The Epicureans defended themselves against the inevitable death with a simple sophistic equation: “Death and I have nothing in common. Where I am, it is not, where it is, I am not.” In the final sense, the epilogue is nevertheless indefensible. Aphoristic wit perhaps makes the anticipation of the inevitable more exciting.
Timor mortis is an indescribably strong feeling in those special exceptions who have gained unlimited power over people and things. Death annuls the existence of a being, completely, irrevocably and forever. So says the French philosopher Vladimir Yankelevich in his book with the prophetic title: Death. Orthodoxy promises eternal life, but through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. One day all the dead will be on their feet.
But it is not easy to wait for that day in the embrace of earth or ashes. Where would all those former people go when they return? There is a place for everyone in heaven and on earth, as for whom. All souls will see themselves from the time when they were bodies and will be together again with all those who have come to life.
Those who have absolute power and everything they don't need and can kill tens of thousands of people without feeling guilty and without worrying about their resurrection - do not like the possibility of a replay after rot and decay. They want to continue what they are without a break, to infinity. So if eternity has an end, they will somehow comply.
During a short walk to the parade grounds in Beijing, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un talked about immortality. Looking around them, the terrifying splendor of the Chinese war machine, the power of subjugation, and their superhuman mission, they thought about how much time they still had.
Of course, whatever is left, however little, is almost nothing. And dead emperors are a bizarre image of finality. So Xi draws a parallel with 70-year-olds today and in past times. Back then, they were truly dying people, powerless specimens on the way out, says the intellectual heir to Confucius. And now, seventy-year-olds are young people, looking like children compared to their ancestors. Soon, the human lifespan will reach 150 vital years. At least. Xi used Mandarin, two translators conveyed to Putin and Kim the idea of 70-year-old boys who reach sexual maturity at ninety. They were condensed translations, but Putin understood the essence. As did Kim.
Then Putin said: today medicine has come a long way, its possibilities are unfathomable. There are many secrets there. But with scientists and technological advances and the replacement of worn-out organs, 150 years is nothing. Life will become unlimited, and people (who would receive replaceable organs) will be practically immortal.
Kim was silent and smiling. In his country, it is already believed that he is immortal. His father and grandfather were immortal. Stalin was also immortal until 1953, and as soon as he died, a fight for power began. The day before the funeral, Khrushchev, with the help of Zhukov and after a brutal trial, organized the swift execution of Lavrenty Beria, convinced that he was the only pretender to the throne.
Absolute power carries not only the illusion of eternity, but also many sudden deaths. But for those who rule for a long time, the fear of the disappearance of earthly heaven or hell is stronger than anything. Putin has revived both Stalin and his KGB, but there is no hope that Khazyayin will return and restore the reign of terror. Putin has done it.
What Xi Jinping has done to physically and aesthetically renovate himself is not entirely clear. Putin has been given a completely new face, perhaps intended to hide his original physiognomy. But deep cosmetic surgery and generous doses of botulinum toxin, which give the once human face an unfamiliar shape, are not all that Vladimirovich wants in his renovation.
He has said his piece: he hopes it is possible to live indefinitely and reign for life.
The puzzle of what the wise men who have complete power over billions of people are even saying when they walk down the street like the rest of the world is resolved, at least partially, by a glimpse into the absurdity of their fantastical lines. Nothing but trivial thoughts born in nightmares about the end, no matter how long the divine age lasts. Talk of a life of 150 years or of organ replacement is just a utopian postponement of the inevitable. Death is quite ugly, especially where it takes away so much of the unbridled power over people. But they sincerely hope for a miracle that will keep them where they are, as long as they want.
“Man is deeply aware of his finitude,” says Yankelevich. “But deep down, every mortal believes that he could be the exception.”
The local dahlia, like a third-rate visitor to a Chinese military parade, was not worthy of such an important topic. He walked somewhere far away, at the back, arranged according to insignificance.
He didn't even need to participate in that discussion of powerful dictators about organ replacement. As fat, evil, flabby, ugly and unnecessary as he is, he is already eternal and it is almost impossible to imagine a time when he will be gone.
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