Rejuvenation

Rejuvenation is a life-exension technology in common use throughout Starweb space, capable of enabling near-indefinite lifespans through periodic regeneration of brain and body.

History

Rejuvenation technology is the logical culmination of earlier life-extension methods which were developed on Terra in the twenty-first century A.D. These old treatments could add decades to the healthy lifespan of an individual, but eventually ran up against biological limits--past about 120 metic years or so, human bodies began to increasingly break down, the ravages of age becoming harder and harder to fend off. To overcome this it was necessary to wind the body's cellular clocks back and remove accumulated damage. Early rejuvenation methods were expensive and fiendishly complicated, with a multitude of different protocols for various organs and cells. Most difficult of all was the brain--to regenerate neurons would mean damaging stored memories. With early treatments this was extensive; patients had to relearn large swaths of their former knowledge in something akin to another childhood. Later iterations improved on this, though there always has been a period of post-rejuve adaptation. Genetic retrofits were also developed to make rejuvenation easier, some species of posthumans and uplifts have these modifications innately.

Process

Even in the present day, rejuvenation is no simple feat. A person undergoing it will usually check into a clinic and enter a rejuvenation chamber where advanced biotech and nanotech is used to repair their brain and body, followed by several weeks to months of in-patient and out-patient therapy. The length of time one can go between rejuves varies depending on species and genetic modification, ordinary humans can get 120-150 years of health, while for some augments and posthumans this span reaches multiple centuries. Even with modern technology, long-lived individuals will start running into issues with retaining old memories as they continue adding century upon century to their age.

Some polities give free rejuvenation as a benefit of citizenship, while in others it is up to the individual to secure adequate insurance or funding for the process. Sadly, even into the modern day there remain places and cultures where a near-immortal elite rules over successive generations of commoners unable to scrape together enough money to afford a rejuve, or forced into repeated debt to pay for it.

Culture

The cultural and societal impact of rejuvenation technology is difficult to overstate. Among humans, there is an unfortunate tendency for it to amplify existing class divides, allowing the wealthy to retain fortunes, which would otherwise be broken up upon their deaths, indefinitely. Various cultural adaptations have emerged to counter this--in many places, it is common for post-rejuve people to end their old career and start a new one from scratch in a different field. Another solution is to flee socially-ossified core worlds and habitats for the open frontier.

Some cultures and belief systems discourage repeated use of rejuvenation or reject it altogether, considering limited lifespans to have value which is lost when seeking near-immortality. Others consider age-related death as no different from any other disease, a tyrant whose reign has finally come to an end.

Parent Technologies

• Biotech