[ WP ] Humanity has found a way to be immortal , and spread among the stars . On your 21st birthday you find out that you are the first person in 10,000 years that the process does n't work on .

“ I don ’ t understand. What, exactly, is wrong with me? ” 
 
 The doctor grimaced, clearly uncomfortable based on the way he avoided eye-contact with me. He folded his hands, one on top of the other, and brought them up to his lips, obviously internally searching for the right words. After a long moment, he sighed. “ You lack the gene for prolonged and sustainable longevity. ” 
 
 I blinked, dumly. 
 
 HIs eyebrows knit together, making him look older, which was funny because the man was over three thousand. Another sigh. “ You don ’ t have the gene that makes humans immortal. ” 
 
 I ’ m fairly certain that my eyebrows disappeared into my hairline. “ What? ” 
 
 “ Humans used to be mortal - if they weren ’ t killed off by unnatural causes, they had a short lifespan - and for whatever reason, you don ’ t have the gene that prolongs our lifespans. ” 
 
 My heartbeat echoed in my head like thunder, and for a brief moment I worried whether the doctor could hear it. Despite the cacophony in my head, however, I felt as though I was leaving my own body, all of my limbs tingling and numbing at the same time. “ How... how long do I have? ” 
 
 “ Well, since you ’ re the first person in ten thousand years to have been born this way, we aren ’ t exactly sure. Medical records don ’ t exactly go that far back. ” 
 
 I buried my face in my hands, a panic attack brewing in the pit of my stomach. It churned within me, and I could already taste bile rising in my throat. “ So you don ’ t know? 
 
 The doctor, to his credit, did manage to look remorseful, but he shook his head all the same. 
 
 Despite the overwhelming fear and anger that was beginning to brew within me, the next sentence that feel from my mouth was petty. “ This is one shitty birthday present. ” 
 
 It was suggested to me that I get someone else to take me home, but I insisted that I wanted a little fresh air. The gardens that lined the skywalks were in full bloom, and I hadn ’ t had a chance to enjoy them. Halfway home, I dug my phone from my pocket. I did what any scared kid would do: I called my mom. 
 
 “ Everything okay, sweetie? ” When I heard her voice over the receiver, saw her face on the screen, the terror gripping me abated, at least a little bit. 
 
 “ I ’ m not interrupting, am I? ” 
 
 She smiled and shook her head. “ I just finished my last lecture for the afternoon. ” 
 
 “ Yeah? On what? ” 
 
 “ Ancient nomadic traditions of Earth. ” 
 
 I smiled, despite my inner turmoil. My mom loved ancient Earth, knew everything there was to know about the origin of man back before humankind left for the stars. Back before humans were immortal. “ Yeah? ” 
 
 She nodded. “ I was just discussing the meaning behind a dish called cake, and how the humans of the old world would top it with a flaming stick and sing to it. ” 
 
 I raised an eyebrow, let out a small laugh. “ That ’ s... weird. ” 
 
 She shrugged. “ Did your appointment go okay? ” 
 
 Ah, there it was again; the tight knot in my stomach. “ Yeah, yeah, nothing to worry about. ” The lies fell off my tongue with ease; how could I tell her I was dying? I could I tell my mother that I wouldn ’ t be there for her one thousandth birthday? How could I possibly tell her that I shared the same lifespan as one of her precious ancient Humans? “ Did they really sing to their food? ” 
 
 There were wrinkles in the corners of her eyes when she smiled again. “ As far as our research can tell, though we feel that they didn ’ t sing to all of their meals. ” 
 
 “ Why? ” 
 
 “ Cake was a sweet dish, and as far as we can tell they only sang to it when it was their birthday. ” 
 
 “ What a weird tradition. ” 
 
 “ Some of my colleagues suspect they did it for religious reasons, to frighten off death. ” 
 
 “ How, uh, how long did they live for, back then? ” 
 
 My mom tilted her head, a look of concern on her face. “ You usually hate to hear me talk about ancient Earth. ” 
 
 I shrugged. There wasn ’ t a good answer I could give her, so I didn ’ t bother with one. 
 
 “ Well, ” she continued. “ The general consensus was that they usually lived for about eight to one hundred years. ” 
 
 A wave of anxiety overcame me, cold tendrils trickling down my spine and coiling in the pit of my stomach. 
 
 “ Are you sure you ’ re okay, honey? ” 
 
 “ Yeah, I ’ m okay. ” I wasn ’ t. I ’ d tell her some day, but not this one. “ Since you ’ re done with your lectures, how about we go out to dinner tonight? My treat. ” 
 
 “ I ’ m not letting you pay for your own birthday meal. ” 
 
 I smiled. “ Fine, then. You pay. ” 
 
 We decided on a where and when, and we ended the call. I looked around at the flora that surrounded me, inhaling deeply the sweet scents their flowers produced. I was just like them, it would seem; stuck where I was. A little out of place, and a little out of luck.
