Immortality has been something man has searched for. We
all know something about the story of Ponce De Leon and the
search for the Fountain of Youth. In modern times the desire to
drive back the attack of aging is largely the domain of the
plastic surgeons. However, there is reason to suspect that
aging can be defeated and in some cases may have already been
defeated.
Determining what causes us to age is now an area of
research by geneticists world wide. As part of their research
it is becoming increasingly evident that genetic structures
called telemores figure rather prominently in aging. Telemores
are essentially end-caps on our genes. In many respects they
act like leaders on film or magnetic tape. For film, a leader
is that part of the film that is attached at the beginning and
is used to thread the film through a projector and wrap around
the reels without being the portion of the film that contains
pictures. The same is true of the leader on magnetic tape that
serves a utilitarian purpose without causing some of the sound
or video to be used up in the process.
Telemores serve a very similar purpose in allowing strands
of DNA to be properly replicated without concern about any loss
of information near the ends of the strands. The telemores
themselves do not seem to contain any active genetic information
but do seem to be there for the purpose of sustaining damage at
the ends of genes without damaging the function of the gene.
Along with this very utilitarian function they also apparently
act like a counter for how many times a gene is allowed to
replicate which is something that has to take place every time a
cell divides. Apparently, each time a cell divides and the DNA
is replicated the telemores on the ends of the genes become
shorter. Eventually, when the telemores become too short, the
genes can no longer replicate accurately because replication now
results in damage to active portions of the end of the genes
rather than just damage to the protective telemore end caps.
This stops the gene from replicating, stops the cell from
dividing, end leads to cellular death. As more and more cells
become unable to divide organs deteriorate, we age, and
eventually die.
So can the shortening of telemores be stopped thereby
stopping the aging process? Yes. Not only can this be done, it
happens all the time, but not generally in a way we care to have
it happen. The telemores of cancer cells do not shorten as the
cells divide and these cells have attained immortality. For
some reason cancer cells turn on the ability to create an enzyme
called telemorase that prevents shortening of the telemores
during replication. Unfortunately, this immortality of cancer
cells is rather bad news. This means that these cells, which
divide much too often and crowd out normal cells, don’t die
unless they are killed by external agents (chemotherapy,
radiation, etc.) or until the host body fails.
The question in the minds of many is whether it is possible
to combine the one positive feature of cancer cells with normal
cells to achieve a non-cancer cell that becomes immortal. In
fact, hybridized cells of this type have already been created in
the laboratory and have demonstrated what could be either
extreme longevity or immortality.
So, it is possible that physical immortality might be
within reach through the use of genetic engineering, but has it
already been achieved?
In Brittany (a part of France) between 1970 and 1979 there
is the story of two brothers, Joel and Patrick. As related by
Timmistral
http://paranormal.about.com/library/blstory_june01_05.htm.
“Both Joel and his brother Patrick were violent,
reckless, dangerous young men. They had been in
jail many times for disregarding the law. If,
say, they wanted a car, they stole it. If they
wanted to climb up to the top of a 500 foot
cathedral spire and tie on their shirts to show
they'd been there, they did it despite the
Quimper municipal authorities. If they wanted to
go to Ireland for a few days, they commandeered a
boat and sailed over - not a small task
considering the coasts of both Ireland and
Brittany. Both were excellent sailors, athletes,
etc.; in fact, what made them so scary is that
there seemed to be nothing they were incapable of
doing. I remember others immediately dropping out
of athletic contests when Patrick and Joel were
involved (and not in jail). And speaking of jail,
Joel broke out of the gendarmerie jail in Quimper
four times because he "knew the way out."
This seems to be simply the story of two rather
obnoxious brothers except for one simple thing. Both
were well known among the older population of Brittany,
the brothers seem well acquainted with Nazi-types who
were left over from the occupation of Brittany during
World War II (remember this was the ‘70s). And while the
brothers were not known to have attended school, Joel
could quote entire pages of Nietzche and Kant by heart.
They just seemed to know things they shouldn’t know given
their age and supposed lack of education. In fact, a few
very old peasant types told Timmistral that Joel had,
"been around forever." "I knew him when I was a child,"
one said, "he had a different name and lived on a farm a
little ways out of town, but it was him." Trimistral and
the two brothers one time broke into the Quimper city
hall. Joel found a folder. It appeared to be an old
police folder, which had perfect likenesses of him and
his brother in middle 19th Century garb surrounded by
strangers.
Were Joel and Patrick immortals? There certainly
seems to be evidence pointing in that direction. This
and the recent discoveries in genetics could make one
wonder what names the brothers might be going by these
days.
But wouldn’t we know if there are immortals walking
among us? Probably not. Why? It’s because few, if any
of us, would want to spend the rest of an immortal life
on the run. In fact, immortals, if they exist, may very
well do everything possible to hide what they are and
live together in enclaves of their own kind. They
wouldn’t want to spend forever being poked and prodded to
find out what makes them different. Also, from a
sociological point of view, how much does someone who
lived the 19th century have in common with people don’t
even remember World War II? We all tend to seek out
people who are “like us.” To an immortal, regular people
may just seem inferior and child-like.
Yet, while immortals might feel superior, could they
actually be lacking in the very things that have driven
humanity? After all, if you are immortal, can’t almost
everything “wait for tomorrow?” Could an immortal person
be the ultimate procrastinator? Isaac Asimov, in his
Caves of Steel series, played with the idea that the very
thing that has made humanity great is our short life span
that drives us to try to achieve great goals in a very
short amount of time.
If there are not many immortals in the world, such
that they do not live in enclaves, and if they are not
bent on the destruction of each other (Highlander), then
immortality might be a very lonely existence. In the
Stephen King novel, “The Green Mile,” we get to know
prison guard Paul Edgecomb. Paul, through his
interaction with wrongly accused prisoner John Coffey,
becomes extremely long lived if not immortal. In the end
we realize that Paul has buried anyone he has ever loved.
But what is worse is that he realizes that this will be
the outcome of every human relation he will have from now
on. How hard would it be to know that you will outlive
and bury everyone you know and everyone you will ever
know? Would it become hard for an immortal to connect
emotionally with mortal people? Would they be hesitant
to make friends, develop relationships, fall in love, and
have children if they knew in advance that they would
live to see them all die and yet more thereafter. Would
an immortal person be able to stand the continual pain of
loss or would they instead choose the pain of loneliness
as preferable?
So, is immortality all we think it might be cracked up to
be? Maybe we should ask Joel and Patrick, or whatever names
they might be using these days.
Reader's feedback:
"I enjoyed the article Immortality by Curtis Eickerman on 9th September. I had read the story by Timmistral before on several paranormal sites. It seems to be retold a lot. It never fails to give me the creeps. Eickerman's view of immortals is very thought provoking too."
- Chris
