Dr. Jake Redmond is a nuclear physics professor at Ole Miss (University of Mississippi), Oxford, MS. His device, called the Spherical Electro Magnetic Pulse Generator (aka SHEMP) uses high heat, pulsed magnetic fields, and high atmospheric pressure to permanently saturate matter magnetically.

During a dangerous experiment involving the superheating of a block of metal he is accidentally exposed to the heat and magnetic forces. After he is found unconscious inside of the pressure chamber, Redmond lingers on the edge of a coma, before finally beginning an amazing recovery.

Side-effects become immediately apparent. He begins to notice that his body is becoming more and more impervious to pain and injury, and he has become INDESTRUCTIBLE.