The Resistance

supplies Longevity drugs to more than 100 countries worldwide
    • Pincent Pharma developed the first ever Longevity drug in 2015 and still owns the worldwide patent
    • Pincent Pharma quality checks every single Longevity tablet to exacting standards before they leave the production line
    Richard Pincent smiled benevolently. ‘Now, you find yourself somewhere to sit down and we’ll get started, shall we?’
    Closing the pack, Peter made his way to a seat in the middle of the room. It was a small, push-down seat surrounded by a hundred or so others, all empty. As soon as he sat down, the theatre was plunged into darkness, and the screen at the front flickered into life.
    On screen was Peter’s grandfather, looking slightly younger, standing in a vast, open-plan laboratory, full of workstations at which serious-looking scientists in white coats were positioned.
    ‘Welcome to Pincent Pharma, and the Institute of Cell Research. Under this roof, in these state-of-the-art facilities, thousands of scientists are researching the wonderful potential of cells. Cells that we at Pincent Pharma have adapted to cure human disease. Cells which we have reproduced in order to conquer degenerative conditions and catastrophic injuries. Cells which have now provided us with the ultimate answer to all the ills that have ever befallen mankind, scientific breakthroughs which have transformed not just medicine, not just science, but society at large. Welcome to the home of Longevity, the home of the future of mankind . . .’
    Peter’s on-screen grandfather walked towards the camera.
    ‘What you are about to witness is no less than a miracle. A revolution. A change so huge that it dwarfs any other human achievements. What you are about to discover is the secret to eternal life.’
    Rousing music started to play and Peter shifted awkwardly in his seat. He turned round to see if his real grandfather was still in the room, but he couldn’t see in the darkness.
    He turned back to the screen to see a cartoon depicting several small, spherical blobs.
    ‘The stem cell,’ his grandfather’s voice boomed. ‘Such a small thing, and yet so powerful. Back in the twentieth century, scientists could only guess at the potential of these tiny cells. Cures for diseases that wiped out millions of lives every year. Helping the paralysed to regain movement in their limbs. Growing organs for transplantation. Scientists all over the world were racing to unlock the secrets of these tiny cells, to harness their capability.
    ‘But one man went further. One man wanted more than simply to cure disease, to treat the sick. One man saw beyond the curative powers in cell therapy. One man saw that humankind’s destiny was inexorably linked to the power of the stem cell. He knew, knew without any question, that the right combination, the right cells, used in the right way, could cure not just disease, but the most significant human condition of all. He knew that he could cure mortality.’
    There was a brief pause and then the camera zoomed in on one of the blobs.
    ‘So how did he do it? Well, it was with the help of these fellows. Meet the stem cell,’ his grandfather’s voice continued, now more jovial in tone. ‘This clever creature can turn itself into any cell in the body. It could be a liver cell, a blood cell, a spinal cord cell. It can repair damage, replicate itself to replace ageing cells, prevent cancerous cells from developing.’
    The blob developed a face and danced around the screen, fitting into various organs successfully, all the time grinning happily to itself.
    Then the blob disappeared and his grandfather was on the screen again, this time outside a white pod with sliding doors, through which men in white coats could be seen walking. ‘But whilst these cells have been known about since the twentieth century,’ his grandfather was saying in an avuncular tone, ‘only Pincent Pharma has leveraged their capability to create the most powerful drug known to man: Longevity.’
    Peter’s grandfather disappeared again and was replaced by a film of two old people walking along the street, bent over, their faces lined, their hair grey. Peter found himself wincing at the sight in spite of himself.
    ‘Old age,’ his grandfather’s voice boomed. ‘For thousands of years the unavoidable plight of humankind. Loss of key functions – hearing, eyesight, flexibility, strength. Loss of recall and brain capacity. A slow, painful degenerative