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Mr. Andrews: We must be sure there is a divorcement of life continuation from economics. A man who has money must not be allowed to purchase additional life, either through the payment of money or the pressure of influence, while another man is doomed to die a natural death simply because he happens to be poor. Chairman Leonard: I don’t believe that situation has ever been in question. Mr. Andrews: Nevertheless, it is a matter which must be emphasized again and again. Life continuation must not be a commodity to be sold across the counter at so many dollars for each added year of life. From the Records of a hearing before the science subcommittee of the public policy committee of the World House of Representatives.
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The senator sat before the chessboard and idly worked at the problem. Idly, since his mind was on other things than chess.
So they had immortality, had it and were waiting, holding it a secret until there was assurance of sufficient living space. Hold-ing it a secret from the people and from the government and from the men and women who had spent many lifetimes working for the thing which already had been found.
For Smith had spoken, not as a man who was merely confident, but as a man who knew. When Extrasolar Research finds the living space, he’d said, we’ll have immortality. Which meant they had it now. Immortality was not predictable. You would not know you’d have it; you would only know if and when you had it.
The senator moved a bishop and saw that he was wrong. He slowly pulled it back.
Living space was the key, and not living space alone, but economic living space, self-supporting in terms of food and other raw materials, but particularly in food. For if living space had been all that mattered, Man had it in Mars and Venus and the moons of Jupiter. But not one of those worlds was self-supporting. They did not solve the problem.
Living space was all they needed and in a hundred years they’d have that. Another hundred years was all that anyone would need to come into possession of the common human heritage of immortality.
Another continuation would give me that hundred years, said the senator, talking to himself. A hundred years and some to spare, for this time I’ll be careful of myself. I’ll lead a cleaner life. Eat sensibly and cut out liquor and tobacco and the woman-chasing.