[Mkguild] Life Expectancy in MK universe

[Stephen Tigner]

I was thinking about this debate today when this idea came to me and I
felt I needed to share it with the list. n.n

It's only fairly recently (at least in relative terms) that medical
science has advanced enough that we can actually give (and are
rerquired to give now, I believe) concrete medical reasons for the
death of someone. In those times, dying of "old age" could have been
because of a host of natural causes, some of which may strike younger
folks as well.

For instance, causes of death such as a heart attack, stroke, etc. can
and do kill those much younger than "old age" would normally cover,
such as those in their 30s and even 20s in some cases.

What I'm saying is that they say he died of "old age" in this story,
but is that because he really did? Or because that's what they
assumed, given what they knew of his actual age, and the cause was
some natural reason, but that reason actually is one that isn't
necessarily restricted to those who die of "old age"? For instance,
heart attacks are often caused by buildups of cholesterol (plaques) in
primary arteries, this occurs over time as a person lives, and even if
their body was being kept young, it's still quite conceivable that
said plaques could still be there, and build up over time as normal,
causing someone to die of a heart attack. Said heart attack could be
construed to be death from "old age".

If this is true, then he didn't really die of old age, as we would
term it now, but more like "natural causes", while still having a
youthful body, and thus I would feel that the canonity of ARs dying by
old age, if that is the only story where it was referenced, is not
necessarily established. n.n

I hope my logic here makes sense. ^_- I too would prefer ARs not to
die of "old age", though they could certainly die, again, of "natural
causes" that would be attributed to old age. So you could still have,
if you wanted, people assuming ARs die of old age, it just wouldn't
actually be the case.

And for those who say that it's supposed to be a "curse" and that not
dying by natural causes would be too much of an advantage, perhaps you
have forgotten about ageism? It's not as much of a problem within
Metamor Valley, but it could definitely be a problem for ARs wishing
to travel outside the area. And then there's the problems with
possibly outliving all your friends and family, everyone you grew up
with, and spent your life with, dying before your eyes, while you keep
going along through life in a prepubescent body (or at least one
that's near the beginning of puberty). There's plenty of stories, both
classical and modern, about those with eternal lifespans wishing to
give them up.

Also, let's not forget that curses don't have to be a disadvantage at
*all* times, they can be turned to one's advantage in the right
circumstances. For instance, the many TF'ed spies using their animal
forms to spy on Metamor's enemies. To be the "fly on the wall," as it
were.

Now, that is my argument against the entire ARs dying of old age bit,
given the evidence I have. n.n If I'm completely wrong, I have some
flawed logic somewhere, or that part really isn't up for debate
despite my counter-arguments, please let me know. ^_-

Back on the subject of if they do die of old age, how it happens:

On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 8:34 PM, Kit <stormkit10 at gmail.com> wrote:
> In that story the body is never seen and the cause of death is 'old age'.
> They said there are no wrinkles and whatnot to warn the person, but they
> WOULD possibly show up at the last minute. If anything, this example is
> perhaps evidence FOR my theory rather than against.

Sorry, but I fail to see how it could be evidence for your idea. I
concede that it may not be evidence against it, since we never see the
body. But I fail to see how the comments about no signs of aging to
warn you or any other part of that scene explicitly or implicitly
supports your argument. n.n At most, I see it as neutral, supporting
neither side of this debate.

Could you please elaborate on how you feel that this example supports
your idea? I would be interested in hearing your reasoning. n.n

Thanks!

-- Stephen

P.S. n.n is an emoticon, similar to :), and ^_- is similar to ;), I
point that out because not everyone is familiar with those emoticon
styles.

P.P.S. Sorry this email was so long.