The Mouthless

They came from a far away planet. Resources their were far more scarce than ours here on earth. The only animal life that was able to thrive and evolve was that which developed tight symbiotic relationships with plant life. They had transparent skin and no mouth. Inside their bodies they hosted something similar to algae. It provided food for them and they provided minerals and light for it. They absorb water through their skin and because of this take long baths regularly. Bath houses permeate their culture. They use a series of bioluminescent pockets of micro-organisms in their fingertips and foreheads to communicate. It took some time, but translating devices have been manufactured for each of our species. While it has taken us a long time to become comfortable with the idea that our bodies are communities of different organisms that we have become partnered with over evolutionary time, they were always well aware of the ways in which they were connected to other creatures. All of our major religions have already adopted much of the alien philosophy. Of course initially, some of us were less than accommodating. By and large that irrational xenophobia that burned passionately in so many parts of the world has been almost entirely extinguished.

The People of the Tree

Somewhere there are people, humanoids, who live inside a giant tree. In the center of the tree there is a chamber. Here the people leave their waste and corpses with religious determination. The tree uses this as a food source. In turn the people of this tree are provided with sap and fruit. They have been living in this tree for millennia. It is nearly impossible to convince one of these people to leave their home. If you attempt to harm the tree, they will surely kill you and drop your body into the bowels of their living city.

Fount of Youth

Dr. Tresper is four hundred years old.

Most people are afraid of him. Others wish to steal his secret. I and I alone know where to find it.

This much, however, I am willing to tell:

There are many long lived creatures in this world. Certain tortoises and trees. The tricks for cheating death vary, but they have some  things in common. In order to live for a very long time, an organism must be good at one of these things: keeping bad things out, replacing damaged parts of itself, or doing without damaged portions of itself.

Dr. Tresper has tried all three. The mode that he prefers is replication of damaged issues. Keeping bad things out is far harder for a human than it is for a tree, and there simply is not enough body for humans to go without any portion of it that gets damaged.

The secret is hidden in the drought that Dr. Tresper always keeps close at hand. He has created a symbiotic relationship with another organism. The organism was extracted from one of the many creatures that rely on benevolent microbes for long term survival. It really is remarkable how much energy a small colony of bacteria, for example, can produce for a larger organism to use. Entire ecosystems are built on micro-organisms. The ones that live inside Dr. Tresper are, of course, very much altered from their original state. Normally the single celled organisms would go to war with the unfamiliar cells of Dr. Tresper. Nothing a little mutation doesn’t fix, though.

These creatures help Dr. Tresper to combat foreign bodies. They also provide the desperately needed service of rejuvenating genetic decay and the other handful of problems that cause human aging and eventual death.

Nobody knows exactly how long Dr. Tresper should expect to live. I would venture that he has not even as yet reached midlife. Dr. Tresper will live for a very long time indeed.

I have shared with you all that I will. May you live a long and prosperous life. Ha ha ha.