Novel: Immortality, Inc.

Premise
Thomas Blaine is a down-on-his-luck man from the mid-20th century who dies and awakens in a richly imagined future where death has become a commercial commodity. His consciousness is resurrected and placed into a different body by an organization that trades in life extension and identity transfers. The shock of time travel is compounded by the realization that the future's social order treats personality, memory and mortality as items to be bought, sold and insured.
The novel juxtaposes the bewildered, often cynical perspective of a man from the past with a satirical, sometimes darkly comic vision of the 22nd century. Strange technologies, unfamiliar mores and a marketplace of immortal selves form the immediate obstacles Blaine must face as he tries to reclaim agency over his fate.

Plot overview
Blaine's arrival in the future plunges him into a bureaucracy where his rights, name and history have been negotiated by companies and heirs. He learns that his resurrection comes with strings: a host body that belongs to someone else's estate, debts to the firms that financed the transfer, and social expectations he scarcely understands. As he explores the city, he encounters a variety of future citizens, some charming, some predatory, all of whom reveal different facets of a society that has learned to postpone death but not to solve loneliness, inequality or moral confusion.
Confrontations with corporate representatives and philosophical debates about identity drive much of the action. Blaine finds himself drawn into schemes that test whether a person's essence is the continuity of memory, the biological shell, or the legal identity stamped by society. Romance and betrayal figure into his choices, forcing him to confront what he values most: comfort and safety in a borrowed life, or authenticity even if it means risking everything.

Major characters
Thomas Blaine anchors the story as a pragmatic, world-weary protagonist whose earthy voice highlights the absurdities of the future he must navigate. Supporting figures represent competing responses to immortality: entrepreneurs who commodify life, idealists who resent commodification, and ordinary people who have adapted to a world where second chances are marketable.
Romantic and adversarial relationships complicate Blaine's attempts to build a life. Allies help him understand and exploit future systems, while opponents manipulate those systems for power and profit. The cast functions less as fully drawn individuals than as embodiments of the novel's central questions about selfhood, ethics and social order.

Themes and tone
At its core, the novel interrogates identity and the social consequences of technologies that separate consciousness from biological continuity. It satirizes corporate control and the hollow comforts of a consumer culture extended across centuries. Questions about what constitutes a "self", whether a ledger of memories, a legal persona, or a living body, are played out against witty, often sardonic dialogue and situational comedy that shades into moral unease.
The tone balances brisk, accessible adventure with philosophical reflection. Humor lightens scenes of bureaucratic absurdity, but a persistent unease about commodified existence ensures the satire bites. Ethical dilemmas about exploitation, consent and the unequal distribution of longevity remain central and unresolved, prompting readers to consider the costs of living forever when immortality is marketed rather than shared.

Legacy and impact
The novel stands as a hallmark of mid-20th-century science fiction that blends speculative invention with social critique. Its combination of a fish-out-of-water protagonist and biting satire influenced later treatments of body-swapping, life extension and corporate dystopia. The story's questions about identity and the commercialization of human life remain resonant in contemporary debates about biotechnology and digital personhood, keeping its speculative punch relevant decades after its first appearance.