How could a person survive and then stay alive, even when they are actively decayed?

So, in my world, a scientist (tries to) invents a machine that will recode your cells in a very particular way, making you immortal. He tests it out on a 13 year old male. It goes....extremely wrong.

At first, he is just a normal kid. But 5 second later, he looks like a 53 year old man. 5 more seconds later, he looks 93 years old. 5 second later again, and he looks like he is actively decaying. His skin flakes of, his eyes bulge and and then recede into his skull, along with his nose, leaving behind a skull like face. But he's still alive while all of this happens. Finally, he's nearly all bones and a few scraps of clothing, and, after giving out one final hiss, he collapses.

Here's a diagram.

My question is, how could our poor friend survive and then stay alive during his later years, even when he's actively, and rapidly decaying? Is it possible?

posted almost 6 years ago

DT Cooper‭

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