[NR] Lifespan - Chapter 512

Jason sighs, “For now, humans are enough of a handful for humans. So”, and he turns to Rosha, “Since you succeeded, how did it go?”

Rosha rolled her eyes, “Basically answered that by the fact I didn’t have to push any disruptive nonsense out of the way. Probably caused a tizzy for those watching you.”

Jason nods, “I’m not really sure how that will manifest. You didn’t actively rebuke them like I had to. However, you were against them from the start.

“I’m guessing one of two expansions to what I already accomplished. Either you will have added on another separate, yet overlapping area or you added to the radius of my effect. Whichever it is though, won’t add as much. Me having had the first mover bonus.”

Rosha, “Yeah, well, anyway, I managed to sense and move. Don’t get why you had me stop there. It felt like I could advance so much further.”

Jason points at Courtney. “Well, first of all, I want her to get that far as well. Speaking of, Courtney, how about you hop out and do the same?”

Courtney shrugs and logs off.

Jason nods, “Good. Now, the other reason to stop early is because I wanted to judge you self control. Cultivation can be a joyous and addictive practice. There is a reason the stories always have people who meditate for inhumane lengths of time.

“Now, nothing against those who can close up for years on end. They get a lot done in their own way. You, however, do not have that luxury and so I needed to know if Courtney was going to have to set something up for you. In turn, I’m assuming she is disciplined enough not to need that, but if she does, it will fall to you.”

Rosha, “I don’t get how someone could meditate for that long. Seems boring as all get out.”

Jason shrugs, “I’ve never been one for it myself. From what I’ve observed though, it seems to be a combination of a fugue state and being able to actually detect the improvement. That second bit I would compare to one of those idle clicker games.”

Rosha, “But just sitting there for years?”

Jason, “That is actually a bit of a misconception. Sure, on rare occasions someone will literally sit there like a statue. However, most of the time, closing up involves just cutting off outside interference.

“Yes, there is an increase in time spent cultivating and it can replace sleep. In the end, though, there is more to life than just cultivation. From what I heard in my last life, many use the time to focus on their martial arts.

“It is only when someone is reaching the end of their life that you tend to have someone fully commit. And in that case, they’re attempting to outrun death. If they are on the edge of a new stage, managing to advance will stretch what lifespan they have left even more.”

Rosha nods, “Fair enough. I certainly know there are some elders out there, constantly hooked up to machines trying to eek out another day. At least with cultivation, the chance isn’t waiting on a scientific discovery that might never come. The extension is there, they just have to reach it themselves.”

Jason laughs, “The less you have, the more you hold on to it. Not that cultivation will do much good for people already in that state. While it can add to your lifespan. Most of the advancement comes from being multiplicative.”

Rosha, “And it doesn’t matter what you multiply zero by, it still equals zero.”

Jason, “Their best bet is to look into alchemy. Well, I guess it wouldn’t be called alchemy here unless someone forces it. But yeah, basically the use of powered materials for supernatural results.

“Even without power, there are likely certain plants and such out there that increase a person’s lifespan. The catch, more so than any other alchemical concoction, is that resistance builds up within a few uses. Plus, we’re talking days of lifespan, not years.”

Rosha, “Don’t downplay that. Even with just our tech, a few days can be stretched. Just NeoRealm is an automatic five times multiplier on it, let alone when you add on your cultivation stuff.”

Jason frowns for a second, “I hadn’t considered NeoRealm into the equation. That is going to be a heavy modifier. Like, ancestors from my old world trying to tear a hole in reality to get here levels of heavy.”

Rosha frowns in turn, “Why?”

Jason brings up a screen and starts writing out some simple math. “So let’s say a person has L lifespan left and has a modifier of C to that. How long they will live is L times C. Simple enough.

“Then you have drugs and cultivation. Drugs add to L, while cultivation adds to C. So let’s say they are a plant that adds one to L and broke through and increased their cultivation modifier by one as well. That would look like this.”

{(L + 1) * (C + 1)}

Jason shrugs, “Simple enough. The thing about NeoRealm is that while it is only a five times multiplier, it doesn’t fit into those two paradigms. Now, it isn’t the only option that doesn’t.

“However, all the others have a flaw, the most common being fast and slow time zones. Those others are zero-sum effects, with the big change coming from an outsider’s point of view. An ancestor can last for indeterminate amounts of time if sealed in slow time or hibernation.

“Except during that time? They aren’t able to progress because from their view, nothing is changing and their life and cultivation are progressing as usual. The same is true with a fast time zone being used to quickly grow someone.

“From the outside it might look like some old time God, jumping out fully formed. However, the person will have actually spent their time. NeoRealm is different because it is a straight multiplier that is applied separately like so.”

{L * C * 5}