Rich Living

In Short

This novella follows five individuals who travel to the planet Rejuvenal to reverse their biological aging. Through a process that restores youth at the rate of one year per day, the characters face the existential horror of devolving into childhood while stranded on a barren, high-gravity world. As their adult faculties fade, they must rely on recorded instructions to pilot a rescue craft. It is a spare, chilling work of classic science fiction that remains compelling for its unsentimental look at the greed and fear that drive humanity’s pursuit of longevity.

The Story

The narrative begins with Curtis Delman, a wealthy and elderly lawyer, completing his fourth journey to Rejuvenal. He is joined by four other passengers: the surly tycoon Walter Pellinger, the cynical criminal Jason Tarsh, an unassuming lottery winner named John Bridge, and the fading former stage star Gillian Murray. They arrive at a lonely research outpost on a small, purple-rocked planet where the gravity is crushing and the days are short.

The group is united by a single, desperate goal: to spend ninety days on the planet, shedding their decades to return to Earth as young, vibrant people. However, the plan goes catastrophically wrong when a supply ship attempting a landing is destroyed by a navigational error, resulting in an explosion that litters the runway with immovable, heavy debris. The survivors are effectively marooned, with their only hope for rescue being a single, damaged lifeboat stored in a hangar blocked by rubble they are physically too weak to clear.

As the weeks progress, the rejuvenation process takes hold. The characters grow younger, gaining vitality but losing the intellectual edge and life experience that allowed them to survive their earlier years. Pellinger, blinded by the physical changes to his eyes, eventually dies in a fall. John Bridge, the most innocent of the group, vanishes during the ship explosion. The remaining three—Delman, Murray, and Tarsh—work in a race against time, using their waning adult judgment to prepare for the day they will become children.

Delman, anticipating the loss of his adult mind, records a series of instructions on a device to guide their future selves in piloting the lifeboat. By the time they succeed in clearing the hangar and boarding the craft, they have effectively regressed to early childhood. Tarsh, now a helpless infant, is lost, leaving only Delman and Murray, both young children, to finish the mission. Guided by the booming, recorded voice of their older selves, the two children strap into the lifeboat, initiate the automatic flight sequence, and launch toward Earth, blissfully unaware of the lives they have left behind or the vast, empty universe they are crossing.

How It Unfolds

The arrival Curtis Delman and his four companions land at the remote, high-gravity outpost on Rejuvenal. They settle into the facility, waiting for their ninety-day cycle of rejuvenation to begin while discussing the heavy costs and motivations behind their quest.

The disaster An incoming supply ship crashes into the cliffside, showering the runway with dense, immovable rocks. The group realizes they are trapped, as the impact has cut them off from their only method of returning home.

The labor The survivors work to clear the wreckage, using their remaining adult strength to pry away slabs of rock. As the rejuvenation process continues, they find their physical strength and mental acuity declining, forcing them to prioritize immediate goals over their former careers and grudges.

The descent into childhood The group loses its members one by one as they physically revert to their youth. Delman records instructional tapes, attempting to preserve the logic of an adult mind for the children they are rapidly becoming.

The final launch Two young children, Delman and Murray, find themselves alone after the others have succumbed to the process. They board the lifeboat, following the recorded commands of their former adult selves to initiate the flight home, leaving their past identities behind forever.

The People

Curtis Delman is a powerful, aging lawyer who has spent his long life maneuvering through complex legal battles. He is the group’s de facto leader, possessed of enough foresight to record instructions for his future, childlike self.

Gillian Murray, once a celebrated star of the stage, is a withered woman who seeks to reclaim the beauty she lost decades ago. She eventually forms a tender, childlike bond with Delman as they both revert to their earliest years.

Walter Pellinger, a wealthy but cruel businessman, represents the cold, transactional nature of the elite. His arrogance is his undoing; blinded by his own physical changes, he proves unable to adapt to the group's dire circumstances.

Jason Tarsh is a ruthless criminal who uses his remaining time to mock the others, clinging to his cynicism until the very end. He ultimately regresses to infancy, becoming a weight that the others can no longer carry.

John Bridge, the only member of the group without a grand career, is a simple, good-natured man who won his passage in a lottery. He is the most human of the group, yet he is the first to be lost to the disaster.

In Its Own Voice

The lawyer reflects on the emptiness of his profession, where problems are created and solved solely for monetary gain.

"Complications are the bread and butter of my trade. We make them for money and we unravel them for more money."

Delman describes the ironic, hollow nature of the lives they have lived, characterized by the pursuit of wealth at the expense of genuine living.

"We are careers, not men and women! We don't enjoy life. We have neither the time nor the courage to enjoy it."

What It's Really About

The book explores the hollow pursuit of immortality and the loss of identity that comes with it. The central argument is that the characters are so consumed by the need to extend their existence that they have never actually lived. By trading their life experience for physical youth, they are forced to confront the fact that they have no foundation—no wisdom, no connections, and no true selves—to sustain them when their status and wealth are stripped away. It is a story about the tragedy of being "careers" rather than human beings, and the terrifying price of attempting to cheat the natural order of time.

Why Read It Today

This book is a fascinating artifact of mid-century science fiction that favors psychological tension over technical spectacle. Readers who enjoy stories that grapple with deep, philosophical questions—or who appreciate a narrative that follows its premise to a bleak, logical conclusion—will find this a deeply rewarding, if unsettling, experience.

It feels intimate and claustrophobic. The writing is precise, focusing on the sensory details of the purple planet and the physical sensations of losing one's grip on maturity. It is not an action-heavy adventure; rather, it is a slow-burn study of decay. Be prepared for a tone that is decidedly pessimistic about human nature; the characters are largely unlikable, driven by vanity and fear, and the author does not ask the reader to sympathize with their plight.

The text reflects the era in which it was written, occasionally employing period-specific terminology or attitudes, but the core theme—the anxiety of aging and the desperation of the wealthy to preserve themselves—is timeless. It is a quick, impactful read that stays with you, not for its grand scale, but for the haunting image of two children floating through the cosmos, blindly following the commands of a version of themselves that no longer exists.