I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.
— Woody Allen
One of the oldest of human desires is to counteract
the fleeting nature of our short human existence. Eternal life is ingrained in the collective human consciousness, having been present in literature and myths for
as long as they've been around.
Of course, having been around for so long, Our Immortality Is Different, and comes in several flavours. These tropes are not mutually exclusive; there's plenty of room for overlap.
Subtropes:
- The Ageless - A character does not age, and frequently doesn't sicken, as well.
- Age Without Youth - A character doesn't die, but they still age. This is almost always a Fate Worse than Death.
- Body Backup Drive - A character's consciousness is downloaded to a prepared body (usually a clone) after his death.
- Body Surf - A character lives forever by swapping bodies before they die.
- Fighting a Shadow - The character's true form is elsewhere, making killing him difficult, if not impossible.
- Healing Factor - A character can regenerate from severe injuries, sometimes including death.
- From a Single Cell - A character can regenerate from any injury, no matter how severe. This includes death.
- Nigh Invulnerable - A character is nearly indestructible and thus difficult, if not impossible, to kill.
- Soul Jar - A character is immortal because they've placed their soul or heart in an external artifact.
- The Undead - After being brought back to life, an undead can be difficult, if not impossible, to kill again. This is particularly true for non-corporeal undead, such as ghosts.
For general tropes relating to immortality, see
This Index Will Live Forever.
