I write about immortals, so I think about things that might affect them. My characters often do daredevil things that mortals wouldn’t dream of doing, such as walk toward someone who’s shooting at them. Superman much?
That made me start wondering what I would do if I knew I wouldn’t die? I might be quite daring. I might even take financial risks if I knew I’d recoup my losses and not die penniless. No — none of that is true. I’m a scaredy cat. :) But I live a vicarious daredevil life through my immortals.
My daredevil immortals would try…
An Immortal’s Guide to Tarth
Dancing on a rooftop during a thunderstorm.
Fire walking — the act of walking barefoot over a bed of hot embers or stones (my immortals can only die permanently from fire, being vaporized, or completely torn to pieces.
Parasailing — being towed behind a boat or other vehicle while attached to an oversized kite.
Skydiving – jumping out of a perfectly good airplane — on purpose.
Bungee jumping — jumping off something high while tied by the ankles to a springy tube.
Glacier Surfing – wait for a chunk of a glacier to break off, and then ride a surfboard along the wave it kicks up.
Mountain climbing – especially mountains like Everest, K2, and any place where you hang upside down while clinging to rocks with your fingertips.
Extreme Surfing – you have to be especially crazy to be towed out to the biggest waves.
Anything having to do with bulls — riding, running, fighting, etc.
BASE jumping (Buildings, Antennas, Spans, or Earth) which in some circles is called “attempted suicide”.
Storm chasing – find a tornado or other storm to follow and get as close as possible to watch or record it.
In the Tarthian Empire, there’s a sport called Ruckball. It’s played on a low gravity field and is a cross between soccer, football, and wrestling. Not for the faint of heart even to watch!
Finally, a sport I can’t imagine any sane person doing in any empire: cave diving. First you have to scuba dive down to the cave, then swim around in it without getting lost or running out of air. If the lights go out, you can’t even see. Who is crazy enough to do that?
Even if I was immortal I don’t think I’d try any of these, because they all tend to freak me out. I am NOT a daredevil. I play it safe. What would be on your list if you were immortal? How much of a daredevil are you? Which of these sports have you tried? Share it in the comments.
