Under normal circumstances, even with advanced Life Extension Surgery, humans inevitably grew old after two hundred years.
Even most of the priests who had undergone extensive mechanization would show a range of symptoms of aging—unless they followed Belisarius Cawl's example and mechanized most of their flesh, including parts of their brains.
But even Belisarius Cawl had to back up his memories.
But what about Alvin?
He had truly endured two hundred years in the Three-Body World!
In all that time, his appearance hadn't changed in the slightest. Even his physical condition showed no sign of decline.
Suddenly, as he looked at the still-young version of himself in the mirror, a terrifying thought occurred to Alvin.
"Could I be a Perpetual?!"
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he shuddered.
Perpetuals possessed abilities that inspired intense envy.
The first, and most fundamental, was that no matter how severe the physical injury—decapitation, dissolution, even vaporization—they could come back to life after a time. That could take anywhere from a few minutes to several years, depending on the severity of the injury and the individual's strength.
Second, as the name implied, Perpetuals were completely immune to aging. They remained forever in the same physical state they had been in when they were granted "eternal life."
Third, Perpetuals were naturally closely connected to the Warp, so most of them possessed an extremely powerful Psyker talent.
In other settings, immortality might have been a blessing.
But in the Warhammer Universe... it was pure torture!
At least, from what Alvin knew, hardly any Perpetuals had met a good end.
The Emperor?
He was still sitting on the Golden Throne, unable to live and unable to die. The ultimate torture.
Malcador, the most powerful Psyker after the Emperor, had been drained dry by the Golden Throne. Even