As Colvin began plotting the results on a graph, he knew immediately something was awry. To begin with, he saw far more white cells than he expected, a condition known as lymphocytosis, a sign of an immune system in a heightened state of alert. As he calculated the ratio of helper T cells to killer T cells, it became apparent there was another abnormality. The killer cells peaked sharply in all of the family members, particularly in two of the adolescent children. Colvin rarely saw such distinct peaks. He was not certain precisely what this meant. Perhaps their systems were reacting to a carcinogen, as Levin suspected. Whatever its significance, Colvin found it very unusual.

Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, loc. 665