Forever Is So Long

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. Frank Ridley returns from a year-long secret experiment transformed, his body remade by Dr. Lord's radical blood-fluid replacement process and his life potentially extended for centuries. In sunlit, rocket-filled New Chicago, he hurries to Virginia Halloran, determined to preserve the love that has sustained him, only to discover that scientific immortality may be the very thing that separates them. Over a painful breakfast, Frank reveals the truth, and Virginia is forced to confront a future in which he may outlive her by generations. Before their shock can settle into acceptance, Dr. Lord calls Frank back to the hospital with another urgent request. A related longevity test on Mars has gone catastrophically wrong, and Frank is needed for a dangerous demonstration that could help correct the failure. Torn between his loyalty to science and his devotion to Virginia, he agrees only after bargaining for something in return. But when he tells Virginia he must leave for Mars, their argument exposes the story's central question: can a grand vision of human progress survive the cost it exacts in love, time, and mortality?