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Think about it, he said: What would the world be like if hus could live two hundred years? Five hundred? How about a thousand? What leaps of genius would a man be capable of, with a reat ical science, he believed, was to assu but, and to view it in terms of isolated failures of the body Cancer Heart disease Alzhei to cure the at a swaret a couple, but the sould kill you in the end The key, he said, lay in confronting the whole question of death, to turn it on its head Why should we have to die at all? Could it be that so of our species lay the road map to a next evolutionary step--one in which our physical attributes would be brought into equilibriuht? And wouldn’t it enius, intended for us to discover this for ourselves, e the unique endow a case for immortality as the apotheosis of the hus u rod, and I’d told hi picture but the sations that Jonas decried as a waste of time And yet his passion was attractive--even, in its own crackpot way, inspiring Who wouldn’t want to live forever?

"The thing I don’t get is why he thinks the way he does," I said "He seeht, but I could tell I’d hit on solass of wine

"Well, there’s an answer for that," she said "I thought you knew"

"Knehat?"

"About me"

This was how I canosed with Hodgkin’s disease The cancer had originated in the lyery, radiation, cheone into remission, only to have the disease return Her current remission had lasted four years

"Maybe I’uess you never know"

I had no idea how to respond The neas deeply distressing, but anything I ht have offered would have been an eer on, the information did not seem entirely new to me I had felt it from the day we’d met: there was a shadow over her life

"I’m Jonas’s pet project, you see," she continued "I’m the problem he wants to solve It’s pretty noble, when you think about it"

"I don’t believe that," I said "He worships you It’s totally obvious"

She sipped her wine and returned it to the table "Letabout Jonas Lear that isn’t perfect I’ about the fact that he’s always late or picks his nose at traffic lights Soht I couldn’t

"This is what I’s That’s our Jonas Since the day he was born, everybody’s loved hiuilty Did I tell you he wants to marry me? He tellsWhich is ridiculous Me, who ht not live past twenty-five, or whatever the statistics say And even if the cancer doesn’t come back, I can’t have children The radiation took care of that"

It was getting late; I could feel the city changing aroundDown the block, people were stepping fro in search of drinks or food I was tired and overloaded by the enaled the waiter for the bill

"I’ll tell you so the tab "He really adest news of all "Why would he admire me?"

"Oh, a lot of reasons But I think it co he can’t ever be Authentic, h you are Too modest, if you ask …I don’t know, pure about you A resilience I saw it the moment I ood thing about cancer, and I , is it teaches you to be honest"