horror, 1.1 (150)

we were in the third decade of working on delaying death: by this point we had managed to administer trials which let people live healthy lives until they were 145 years old. after that, their mind and body would slowly deteriorate. death sped up after that.

there seemed to be a counter too: for every person who bought another forty or fifty years, there was one who simply stopped functioning. we trebled our efforts and found a cure for the counter. now, everyone could take the extended lifespan if they chose, no consequences.

the problem came when people began to evolve, too fast for the science to keep up. the medicines they were taking mutated in the bloodstream, and people transformed, becoming immortals. within a century, we had hundreds of people forecast to live for more centuries to come.

worse, there was no cure – we never thought we’d need one.