Immortal – Episode 1: Live Forever, But Not Here on Earth!

Our time on Earth is coming to an end. Can we migrate?

immediately; If we want to live forever, we have to emigrate. In 500 million years, our planet will be so hot that biological life as we know it today will not be possible. The Sun will expand and temperatures will rise to such an extent that the biochemical reactions that our lives need will no longer be possible.

Our planet came into existence 4.5 billion years ago, and it was only 3.5 billion years ago that conditions prevailed that made life possible. In half a billion years it will happen again. This is what astronomers tell us. Of the 4 billion years it will take for life on Earth, 3.5 years have already passed.

Eight ahead

Already 7/8 of the biological age has passed. Now that sounds a bit ominous, but when you think about it Homo sapiens And since we’ve only been around for about 100,000 years, we can be completely relaxed. A global warming of more than 100 degrees Celsius will not lead to our extinction. If we get this far without eliminating ourselves, we will have to make an effort. in several ways. This means that if we want to live forever, we have to go into space to find a new planet.

And this may work, because we still have a lot of time ahead of us, and science usually advances in its development faster than we imagine. There seem to be more than 300 million planets that offer conditions similar to Earth’s.

spaceship or chip

What we need to do is build a spacecraft that can roam the space for thousands of years until a new Earth-like planet is found. Alternatively, we could build a space station and live there. Then we need a lot of embryos and robots that nurture and raise those embryos.

We can also transfer our consciousness into a new inorganic form that can withstand high temperatures. Then only “our being” (whatever that may be) is on the chip and we continue to exist virtually forever. But eternity is also finite, because the existence of the universe is limited to 10⁸⁰ up to 10⁹⁰ Calculated years. That’s 1 followed by 80 to 90 zeros. Then the universe also ended.

As long as we live with an average life expectancy of 80 years, we can be sure that these issues do not concern us personally. But when aging is overcome with technology, this will change too. And then, in the distant future, it will concern us too.

next Saturday: Episode 2: Why do we get old?

Cover Photo: Ottmar Vicki / Zack Zack