written in spring, 2023. By Lai Peng.
In City Beyond it rarely snows. The wind is very gentle.
Bean is a quiet boy. He always wears soft-padded sneakers and speaks with a gentle voice. The fifteen-year-old is interested in biology and sociology – how animals form groups, fight for resources, and reproduce is of great fascination to him.
The child of a wealthy family, Bean is known to people outside his family by a more refined name. He was nicknamed Bean by his mother for curling up like a cute pea when he was born. He loves this name, which reminds him of his mother’s smile. His mother died when he was 10 years old.
Bean sleeps little every day. He is smart, but he needs to be smarter. He speaks three languages, has won prizes in international violin competitions. He studies programming and chess and plays soccer.
However, his father, Feng, still expects more from Bean. “Why is there no end to my studying while there is no end to Nanny Tian’s daughter’s playing?” Bean always wonders. There seem to be many different species in the human world.
Bean often seeks shelter in the garden and looks at the birds in his free time.
There are sparrows, magpies, and a small black bird that always rests in front of Bean. Today is a peaceful day. Everyone in the house is taking their nap. The garden is
silent, the branches swaying in the breeze. Bean sprawls in the rocking chair, half asleep. It has turned dark when he wakes up to his father calling his name. Feng is a good father. Despite his busy schedule, he always has dinner with Bean. Feng is a successful investor with several wealth management companies under his control. And this is only a tiny fraction of the assets owned by the family. Bean’s grandfather has not retired yet. He runs several factories manufacturing clothes and cosmetics.
Bean listens to his father’s voice without answering it. He is still immersed in the dream he just had. In it, Bean was running barefoot in a fog. Exhausted, he leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Suddenly, he heard a hoarse voice coming from above him. He looked up and found a strange black bird standing on a branch. To his shock, the strange bird started talking.
“Inheritance is the rule of Beyond. People inherit by copying their parents.” Having said this, the strange bird flew away.
What did the strange bird mean? Still pondering over his dream, Bean hurries back into the house, arranging his clothes as if he had just come back from outside. Stepping into the dining room, he tells his father that he has been at his classmate's house. The classmate is the City Mayor's child. Bean knows his father believes that children should learn to socialize and form connections. Sure enough, Feng is pleased.
After dinner, it’s time for Bean’s violin lesson. However, Bean is distracted; his mind is busy deciphering what the bird has said. Is Beyond built on the mechanism of inheritance? His violin tutor is a delicate young woman who has received classical training since childhood. She must have inherited her musical talent from her mother, a music teacher at an elementary school. The violin tutor also teaches music at a school.
She teaches Bean violin to supplement her meager salary. It is exactly as what the black bird says: The violin tutor has inherited her mother's talent and career.
The housekeeper Tian is talking to her daughter on the phone in the kitchen. She lowers her voice when Bean enters. Bean pretends to be drinking water and listens quietly. He wants to know what Tian is saying to her daughter. Tian lives with Bean’s family, while her husband works at an interior decoration company in Beyond. Their daughter lives in the town Tian came from because she has to take the college entrance exam there. Bean hears Tian order her daughter to study hard over and over again.
“Why don’t you take your daughter with you?” he asks. Tian doesn’t know that he is still here. She hurries to wipe off the tears at the corners of her eyes.
“Are you homesick?” Bean asks.
Tian has always been very kind to Bean, this diligent, motherless boy. After recovering herself, she tells Bean that her daughter has gotten a boyfriend and plays games on her phone all day long. She is worried that her daughter might not be able to go to college. She wishes she could keep an eye on her daughter, but she needs money. Bean realizes with sadness that Tian’s daughter would inherit her mother's fate, working at low-salary jobs in the city, if she didn’t go to college.
Is what the strange bird said true then? That the parents in this city are passing on their abilities and destinies to their children. If that’s the case, Bean thinks to himself,
is what I’m studying all day and all night even useful for my future? His father doesn’t speak as many languages as he does, nor does he seem to have a need for them. “My father never asks me what I want to do when I grow up,” Bean murmurs to himself. He wonders if he himself is also under the Rule of Inheritance in Beyond.
The following evening, Bean discusses his confusion with his father at dinner. “Of course, you will inherit the family business,” Feng answers without thinking. “So I will be rich when I become an adult,” Bean thinks. Both his grandfather and father believe that wealthy families should do their best to bring up their children into the same elites like themselves. So Bean would become a replica of Feng, just as Feng is a replica of Bean’s grandfather.
The truth in the strange bird’s words leaves Bean astonished. The most absurd thing about this is that no one else in Beyond seems to realize that there is something wrong about this rule. Are people going to great lengths to copy themselves?
***
Bean comes to the garden again. This time the strange bird presents itself while he is awake.
“Why do people want to copy themselves?” Bean blurts; he can no longer contain his curiosity.
“Time,” the strange bird answers. “Time?”
“Time is the most essential building material of this world. As a species, humans can live no longer than 120 years. Consequently, people strive to get the best resources to enjoy themselves. After they pass away, their children will inherit what their parents have accumulated: tastes, knowledge, power, and wealth. However, this will soon change.” Having said this, the strange bird takes off and disappears.
***
When fall comes, something momentous happens. One day, M, the most famous pharmaceutical company in Beyond, announces a landmark breakthrough. John Handerson, CEO of M, appears on various TV shows, declaring, “Humans will live forever.” Apparently, the company has invented a new drug named Angel, which has the ability to modify genes to prevent aging. In other words, people who take the new drug can stay at their current age forever.
Doubts accompany cheers and spread across social media. Scientists ask the pharmaceutical company to provide a scientific explanation of the drug’s working mechanism. Confidently M responds to questions from all groups. Although experts are skeptical, they can find no evidence to dispute the claimed effects of the new drug. Just then, a patient stands out and gives his account as a success story. The old man, Bill, has participated in the clinical trial of the new drug. Suffering from cancer, Bill was told by doctors that he had less than three months to live when he decided to try Angel. Now two years have passed; he is still alive and his cancer has stopped deteriorating. A miracle.
Gradually, people’s doubts give way to curiosity. On a Sunday morning, Bean’s best friend Emma comes to visit him.
Emma comes from a small town. She is good-looking, but students from the city look down on her because she doesn’t have nice clothes and speaks with an accent.
Being a gentle boy, Bean often talks to Emma, telling her not to be sad. She is the only person with whom Bean has shared the secret of the strange bird.
When Emma’s face is lit up by the sun, Bean sees tears on it. Turns out Emma is leaving the city. She is here to say goodbye to Bean. Emma moved here with her parents because her grandmother, who had only a year left to live, resided in the city
and needed Emma’s company. But now that the new drug is coming out, her grandmother will be able to live forever. In order to save money for the drug, her parents have decided to move back to their old town.
Emma’s visit makes Bean realize that what the strange bird said was true. There will be more and more changes; before they have time to think it through, everyone is gripped by the urgency to re-plan their lives.
Tian is very happy. She tells Bean that she no longer has to worry about her daughter’s future. When Angel goes into mass production, she would be able to buy it for her daughter. If her daughter can stay young forever, she should have plenty of time to prepare for college.
Bean’s father seems worried. He has been closely following the news about Angel, worrying about the possible disruption the new drug will bring to people’s
lives. At dinner, he shares his concern with Bean. “Do you understand Time, Bean? Time constructs the order of this world, but now the order will collapse.” This is the second time that Bean’s heard the word being uttered in such a serious way.
Feng leans back on the couch, looking both confused and excited. He looks up at an enlarged photo of Bean’s mother on the wall. She passed away too early; if she were still alive, Feng would buy the new drug for her regardless of its potential side effects.
“Grandpa is reconsidering his will,” Feng tells Bean. “Now that the order is changed by immortality, he has a new plan for our family’s trust fund.”
The original plan for the family’s trust fund was that after Grandpa passed away, Feng would inherit half of the fund, and Bean would receive a monthly salary until he turned fifty. Bean sinks into deep thought.
***
It is late fall. Cheers on TV, the Internet, and the streets everywhere. Experts are discussing Angel's profound impact. The government delivers encouraging speeches to the public. The president declares Angel a fantastic achievement and envisions a new era for the human race. His enthusiastic speech leaves the air feverish.
There is a cafeteria on the street corner near Bean’s school and he passes it by occasionally. Now the place is crowded with people discussing their plans to buy Angel. It is the less wealthy that are the new drug’s staunchest supporters. “If I could
live forever, I would have fewer regrets in my life,” the waitress says. She sounds as if she were in a dream. Lately there are more and more dreamers on the streets.
M launches an overwhelming wave of advertisements targeting various groups: Want to live in a nicer place? Buy Angel and you’ll be able to participate in our Apartment Selection Plan! You can live anywhere at any time in your life! Some innovative universities launch new programs to attract prospective students. “Join our Lifelong Education Program! You can choose to attend college at any time in your life, for as many times as you want! You can get degrees in literature, science, economics, and many more!” If you love studying and never have to worry about tuition fees, this is really good news.
The most critical impact of the new drug is that suddenly everyone realizes that they no longer need to plan their life around the strictly designed social schedule. A young man no longer needs to attend college at eighteen or get married between his twenties and thirties. Bombarded with Angel’s advertisements, people from all classes scramble to buy the new drug. Some want to have more time and start a new life. Some want to stay in the happiest moment of their life forever.
Bean's family is undergoing some changes, too.
While Grandpa Yun wants to buy Angel, his wife, Lotus, is wary about the potential side effects of the drug. Unable to persuade her husband to change his mind, she asks Feng and Bean to come to their house to have a family meeting.
Yun is in a weird mood. He doesn't greet Bean as warmly as he used to, nor does he ask about Bean’s grades as usual.
It turns out that Yun has already bought Angel. While some poor people have to sell their apartments to get one, Yun has bought three pills effortlessly. Five days ago, he asked his driver to take a pill. Seeing that the driver did not feel any physical discomfort, he decided that tonight he and Lotus would take the pills.
The quarrel between Yun and Lotus continues. Yun speaks slowly and with
majesty, yet his eyes have a look of anxiousness and excitement. “I am 71 years old. What awaits me is the decay of my body, illnesses, and helplessness. I won’t have any of that. I have made up my mind: I’ll take Angel.”
Lotus sighs with utter frustration. “I don’t want to live forever as a woman in her 70s with neither youth nor beauty. But if you’ve decided to live forever, I will follow you. We have been together since we were twenty and shall always be together in the future.” Grandparents take Angel respectively. They still look the same, but Bean knows the family dynamic has changed fundamentally.
Late fall gives way to winter. Feng becomes distracted. He no longer has dinner with Bean every evening, saying he is busy. But his driver tells Bean that most of the time Feng just sits in his office, looking dazed. He has lost motivation. Now 47 years old, he has spent all his life preparing for taking over the family business. He did his
best to be the best student in school; he did his best to be the best investor to gain experience in managing investment portfolios. Originally, Yun planned to retire within two years and hand over the chairmanship to Feng. Now, as an immortal, Yun begins to replan his life. He decides that he will remain in charge of the family business, which has been around for hundreds of years. Feng has not only been preparing himself to inherit the family wealth, but has worked hard to cultivate Bean so that his son would inherit the family business after his death. Now, what is Feng going to do? He hasn’t decided whether he should buy Angel or not. Of course, now is the best time to take Angel, as he is not getting any younger, but he doesn't know if he wants to live such a long life under his father’s rule.
Soon, things get worse: Yun falls in love with a young woman. He tells Lotus that he can't imagine living an endless life without any variation. He wants to live as many lives as possible; he wants to have a divorce.
Lotus turns to Feng in tears. She doesn’t enjoy living in her seventies forever.
But it’s too late; she can no longer return to her old life. Bitterly she curses her husband.
As wise as Feng is, he grows more anxious day by day. Time is essential to constructing social order. In the past few decades, the lifespan of human beings has been extended by twenty years, giving rise to many issues, including caretaking for the elderly. He is at a loss at the scale of the collapse of social order or how to restore it.
Amidst the chaos and confusion, no one asks Bean whether he wants to take Angel. When is the best time to turn kids like Bean into immortals?
***
As the initial excitement fades away, anxiety resurfaces and takes hold of the Café. Money dominates people’s conversations. Online media headlines read: If we are all going to live forever, will there be enough resources for everyone?
Crime quickly breaks out. A son secretly sold his mother's house and bought a pill of Angel. An employee hacked into his boss' computer, paid himself 200 years' worth of salary, and ran away.
Ethicists warn that humans are becoming even more heartless and selfish with the invention of the new drug. They worry that the current moral framework is not ready to deal with problems caused by immortality.
Marriage is no longer a promise to love. Who can expect love to stay unchanged in an endless life? Lawyers start advising low-income couples to sign prenuptial agreements every ten years before they get married. People of high income sign longer contracts to prove their love. Love comes with different prices. Married couples don’t know if they should have children. Parents with young children wondered if they wanted their children to live forever in their youth. The government is helpless in the face of such wide-scale turmoil and disorder.
For Bean, his confusion mainly comes from the emotional turmoil of his family members. He goes to the garden again every day at 4 p.m., but the strange bird is not there. Bean regrets that he hasn’t asked the strange bird for its name. Finally, one day, the strange bird appears again.
“Such is the nature of human beings. No one is perfect,” it says with a sad look.
At the factories owned by the family, workers begin to protest for higher pay.
Just when Yun is getting worried, Feng goes to see him and proposes a new plan.
As more and more people become immortals, there will be nothing left to inherit, and resources will be exhausted in no time. To keep the clan prospering, Feng says, “We must expand our business as much as we can.”
Bean’s family starts to expand their business.
The family of Tony, Bean’s classmate, starts to expand their business. The family of Chun, Bean’s neighbor, starts to expand their business.
When people have no more wealth to pass on, the parents want to acquire more wealth to ensure that their children would have the same quality of life as they do.
“If we have an endless amount of time, why can't we waste it? You know, it's not a waste if you’re getting different life experience.” The waitress at the Café resigned.
Poor people no longer want to go back to their old lives. If you have eternal life, then eternal labor becomes unbearable. If they don't work day in and day out, how will they support themselves in the long run? Suddenly there are a lot of confused people on the streets. Online debates got unbelievably heated. Some people want to do what they want, even if they are sometimes poor and sometimes vagabond. Some people say it's God's grace that humans can create more fortune. It's really a marvelous timing. Hardworking people become more hardworking, while unconventional and laid-back people become more spontaneous. Of course, almost everyone think that a new human society would come. There has to be a new way of living in the future.
At the same time, wealthy people need more money to maintain their eternal families. They need more people to work for their factories. However, the common Immortals, eager to take control of their own lives, plan to escape their old, static jobs
and start a new life. They want to make the most money with the least time. Both sides want to win this game. The rich people are good at manipulating the market. They buy up all supplies of the new drug, and the price of it grows exponentially. Overnight, ordinary people can no longer afford Angel. What should they do? Generous bosses come up with a new employment plan. To receive a pill of Angel, you need to work for the company for 1000 years. With each promotion, the time you have to serve decreases. In eternal life, 1,000 years really isn't that long, and many people think it's a bargain. The bosses succeed in buying people's time. Most people work harder for the dream of immortality.
Life at Bean’s school is interrupted, too. Some of his classmates have taken the new drug. If they could stay teenagers forever, why must they finish their high school courses in three years? 10% of students leave. If most people hold on to their jobs for the future, the children can stay children forever. Why bother studying when you don’t have to grow up? Some teachers also leave, including Bean’s favorite English teacher. “Leave the future to the future. I'm going to see the world where I can’t hear any news of Angel. The world has gone crazy,” she told her students.
As winter drags on, people sink into bitter remorse. The plundering of resources intensifies, from government officials to businessmen.
Without the threat or fear of death by aging, authority no longer exists. Crime and insanity permeate the city. Angel can only prolong people’s life span, not protect them from physical harm. It’d be hard to recover the limbs lost in accidents or lives lost in crimes. In the long run, there will still be people who suffer extreme facial injuries and physical disfigurement from automobile accidents and other unusual events. Choosing to live or die becomes a choice.
Hatred, too, has escalated. In the old days, people held back because everything would run its course in time.“When he retires, it'll get better. All I need to do is wait," Ben's violin teacher used to encourage herself when her headmaster scolded her. Now, the likes of her headmaster may never retire. What else can one do but stand up and resist? People want more, but it's getting harder to get it. Pillaging becomes a matter of course.
It is high time for a new law, the Mayor of Beyond urges.
***
Just when people start to lose hope, one morning, John Handerson, CEO of M, appears on TV and makes a brief announcement. “A large number of clinical experiments have shown that the new drug is not as effective as we thought it’d be and people who take it are unlikely to live forever.” After twenty seconds of silence, he adds that Angel has no known side effects, so there’s no need to panic.
The entire city quiets down immediately.
Spring comes again. Bean turns 15 and is going to high school. It’s 4 p.m. He’s reading in the garden, the sun shining on his curly hair. The book Ben is reading is not biology, but a book about the social dimension of Time. Its title page reads: “Time is the most essential building material of this world. People live according to its rule.”