Well, what do you think?

I have to say again, I love this. I feel sorry for Lois, living so long after Clark. But it somehow seems right that they both saw the beginnings of Utopia, especially in a world like that. Beautiful!

Are you postulating a "cure" which extends one's life for centuries or through infinity? Given the limited resources here on Earth, that would either be a complete and unmitigated disaster as the world filled up, or it would be the strongest impetus for space exploration imaginable. If people kept making babies at the same rate as before (and somebody apparently did, since Clark has seven generations of descendants), there wouldn't be much room for new people, much less food and shelter for all of them.

Aside from that practical consideration, this is a very touching story. I like the way you turned the life expectancy difference around for both of them, not that I'm glad to read how Clark died, but it's interesting to see that from the opposite perspective for once. And Lois's slightly bitter musings feel natural, despite the prominent position she obviously holds in both her family and society at large. I wonder how Clark felt, knowing that she'd outlive him? Was he happy for her, sad for himself, apprehensive that she might (or might not) find comfort with some other man? Or did she assure him that, after being married to Clark Kent, no other man could possibly be good enough for her?

Being in Lois's situation would, indeed, be brutal. It's good that you gave her such a positive legacy to help her remember Clark.

One could easily presume that such a cure would probably reduce fertility. It might even require medical treatment to enable childbirth.

There's a downside to everything. On the good side, every child would be wanted.

As for Clark's progeny...well, the Cure never worked on him. How much it would work for his children is up in the air. They might be more fertile than the average human. Undoubtedly the Kent family be a special case compared to everyone else.

And I can easily see a world where humanity is leaving, expanding to other planets and stars despite lower fertility.

By the time HG Wells arrived, the planet might have a much lower population than we have now.

Thanks for the comments Terry and Karen.

Shayne, this is beautifully written, and so bittersweet. I loved how you inverted Lois and Clark's aging processes and gave us such intimate insight into Lois' psyche.

This, in particular, was so poignant:
That's what has always drawn me to Clark's character: His willingness to chip away at his emotional and physical reserves a bit at a time, giving completely of himself to others without asking anything in return. He knows it's a tragic character flaw that could prove fatal someday, but he can't *not* help others. So he bleeds a little more every day for the world, though it's blind to his invisible wounds. And in two simple but incredibly powerful sentences, you've stated that so beautifully.

Whoops, bit of a tangent there, sorry. (That's what too much Starbucks'll do!) But seriously, thanks for sharing such a lovely vignette.

Thank you for writing this Shayne. If I'd have to tell you why I loved this story, my words would match those of previous posts - so I'll be brief and just thank you, silently agreeing with other readers.

Love how you turned BY completely upside down here. Lois is the one who lives.

I echo angelic_editor on that particular phrase. Perfectly captures the essence of Clark.

I found it an intriguing story and very poignant.

This is a hauntingly beautiful vignette, Shayne. I love the way you raise the concept of bestowing on humanity this earth-shattering yet so far totally elusive gift, immortality. If we were suddenly, without much preparation, changed from mortals with an expected life span of perhaps eighty earth years into immortals who might, given the right circumstances, stay in our physical bodies forever and outlive the universe, how would we react to that? What would it be like, in the long run, to have no closure ever to look forward to? Your story is called "Brutal Truth", but for some reason, I keep reading the title as "Brutal Youth".

I have to wonder, too, what an immortal but procreating human species would mean to itself and the universe. Surely it would be totally impossible for the Earth to ultimately feed the relentlessly growing human race. And as a space buff, I do believe that hospitable planets elsewhere in the universe are few and far between.... I'm left with an image of the universe being slowly filled up by multitudes of homeless, castaway humans, so that Abraham's progeny, like God promised him, would indeed be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. Indeed, they may ultimately be the stars in the heavens.... No, Shayne, of course that isn't a reasonable interpretation of your story at all. Obviously I can see that you are not suggesting that these "immortal" humans could live on without food, water, air and a minimum of shelter, which open space certainly can't provide at all. But your story just put that image into my head, the image of humanity inexorably multiplying and slowly filling up the universe like stars.

Your story is melancholy and bittersweet, and I don't mean that as criticism at all. On the contrary, I love it. And since (confessions, confessions) I always thought of Superman as a kind of godlike character, divine not only in his powers but in his wonderful goodness too, isn't it somehow fitting that your Clark should be, basically, sacrificing his life for humanity like a latter-day Jesus? But oh, the fugue we are cast into when our Jesus has left us, to go where we cannot follow, in this case into resurrection-less death....

Over in the poll forum, I just mentioned that for years, I was telling myself "Spock stories", stories about Spock of Star Trek and the Enterprise. In my stories I made Spock ever more altruistic, ever more willing to risk his life and health to save others. I also made him bounce back from ever more horrible injuries, just so that he'd be able to stick his neck out again and risk his life all over again in order to help others. Eventually, I realized that this could not continue. Either Spock's body would break down and die because it couldn't take any more punishment, or else the opposite might happen. His body might forget how to die and actually become immortal.

As I made Spock realize he might be on the verge of becoming immortal, I knew that he could not allow this to happen. He could not let himself become immortal, and, quite likely, grow ever more powerful, ever more remote from the human race of mortals whom he had sworn to protect. He couldn't trust himself to grow as old as time itself and yet be able to empathize and identify with beings whose existence was as fleeting as that of mayflies. To make sure that he wouldn't become an everlasting scourge upon humanity, I made Spock choose death willingly, while his body still knew how to die.

How touching, Shayne, that your Superman does much the same thing as my Spock, yet the other way round. Like Spock, your Superman went willingly into danger again and again to save others, thus inexorably changing his body and diverting it forever from its normal way of functioning. I decided that my Spock might have become an immortal, looming like an uncomprehending god over a mortal race of humans, and to make sure this didn't happen he had to kill himself. You, on the other hand, made Superman gradually break down his own body in the process of saving humanity, thus losing any chance of immortality himself while helping to bestow that same immortality on humanity, helping it to found its Utopia, too.

Your portrayal of Lois's love for Clark, and her understanding of his goodness, and her eternal bereavement, is somehow almost shatteringly poignant. Or maybe it's just me, having spent my life pondering many of these questions.... Ah well, Shayne. I do so love your vignette, and I hope you will forgive me for seeing other things in it than you perhaps intended.

Ann

wow

very good, very thoughtful.
James

At first I thought I would hate this because it was a post Clark story with Lois still around,until I realized what you did. Superman living 150 years was pretty good. And Lois outliving him by 100 years is intersting but sad.This was an interesting twist on the old theme of Clark outliving Lois. In reality I think Clark would have wanted it this way. I think Lois would be the better survivr emotionally for some reason. Laura

> I have to wonder, too, what an
> immortal but procreating human
> species would mean to itself and the universe.

A lot of people have said something along this line. Elizabeth Moon has played with this idea quite a bit in some of her Science Fiction novels. She calls them "Rejuvenants".

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Hi,

Great story.

Shayne

This is a lovely vignette. I enjoyed it immensely.

Tricia

This was sad! To fear that one thing would happen, only to have the exact opposite happen.

*sniffle* very pretty.