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CIRCLE WITH A DOT

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  3. Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

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  • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

    Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

    In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

    acb@mastodon.socialA This user is from outside of this forum
    acb@mastodon.socialA This user is from outside of this forum
    acb@mastodon.social
    wrote last edited by
    #9

    @cstross K.W. Jeter did something similar in “Noir”

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

      Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

      In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

      sabik@rants.auS This user is from outside of this forum
      sabik@rants.auS This user is from outside of this forum
      sabik@rants.au
      wrote last edited by
      #10

      @cstross
      Ghosts with unfinished business... literally

      A director can't pass on until replaced at the next AGM

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

        Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

        In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

        infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
        infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
        infoseepage@mastodon.social
        wrote last edited by
        #11

        @cstross Tangentially related, what if a practical cure for aging was discovered? There is a novel called The Postmortal which imagines the many dystopian aspects of never dying.

        Richard K Morgan's Altered Carbon series imagines immortality via mind uploading and body swapping tech as technologies which demonstrably have lead to the end of alien civilizations but which humans just can't resist.

        infoseepage@mastodon.socialI cstross@wandering.shopC 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

          Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

          In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

          thetomas@social.toot9.deT This user is from outside of this forum
          thetomas@social.toot9.deT This user is from outside of this forum
          thetomas@social.toot9.de
          wrote last edited by
          #12

          @cstross ah you're talking about 100year copyright protection rights?

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • infoseepage@mastodon.socialI infoseepage@mastodon.social

            @cstross Tangentially related, what if a practical cure for aging was discovered? There is a novel called The Postmortal which imagines the many dystopian aspects of never dying.

            Richard K Morgan's Altered Carbon series imagines immortality via mind uploading and body swapping tech as technologies which demonstrably have lead to the end of alien civilizations but which humans just can't resist.

            infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
            infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
            infoseepage@mastodon.social
            wrote last edited by
            #13

            @cstross Both have the idea of immortality as a sort of cultural trap with the potential for permanent underclasses and rulling classes and horrifically long term contracts.

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

              Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

              In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

              pionir@masto.bikeP This user is from outside of this forum
              pionir@masto.bikeP This user is from outside of this forum
              pionir@masto.bike
              wrote last edited by
              #14

              @cstross

              Sounds a bit like Jack Gilmour

              Link Preview Image
              Wish Lawyer: Law is Hell Series by Ed Ryder

              Jack Gilmour (Wish Lawyer: Law is Hell #1) and Demons in the Details (Wish Lawyer: Law is Hell #2)

              favicon

              (www.goodreads.com)

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

                In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

                wiredfool@fosstodon.orgW This user is from outside of this forum
                wiredfool@fosstodon.orgW This user is from outside of this forum
                wiredfool@fosstodon.org
                wrote last edited by
                #15

                @cstross Sounds a bit like some of Max Gladstones work.

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • leyrer@23.socialL leyrer@23.social

                  @cstross your brain wouldn't stop, throwing ideass at you, would it?

                  towo@chaos.socialT This user is from outside of this forum
                  towo@chaos.socialT This user is from outside of this forum
                  towo@chaos.social
                  wrote last edited by
                  #16

                  @leyrer
                  Sometimes it's just @foone being a muse: https://wandering.shop/@cstross/116108084351760427
                  @cstross

                  leyrer@23.socialL 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                    Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

                    In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

                    molosovsky@literatur.socialM This user is from outside of this forum
                    molosovsky@literatur.socialM This user is from outside of this forum
                    molosovsky@literatur.social
                    wrote last edited by
                    #17

                    @cstross See real world demonology and immortality. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juridical_person

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • towo@chaos.socialT towo@chaos.social

                      @leyrer
                      Sometimes it's just @foone being a muse: https://wandering.shop/@cstross/116108084351760427
                      @cstross

                      leyrer@23.socialL This user is from outside of this forum
                      leyrer@23.socialL This user is from outside of this forum
                      leyrer@23.social
                      wrote last edited by
                      #18

                      @towo I saw that 😄

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • moira@mastodon.murkworks.netM moira@mastodon.murkworks.net

                        @cstross in other words, scientology?

                        xchaos@f.czX This user is from outside of this forum
                        xchaos@f.czX This user is from outside of this forum
                        xchaos@f.cz
                        wrote last edited by
                        #19

                        @moira @cstross Actually, almost exactly this idea is behind evolution of term "debt" from "sin". If you read Graeber's Debt: The First 5,000 Years, you kind of feel, that the religions originated exactly from such concept.

                        martinvermeer@fediscience.orgM 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                          Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

                          In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

                          marcoxa@mastodon.socialM This user is from outside of this forum
                          marcoxa@mastodon.socialM This user is from outside of this forum
                          marcoxa@mastodon.social
                          wrote last edited by
                          #20

                          @cstross may I suggest Katarina Pistor's "The Code of Capital"?

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                            Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

                            In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

                            xinit@mastodon.coffeeX This user is from outside of this forum
                            xinit@mastodon.coffeeX This user is from outside of this forum
                            xinit@mastodon.coffee
                            wrote last edited by
                            #21

                            @cstross
                            That feels familiar, but not sure why. Maybe a short story from some anthology, or something Deathy from Terry Pratchett or Piers Anthony or what's his name that did Sandman.

                            geeksam@ruby.socialG 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                              Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

                              In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

                              wolf_baginski@meow.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                              wolf_baginski@meow.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                              wolf_baginski@meow.social
                              wrote last edited by
                              #22

                              @cstross

                              Driven a little bit by personal experience, would these particular Contract Lawyers be Barristers? I had to pay one for specialised legal advice, not for representation in court.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                                Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

                                In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

                                seachaint@masto.hackers.townS This user is from outside of this forum
                                seachaint@masto.hackers.townS This user is from outside of this forum
                                seachaint@masto.hackers.town
                                wrote last edited by
                                #23

                                @cstross If you haven't yet seen the show "Extraordinary", it's a must watch. There's a character in it who can do séance-style summonings of the dead, so of course her job is to work with lawyers untangling wills and titles 🙂

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • infoseepage@mastodon.socialI infoseepage@mastodon.social

                                  @cstross Tangentially related, what if a practical cure for aging was discovered? There is a novel called The Postmortal which imagines the many dystopian aspects of never dying.

                                  Richard K Morgan's Altered Carbon series imagines immortality via mind uploading and body swapping tech as technologies which demonstrably have lead to the end of alien civilizations but which humans just can't resist.

                                  cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                  cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                  cstross@wandering.shop
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #24

                                  @Infoseepage Ssh, that might be a spoiler for the novel I just finished …!

                                  infoseepage@mastodon.socialI 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                                    @Infoseepage Ssh, that might be a spoiler for the novel I just finished …!

                                    infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
                                    infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
                                    infoseepage@mastodon.social
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #25

                                    @cstross Immortality as a product/treatment is anything new for SciFi. It's been providing rich fodder for authors for decades upon decades of speculation on the perverse shapes civilizations with access to such technology might take. You've got books like Vance's To Live Forever and Sheckley's Immortality, Inc. going back to the 1950's. Personal favorites growing up are Haldeman's Buying Time and Boat of a Million Years.

                                    infoseepage@mastodon.socialI cstross@wandering.shopC 2 Replies Last reply
                                    0
                                    • infoseepage@mastodon.socialI infoseepage@mastodon.social

                                      @cstross Immortality as a product/treatment is anything new for SciFi. It's been providing rich fodder for authors for decades upon decades of speculation on the perverse shapes civilizations with access to such technology might take. You've got books like Vance's To Live Forever and Sheckley's Immortality, Inc. going back to the 1950's. Personal favorites growing up are Haldeman's Buying Time and Boat of a Million Years.

                                      infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
                                      infoseepage@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
                                      infoseepage@mastodon.social
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #26

                                      @cstross Lately, caught a few episodes of The Beauty, which is about a lab created immortality virus which gets loose, mutates and is sexually transmissible. It radically reshapes individuals for youth, health and beauty, but comes with a ticking time bomb of spontaneous combustion within a few years of infection unless you get an expensive suppressive shot. Sort of the ultimate in "the first one is always free" perpetual rent seeking.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • infoseepage@mastodon.socialI infoseepage@mastodon.social

                                        @cstross Immortality as a product/treatment is anything new for SciFi. It's been providing rich fodder for authors for decades upon decades of speculation on the perverse shapes civilizations with access to such technology might take. You've got books like Vance's To Live Forever and Sheckley's Immortality, Inc. going back to the 1950's. Personal favorites growing up are Haldeman's Buying Time and Boat of a Million Years.

                                        cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                        cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                        cstross@wandering.shop
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #27

                                        @Infoseepage You haven't read my SF, have you? (Hint: try "Glasshouse".)

                                        infoseepage@mastodon.socialI 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                                          Mad fantasy-fic idea: what if even death is no escape from the law, and contracts signed in life remain binding after shuffling off this mortal coil?

                                          In this setting, all contract lawyers are necromancers. A zombie is what you get when an undischarged bankrupt dies. And so on.

                                          highlandlawyer@mastodon.socialH This user is from outside of this forum
                                          highlandlawyer@mastodon.socialH This user is from outside of this forum
                                          highlandlawyer@mastodon.social
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #28

                                          @cstross
                                          Tales from the Black Chamber

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