It may be that the temptation of immortal life will always be too strong for ordinary precaution. In the beginning, scientists foolishly believed that red eyes were the only negative consequence to the Immortality Virus, and we Earthlings were so excited about it that numerous programs sprang up to take advantage of the massive increase in human lifespan. Immortal cities were planned, a version of the Immortality Virus was tested on pets, and spaceships were redesigned to accommodate Immortal astronauts. Those programs were sending enthusiastic Immortals out into the galaxy decades before anyone knew better.
The damage the Immortality Virus does to its victims’ ability to empathize didn’t become obvious on Earth until patterns of cruel, selfish, reckless behavior began to emerge in the first Immortals, long after their hundredth birthdays. The Immortality Programs were immediately shut down. Immortals were restricted to Immortal cities with high-security borders. Scientists worked to develop treatments to reverse the damage, while lawsuits claiming billions of dollars in damages were filed against the manufacturers of the virus.
The Immortal Ships were called back to Earth as well, but it was too late. Most refused to return. In a desperate attempt to correct our intergalactic mistake, the Nanny Ships were developed. Designed to be nimble arks of mortal Earth life and armed with android “nannies” programmed to raise humans born from cryogenically frozen embryos on other planets, the Nanny Ships launched hundreds of years after the Immortal Ships but landed on their destination planets hundreds of years sooner.
The hope was that the Mortal humans born from those ships could be raised to protect alien planets from the Immortals bound for them. Fifteen planets were chosen for human colonization, and the Nanny Ships eventually reached twelve of those planets. Immortal Ships made it to two of the planets the Nanny Ships never reached and ten of the planets the Nanny Ships did reach. Of the ten planets where Mortal humans and Immortal humans coexist, there are only three on which Mortal humans are still in power. On two of those planets, that victory is attributable to an alliance between Mortal humans and an intelligent alien species.
The planet Kepler is the only exception. There, the development of extrasensory capabilities in humans—or “magic” as the Mortals like to call it—is the factor that tips the scales. The Kepler Mortals are also uniquely committed to a set of moral standards, which they call the Kepler Declaration of Mortal Commitments. However, as of our last communication with Kepler, magic on Kepler was declining, and the Immortals were on the rise. It remains to be seen whether the Keplerian Mortals can hold their ground. If not, further intervention may be required.
(Mea Culpa is a fictional book published in Vasher, Sandra. Sisters of the Perilous Heart, Mortal Heritance Book One. Mortal Ink Press, 2020.)