How far would you go to become immortal?

Peace

 

I would take true immortality. The immortality you speak of here is conceptual, its more like a legacy. These examples you mention left a legacy behind but as to whether they are immortal or not, you'd need great metaphysical powers to be able to verify this for yourself.

People leave legacies, but all legacies come to an end at one point or another because civilisations rise and fall. There are many ancient civilisations who are virtually forgotten (check out this long list) and they also had their fair share of heroes and villains.

True immortality occurs within one's own being and is taken with you beyond the grave, even when your body dies you remain consciously immortal. Legacies, even if they last for several thousand years (such as religious, philosophical or mythological legacies) are only concepts which are useful to those who are alive and then they pass them them onto the next generation and die as well yet even such concepts or ideas have no life, they are just mental forms which may be useful, but they are not alive - their use is only when those who are alive (me and you) apply them. But true immortality is earned and retained by the one who attains it, regardless of whether people to come still talk about him or not.

So if I had a choice, I'd choose true immortality which is really difficult to attain. I know of only one person who has achieved this in this modern world who is still alive. His name is Mark Pritchard. He wrote about this here: In Solitude. Click on this link and scroll down to the section entitled The Elixir. This is where he describes how he received the great Elixir of Immortality.

 

I don't really care about leaving a legacy. I mean I imagine I would enjoy being famous and having a lot of power on peoples lives. I love power and I love control. And I also, like many, like to be admired and loved. Plus I'm sure it would be nice to be able to use that spotlight and power to share a positive message that I think would benefit peoples life and the world as a whole. If I ever happen to get it then great. But at the same time it's not something I desire that much so I would bother to go any lengths to accomplish that. In that kind of sense I couldn't care less about it. If that would ever happen it would be a side effects of my other life's goals and not the goal itself. I just want to live my life as good as I can and enjoy the journey.

 

I'd rather be forgotten.

 

All human beings have souls that live on in eternity. It's just a matter of the environment you'll be living in.

 

About five miles, tops.