Plenty of immortality

Welcome to the Institute for Immortality Research! You, the audience, are the key test subjects for the immortality experiment. Do you have any reservations? Too late – based on the parameters collected, you have already been assigned to a specific test group. The experiment is underway. In the research laboratory, the scientists are preparing everything for the attainment of immortality. The immortal HeLa cell line, discovered in 1951 and derived from the cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks, is at the heart of the research. Minnie and Mary, two laboratory assistants, are, however, plagued by pangs of conscience. Are these cell samples under their microscopes merely material, or do they contain real human destinies? As the cells divide endlessly, so too do their doubts about the legitimacy of their research grow. Another research approach is explored in MARV, the digital clone of a deceased woman. Among the deceased woman’s acquaintances, however, the clone causes confusion and turns previously accepted concepts of identity on their head. And so a macabre game between life and death unfolds throughout the institute. A massive energy discharge experiment is set to mark the start of the final phase of the experiment, but suddenly ancient deities make their presence felt, throwing the order back into (dis)balance. Much remains obscure in the laboratories of immortality, where profit, hubris and personal motives intermingle with humanity’s oldest fears and longings. Dear test subjects, should you find yourselves feeling immortal at the end of it all, please do get in touch!