After closing the clinic for the rest of the day, Dr. Cho began a series of tests. Li-Mei's results were, across the board, normal for a woman of about 50, which was to say much better than she had been testing at her last physical.
"How is this happening?" she asked as the doctor finished reviewing some tests.
"I think I may have found something. Look, I took a skin sample and after reviewing it, it looks like you're telemeres are lengthening after cell division," he explained.
"You're joking... That can't be possible!" she exclaimed.
"Look, I'm deadly serious here. It's subtle but you're definitely getting longer ones, which means whatever was done to you is aging you in reverse. Truly this is astonishing. It makes *no* sense but it is astonishing."
Li-Mei shuddered in her scrubs and looked down at her smoother hands. She shook her head and asked, "How long will this continue?"
"No idea..." Dr. Cho replied. "If I had to guess, until your DNA finished rejuvenating."
"I'm not going to become a kid, will I?" she asked, eyes wide with concern.
Dr. Cho shrugged. "There's no way for me to be certain but I don't think so. I suspect you'll reverse into your early to mid 20s when DNA starts actually getting damaged but... this is all brand new to me."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head before continuing. "My hunch says that this has effectively made you immortal. If you got hurt, your body will replace the cells with even healthier ones faster and you'll get younger faster. Honestly, as long as you don't bleed out or get killed immediately, I think you'll heal from just about anything."
"And yet the radiation really jump started this. What's that about?" Li-Mei inquired.
"Not a clue," Dr. Cho responded. "Radiation damages cells, yes, but I don't think X-rays would have such a dramatic effect. Neat huh?"
"Yes... neat," she responded, looking toward the X-ray room.
"I'll keep monitoring you, but as far as I can tell, you've got what most people only dream of. Eternal youth and life," Dr. Cho concluded.