Editing Lazarus Long (section)

== ''Methuselah's Children'' ==
When the character of Lazarus Long is introduced in ''[[Methuselah's Children]]'', he is 213 years old, and the breeding experiment that created the [[Howard families|Howard Families]] has proven to be a success, with most "Howards" enjoying a lifespan of approximately 150 years and changing identities periodically to conceal their long lifespans. Ten percent of them have elected to end "The Masquerade" and live publicly, with the approval of the Howard Foundation, but this process has backfired.

The general public of Earth, once exposed to the Howards' lifespan, believes incorrectly that the Howards have discovered an anti-aging process that they are choosing to conceal, and come to resent them. [[Civil liberty|Civil liberties]] applied to the Howards are suspended and, with the exception of Lazarus, the entire membership of the Howard Families is detained.

With the aid of the elected head of the world government, Slayton Ford, Lazarus hijacks the ''New Frontiers'', a starship designed to travel to distant stars, and liberates the Howards. While the ''New Frontiers'' was designed to sustain a colony in travel at speeds significantly below the [[speed of light]], a Howard named [[Andrew Jackson Libby|Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby]] increases the ship's top speed to nearly the speed of light. With the ship thus modified, the Howard Families, under the leadership of Lazarus Long, escape the [[Solar System]] in search of a planet of their own.

The first planet they encounter is populated by the Jockaira, an intelligent species that has been domesticated for another, unnamed and undescribed, species, whom they worship as gods. When the latter discover that the humans cannot be domesticated, all of the humans are forcibly removed from the planet and placed in their ship, which is then transferred to another star system and planet by means of technology sufficiently advanced that it is not observable by the humans.

This second planet is populated by a diminutive furry species called the "Little People", who are a very advanced [[collective intelligence]]. They are very accommodating to the humans. In fact, their world is pleasant enough to be considered a [[paradise]]. After many years, Mary Sperling&nbsp;— a close friend of Lazarus and the second-oldest of the Howard Families&nbsp;— joins the collective intelligence in order to escape [[thanatophobia]], whereupon Lazarus and many other Howards return to [[Earth]]. Approximately twelve thousand remain behind.

Upon return to Earth, the Howards learn that a rejuvenation treatment has been developed to approximate the secret of longevity supposedly held by them, thus permitting Lazarus, who has grown old, to regain his youth.

Note that Heinlein's basic concept in Methuselah's Children bears some similarities to George Bernard Shaw's ''Back to Methuselah'', which Heinlein had mentioned having read.