In Poul Anderson's sf:
aging is ended in World Without Stars and in The Boat Of A Million Years;
post-organic intelligences coexist with human beings in the Harvest of Stars Tetralogy and supersede humanity in Genesis.
I have referred to Anderson's ageless characters, Hugh Valland and Hanno, as "immortal" although they are not immune to either accident or violence. See Two Unaging Men. Harari contributes appropriate terminology:
"A few serious scholars suggest that by 2050, some humans will become a-mortal (not immortal, because they could still die of some accident, but a-mortal, meaning that in the absence of fatal trauma their lives could be extended indefinitely.)" (p. 301)
I think that John W. Campbell said, "The first immortal man has already been born." By googling, I found similar claims. See here.
See also Hanno, Lazarus Long And John Carter.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteAnd in FOR LOVE AND GLORY we see Poul Anderson speculating that it might be possible to periodically extend human lifespans by medical/technological means in Harari's "a-mortal" sense. But really, I'm skeptical of it being possible for humans to live as indefinitely (barring accidents or violence) as we see them doing in WORLD WITHOUT STARS or the "accidental" a-mortals of THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS. I CAN imagine it being possible to extend life spans to some extent, as we see with the antisenescence of the Technic stories or THE HARVEST OF STARS books.
Sean