1989 novel by Poul Anderson
The Boat of a Million Years is a science fiction novel by American writer Poul Anderson, first published in 1989 and nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel that same year.[1] It was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and the Prometheus Award in 1990.[2]
Plot
The novel follows a group of eleven immortals from the ancient past to the distant future. Most of the novel follows the various immortals throughout their lives as they try to find others like themselves, avoid being killed, and remain quiet about their gift. Gradually, the immortals begin to meet across the world and form a family of sorts. After they share their secret of immortality with the rest of humanity, the ensuing years result in a human culture they no longer relate to or in which they fit. Consequently, they create and crew a starship to explore new civilizations within the galaxy.
Immortal physiology
As their name implies, at a certain point Immortals stop outwardly aging, generally at about twenty-five years, though apparently among East Asians possibly a little later. When the Immortals' teeth are damaged, they regrow. Immortals receive no permanent scars and also never contract contagious illnesses, even during times of plague. They remain fertile for as long as they live and can rapidly heal broken bones or other serious wounds. If the Immortal men are circumcised, their foreskins will regenerate. Speculation on "recurrent intactness" among women is left unanswered, with the possibility of the female hymen likewise restoring itself having been brought up at one point during dialogue in the novel. Immortals can and in the course of the novel do die, as they are not capable of recovering from injuries such as a stab to the heart or decapitation. There is also discussion about whether long-term exposure to tobacco smoke might present the possibility of lung cancer developing, though the researcher who opens the possibility admits he has no data on the matter.
