# How would an immortal human remain undetected in modern society? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 26, 2002, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954 "2002-12-26T09:14:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/1 "2002-12-26T09:14:21Z")
(Mods: I couldn’t decide if this belonged here or in MPSIMS. Move if you feel like it.) I was thinking idly one day about one question that’s been addressed occasionally in the Highlander, Buffy, and Sandman franchises: how would an Immortal or vampire, a human-like being who lives forever and never ages, survive from generation to generation? This is an especially sticky prospect in modern society, with its interconnectedness, historical access, and constant demand for identification. So, Dopers, how do you think such a person/being would do it? What foundations, if any, would (s)he have had to set in ages past? Obviously, (s)he could just live like a hermit in Alaska or Canada or whatever all that time, but the question becomes kind of meaningless without assuming that this person wouldn’t want SOME kind of contact with the outside world. Just an idle question… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/2 "2002-12-26T10:26:47Z")
Well, no-one’s caught me yet. I’d say it was relatively easy up until 1950 or so when industrialized nations started keeping detailed records. An immortal could still hang out in parts of Asia, Africa and South America, or jsut isolate himself in some quiet part of Canada or Australia. It helps to be wealthy and willing to bribe certain public officials. Get a country registrar in your pocket once a generation and you can dummy up as many records as you need. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/3 "2002-12-26T10:32:23Z")
It would in fact be ridiculously easy I suspect. With great age should come great wealth unless the individual is particularly stupid or spendthrift. There are a great many nations on this planet where the administration is corrupt enough to provide fake identification, including passports. For a few thousand dollars I’m sure you could get a Zimbawean or Indonesian passport that would allow you to gain entry to the US on a visitors visa. AFAIK so long as you don’t work and take jobs off locals you can stay almost indefinitely. Simply buy a new passport every few decades and your problem is solved until international check-ins start to require DNA or fingerprint checks. If you wished to be more ambitious you could arrange to adopt the identity of a person born a US citizen who has been OS for a few decades and has no intention of returning home. Give them a few million to set up a comfortable lifestyle wherever they currently are and simply assume their identity. After all the identification for a passport application is just easily forged paper and no one is going to be lookng for you. The only real problem I can see is that you would need to move around a bit. Associates will notice that you don’t age over 10 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/4 "2002-12-26T10:32:30Z")
I strongly agree with Bryan Ekers, bravo. Sheer brill my friend. Yet, what if this “being” was from a vastly high-technologized civilization that they \knew\ how to escape all of the societies threats and harm. And in the end succeed in being isolated from all “inferior”. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/5 "2002-12-26T11:44:34Z")
Be independently wealthy. Move a lot. Maintain a low profile. Live a (relatively) lonely life. It worked for the main character in Christopher Pike’s _The Last Vampire_ series. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/6 "2002-12-26T11:48:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AudreyK \* > It worked for the main character in Christopher Pike’s _The Last Vampire_ series. Wow, how did he write a series while stuck in that wierd wheelchair? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/7 "2002-12-26T12:33:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*Wow, how did he write a series while stuck in that wierd wheelchair? \*\* Yep. All that beeping drove his transcribers nuts, though. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/8 "2002-12-26T13:23:15Z")
I had no idea what you guys were talking about, so I Googled. Shoulda known it was a Trekkie thing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/9 "2002-12-26T16:36:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Wow, how did he write a series while stuck in that wierd wheelchair? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/10 "2002-12-26T16:43:06Z")
The moving around aspect is key. If a person stays in one place for too long and doesn’t age, people will start to notice. Of course, skill with makeup would help too. I think it’s also important to consider that most people wouldn’t believe somebody was immortal, so they would tend to regard things like unusual birth certificate dates as errors or lame fraud attempts. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/11 "2002-12-26T17:19:01Z")
invisibility ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/12 "2002-12-26T17:28:42Z")
Depends on what you want to do. You can buy a small island and live like a king. Just remember to fire all your employees on the island every 2-3 years and hire a new bunch. Or, if you prefer, buy a large plot of land and build a castle. The only trouble you will have is when you need to travel legally between countries. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/13 "2002-12-26T17:35:03Z")
I’d suggest a better approach would be to live as anonymously as possible in a large city, in an area with a largely transient population. Own as little as possible. Pay cash. Over time, I would expect some curious person to inquire why that palace/island hasn’t changed hands in recorded history. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/14 "2002-12-26T17:45:08Z")
And don’t murder anyone. Imagine getting a life sentence. ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/15 "2002-12-26T17:50:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > **The moving around aspect is key. If a person stays in one place for too long and doesn’t age, people will start to notice.** A good guideline is to don’t try to string it out as long as Dick Clark. Now there’s an immortal who’s really pushing the enevelope. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/16 "2002-12-26T17:55:04Z")
Also, either become an expert hacker or employ them. That way accessing government files and changing birth certificates/s.s. numbers etc., is much easier. Or become a government agent. Do Not try to rule the world. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/17 "2002-12-26T19:02:08Z")
Somebody rent _The Picture of Dorian Grey_ and let us know how he did it. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/18 "2002-12-26T19:48:26Z")
Keep changing your data every 30 years. It doesn’t seem to be impossible to get new documents through underground channels. Be careful where you move around, and keep a low profile. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/19 "2002-12-26T20:19:44Z")
Assuming you look middle aged - you could stay in one place a lot longer than ten years - possibly as many as 30 - you’d be an old looking 25 and a young looking 55 - and always vague on your age in conversation. Then you “retire early,” move and take on a new identity somewhere else. I think moving less often would be more sensible - less opportunity to get caught during the risky “taking a new identity” phase, more opportunity to build resources (wealth, connections) with each identity. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954/20 "2002-12-26T20:23:25Z")
I know from seeing the Twilight Zone episode on this subject, the key is to avoid having your picture taken. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-immortal-human-remain-undetected-in-modern-society/144954.md?page=2)