indefinitelived

Indefinitelived is a coined term used to describe beings whose life spans are not fixed by biology and may extend indefinitely through external means. It denotes potential unbounded duration rather than guaranteed eternity, and typically implies that survival depends on ongoing technologies, resources, or processes. The concept is often encountered in science fiction, futurist discourse, and worldbuilding, where characters or entities maintain life through interventions beyond natural aging.

Etymology and usage: The word fuses indefinite and lived; it is an informal neologism with no single canonical definition. It is used as both an adjective and a noun. Mechanisms associated with indefinitelived status include regenerative medicine, periodic rejuvenation, organ replacement, cryonics, and, in some narratives, mind uploading or digital consciousness preservation. Indefinitelived beings may experience continuity of identity, memory, and agency, but their existence is contingent on the functioning of technology and institutions that sustain them.

Compared with immortality, indefinitelived status implies conditional, potentially terminable existence; it raises ethical considerations around inequality, resource distribution, and governance of longevity technologies. In fiction and theory, the term helps explore themes of dependency, social stratification, and the fragility of life even amid powerful survival mechanisms. See also immortality, longevity, mind uploading, digital immortality, cryonics.