The Cure for Immortality

They lived long. Longer than the biblical patriarchs. Many of them didn't even remember when they were born.

On their planet, Hastalavista, there existed day and night, but everything was reversed: first came light, then darkness. Time flowed backward. The year didn't end with winter, but rather began with it. The count of days in a month didn't start from the 1st, but from the 30th or 31st, and the days in a year - from the 365th to the 1st. The calendar began at the end, the beginning of which few remembered.

It wasn't plants that grew from seeds, but seeds from plants and their fruits. And it wasn't hens that laid eggs, but rather they themselves hatched from eggs.

Men gave birth to children, and women provided for their families. The inhabitants of Hastalavista were born into the world already adults, possessing all the necessary knowledge and skills.

If an earthling were to land on this planet, all of this would seem strange to him. But to the inhabitants of this planet, their entire way of life seemed logical, for they knew no other. At the same time, it was devoid of meaning.

Everything on this planet existed on the principle of "backward." Even the inhabitants of this unusual planet dressed according to this principle. And they walked the same way, as if everyone were crabs.

They read books and newspapers from the end, starting with the bottom line. They watched TV shows from the end to the beginning. That's how they lived.

Despite the relative well-being and abundance of food, water, and minerals, the constant population growth (mortality didn't exist on this planet) forced them from time to time to study other planets in their solar system for suitability for eternal life. Knowing that their lives were eternal, the inhabitants of the planet were never in a hurry. They were despondent, for they knew that what was yesterday would be tomorrow as well. After all, their life was eternal, and they knew no other.

They also didn't know love. Another reason for despondency. (Although they didn't even know they were despondent, for they knew no other state of mind).

On one of the expeditions, the ship named Hastalavista, which had been plowing through the Universe for quite a long time and without results, stumbled upon a galaxy called the Milky Way. Without much thought, the captain of the ship decided to dock on Earth.

Earthlings, who had been waiting for a long time for confirmation that intelligent beings lived in the vastness of the Universe, gladly welcomed the guests, who turned out to be completely non-aggressive.

Exploring the Earth and its inhabitants, much seemed strange to the alien guests: the passage of time, the fact that on Earth women give birth to children, and much more. But most of all, they were struck by Love and the absence of despondency among earthlings, despite the fact that they were mortal.

Studying the level of scientific development on Earth, the inhabitants of Hastalavista became acquainted with the developments of earthlings in the field of life extension and the creation of a medicine for longevity. And when they realized that there was a direct connection between Love and death, they understood that eternal life without Love is simply biological existence.

In the process of gathering information for further research, the alien scientists happened to attend a funeral. It was there, strangely enough, that they understood that Love is eternal, even if the loved one has passed away, and the loving one is left alone. No, not alone - with him remained the Love for the departed - in the hearts of many people - and the fond memory of him.

Thanking the earthlings for their warm welcome, the scientists from Hastalavista offered to reveal to them the secret of immortality. But, realizing what torment immortality could become, most earthlings refused such a gift.

Returning home, the members of the expedition told their fellow tribesmen about all their findings.

After that, the inhabitants of the planet of Immortality decided to engage in the development of a cure for immortality. Perhaps, in this way, they would rise from despondency, experience Love, and their lives would gain meaning.