The Postmortal

“Normally, any decision I confront is forced to navigate the seemingly endless bureaucracy of my conscience. Not this one. This impulse was allowed to bypass all that nonsense, to shoot through the gauzy tangle of second thoughts and emerge from me as pristine as when it first originated deep within the recesses of my mind. It was a want. A hunger. A naked compulsion that was bulletproof to logic and reason. No argument could be made against my profound interest in not dying.”

John introduces the idea of the cure for aging as a need that is more primal than the typical needs that he experiences in his day-to-day life. This implies that his fear of death and need for self-preservation outweigh logic, replacing his other intentions. John’s self-description here also shows how he changes as time goes on. While the John from the beginning of the novel is a highly logical individual who only sometimes makes decisions based on gut instinct, he increasingly becomes an instinct-driven person who follows his impulses rather than logical thought.

“Death is what makes us humble before God—knowing that our lives will come to an end and that when that end arrives we will be forced to answer for them.”

One of the main arguments against the cure is the idea that unaging people will no longer have humility. This reveals a religious ideology that not all the characters share, ultimately foreshadowing the rise of the Church of Man and the worship of humanity. In many ways, it also foreshadows the chaos that eventually comes with the cure for aging, driven by terrorist groups and government agencies.

“When I was a kid, I saw religion as insurance against death. It’s what the preachers on TV used to say. You’re better off believing in God, they’d warn you, just in case. Because you’d hate to arrive at the gates of heaven a nonbeliever and find out the Christians had been right all along. It was a pretty ingenious line of thinking. It almost made me want to go to church. Not enough to actually go, but still.”

This quote exemplifies John’s writing style, cementing the fact that this text is a series of blog entries through its casual tone. John is conversational, revealing his faults and thought processes in the broader context of the world’s events. He also continues to reveal his feelings about death, noting that the threat of an eternity of suffering almost compelled him to seek religion. Once that threat is removed, he sees himself reflected in the people resisting the Catholic Church’s attempts to ban the cure.

“Because they’re all getting divorced. All of them. Every banker and hedge fund guy in this town is looking for a way out right now. And if they aren’t looking for a way out, their wives are.”

This is the first real societal change the reader sees after the postmortal cure is introduced. As soon as the cure becomes accessible for anyone with the funds to pay for it, shifts in social dynamics emerge as people try to exit their supposedly lifelong relationships. Marriage becomes a burden rather than a benefit as people realize they will not experience the consequences of age. As the novel continues, this change in mentality toward relationships becomes a significant conflict for John and his loved ones.

“This is bereavement: the slow, eventual reassertion of your own meaningless preoccupations.”

John grapples with Katy’s death, finding comfort in the monotony of average life. This begins the escalation of his emotions and his inclinations toward instinct. Katy’s loss is ultimately paralleled by the different deaths John witnesses during his extended life and the ways he tries to cope with them. At the novel’s end, he is still haunted by his dead loved ones despite his efforts to adjust to his new normal.

“The nation that adapts to the effects of this cure and masters a world changed by post mortality is the nation will lead the world into the next century and well beyond. Today I declare my faith that we can and will be that nation. So many have given for the future of this country, and now that future fully belongs to us all. We are ready. We have no other choice.”

The presidential address outlines both the concerns with the cure and the need for its ratification. The president references past sacrifices in support of future innovation. However, there is also the same sense of desperation and inevitability that many people have when thinking of the cure—that it must be taken because there are no other options. This contrasts the idea of free will with fate, posing questions about The Role of Morality in this new world.

“I don’t know if I want that. I’m sorry. People got married before because they knew, deep down, that there would come a time in their lives when they would become too old, too ugly, and too infirm to have anyone care about them except their spouse. You needed someone to change your bedpan and help time your shoes and all that. That’s all gone now, Sonia. All that fear is gone.”

John presents a highly logical, emotionally removed idea of marriage as he and Sonia debate their future together. John’s position as a divorce lawyer gives him the perspective that marriages are no longer central to a functional society. This gives him a cold approach to Sonia, who seeks connection and assurance that they have longevity in their relationship. This conflict of interests causes their paths to diverge despite the genuine love between them.

“Take it! I’ve fallen out of love with this one anyway. I can’t promise you an invite down into this lovely abode when the shit hits the fan. This is the last I can do. Take it.”

John receives a gun from a client in a moment that shapes the rest of the novel. John is not interested in stockpiling resources but is given a tool with which to either protect himself or commit acts of violence. It is the beginning of John’s turn toward violence and killing. It also foreshadows the end of the novel, fulfilling the doomsday prophecies of the stockpilers.

“The Greenie smiled in our direction. He wasn’t one of the guys that cut me. I didn’t care. The fact that he smiled was enough. I turned to the officer and lied.”

John’s attack changes him significantly, taking away his sense of security and giving him lasting post-traumatic stress. His experience makes him vengeful, to the point that all Greenies become part of his problem, leading him to desire their punishment indiscriminately. He carries this hate with him, and it grows as he interacts with Greenies in different malicious contexts.

“I’m not killing myself. This doesn’t count as suicide. Suicide is when you stick a gun to your head. I’d never dream of doing that. You have to understand: I made a mistake getting this cure. I didn’t want it. It’s not that I want to die. It’s that I’m at peace with the idea of it. It doesn’t bother me. I saw my grandchildren born, including your son. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. And then some!”

John’s father’s response to his cancer diagnosis is relief rather than sadness. After having lived an additional 10 years without aging, he views the disease as an opportunity to see his wife again, showing that he has a much clearer idea of death than John does. However, he also emphasizes the positives of the cure in a rare moment, outlining the extra things he got to experience in his life because he stopped aging.

“But everything’s always been fucked up. Since the dawn of time. That’s why people find each other. For comfort. For shelter. They find their own little crevice in the world, shielded from all the horror.”

John shows growth as he reverses his previous marriage stance, deciding that he would like to marry Alison and understanding a desire for connection. As the world becomes an increasingly dire and difficult place, he seeks comfort, wanting community when he was previously content with isolation and self-centeredness. This transition shows that he is processing his father’s decision to die and the tumultuous world around him.

“I told my husband I don’t want a family tree; I want a rain forest. I’ve watched my kids raise their kids, and I’ll watch their kids raise their kids, and their kids raise their kids, and on and on and on. That’s the miracle.”

The hospice nurse in charge of John’s father shows an unexplored aspect of the cure, a much gentler worldview than the one the reader has witnessed thus far. She highlights the power of family and shows an intergenerational community that could be beautiful, providing generations of love and connection. John is drawn to this idea now that he has a son and a partner with whom he feels intrinsically connected. The contrast of discussing life on the evening that John’s father passes only emphasizes what is lost when a person dies, despite its inevitability.

“I have become unhinged. I have to leave here. I have to get away from the world I’ve made for myself, lest it engulf me. I need to get away now, so that all that remains is a quickly dissipating apparition and nothing more.”

John commits an act of intense violence and loses Alison in the same evening. Both events permanently alter his worldview. This moment is his introduction to viciousness and his transition into a place of emotion rather than logic. He follows his instinct to flee because he cannot face the implications of his new world in which he is violent, and Alison does not exist.

“I answered him carefully. ‘I’ve had people in my life who got to die on their own terms. And I’ve had people in my life who didn’t have any say in the matter. I don’t want anyone to have to go out that way if they don’t want to. I want to help.’”

Despite the 30 years that have passed, John is still haunted by Alison, his mother, and his father. He uses their experiences as inspiration to help people peacefully end their lives. In his initial interview, he claims to have no desire for violence, and it seems that he has gotten more logical and stable in his time away. This regression is an effort to hold on to his humanity in an ever-decaying, chaotic present.

“He got up. ‘There will come a time when you will need the church. I know you think that’s bullshit, but it’s true. It has precisely what you’re looking for. And when the time comes, I’ll be there to welcome you. I promise. The church is the future of all men.’ He held out his hand, and I shook it. ‘I wish you nothing but serenity.’”

David wants John to feel the sense of security and connectedness that he gets as a member of the Church of Man through worshiping humanity and its capabilities. This form of worship, like all forms of worship, repels John because of his upbringing. David, who has never known a world without the cure, has been able to separate religion from a fear of death. As he tries to convince John to visit the church, he also foreshadows the multitude of times that the church intercedes on John’s behalf, including in the novel’s close.

“Dmitrov (laughing): Nobility sounds wonderful as a concept. But nobility tends to go out the window when you find yourself forced to choose between life and oblivion.”

In an interview with a Russian soldier who has defected, there becomes a fundamental disconnect between what makes a good story and what the reality of the current world is. For many, nobility is not as important as survival, a sentiment that has endured even in the decades following the cure for aging. Humans persevere in dire circumstances, often prioritizing survival over morality. This soldier is a drastic foil to John, who does not see the ignobility of his actions.

“Otto (pausing): Sometimes. But wishing is a fool’s errand, isn’t it? There’s only one reality, and that’s the reality I have to deal with. I think a lot of people mistakenly hoped the cure would end not only death but the anguish of processing death, processing finality. I think people thought they would be able to escape that, and the opposite has proven true. They have to spend much longer dealing with their grief.”

The son of the cure for aging’s inventor reinforces that death is still a factor in people’s lives, meaning that grief and mourning continue to exist. There is no escaping the feelings associated with death, even if death itself has decreased. Without proper systems in place to support those who are mourning, the problems that exist will only continue. John is a prime example of this, as his grief drives him to seek out new, violent jobs and manifests in insomnia.

“Mankind has a path for itself, a trajectory, and you can never knock it off of that course. All I can do is usher in the vaccine in the most responsible manner I can. After that I have to have faith that people will be as well-intentioned as I am.”

Otto’s quote about innovation mirrors the presidential address from the first portion of the book, emphasizing that humanity will pursue innovation no matter the circumstances. He presents the cure for diseases and hopes that people will use it for good, but he also understands that innovation is inevitable. If he does not make a discovery, someone else will.

“The memory of everyone else I knew had grown more distant over [five decades]. My father. My son. Their lives had ended so long ago, they felt like they belonged to another dimension. Sometimes, if I concentrated hard enough, I could remember them perfectly. I could bring their faces and bodies into focus. I could conjure them and spend time with them. Other times, they felt more like vague, wonderful ideas that I couldn’t quite fully form.”

Previous reflections about mourning are solidified by John as he lingers on the deaths of his loved ones and how their memories have changed over time. Although he continues to mourn their passing, so much time has passed that his memories are no longer sharp. John has somewhat disassociated with his love for them, a coping mechanism he has adopted in his extended life.

“I fired up the plug-in, and we drove back onto the highway, cutting through the gathering mob of wraiths and specters.”

This quote is intentionally ambiguous, blurring the line between reality and fiction to reflect the blurring lines of John’s moral compass and faith in the systems around him. The terms “wraiths” and “specters” further emphasize John’s uncertainties, as these terms could be referring to the ghosts that he and Solara have in their pasts or to actual people who walk around with inevitable death following them.

“Being stuck awake in the middle of the night feels like prison. There’s nothing to do with yourself, especially when someone else is in the room.”

John’s insomnia continues to manifest, a representation of his trauma and lack of healing. He is stuck with his thoughts and unable to distract himself, forced to ruminate in silence while Solara sleeps.

“It’s not nearly enough. You know that. Whack one mole, a dozen more spring up. How long was your drive this morning? Eh? Come on, you knew this was coming. This is the next logical step.”

Matt justifies the government’s initiative to start hard ending the elderly to mitigate the population crisis. It shows the devaluation of life that has occurred, as the government prioritizes people who are young over those who are old, regardless of self-sufficiency. This conversation serves as the turning point for John, the moment in which he realizes he can no longer continue as an end specialist and must instead try to find a better way of life.

“I know there’s no heaven. I know it all turns to nothingness. But I fear there will be some remnant of me left within that void. Left conscious by some random fluke. Something that will scream out for this. That one speck of my soul will still exist and be left trapped and wanting. For you. For the light. For anything.”

John encapsulates a significant fear of the afterlife, frightened that he could be subjected to an eternity of nothingness after his passing. Although he was initially lackadaisical about his desire for the cure, his decades-long rumination of death has resulted in a clearer understanding of why he wanted to stave off aging in the first place. This is also a contrast to later in the novel when he comes to terms with Death’s Inevitability.