| This article was written with the assistance of AI, based on the original ideas and structure developed by SoCooly. |
If humanity’s oldest dream—eternal life—suddenly became a reality, how would the world change? Imagine a world that goes beyond simply living longer to one where death itself disappears. Today, I invite you into a speculative future unfolded by the invention of the “Elixir of Life”—a bitter yet fascinating thought experiment.
1. The Ultimate Revolution: The Birth of the ‘Elixir of Life’
Humanity has finally developed the miracle cure it has dreamed of for millennia: the Elixir of Life. With just one pill, cellular aging halts, and the body permanently maintains the peak vitality of a 30-year-old.
“A world without death. Humans who never age.”
When this headline hit the news, it drove the world into a frenzy of both excitement and terror. Economies exploded, and funeral homes vanished into history. But as the initial festival ended, unforeseen crises began to shake the foundations of society.
2. The Paradox of Population: The Rise of the ‘Korean Standard’
With death off the table, the population grew geometrically. Food, housing, and resource depletion became immediate threats. It seemed the world was falling into the trap predicted by Thomas Malthus, who warned that population growth would outpace food production, leading to catastrophe.
However, the key to solving this crisis came from an unexpected place: South Korea. Once worried about national extinction due to an extremely low birth rate, Korea was suddenly re-evaluated as the “Most Ideal Demographic Model.”
“Korea’s fertility rate of 0.6 is now the figure the whole world dreams of.”
Government officials from around the globe flocked to Seoul to benchmark Korea’s “low birth rate know-how.” In a world where humanity persists without reproduction, Korea’s situation became the new global standard. In this ironic balance, humanity entered the era of “Infinite Survival.”
3. The Expiration Date of Love: From Marriage to ‘Graduation’
Living with one person for 100 or 200 years proved too heavy a burden for the human heart. Even the deepest love struggles to endure a “century-long” companionship. Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman described modern relationships as “Liquid Love”—flowing and changing rather than solid.
This gave rise to a new social norm: “Graduating from Marriage” (Jolhon). Instead of a messy divorce, couples respect each other’s lives and choose to live separately while remaining amicable.
“Love is still valid, but life is just too long.”
Couples in the age of immortality chose independence. Meanwhile, polygamy and serial monogamy resurged as people sought different relationships over their endless lifespans. In a world where “eternal love” became physically possible, people paradoxically found comfort in “relationships with an expiration date.” Relationships became light and flexible—consumed and discarded like products.
4. The Limits of the Brain: Deletion and Backup
While the body didn’t age, the brain’s storage capacity had limits. Hundreds of years of data began to pressure the human mind. Consequently, memory mutated into two forms:
- Natural Extinction: Old memories, like childhood friends or a first love, fade sequentially.
- Selective Deletion: The brain automatically deletes emotional memories it deems “unnecessary for survival.”
To solve this, “Memory Backup Services” appeared. You could upload your memories to a server and download them when needed. But this brought side effects: memory hacking crimes and a profound philosophical crisis.
British philosopher John Locke argued that identity lies in consciousness (memory), not the body. If I delete my memories or exist only with “edited” ones, am I the same person I was 100 years ago? Humanity fell into a dilemma: “What truly makes me, me?”
5. Endless Learning: The Era of ‘Degree Collectors’
The fear of death was replaced by a massive void: Boredom. Arthur Schopenhauer famously said, “Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom.” With infinite time, people became desperate for new goals, sparking a craze for degree collecting.
“This is my 12th major. I’m thinking of studying Cosmo-Philosophy at Harvard this year.”
Universities became “Markets of Infinite Learning,” crowded with students hundreds of years old. Yet, amidst the endless competition, humans faced a fundamental question: “What are we constantly learning for?”
6. Choosing to Age: ‘Homo Natural Aging’
In a world of eternal youth, a counter-culture movement emerged: people declaring, “I want to grow old.” They called themselves “Homo Natural Aging.”
These people embodied the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, who defined humans as “Being-towards-death” (Sein-zum-Tode). They believed life only gains authenticity when we face our mortality.
“In a world that stays young forever, choosing to age is the greatest act of courage.”
They rejected the fake comfort of eternity, choosing wrinkles and the “finitude” of real life.
7. The War on Ennui: The Tuning Human
To fight the crushing boredom, people sought extreme stimulation. Some walked across continents; others turned to the medical industry not for cures, but for “Transformation.”
“Face Renewal” every five years became the trend. As Jean Baudrillard discussed in his concept of Simulacra (copies with no original), faces became interchangeable images rather than unique identities given by parents. People stopped looking for inner depth and began consuming only the visible signs and images.
8. The Stagnation of Work: The Never-Ending Career
The workplace became chaos. In a world full of employees with a “Physical Age of 30, Real Age of 120,” the concept of retirement vanished. Companies preferred experienced workers with a century of tenure, leaving the actually young generation with nowhere to stand.
“I am physically 38, but actually 127 years old.”
Work shifted from a means of survival to a way to kill time—a form of play or a tool for self-realization in an endless life.
Conclusion: Beauty in the End
The Elixir of Life offered humanity not just an extension of biology, but a fundamental question about the “Value of Life.”
Did a world without death make us happier? The comfort that we can “always start over” ironically stole the desperation and preciousness of “this very moment.” Knowing there was no end, passion cooled.
Philosopher Bernard Williams, in his paper The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality, predicted this outcome. He argued that once all desires are met, eternal time becomes meaningless repetition.
Psychologist Viktor Frankl once said:
“The meaning of life does not lie in its duration, but in its donation… Finitude makes life serious.”
The reason waking up every morning is a miracle is that one day, we will not. Without an end, there is no beginning.
The era of immortality has not yet arrived. Perhaps that is a blessing. In this finite, and therefore brilliant today—how is your day going?