An unknown client contracted him to assassinate a quirky, unassuming middle-aged man with no apparent enemies and no violent tendencies. After the first attempt failed, the distraught hitman determined to learn what went wrong. During his covert discussions with his target, he hears an unusual story of astounding survival and astonishing physical endurance. How can one man survive so many attempts on his life? Is it a curse or a blessing? No matter how he tries, he cannot kill the Forever Man. An insightful short story.

In a utopian future, humanity divides itself into two kinds. A vast majority of citizens represent the first kind, and they are as physically flawless as they are psychologically perfect. Second-kind live apart, confined to the Deviant Compartment. They are the last damaged remnants of a primitive past defined by genetic ambiguity and reproductive anarchy. They are also humanity's last hope. Where "separate but equal" transforms from innocuous fringe slogan into accepted social norm, the resultant peace becomes a fatal disease of compromise and inadequacy.

In this version of the future, science has learned how to identify a propensity for violence within the human mind before it manifests as action, and the violent ones become targets for extermination. This is a humane, disciplined and well-intended social program and civilization expects its unfortunate recipients to make dutiful sacrifices. Unfortunately, this sort of person is not likely to go without a fight. In the not-so-distant future, violence among humankind is on its way out. Almost.