New Scientist - USA (2019-12-21)

38 | New Scientist | 21/28 December 2019

IT’S yet another day where I

can’t make up my mind. I’ve

been dragging my feet for a

couple of months already, as

though I were walking through

a pool of thick, heavy sludge. I feel

my life being used up dozens of

times faster than before – where

“before” is before the Gene

Extension programme had

been commercialised. And before

I had come up with my plan.

I gaze into the distance from

a window on the top floor of an

office building. The city spreads

below me like an exposed silicon

die, and me no more than an

electron running along its dense

nanometre-thick routes. In the

scheme of things, that’s how

small I am. The decisions I make

are no big deal. If I could only

make a decision... But like so

many times before, I can’t decide.

The waffling continues.

Hadron shows up late, again,

bringing a gust of wind with

him into the office. He has a

bruise on his face. A bandage is

stuck on his forehead, but he

seems very self-possessed. He

holds his head high, as though a

medal were stuck there. His desk

is opposite mine. He sits down,

turns on his computer, then

stares at me, clearly waiting for

me to ask a question. However,

I’m not interested.

“Did you see it on TV last night?”

Hadron finally asks.

He’s talking about the “Fair Life”

attack on a hospital downtown,

also the biggest Gene Extension

Centre in the country. Two long,

black burn scars mar the hospital’s

snow white exterior as though

dirty hands had fondled the face

of a jade-like beauty. Frightening.

“Fair Life” is the largest and also

most extreme of the many

groups opposed to Gene

Extension. Hadron is a member,

but I didn’t see him on TV. The

2018-04-01

All our futures come at once in this short story by China’s sci-fi sensation

Cixin Liu, appearing for the first time in an English translation

crowd outside the hospital had

roiled like the tide.

“We just had an all-hands,” I

say in response. “You know the

company policy. Keep this up

and you won’t have a way to

feed yourself.”

Gene Extension is short for

Gene Reforming Life-Extension

Technology. By removing those

gene segments that produce the

ageing clock, humanity’s typical

lifespan can be extended to as long

as 300 years. This technology was

first commercialised five years

ago, and it quickly became a

disaster that’s spread to every

society and government in the

world. Though it’s widely coveted,

almost no one can afford it. Gene

Extension for one person costs as

much as a mansion, and the

already widening gap between

the rich and the poor suddenly

feels even more insurmountable.

“I don’t care,” Hadron says.

“I’m not going to live even a

hundred years. What do I have

to care about?”

Smoking is strictly prohibited

in the office, but Hadron lights a

cigarette now. Like he’s trying to

show just how little he cares.

“Envy. Envy is hazardous to

your health.” I wave away the

smoke from my eyes. “The past

also had lots of people who died

too early because they couldn’t

afford to pay the medical bills.”

“That’s not the same thing.

Practically everyone can

afford healthcare. Now, though,

the 99 per cent look helplessly at

the 1 per cent who have all the

money and will live to be 300.

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What makes me waver the

most, though, is Jian Jian. Before

I met her, I didn’t believe there

was any love in the world. After I

met her, I didn’t believe that there

was anything but love in the world.

If I leave her, what would be the

point in living even 2000 years?

On the scales of life, two and a

half centuries sits on one side

and the pain of leaving Jian Jian

sits on the other. The scales are

practically balanced.

The head of our department

calls a meeting, and I can guess

from the look on his face that

it isn’t to discuss work. Rather,

it’s directed at a specific person.

I’m not afraid to admit I’m

envious. It’s envy that’s keeping

society fair.” He leans into me

from the table. “Are you so sure

you’re not envious? Join us.”

Hadron’s gaze makes me shiver.

For a moment, I wonder if he’s

looking through me. Yes, I want to

become who he envies. I want to

became a Gene Extended person.

But the fact is, I don’t have

much money. I’m in my 30s and

still have an entry-level job. It’s

in the finance department

though. Plenty of opportunities

to embezzle funds. After years

of planning, it’s all done. Now, I

only have to click my mouse, and

the 5 million I need for Gene

Extension will go into my secret

bank account. From there, it’ll be

transferred to the Gene Extension

Centre’s account. I’ve installed

layers upon layers of camouflage

into the labyrinthine financial

system. It’ll be at least half a year

before they discover the money

is missing. When they do, I’ll

lose my job, I’ll be sentenced, I’ll

lose everything I own, I’ll suffer

the disapproving gazes of

countless people...

But, by then, I’ll be someone

who can live for 300 years.

And yet I’m still hesitating.

I’ve researched the statutes

carefully. The penalties for

corruption are 5 million yuan

and at most 20 years. After 20

years, I’ll still have over 200 years

of useful life ahead of me. The

question now is, given the maths

is so simple, can I really be the only

one planning something like that?

In fact, besides crimes that get

the death penalty, once you’ve

become one of the Gene Extended,

they’re all worth committing. So,

how many people are there like

me, who’ve planned it but are

hesitating? This thought makes

me want to act right now and,

at the same time, makes me flinch.

“ Besides crimes that get

the death penalty, once

you become one of the

Gene Extended, they’re

all worth committing”