An ancient mogul has bought the power to live forever, but the strong young body he plans to inhabit has other ideas. The battle for immortal life begins.
Immortal Life. A fantasy. An impossible dream. For now, maybe. But as we speak the moguls of Big Tech are pouring their mountain of wealth into finding a cure for death. Don’t tell them they won’t succeed.
None of these titans is richer than Arthur Vogel. This inventor, tech tycoon, and all-round monster has amassed trillions (with a T) and rules over a corporate empire stretching all the way to Mars. The newest—and most expensive—life extension technology has allowed him to live to 127 years, but time is running out. His last hope to escape the inevitable lies with Gene, a human being specifically created for the purpose of housing Arthur’s consciousness. The plan is to discard his used-up old carcass and come to a second life in a young, strong body with all appropriate working parts. But there’s a problem: Gene. He may be artificial, but he is a person. And he has other ideas.
As Arthur sets off to achieve his goal of world domination, Gene hatches a risky plan of his own. The forces against him are very, very rich, extremely determined, and used to getting what they pay for. The battle between creator and creation is joined as the two minds wrestle for control of one body.
This story is real. The tech is in development. The sponsors are the titans of industry well known to you. Eternal life may very soon be at the fingertips of those who can afford it. Mixing brisk action, humor, and wicked social commentary, Immortal Life imagines a day just around the corner. Welcome to a brave new world that is too familiar for comfort—and watch the struggle for humanity play out to the bitter end.
**
Review
"A rattling good yarn....an engaging and cautionary tale about the direction in which spaceship Earth is hurtling....Bing’s unsettling account of the future is leavened with wry humor and satire. His job is not to be a seer but rather to conjure an entertaining narrative, one that periodically lends itself to commentary on the planet’s present plight."
— USA Today
“Stimulating, satirical and perhaps even visionary.”
—Wall Street Journal
“Bing uses a light touch, biting mockery of Silicon Valley culture, and grotesque imagery to good effect.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Wildly entertaining.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Leaves the reader convulsing with laughter.”
— USA Today
“The well-known, pseudonymous author Stanley Bing has written a suspenseful, sharp-eyed, and entertaining tale for our artificially intelligent times. Immortal Life has its finger on the pulse of a generation determined to live forever."
— Christopher Buckley, author of The Relic Master
"Bing has been poking fun at business for decades, and his satire of absurd gadgets, virtual life and techno-billionaires flips all the right switches."
— The Washington Post
About the Author
Stanley Bing is a bestselling fiction and nonfiction writer, and a longtime columnist for Esquire, Fortune, and many other national publications. He is the author of almost a dozen books that explore the boundaries of hard-nosed, practical business strategy and satire. These include Crazy Bosses, which, in mapping the relationship between pathology and power, predicted so much of the current political climate; What Would Machiavelli Do, which addressed why mean people often do better than nice ones; and most recently a comprehensive replacement for the traditional MBA program, The Curriculum. His three novels are Lloyd: What Happened, You Look Nice Today, and Immortal Life.
Description:
An ancient mogul has bought the power to live forever, but the strong young body he plans to inhabit has other ideas. The battle for immortal life begins.
Immortal Life. A fantasy. An impossible dream. For now, maybe. But as we speak the moguls of Big Tech are pouring their mountain of wealth into finding a cure for death. Don’t tell them they won’t succeed.
None of these titans is richer than Arthur Vogel. This inventor, tech tycoon, and all-round monster has amassed trillions (with a T) and rules over a corporate empire stretching all the way to Mars. The newest—and most expensive—life extension technology has allowed him to live to 127 years, but time is running out. His last hope to escape the inevitable lies with Gene, a human being specifically created for the purpose of housing Arthur’s consciousness. The plan is to discard his used-up old carcass and come to a second life in a young, strong body with all appropriate working parts. But there’s a problem: Gene. He may be artificial, but he is a person. And he has other ideas.
As Arthur sets off to achieve his goal of world domination, Gene hatches a risky plan of his own. The forces against him are very, very rich, extremely determined, and used to getting what they pay for. The battle between creator and creation is joined as the two minds wrestle for control of one body.
This story is real. The tech is in development. The sponsors are the titans of industry well known to you. Eternal life may very soon be at the fingertips of those who can afford it. Mixing brisk action, humor, and wicked social commentary, Immortal Life imagines a day just around the corner. Welcome to a brave new world that is too familiar for comfort—and watch the struggle for humanity play out to the bitter end.
**
Review
"A rattling good yarn....an engaging and cautionary tale about the direction in which spaceship Earth is hurtling....Bing’s unsettling account of the future is leavened with wry humor and satire. His job is not to be a seer but rather to conjure an entertaining narrative, one that periodically lends itself to commentary on the planet’s present plight."
— USA Today
“Stimulating, satirical and perhaps even visionary.”
—Wall Street Journal
“Bing uses a light touch, biting mockery of Silicon Valley culture, and grotesque imagery to good effect.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Wildly entertaining.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Leaves the reader convulsing with laughter.”
— USA Today
“The well-known, pseudonymous author Stanley Bing has written a suspenseful, sharp-eyed, and entertaining tale for our artificially intelligent times. Immortal Life has its finger on the pulse of a generation determined to live forever."
— Christopher Buckley, author of The Relic Master
"Bing has been poking fun at business for decades, and his satire of absurd gadgets, virtual life and techno-billionaires flips all the right switches."
— The Washington Post
About the Author
Stanley Bing is a bestselling fiction and nonfiction writer, and a longtime columnist for Esquire, Fortune, and many other national publications. He is the author of almost a dozen books that explore the boundaries of hard-nosed, practical business strategy and satire. These include Crazy Bosses, which, in mapping the relationship between pathology and power, predicted so much of the current political climate; What Would Machiavelli Do, which addressed why mean people often do better than nice ones; and most recently a comprehensive replacement for the traditional MBA program, The Curriculum. His three novels are Lloyd: What Happened, You Look Nice Today, and Immortal Life.