re: #184 The Ghost of a Flea

You know, I’m pretty tired of “immortality makes you an conscienceless dick unable to relate to other people” thing. It’s bargain basement existentialism, and (infuriatingly) is often put in the mouths of characters that don’t fucking die themselves.

The opposite—culmulative, compounding pain at the recognition of transience, because most people don’t live long enough to notice the pattern…leading in turn to deep appreciation of connections and moments—is just as compelling a possibility.

One of the main plot elements of Altered Carbon is that the Meths (Methuselah people) have lost all their empathy for the common people, who don’t have the money to afford storage and re-sleeving (new bodies). The Meths consider themselves above the law and normal social norms. The approach is more nuanced in the book than in the TV series, however.

Really, it’s a metaphor for the current disdain many of the 1% have for everyone else. At least, that’s what I think.

I favor the idea that someone who’s immortal, or at least longer-lived than the rest of us, would be more of a positive influence on society than a negative one, like the McLeods of the Highlander universe. Some of that idea comes out in the AC series, as Takeshi was born 150 years earlier and has seen enough shit to be a decent human being.