What might the world look like if scientists succeed in finding a cure for aging? Author Aimee Bender imagined such a scenario ten years ago, through the eyes of the father in her first novel, An Invisible Sign of My Own.
“So,” begins Bender’s story. “There was this kingdom once where everybody lived forever. They’d discovered the secret of eternal life, and because of that, there were no cemeteries, no hospitals, no funeral parlors, no books in the bookstore about death and grieving. Instead, the bookstore was full of pamphlets about how to be a righteous citizen without fear of an afterlife.”
Here Bender reads the prologue in its entirety, describing a kingdom with a radical approach to the overpopulation that comes from no one dying. (Video courtesy of ReadRollShow.)
