Artemis
Written on Jan 18, 2017
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Pia has always known her destiny. She is meant to start a new race, a line of descendants who will bring an end to death. She has been bred for no other purpose, genetically engineered to be immortal and raised by a team of scientists in a secret compound hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest. Now those scientists have begun to challenge her, with the goal of training her to carry on their dangerous work.
For as long as she can remember, Pia’s greatest desire has been to fulfill their expectations. But then one night she finds a hole in the impenetrable fence that surrounds her sterile home. Free in the jungle for the first time in her life, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Unable to resist, she continues sneaking out to see him. As they fall in love, they begin to piece together the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with nothing less than deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.
Origin is a beautifully told, electric new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever. But is eternal life worth living if you can’t spend it with the one you love?
Then I remember that I'm immortal and that my body doesn't work like everyone else's. Who knows if I even can feel love?See, humans aren't just made up of their physical manifestation. There are thoughts and emotions as well that contribute to who were as humans. Then there also comes the sadness of having to see more deaths in one life than anyone ever will:
For these mortal humans, birthdays are a kind of countdown to the end, the ticking clock of dwindling life. For me, birthdays are notches on an infinite timeline. Will I grow tired of parties one day? Will my birthday become meaningless?Reflections like these called into question the worth of being able to live forever. Instead of a victory, is it a curse more than anything else? At the same time, Pia's motivations are balanced against her reservations. She wants to live with others of her kind, so it's only natural that she aspires to be a scientist.
Wild Pia whispers that she has no intention of doing so, but I ignore her as best I can. She's brought me this far, and that is enough.
—ARC of Origin, Page 72