Telomerase--Sadaf

She stood in front of the tank, the one with a lobster inside. Interesting, she thought. She didn’t prefer the crustaceans, but thought lobsters had their virtues. Her eyes gazed onto a plaque which read,
“Homarus Americanus, known as Lobsters, are one of the larger crustaceans of the ocean. They are invertebrates with hard exoskeletons. In the wild, they can live up to 45-50 years, the longevity of their lifespans is attributed to the Telomerase enzyme which repairs long repetitive sections of DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes”.
Interesting, she thought again, Very interesting. If she understood biology correctly, she reasoned that humans aged because their DNA and cells get damaged when they overturn, but a lobster’s DNA doesn’t get damaged; it repairs, meaning they’d only die from external sources or damage involving their exoskeleton. She smiled as she was getting an idea. How interesting.
After some time, she decided she needed a pet. She wanted inspiration and company, and thought a pet would suffice. But what’d be best? She was allergic to cats and dogs, didn’t like birds or rodents, finding no interest in animals who’re so noisy, even at night, and didn’t care about reptiles. She needed something that’d suit her, that wouldn’t give her allergic reactions, that made little noise, that she cared about. Something she found interesting. She figured it was odd, that she’d be judged, but she didn’t care.
I have bigger things to care about . With that in mind, she took herself to the seafood market, bought an American Lobster, and instead of cooking and serving it with butter, she put it into a tank and made her new pet feel welcome.
Life with Sandra was what she expected; interesting. Sandra was her lobster’s name. She figured he wouldn’t mind having a female name since he was a lobster and had no concept of gendered names, or names at all. Not that names mattered, he was just a pet. Maybe less that that, it’s not like he’d form an emotional attachment to her or love her. Their relationship was more practical. You see, she didn’t need a pet. She didn’t really want one, either. Sandra was, to an outsider, her

pet; but to her, he was helping with research. Her experiment. Since the visit to the aquarium and reading about lobsters, she figured it out. Her hypothesis that’d change everything,
If there’s a way to incorporate indefinitely activated Telomerase enzyme from lobsters into human DNA, then we’d theoretically be immortal.
Immortality? From Lobsters? One would call her crazy, insane, delusioned, but she pressed on, determined.
If I pull this off, the only way we’d die is if we were killed or had terminal illnesses. There’d be no death from old age because our DNA wouldn’t age, WE wouldn’t age.
Life with Sandra changed her, she became obsessed with studying him and taking samples of his DNA to study in her makeshift lab. It’s all so interesting, she thought, So, so interesting.
Over time, she acquired more research, more pets. Some of them would die because her experiments were too much, but she continued, not being emotional and not growing attached to her pets. Her apartment had been overtaken by lobster tanks, and her mind had been overtaken by lobsters.
DNA creation starts at the moment of life, how would I put indefinitely activated Telomerase enzyme into already forming DNA? Could I put it in as a fetus develops? What about injecting it in bodies over time? What about manipulating human Telomerase Enzymes so they never become inactive?
These questions plagued her mind but she had no answers. She even turned to her lobsters, desperate for an explanation from the creatures who had what she wanted, but they didn’t bother sharing their secrets. Talking to them eventually turned into a habit.
Please, s he begged, tell me, how’re you made this way? Who helped you discover this amazing thing? Can’t you help me? Can’t you tell me? I’ve cared for you for so long, please tell me this one thing. Please, please, please...

Her lobsters would blink, not understanding her foreign words from the outside of their tanks. She stopped talking to them eventually, her reason being that lobsters were selfish and wanted to keep the secret of immortality all to themselves.
She’d done all the research she could, she had too many theories and questions, all unanswered. She had to test something out, to try and see if she was on the right track. It wouldn’t hurt. The result could be interesting.
She went to her lobsters and thanked them for all they’d done for her, though they’d been selfish. She was particularly grateful towards Sandra, who was her longest lasting pet and who’d been there since the beginning.
Her lab was a mess with vials of lobster DNA scattered about, and she grabbed one and emptied it into a syringe with a needle attached. This is it, she thought, a ll my research and time have gone into this. I’ve lost so many lobsters and so much of my sanity. I need answers and the only way I’ll get them is by testing and trying. It’s now or never.
She took the syringe and looked at Sandra who was in his tank. She really looked and saw how lovely he was. He had thoughts, feelings, and was her friend. She felt a prickle of love for him in that moment.
With a smile on her face and no hesitation, she took the syringe of lobster DNA and injected it into herself. Minutes passed and she felt nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. She was disappointed, but secretly relieved. She took the needle out of her arm and placed it down. She decided to get back to work, to do more research, to learn why she failed. As she started, she felt off, like something was wrong. The room felt hot, it was getting hard to stand, then suddenly she was on the floor unable to feel her body. She looked up and saw Sandra and her lobsters gazing at her before she closed her eyes.
What an interesting result, she thought, right before losing consciousness.