most people have make-work
jobs and assigned housing. There are not a lot of choices.
However, the government of LIV (the Life Intensive Venture)
offers solutions, however. For instance, one can change one’s sex in the second
century. Married couples take renewable vows. There’s a virtual reality sex
machine which provides an opportunity for experimentation. There’s also a
relocation service that helps you move to another area of the globe.
Q. Not everyone in the story lives three
centuries, why is that?
A. There’s an
opposition group that works to restore dignity to life, asking people to look
at quality versus quantity of years. These
people, called Choosers, have chosen not to become “extenders”, those who participate in life extension
technology.
Choosers believe the old ways are best. Many of them grow
their own food and strive to live as close to nature as possible in a world
manipulated by technology.
Q. So are you, ultimately, saying it’s a bad
thing to live 300 years?
A. Not at all.
The point is to look at how individuals and societies can successfully support
lifespans that even now are so much longer than they were 100 years ago. How do
we make later years valuable and meaningful,
how to we provide for aging populations and make room for the new
generations coming in? How do we preserve the earth’s resources and population
growth as people live longer and longer lives?
