                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                    CHAPTER I
                                        
                                   IMMORTALITY
                                        
          
          How  did  this immortality potential come into being anyway?
          Alternatively, how did mankinds mortality come  into  being?
          No  one  knows  really, but here is one  possible  scenario.
          Even  if it didn't happen this way, at least pretending that
          it  does  provides  us  with a framework  of  understanding.
          Other than that, at this late stage it doesn't really matter. 
        
                       *          *          *          *
          
          The  dull, black sphere materialized into normal space about
          ten planetary diameters out from the third planet of a minor
          star in an isolated spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
          
          Old  and  scarred,  the  ship (for  such  it  was)  switched
          immediately to planetary drive and commenced the  relatively
          short  journey  towards the planet.  Deep  within  the  hull
          relays  clicked excitedly and some extremely  sensitive  and
          sophisticated  instrumentation awoke to life and  began  the
          task  of  observing,  analyzing  and  measuring  the  planet
          towards which it was making its way.
          
          The planet itself was young and still sterile, with no local
          life  forms  of any kind (so said the instrumentation).   It
          was, however, evolving rapidly.
          
          Already there were wispy patches of atmospheric cloud.   The
          planetary surface was dotted with large areas of warm water,
          heavily  laced  with inorganic chemicals.  In effect,  these
          chemicals formed a soupy mixture ideally suited to the ships
          purpose.   This  in  spite of the danger posed  by  the  not
          inconsiderable volcanic activity that covered the  remainder
          of the planetary surface.
          
          The  ships  instrumentation module quietly  and  efficiently
          measured  surface  and atmospheric conditions  as  the  ship
          closed  the planet.  Carbon - - check.  Nitrogen - -  check.
          Hydrogen - - check.  Radiation - - within acceptable limits,
          and  so on down a long list of minerals and gases that  have
          no concern to us now.
          
          As  the  ship  entered a non-decaying orbit, the information
          was  fed  continuously into the ships main computers,  which
          then  matched the planets characteristics against a built-in
          master  list  they  contained.  The probability  curve  that
          resulted  was  high  enough  to  meet  the  somewhat   rigid
          specifications.   As  a  result, the computers  issued  more
          instructions and deep within the bowels of the ship a  long,
          torpedo shaped rocket probe was made ready for flight.
          
          The  small  vessel  was fueled and navigational  information
          transferred  to  the  small  computer  that  controlled  it.
          Quietly   and  efficiently,  a  system  of  servo-mechanisms
          whirred  into life and packed thirty five small,  waterproof
          packages  into a magazine like contrivance in the  belly  of
          the probe.
          
          Loaded, fueled and readied for atmospheric flight, a further
          series  of  automated  conveyors  carried  the  probe  to  a
          launching rack nearer to the outer hull of the ship.
          
          As  the mothership entered a stable orbit, the launching bay
          doors  opened.  The probes engine roared into life, shooting
          the  tiny vessel out into space where it immediately  set  a
          course for the planet below.
          
          As it entered the tenuous upper atmosphere (such as it was!)
          it  commenced a controlled series of deceleration  maneuvers
          which  eventually reduced its speed to less than two hundred
          kilometers  an hour, allowing it to dip low over  the  large
          body of water that the computer had selected for its seeding
          run.
          
          At  a height of some twenty or thirty feet above the surface
          of  the  proto-ocean, the probe commenced its run,  ejecting
          the  first of the thirty five waterproof packages as it  did
          so.   It  ejected a package at the rate of one every hundred
          kilometers of distance traveled, until its entire cargo  was
          exhausted.
          
          Once this was accomplished, the tiny onboard computer closed
          down  all  circuits  and switched itself  off.   The  engine
          sputtered and failed and the tiny craft nose dived into  the
          water below, broke up on impact and rapidly sank.
          
          Already, the outer, waterproof covering of the first package
          had  dissolved just as it was designed to do and a few tiny,
          frozen  bacteria,  Prokaryotes in this case,  were   showing
          signs of reviving in the warm, chemical soup that was to  be
          their new home.
          
          One day, in the as yet unimaginably distant future, the body
          of  liquid would become one of the major oceans on a  planet
          known as Sol III, or, to its inhabitants, planet Earth.
          
          Now  you  have to use your imagination to even more  effect.
          Imagine that a considerable time has passed.  About three or
          four billion years, give or take a month or two.
          
          The  original  inhabitants of planet Earth, the Prokaryotes,
          had   not   only  survived  their  introduction,  they   had
          flourished  and  evolved.   First  of  all  into  a   higher
          bacterial form, Eukaryotes.  This was a very important first
          step,  since  Eukaryotes differed from Prokaryotes  in  that
          they  had  cells that possessed a nucleus, highly  developed
          chromosomes and a minute quantity of DNA.
          
          The  Eukaryotes in their turn evolved into ever more complex
          organisms that culminated in the diversified life forms that
          now  covered  the  earth.   They included  the  reptiles,  a
          prolific and varied sea life, the local flora and some early
          mammals.
          
          A  little further along the time-line we find that the  list
          has   been   expanded  to  include  early  man  -   -   Homo
          Neanderthalis to be precise.
          
          The  Neanderthals were our immediate predecessors.  Probably
          they,  in  their  turn were preceded by even more  primitive
          hominid  forms  - - - Homo Erectus, Australopithecus  and  a
          number  of other early variations which may or may not  have
          resulted  in Homo Neanderthalis depending upon which  school
          of thought you subscribe to!
          
          Neanderthalis  did  exist however, and  although  they  were
          human  in every sense of the word, they were not quite  like
          us.   Similar  in many aspects and infinitely more  like  us
          than   their  predecessors,  there  were  nevertheless  some
          important differences and these differences were not in  the
          game plan.
          
          For one thing, Neanderthal wasn't quite as intelligent as we
          are.  Their brain was just as large (sometimes larger!)  and
          nearly  as  well developed as ours, but there  was  a  major
          structural difference in the skull structure and partiularly
          in the pharynx.
          
          As  a result, they had some difficulty in communicating with
          each  other and this inability to communicate rapidly caused
          a slowdown in the development of intelligence.
          
          The  Neanderthals had already achieved superiority in  their
          world.  The intelligence they did possess gave them dominion
          over  the  lesser species and they knew and  used  fire  and
          tools.   They  even had a religious concept as evidenced  by
          their excavated burial sites.
          
          (The  movie 'Clan of the Cave Bear,' starring Darryl  Hannah
          comes  pretty  close  to depicting the Neanderthal  society,
          particularly  in  the matter of speech as  depicted  by  the
          actors and actresses.  Neanderthal communicated at about one
          seventh of the speed of which our own species is capable and
          the movie portrayed this extremely well).
          
          While Homo Neanderthal had achieved an acceptable status quo
          in the world they occupied, apparently it was not quite good
          enough for whoever, or whatever was watching over us at that
          time.  Perhaps left to their own resources for a little  too
          long,   our   forebears  had  somehow  entered  a   dead-end
          evolutionary path and they were due for another little nudge
          to get them back on course.
          
          Once more, a space vehicle emerged from hyper-space a couple
          of  planetary  diameters out from bluish colored  world  the
          Earth  had  become.   Once  again instruments  measured  and
          probed and eventually the vessel entered a landing orbit and
          came  to  earth somewhere in an area that would one  day  be
          called Africa.
          
          This space vessel was unmanned, as was its predecessor of  a
          couple  of  billion years but unlike the seeding mothership,
          this  one  had  a  crew.  Manufactured, but  still  a  crew.
          Robotic   in  nature  and  controlled  by  the  ships   main
          computers.  They were very, very efficient.
          
          Within  hours of landing, specialized scout probes  designed
          for  extended operations in atmosphere were already  in  the
          air  and  at  work.  A perimeter surrounding  the  ship  was
          established  and  protected with a  heavy  duty  force-field
          (local life forms were generally large and for the most part
          both unpredictable and bad tempered!).
          
          The  scout probes were very fast and very effective.  Within
          a  few  days,  an extended family group of Neanderthals  was
          located,  anasthetisised and collected.  Five adult females,
          four  adult  males and seven young ones.  All of the  adults
          were capable of breeding.
          
          The  unconscious  Neanderthals were taken to  the  protected
          compound,  by now resembling a field hospital, which  indeed
          it  was.   Tissue  samples were taken  from  each  of  them,
          analyzed,  and  the gametes chromosomes of  each  individual
          were  mapped via the ships computers, pinpointing  each  and
          every gene in the DNA double helix.
          
          Once   the   gene  structure  was  known,  incredibly   tiny
          instruments  were employed by the robotic  equivalent  of  a
          genetic engineer to effect some needed reconstruction work.
          
          Snip!   Snip!  - - the genes responsible for the overhanging
          brow  ridges  and  the massive, projecting jaws  (along  the
          oversized teeth they contained) were gone.
          
          Snip!   Snip!   - - from now on, the distinctive Neanderthal
          'bun'  (an extension at the rear of the skull whose function
          was  to  provide an anchorage for the oversized  musculature
          requited  to   work the massive jaw, as well as  a  sort  of
          counterbalance to distribute the head more evenly  upon  its
          support  point at the top of the spine) was a thing  of  the
          past.
          
          Yet another microscopic cutting operation and two lengths of
          DNA filament were cut out and replaced in part further along
          the  banister  of  the  double  helix.   Henceforth,  future
          offspring  would  have  a differently  shaped  skull  which,
          together with the improved  pharynx (the highly arched  rear
          portion  of  the   palate which enables speech).   It  would
          allow a tremendous increase in both the quality and speed of
          speech    and   a   consequent   improvement   in    overall
          communication.
          
            So  it  went,  a  couple of induced mutations  here,  some
          tightly focused radiation therapy there, which when combined
          with  a  couple  of  other incredibly  complex  sub-cellular
          manipulations, would alter the genetic blueprint of the race
          forever.
          
          Once   this  biological  tailoring  was  complete  and   the
          chromosomes  returned to their place in the cell,  the  cell
          itself  was  cultured and carefully tended until the  normal
          process  of  reproduction by fission resulted in a  workable
          quantity  of  cells,  each of them replicating  exactly  the
          altered chromosome.
          
          The  final  stage of the process, whereby the altered  cells
          were  re-introduced  into  their respective  (if  unknowing)
          donor,  was  completed  without incident.   Eventually,  the
          subjects were allowed to regain consciousness and leave  the
          area as and when they wished.
          
                       What had this physical incursion accomplished?  In
          our  species, the average adult is composed of  some  60,000
          billion cells, each of which contains its quota of DNA.   As
          cells die, so they are replaced through fission or mitosis.
          
                   The newly engineered chromosomes had the proverbial edge
          given to them during the recent involuntary remodeling  they
          had  undergone.  They were now just a little bit tougher,  a
          little  more viable than they had been prior to the  genetic
          engineers  manipulations and in genetics,  as  elsewhere,  a
          little edge of any kind is a wonderful thing!
          
          A  year  later, the surviving members of the original  group
          were   only   Neanderthal  externally.   Complete   cellular
          replacement in the human body takes place about  once  every
          twelve  months.  Internally, the Neanderthals were something
          quite, quite different now.
          
          As they continued with what to them was a normal life-style,
          their  children (providing only that both mother and  father
          were  members  of  the original group) were quite  different
          from their parents.
          
          They were more erect in their stance and had a little better
          co-ordination.  Gone was the distinctive Neanderthal bun and
          brow ridges, along with the abnormally heavy jaw and massive
          teeth.   They were more garrulous, communicated  faster  and
          easier  with one another  and in short, they were  the  next
          most expensive model up!
          
          These  first  few  offspring were only the  beginning.   The
          total  changeover  from Neanderthal to what  was  to  become
          known  as Cro-Magnon, or modern man (Homo Sapiens)  was  not
          particularly quick, but then it didn't really  have  to  be.
          It was slow, but it couldn't be stopped.
          
          A  normal human cell has forty six chromosomes.  The nucleus
          of  the  gametes,  or  sex  cells, each  have  twenty  three
          chromosomes.  The uniting of the male sperm and  female  egg
          (which  also contains twenty three chromosomes)  brings  the
          total back to forty six, twenty three from each parent.
          
          Obviously,  two mating members of the original  group,  both
          equipped  with  tailored genes, would each  pass  on  twenty
          three   chromosomes,  giving  their  offspring   forty   six
          chromosomes with reconstructed genes.  When this took place,
          a Cro-Magnon child resulted.
          
          When  one of the original group mated outside the unit,  the
          resulting child would only be fifty percent Cro-Magnon  with
          the remaining fifty percent characteristic of the other non-
          group parent.  The new gene structure was dominant, so  even
          small  percentages would be passed on and produce  mutations
          from the Neanderthal norm.  This factor, along with a couple
          of  thousand  others,  slowed down the  spread  of  the  new
          genetic material, but only relatively!
          
          Some  sixty thousand years after the alien spaceship  lifted
          of for deep space there were no more Neanderthals.  Just Cro-
          Magnon. The intervention had been (by someones or somethings
          criteria) highly successful!
          
           - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
                                   - - - - - -
          
          You  don't  care for the spaceship theory?   O.K.,  I'm  not
          really  sold  on it myself.  I should point out though  that
          the first scenario, the life-form seeding of a younger still
          barren  planet  by  an  extra-terrestrial  civilization  was
          advanced by Dr. Francis Crick in his book 'Life Itself  -  -
          Its Origin and Nature.'
          
          Dr.  Crick used the space scenario to describe a variant  of
          the  Panspermia  Theory  (living  spores  from  space  as  a
          naturally  occurring  life-form seeding  mechanism)  as  one
          possible  method used to seed the earth with the progenitors
          of  our  current life-forms.  He argued that the  Prokaryote
          bacteria  would  have done the job satisfactorily.   He  was
          also one of the three scientists who received the 1962 Nobel
          Prize  in Physiology or Medicine (together with James Watson
          and  Maurice  Wilkins) for their discovery of the  molecular
          structure of DNA.
          
          The  second  scenario  (the alteration  of  the  Neanderthal
          chromosome to produce Cro-Magnon) is my own and whether I am
          right or wrong is immaterial.  I must point out however that
          although  it  may  have lost something  in  the  compression
          required to fit it into this book, it does coincide with all
          the  known  facts regarding the transmutation of Neanderthal
          into Cro-Magnon.
          
          To continue:
          
          Since  the  genetic  code holds the secret  of  immortality,
          perhaps  we can look at it a little more closely.   I'm  not
          going  into  genetics in any great depth for the  very  good
          reason  that  there are at least a couple  of  hundred  text
          books  readily  available if you are interested.   Our  main
          interest  here is only in how the genetic code  affects  the
          acquisition of immortality.
          
          The DNA molecule is shaped something like a double spiral, a
          double  helix  in fact.  Imagine two strands of  heavy  wire
          loosely  twisted about each other.  If they  were  separated
          without  losing their configuration and slightly  apart  one
          from  the other, you would have a pretty good representation
          of the double helix.
          
          Between these two pieces of DNA, or banisters, lie something
          like  one  hundred  thousand genes clustered  together  like
          grapes  between  the  two  banisters.   I  believe  we  have
          identified  something like a dozen or  so  at  the  time  of
          writing.
          
          If the threadlike DNA  (of which the banisters are composed)
          contained in a single human cell could be stretched out,  it
          would  be  almost fifteen inches in length.  It  would  also
          contain,   in   the  form  of  genes,  the   exact   genetic
          information,  repeated many times over, that  is  needed  to
          construct each one of us!
          
          DNA  also  possess  the unique property  of  being  able  to
          replicate itself.  At mitosis, or fission, the helix divides
          down the middle and from the free units in suspension in the
          cell,  each  part  picks  up another unit  complementary  to
          itself  and a new double helix is formed.  This mitosis  can
          take  place in as little as twelve minutes.  After the  cell
          divides,  each or the two new cells formed contain an  exact
          duplicate  of  the original DNA double helix, complete  with
          its clustered cargo of genes.
          
          In  order  to  mechanically manipulate a gene, its  location
          must  be  pinpointed with absolute accuracy  and  precision.
          This  is slow work at best!  It is being accomplished though
          and  from  time  to  time, if you keep  abreast  of  current
          events,  the medical news releases quite frequently  mention
          that this or that particular gene has been identified.
          
          Currently,  there are several projects underway to  map  the
          location  of  every  gene in the human  chromosome.   It  is
          anticipated that this work will be completed sometime  early
          in the next century.  In the meantime, we cannot even make a
          reasonable guess as to the precise location of the  gene  or
          genes responsible for the aging process.
          
          Before  we  go  on  the the aging gene or  genes  and  their
          relationship to immortality, there is one more aspect of the
          DNA strip that we must examine to appreciate how immortality
          is  achieved  as  a result of purely mental pressure.   That
          relationship is genetic mutation.
          
          Most   mutations  take  place  due  to  the   voluntary   or
          involuntary transfer of fragments of DNA and their  attached
          genes  that  contain instructions for a specific  biological
          function.  These fragments have the capacity of fusing  with
          other  sections  of DNA and this fusion may  result  in  the
          origin of a completely new biological capability.
          
          This  leads in part to the 'Jumping Gene' theory that  genes
          have a certain degree of mobility. That mobility may be,  on
          occasion, controlled by the sub-conscious mind.  This  means
          that the genetic code as represented by a chromosome is  not
          necessarily a constant.  It can be a variable factor and  it
          can  be  self-induced  at  one  level  of  consciousness  or
          another.  This is part of the secret of immortality.
          
          A  final  point, which although it is dealt with in  greater
          depth  elsewhere in this book, is sufficiently important  to
          warrant repetition.
          
          The  human  mind  is  capable of  causing  certain  physical
          actions  and  reactions within the human  body.   When  such
          actions are consciously decided upon, it is not necessary to
          specify  the  required result in the minute  and  meticulous
          detail required, for example, by the geneticists.
          
          It  is  sufficient  to give the sub-conscious  mind  general
          instructions  and allow it to make its own  arrangements  to
          bring about the desired effect.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
