Forever IsaVeryLongTime
ForeverIs aVeryLongTime
A.T. Jonsson
©2026A.T.Jonsson
CoverIllustration: TheAuthor
Publisher: BoD· BooksonDemand, Östermalmstorg 1, 11442 Stockholm, Sweden,bod@bod.se
Print: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee 273, 22763Hamburg, Germany
ISBN:978-91-8134-147-8
To Kajsa, my dear wife
Part One
The Prehumans
Must Ialsodie?Becomeaslifeless as Enkidu?How canI bear this griefthatgnaws at my heart, this fear of deaththatrestlessly drives me forward?IfonlyI couldfindthis onewhomthe gods made immortal, then I couldask howdeath is to be overcome.
TheEpicofGilgamesh
Chapter 1
Twelve yearsbefore
Norminaspreadher wingsand descendedontothe bridge, whereshe perchedona steelbeamtorestfor awhile.She had been aloftfor alongwhile,and themuscles holdingher wings outweregrowing weary. Shesmiledtoherself.Flyingina pigeon’s body wasa unique experience.Thiswas herfirst time, andshe figuredthere wouldbemanyotherslater.
Apigeon– shefound it almost vexing that shehadn’t experimented with this before, enablingherself to transforminto apigeon. TheAvatarCentrehad introduced this possibilitylong ago, butshe hadnever takenthe leap.She’d been scepticalofthe idea,perhaps becauseofthe starkdifferencebetween apigeon anda human. Significantneurologicalrecalibration was necessary forher to fullyand genuinelyperceivethe pigeon’s physique as herown.
Themotor system hadtobereprogrammedtoacceptthat what were normally herarmswould nowfunctionaswings. Adapting herlegswas much easier,and notmuchrewiringwas needed,eventhoughitstill took awhile forher to getusedtothe unfamiliar signalsher pigeon legs sent to her brain’sperceptual system.But once theadjustments were complete,which took abouthalfanhour, shefeltlikea pigeon –or at leastasclose to howshe imagined apigeonmight feel.
Thecost– arathertedious procedureofbrain reprogramming to reclaimher ownform, lastinga littleoverthirtyminutes –was nota matterNormina wished to ponder at themoment. Whosits andponders thebill whileenjoyinga good meal at arestaurant? Shehad finallydiscoveredsomething that seemed noveland thrilling. It wasabout time.
Theonlydownsidewas that theAvatarCentredidn’tallow stayslongerthananhourinanalien body.She couldunderstand why; therewas agreater risk of difficulty returningtoyourown body aftera prolongedstay. Shealready felt hersensesand thoughts adapting to thepigeon’sbody, to thepoint whereshe hadalmostforgotten what hernormalbodyfeltlike. It waseerie amidst allthe excitement.
Shesat on thebridgebeam forfiveminutes before taking off again. It wastimetoreturntothe centre.She spread herwings andlaunchedintothe air. After sixtyminutes inside thebird, she wasstartingtomasterlifting off.
Norminafeltthe airlifting her, asensation that broughther a senseofsatisfaction. So,atthe endofthe flight,she resolved to enjoyitasmuchasshe could. Sheextendedher wings, trying to stretchthemout furtherthanwas possible,seeking extralift. The experience of hovering with no effort to remainaloft wasa wonderfulsensation.A sudden idea struck her: next time,she wouldtry beinga crane. Then shecould search fora thermal, an invisible‘bubble’ of rising warm air, andcirclewithinthatto climbhigher, just as cranes oftendid.
With abouta hundredmeterslefttothe landingsiteatthe centre,a shadow suddenly sweptinfrombehind. Before she couldreact,a sharpblowstruckher back,sending hertumbling throughthe air. Shethought shewould plunge straight to the ground,but with franticflapping,she steadied herself.
Lookingup, shesaw thegoshawk that hadattacked her. It soared in awidearc,preparing to strike again. Norminaglanced toward thelanding site butrealisedshe wouldn’t make it before thehawkattacked again. Sheflewasfastasshe could, making sudden evasivemanoeuvrestoescape.
Theshadowswept in again, but this time Norminawas ready. At thelastmoment, shethrew herselfsharply to theleft. The hawk missed her by ahairbut snaggedher rightwingwithone claw,throwingher violentlyintoa spinning motion.She lost her
bearings andpanic setin, as though shewerea pigeon in both body andmind.
Desperately, shesearchedfor thelanding site.The hawk was relentless,circlingbackfor anotherattack.Normina darted left andright,folding herwings to dive andflapping hard to gain height.She washolding on butgrowing tired.
Arvan– give it up,she thoughtinfrustration.Ifit’syou,that’s enough –itisyou,isn’t it?
Awaveofirritationswept throughher.The hawk struck again, butshe dodged in time.
Afteroverten minutesoffrantic evasivemanoeuvresand closecalls,she finallyreached thelanding site.She divedunder theprotectiveroofofthe Avatar Centre,panting heavily, trying to regain hercomposure.Itrequiredconsiderabletimeuntil she wasabletoenter thetransferchamber to return to hernormal body.
Just as thechamber door closed,she caught sightofthe goshawklanding on anearbyplatform.
Arvan? shethought,her irritation flaringanew. You’ll payfor this.
Thepigeondisappeared.The re-transferringprocess began. For thenexthalfhour, Norminaexperienced howher humanbody regained itsplace in herconsciousness.Wings turned back to arms;the pigeon’s legs becameher own. In herface, thesensation of having abeakfaded,replacedbythe familiarityofa nose and mouth. Herbodygrewheavier.
It wasa peculiar experience,especiallynoticeablethistime, giventhe starkdifferences betweenher normal female body and thepigeon’s.
When theprocess wascomplete, sheawoke to thequiet hum of theavatarchair as it opened andreleasedher.She glanced around andwas surprisedtofindherself in herapartment again.
Aftera moment,she struggledtostand,and awaveofdizziness andexhaustionwashedoverher.
Sheextendedher limbsand pondered whetherthe bird’s aerial effort andits run-in with theraptormight transfer to her ownform. Sheshook herhead– no,thatisimpossible.
Still, shewas tired, almost unnaturallyso.
Shewalkedtothe window of thesalon andlookedout over thecity, 173 floors below.Itseemedwarmoutside.The airhad a hazy qualitythatcamewithheatand humidity.She realised she hadn’t noticedthe airtemperature during theflight.
Fora moment,she thoughtabout taking theliftdownto ground leveland stepping outsidetofeelthe warm,moist airon herskin. Butshe dismissedthe idea.These days,she rarely found areasontoleave thebuilding. Almost everything sheneeded waswithinits walls.
Sheturnedbacktowardthe apartment, intendingtoheadfor thekitchen fora cupoftea,whenthe apartment’sautomated system announced:
“Arvan is arriving in thelift.”
“Shouldwelet himin?”itadded,inits usualstiff,formal manner.
Thequestionirritated Normina, as it always did. “You should know that by now,”she snapped. “He’salwayswelcome.”
Shewas stillannoyed with him.The thoughtofbanning his entrycrossed hermind.
Afew minuteslater,Arvan steppedthrough theentrance.
“Arvan,you lunatic! What gotintoyou?” shemuttered, sighed.“Youalmostkilledme.”
Arvanpausedinthe hallway, surprisedbyher tone.But he didn’t lether frosty welcomediscouragehim.”Hey– Ijust wanted it to feel realistic,”hesaid, as if that explained everything.
”Realistic?” Norminafumed,shaking herarmsasthough trying to wake them up.“Andyou didn’t give up either.Were youhungryorwhat?”
Arvanshook hishead, lookingoffended.“Please,Normina –eatmybestfriend? Whodoyou take me for?”
“You were agoshawk!Maybe youforgotyourself...”
Arvanwaved.“Oh,comeon. You’re exaggerating.”
He strode to thekitchen table, pulledout achair,and sat down.Leaning forward, he rested hisarmsonthe tableand looked up at her.
“I just wanted to adda littleexcitement. Somethingnew.”
Norminastood still, watching himfor so long that Arvan squirmed.Heleanedback, crossedhis arms,and avoidedher gaze.
”There’s nothingwrong with that,isthere?Hey?” he said, trying to soundcasualbut expectingher to agree.
Norminasighedand droppedher sterngaze. “Sure– maybe. It was... interesting. Iguess we allwantsomething newnow and then.But does it have to be dangerous? Andbesides…” She hesitated, then movedtosit across from Arvanbeforecontinued. “Ifyou’resokeenondanger, whynot take risksyourselfinstead of putting others at risk?”
Arvanraisedhis handsina slow,placating gesture. “I think you’re overreacting.Inwhatway mightyou genuinelybein danger?You were sitting hereinyouravatarchair,safeinyour apartment. It wasjustyouravatarI attacked to make the experience believable.That’swhatweagreedon, wasn’t it? Hey?”
Norminagot up from herchair butstayedbythe table. “Yes,I know.But Igot scared.Terrified.AsifI were that pigeon.”
Sheturnedawayand walked to thekitchen’s serviceunit, retrieving cutleryand cups.“Wouldyou like acup of tea?”
“Sure,”Arvan said,relievedthatthe goshawkdiscussion seemed to be over.
“It’sstill amazing,”Normina said as shepreparedthe tea. “The avatarsare getting better. It feelslikeyou aretruly present within thebody.”
Arvan’svoice grew enthusiastic.“Perhaps we should trythat next time,” he said.
Norminaturned, surprisedbyhis tone.Ithad been alongtime sinceshe’d heardhim soundexcited aboutanything.
“You know,” Arvancontinued,“transferring into theavatar’s body.Reallybeing there. Transferring your ownconsciousness. That wouldbesomething.A wholenew level– don’tyou think?”
Norminastarted thekettleand considered hiswords.“That mightbetoo exciting,” shereplied. “And honestly –how much of adifferencewould it make?We’ve just seen howrealistic it alreadyfeels throughthe avatar’s sensors.”
“Well, younever know,” Arvansaid. “Wehaven’t triedityet. We don’tknowwhatit’sliketobeinanother body,toinhabit it. Notjustexperienceitthrough sensorsbut be it.Wouldn’tthatbe incredible?Hey?”
Norminareturnedwitha tray holdingtwo steamingcupsof tea. Sheset it down andsat across from him, herexpression worried.
”But isn’tthatunnecessarily risky?”she asked.
Arvanfrowned.“Howso?”
“I mean,” Norminasaid, “ifsomething goes wrongwithyour actual body whileyourconsciousness is in theavatar, youmight notsurvive.Itcould beirreversible. That’s toodangerous for me.”
Arvannodded. “True. It’s saferwithavatars.Nodoubt about that.But…well…”
Norminastudied himbut decidednot to askwhatthat“well” meant.
They sippedtheir teainsilence fora while.
“Let’s go down to TheNut on level100 fora drink,”Normina said.“We coulduse alittlecheeringup.”
”A
drink?
Whynot?”
Arvanreplied,thoughhis tone lacked enthusiasm.
They finished theirtea,stood up,and headed forthe lift. Norminarubbedher rightarm,which stillfeltstrangely sore.
This theme is alreadypresentinwhatisperhaps the world's oldest literary work, TheEpicofGilgamesh.In modernterms,itisexpressed,among otherthings, through trans-humanism,according to whichhumans, with the help of scienceand technology,will overcome death.
Normina's greatest fear is growingold and sick. Whenshe is offeredthe chance to gain eternallifebytransferringher consciousness to an artificial body,becominga cyborg,she takesthe opportunity,eventhough herbestfriendValeryis not offered thesamechance. Norminaistoo attractedbythe prospect of eternallifetorefuse, even though sheisbreakinga sacred promisethey madetoeachother:toalwaysstand by each other's side –for life.
In thesecretive Colony, which hidesfromthe rest of the worldbehindanelectronicsignal barrier, Evaand Adam live,longing forpermission tobecome parents. Evaisa priest in a congregationthatpractises itsbeliefina Creator andthe hopeofeternallifeafter death. Adam is a technicianand worksonmaintaining thesignal barrier.
Someone in Eva'scongregationspreads a myth about acitysomewhere outsidethe colony where people aresaidtoliveforever.The authoritiessuspect athreattothe security and community of the colony anddemandthatshe reveals who it is.Inreturn, theywillgrant permissiontohavethe long-awaited child.
But then Evamustbetrayher trustasa congregationleader.
A.T. Jonsson,bornin 1958 in asmall villagein the centralareas of Sweden, nowlives in Gävle,a city 180km northofStockholm. He worksasateacher at the University of Gävle, where he teachesdigital tools forvisualisation.
Besides novels,healso writes short stories. His writing often revolves around current social issues such as AI,DNA manipulation, andmore.
Read more on his blog atjonsson.com
