It falls to the New York CEO of WOCO to make the broadcast. He doesn’t want to do it but has no choice, New York is still in the chair.
Gordon Stewart isn’t one to shirk a challenge, but this TV, radio broadcast and webcast will go down in history, however people respond to it.
He arrives at the TV station at the very last minute. The make-up person has just enough time to dab him with powder and straighten an unruly grey hair.
As Stewart walks onto the set, the studio floor manager takes over and points to the camera with auto-cue.
Stewart sits down in the chair.
The lights bleach out his peripheral vision as he waits for the countdown.
It begins. *Ten, nine, eight…*
All around the world, the streets are quieter than the previous night. A few people gather in bars but most stay home to watch the broadcast. It’s a time to be with family or close friends.
*Seven, six…*
Sporting events have been cancelled. Stadiums are eerily empty. Buses remain in their depots, trains in their sidings.
*Five, four…*
Churches, mosques and synagogues put up large TV screens so people can watch it together, support each other.
*Three, two, one…*
Gordon Stewart looks straight down the camera lens, puts on his most disarming smile and is careful to follow his voice coach’s directions, to keep his voice as mellifluous as possible.
“Good evening and thank you for joining me, wherever you are in the world today.
“In the last couple of weeks there have been rumors circulating of a discovery made by WOCO scientists. As we said yesterday, our scientists are constantly carrying out research and experiments to benefit us all. Scientific research is often a hit and miss affair, the results not always conclusive.
“One of our aims has always been to lengthen life expectancy, and so we have directed a lot of resources in support of that area.
“Releasing research results too early can be a dangerous undertaking. We did not want to raise people’s hopes. But we feel that events have forced our hand.
“We have been running one particular research project for some ten years now — Project Edyl. Originally, we hoped to add an average of twenty years to life expectancy throughout the world. Our heroic scientists have worked day and night on this project and their results have been nothing short of exceptional.
“I cannot go into the details of the science, but the people involved in the research and experimentation have been working on slowing the body’s aging process.
“Early indications are beyond our wildest dreams. It appears that, in tests, they may have stopped the aging process altogether in some subjects.”
At this point Stewart stops. He can almost hear the gasps of amazement from villages in India, towns in France, cities in the US.
“I want to talk to you for the next couple of minutes about the concept of immortality. If the scientists can replicate their early results on a regular basis, we might indeed reach a point where human beings stop aging. Does this count as immortality? Not strictly. If a person is involved in an accident, for instance, and suffers severe injuries, he can still die of those injuries. But, yes, we may be looking at a time in the near future when life can be extended indefinitely.”
Stewart’s eyes narrow.
“This is a time for great rejoicing, yes. But it’s also a very difficult time.”
Again, a pause. He wants this fully understood.
“If immortality does become possible, it would be suicidal to allow the entire population of the world to have it immediately. If people continued to reproduce, which of course they would, the population explosion would inevitably be enormous. We would not be able to feed the world. In recent times, WOCO has taken measures to curb over-population. But it’s still a problem, even now, before immortality. WOCO considers one of its greatest achievements to be alleviating poverty throughout the world. Bestowing immortality on everybody would reverse this trend and the human race might never recover.
“What we need to do now, as a species, is to remain calm, retain our dignity and work out how to deal with this new advance in science. At a meeting yesterday, the CEOs of WOCO committed themselves to making as many people immortal as possible in the long term without endangering humanity’s existence. How we do this remains a point open for discussion. But we assure you that we’ll do everything we can to make this a reality.
“For now, scientists will continue their work in the utmost secrecy. They have been taken to a place where we can guarantee their safety and they can continue with their experiments in peace.
“Nobody will be given the immortality treatment yet. It’s simply not ready. But we hope that it will be in the future. We are working day and night to bring that day ever closer.
“Consultation processes will be set up worldwide because we greatly value your opinions, thoughts and ideas.
“In the meantime, I ask for your patience. Riots will not bring the treatment any closer. We are working as fast as we can.
“This is a magnificent day in the history of mankind. But it also brings about our greatest challenge. Nevertheless, I believe we are up to this challenge.
“Thank you for your time, and have a peaceful day.”
Stewart smiles a final time before normal broadcasts resume.
Anecdotes from people watching around the world tell of very different reactions to the broadcast. Some people pop open bottles of champagne. Others dance to music turned up full blast. Strangest of all, an increase in suicides is reported.
But the most common reaction reported is silence. It’s a mysterious reaction, silence. Various emotions can sit inside it. A person can be silent because he is apprehensive, because he is calm, because he is shocked, or because he just doesn’t know what he thinks.
Ask people why they are silent this night and they might not be able to explain. They just are. On arguably mankind’s most transformative night, in most towns you can hear a rat scurry across a street.
Immortality is right around the corner. But nobody is sure how will we reach that corner.
