C.E. Holden

Becoming More of Less

Book One of the Becoming More of Less trilogy

Human society collapsed because of a dog.

In 2030, an ordinary woman in New Jersey wants her beloved chihuahua-terrier mix to live a little longer. She isn't a scientist. She researches herbs on the internet, feeds her dog a monthly cocktail with cheese, and the dog lives to 20. Then 25. Then 40. By the time scientists trace the crisis back to her, a longevity prion has crossed from the dog to wildlife to humans — and humanity has accidentally stumbled onto the thing it has dreamed about for all of recorded history: a doubled lifespan.

But the prion does not stop spreading — and it does not stop with humans. Decomposers live too long to do their work. Nothing dies properly, so nothing can truly live. As the planet’s metabolic cycle breaks, the question of who deserves more time becomes the only question that matters. Every faction reaching for more — more years, more children, more life — ends up with less of what made those things worth wanting.