Infernal
“Infernal” – A cartoon that illustrates that while new longevity solutions may allow us to live longer lives, they’re not always going to be enriching. Longevity has surged because science and culture moved together. AI now proposes drug candidates at machine speed, wearables feed a constant stream of biomarkers and labs are testing ways to nudge epigenetic programs so bodies behave as if they were younger.
As a result, a new wellness culture recasts ageing as a disease condition you manage early with protocols rather than a fate you accept late. With this, the anti-aging market that today is $78 billion is projected to pass $140 billion over the next decade.
The early adopters have skewed tech-savvy and male, who now have routines optimized to the minute, sleep dashboards, cold plunges and IV drips. For example, Carter Reum, Paris Hilton’s venture-capitalist husband, has suggested that top-end homes will swap basement cinemas for a “longevity bed” or full recovery room.
Even dictator’s have got in on the act. At Beijing’s Victory Day parade last week, a live broadcast captured Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, walking with Kim Jong Un, discussing extreme life extension, with Putin’s interpreter saying biotechnology could enable continual organ transplants to make people “younger” and perhaps immortal, and Xi noting some forecasts put human lifespans at up to 150 years this century.
On the supply side, AI-first biotechs such as Insilico Medicine and Recursion are pushing machine-designed molecules into human studies, while reprogramming outfits like NewLimit and Altos aim to restore function by resetting epigenetic marks rather than merely slowing decline.
The promise is longer, healthier lives, but the real test is what we do with the extra time; as Seneca wrote, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.”
Sources:
Manulife Singapore (Jun 24, 2025) – 5 Key Findings: How The Affluent View Longevity & Financial Security – Forbes
Sylvana Quader Sinha (Jul 14, 2024) – The Longevity Revolution Is Coming — Will It Include You? – Forbes
Tracy Swartz (Sep 04, 2025) – Is immortality possible? The technology breakthroughs that could extend human life — and how effective experts say they really are – New York Post
