Who

“How do people earn immortality? How do you decide who becomes immortal?”, I asked.
“There are several initial qualifications to become a member of our club.”, he said.
“First, There must be some type of recognized accomplishment. On top of being extremely wealthy, the individual must have achieved something, built an industry, solved a major problem, adjusted rules of the game so it functions better for us. In the process, this individual would work their way into a position of power and wealth.”
“So rich and famous people can become immortal?”, I responded.
“Wealthy, yes, not necessarily famous. There are many of us who work behind the scenes to maintain wealth and power for all of our kind.” After a slight pause he continued, “Wealth, while it is an absolute requirement, is not the only factor we consider. Each one of us has proven in life that we can do what it takes to protect society, and promote our place in the world. We are lawyers, corporate and military leaders, politicians, some celebrities. We do not become immortal just for being wealthy, but it is an important factor in the decision. If an individual is successful, they will become wealthy, and members of the club are all hand selected from among the wealthiest members of society.”
“Why wealth?”, i asked.
“Wealth is a measure of ambition, responsibility, and achievement. Only wealthy people can become immortal, because they have proven themselves to be of superior breeding. Either they are from a superior family or they have worked their way into a position of power. However, they still have to prove they don’t have unwanted motivations. For example, Some people in power still have sympathy for the consumers, and that does not sit well for our efforts. Consumers are inferior beings. They lack the ambition, drive, and intelligence to become members of our club. Empathy and compassion are weaknesses, which are inherent in their breeding. Consumers are only useful as slaves. For centuries, our culture and breeding practices have kept us separated from inferior people. We have intentionally bred ourselves to be superior in every way.”
I just thought, wow, what disdain for most of humanity. The more he talked the crazier it all sounded. How could they believe such things?.
“Isn’t that a bit egotistical?”, I said more than asked.
“You say egotistical like it's a bad thing. Some people call us greedy, but greed is taking more than your fair share. We manage everything. We are responsible for everyone in society. We only take our due for those services we provide. Consumers only have what we have given them. Our fair share happens to be much larger than the average consumer.”
“Other people call us sociopaths, psychopaths, or narcissists, but they are just ignorant or jealous. We know how to play the game and win. We are not burdened by thoughts of guilt or responsibility toward other humans. We don’t share what we have worked for with those who refuse to work for themselves. We care little for the consumers, who cannot make their own lives better. They are like animals to us, livestock, just another inferior species.
“If an individual is deserving and was not born into wealth, they will first become wealthy through their own volition. They will then show their understanding of their position in the world and make the changes required to promote the game. They will promote the individualism of the future and renounce the collectivism of the past.”
This was all a lot to take in. we all suspect that the rich people believe these things, but I was being told from one of them without shame or diversion. I wanted to hear what else he had to say. I was not sure we could continue this type of conversation.
“How do you know you are superior?”
“Throughout nature, predatory animals sit on top of the food chain. They are the apex of evolution. Surviving by culling the weaker animals from the herds. They remove the weak so that the strong can survive. Predators manage ecosystems with their self interest. We are the alpha species. Humans are the top predator of the entire planet. Even among ourselves we manage humanity, cull the weak, and favor the strong. It is the natural order of life. Empathy and compassion destroy the natural dynamic of life, they favor the weak and diminish the power of the strong.
His words made me feel very uncomfortable. Not just because his rhetoric sounded like a fascist who was justifying exterminating large groups of people, but because the things I had learned in college explicitly countered what he said.
Humans are not predators, we evolved as scavengers. Hunting was never a primary source of food. It supplemented gathering in times of scarcity. Scavenging was the primary mode of human existence until agriculture and the rise of civilizations, where hunting became a sport of the elite classes, often becoming illegal for the lower classes. Empathy and compassion are necessary traits for human existence. Without them, human society would built on violence and oppression.