Immortality, Part 1

So I found out today that I'm immortal.

This would have been impressive say, a decade ago, before the phenomenon had become so widely known. Nowadays there are at least a few hundred thousand of us. Immortality has moved from myth to sensation and then on into yesterday's news. We're rapidly becoming just another demographic, like having red hair, or being tall, or something.

Anyway, I found out in an entirely unglamorous fashion when I was hit by a bus and woke up in the hospital a day later. Nothing broken. Barely a bruise on me. They let me out that afternoon. No use wasting limited hospital space on someone like me. At least they let me get some new clothes delivered before kicking me out. Immortality does not extends to one's garb.

There was a time when each one of us was a celebrity. The very first – Immortal Jack – still is. His idea was to make himself such a big name that the government couldn't just disappear him. Not sure if they would have, anyway, but it wasn't a bad plan. He has his own show, now, as his own camera man venturing into ridiculously deadly places.

The researchers are having a field day, of course, but there are way too many of us to study in detail. Instead, the hospital took down my name, prints, blood samples, that sort of thing. Maybe they'll be in touch, maybe they won't. One way or another, I guess I'm on some kind of registry now. I can't speak to what the government does with it. I'm sure if I step out of line I would find out soon enough. Just because we can't die doesn't mean our life can't be made insanely unpleasant.

So now I have to figure out what the hell to do with my life. There are a lot of options for immortals, especially in the high-risk market. Insurance companies love it when the guy a thousand feet in the air on the high tension wires can't be meaningfully injured by a fall. None of that really appeals to me, though. I always wanted to be an artist. Physical immortality doesn't help much with that.

So what next? I guess I go home to my mom's house and break the news. I wonder how she'll react.