Leigh Brackett's "The Treasure of Ptakuth" (short story, adventure, treasure hunt, free): Want to trade immortality for sleep?

Imagine a rejuvenation treatment that gives you practical immortality except from violent action. But it has a side effect: it takes away your ability to sleep. With this kind of technology in a story edited by Campbell, I will expect author to examine the implications of it. Not so. This is clearly a pre-Campbell story that somehow slipped through his editing.

Told as an adventure & as a treasure hunt, with a girl added so she can be rescued by hero. Set on Mars.

Fact sheet.

First published: Astounding, April 1940.
Download full text from Baen Books.
Rating: B.
Among the stories in Astounding/Analog issues edited John Campbell.
Related: Stories of Leigh Brackett.

Michael Shaara's "Wainer" (short story, evolution, free): What's it like to be an evolutionary link!

This is one of the "first man in the next evolution of humanity" stories.

Caution: A small part of the story deals with a man falling in love with his own mother (mother has received rejuvenation treatment, child hasn't).

Story summary.

In 25th century, electronic "brain" implants are common: a medical procedure attaches the implant to your mind, & you have access to all the memory of mankind. You are also suddenly more rational, hence the recipients called "Rashes" or "lumpheads" (lump formed by implant on the head).

But one in a thousand humans brains rejects the implant, & nothing further can be done. These are Rejects, condemned to lead the life away from trades in demand. But they've a compensation - they can see the world in ways logical Rashes cannot.

And a few among the Rejects have changes not only in brain but elsewhere in the body - a change that makes them a link to next step in the evolution of humanity. This is the sorry story of such a man, William Wainer, who will learn of his great role in progress of humanity only near his last days.

Fact sheet.

First published: Galaxy, April 1954.
Download full text from Project Gutenberg, Manybooks, Feedbooks.
Rating: B.
Related: Stories of Michael Shaara.

Fiction about using matter transmitters to edit & "improve" human body

rasfw has been listing stories of this kind.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr's "The Big Trip Up Yonder" (short story, overpopulation, free): When getting a long jail term was such a desirable luxury!!

This is an overpopulation dystopia - overcrowding brought about by rejuvenation treatments that let people live centuries long without aging; just consume a bit of "anti-gerasone" periodically.

So we have people living in joint families - whole clan spanning several generations living under one roof. Only unlike India's joint families which often have good sized ancestral homes, here the folks live in small flats ("apartments").

This is the story of Gramps Ford, 172 years old in this year 2185 AD, & his large acrimonious clan that shares a 3 room apartment in (I think) New York.

Interesting ending.

Fact sheet.

First published: Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1954.
Rating: A.
Download full text from Project Gutenberg, or Feedbooks.
Related: Stories of Kurt Vonnegut.

Clifford D Simak's "Eternity Lost" (novelette, immortality): A lawmaker considers himself above law

The most interesting thing about this story is the weird emotions it invoked: it made me sympathize with one of the most despicable kind of politician - one who thinks the laws (s)he makes are only for ordinary people; he himself is above law. We have just too many such in India; I guess most democracies will have their share.

Story summary.

This future earth has rejuvenation treatments called "life continuation" - a single treatment gives you youthfulness & extends your life by a century. But it cannot be widely made available, because earth doesn't have resources to support so many long lived people.

So only a few important people receive the treatment, & repeatedly - "those persons who are in the unique position of being able to materially benefit the human race." No prizes for guessing who the privileged ones are.

Officially, there are strict rules for determining who's important enough; but what are the rules for if they cannot be bent?

One of the men who has received this treatment 5 times is Senator Homer Leonard, an elected politician representing some US constituency in World House of Representatives in Geneva. He was the key legislature when current rules for determining beneficiaries of rejuvenation treatments were framed.

It's time for his next treatment. It's his (political) party that has been sponsoring him for treatment so far, declaring him important enough. Now, finally, they're not going to sponsor him. He's guessing the reasons have to do with his decreasing ability to get votes.

Because of his inside knowledge, he suspects that even immortality treatments are available. But they're not given to anyone known - limited resources on earth, etc. An (apparently) publicly funded organization called Extrasolar Research is looking for earth-like worlds among the stars - may be someday everyone will have immortality. And he has a suspicion such an alternate earth is about to be found - probably before his next rejuvenation is due. If only he could get it this one last time!

He will make pathetic (& unsuccessful) efforts at getting the treatment; in the process, we get a view of how much ordinary people resent the recipients of this treatment.

Eventually, angry with his party & to score some political points, he makes a press announcement that he go for any more rejuvenation treatment - something that no beneficiary has ever done before. But there is one little thing he'd not found in time - he wasn't really out of favor. Not only is immortality treatment available, an alternate earth has been found & he was chosen among the early colonists - only he's lost his chance, through his own stupidity.

Collected in.

1. Isaac Asimov & Martin H Greenberg (Eds)' "Isaac Asimov Presents Great SF Stories 11 (1949)".
2. John W Campbell, Jr (ed)'s "The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology".

Fact sheet.

First published: Astounding, July 1949.
Rating: A.
Listed among the stories from John Campbell's Astounding/Analog.
Related: Stories of Clifford D Simak; immortality/rejuvenation treatments in fiction.

John R Pierce's "Invariant" (short story): Serious consequences of rejuvenation treatment

Dr Homer Green used his invention, a rejuvenation treatment that lets your body always heal any damage to it perfectly, on himself. That was on September 11, 1943. Now it's August 4, 2170 - more than 200 years later. He looks exactly as he did on the date he gave himself the treatment - no aging whatever - his body always repairs any damage perfectly. His tissues are invariant.

There is only one catch. Even his brain tissue is invariant - exactly the way it was before he treated himself! He cannot get any more memories or otherwise adapt to environment, because his mind always repairs itself to the state just before the treatment!!

Collected in.

1. Isaac Asimov & Martin H Greenberg (Eds)' "Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 6 (1944)".
2. John W Campbell, Jr (ed)'s "The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology".

Fact sheet.

First published: Astounding, April 1944.
Rating: A.
Listed among the stories from John Campbell's Astounding/Analog.
Related: Stories from Analog/Astounding.