Description:

Immortality is just a dream, but with the Scheffing process, the extremely wealthy can purchase the next best thing. For an exorbitant fee, the Scheffing Institute will make a copy of your mind's persona, hold it in storage until death, then transplant it into sublayers of the brain of a willing--& paying--host. The result for the host is immediate access to the persona's memories, knowledge, experiences & judgment. For the persona, it means full consciousness & thought-communication with the host, but without physical control of the host's body. When this futuristic tale unfolds, the brilliant, powerful multi-billionaire Paul Kaufmann has been dead for months. Institute administrator Francesco Santoliquido must make the decision of assigning Kaufmann's persona to a compatible host. With a personality as strong as Kaufmann, Santoliquido must be wary of the chance that the persona could take over the host's body--known as "going dybbuk." The only two men strong enough to control Kaufmann's persona are the ones who could benefit from it the most: Paul's nephew & current executor of the Kaufmann empire, Mark Kaufmann--& Mark's primary business rival, John Roditis of Roditis Securities. A secret struggle for possession of Kaufmann's persona takes an unexpected turn when Mark's 16-year-old daughter Risa gets involved.

Two enthralling novels by Robert Silverberg about a future in which the minds of the living can be changed for a price—often with dire consequences

In To Live Again, thanks to the Scheffing Institute, death is not the end. For a hefty fee, the soul bank stores the personas of those who have died and inserts them into the brains of willing, living hosts. It’s a process that integrates the two minds, imbuing the host with a menu of highly valuable abilities, memories, and traits. The more personas one absorbs, the greater his social status. When banking mogul Paul Kaufmann dies, many people apply to receive his persona. The leading applicants—his bitter business rivals—are locked in a battle to claim his soul. The Institute follows strict rules to ensure that the host always remains in control, but of course accidents do happen . . . In The Second Trip , Paul Macy wears the Rehab badge, the sign of healing that advertises his status as a reconstruct job. When society derides capital punishment and opts, instead, for personality rehabilitation, criminals undergo mindpick operations in which their identities are stripped and extinguished. Given a new bank of memories and a fresh identity, they are offered a second chance at life. For Paul, though, this gift comes with a price. His former self still lingers inside him, waiting for the opportunity to emerge and battle Paul’s new self for ultimate control. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Robert Silverberg including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.