The world’s most powerful autocrats met, and hot mics caught a moment wherein the rulers discussed the prospect of living to 150 years old, thanks to advancements in organ transplant technology.
Comforting.
China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un gathered for a Beijing military parade intended to be a celebration of World War II. Still, it looked more like an authoritarian scare tactic to show the world that they’re big, tough boys.
Caught in a hot-mic moment during the Bond villain summit, Xi, Putin, and Kim were recorded casually discussing longevity like podcasters about to do an ad for chewable erectile dysfunction tablets. Xi kicked things off by musing that “people in their 70s are still young.” He and Putin are both 72, and neither has picked a successor. Wonder why. It’s a mystery.
Putin and Xi Were Accidentally Recorded Chatting About Living Forever
The chat took a sci-fi turn (and sparked the internet’s most conspiracy-minded weirdos) when Putin’s translator dropped this: “In a few years, with the development of biotechnology, human organs can be constantly transplanted so that (people) can live younger and younger, and even become immortal.”
Xi then claimed that one day, people may live to 150 in China. Presumably, that’s not just through kale smoothies and meditation, but via full-on organ swap-outs like you’re upgrading a PC’s video card.
The whole thing was a flex: China, Russia, and North Korea standing shoulder to shoulder in a geopolitical group photo that suggested that the trio wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
They also saw the moment was right for a dose of sci-fi conspiracy theory, so they sprinkled on a little playful immortality talk to immediately get people wondering if the three of them are planning to harvest replacement organs from clones. Even though it’s probably more realistic that they would get them from homeless people or criminals.
Is something like that even medically feasible right now? Probably not, according to the BBC’s Digital Health Editor, Michelle Roberts. It’s far too risky to go under the knife that has an entire organ constantly swapped out for another, without anyone noticing a long, conspicuous absence from the public eye.
And if cloning technology were so good as to be able to perfectly replicate full humans, or even just their organs, that’s usually not the kind of thing that is kept secret for very long.
In other words, these crazy old dudes were talking a bunch of crazy old dude bulls**t. And it makes sense—that’s what authoritarian leaders do best. We’re seeing it here in the United States right now. While these guys are just regurgitating a bunch of silly sci-fi nonsense, if they could rule eternally, they probably would.
Putin has legally cleared a path to stay in power until 2036. Xi abolished term limits in 2018, giving himself the green light to outlast the Great Wall if he so desired. Meanwhile, Kim, the youngest of the three at 41, walked with a young girl believed to be his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, a reminder that even if Kim dies, there’s a lush family tree waiting to take his place.
While Western democracies stress over term limits and elections, the world’s top strongmen are dreaming of eternal rule. Every day, we inch ever closer to living in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, just without all the orcs.
The post Hot Mic Catches Putin and Xi Talking About Organ Transplants and Immortality appeared first on VICE.
