Why We Age: Mortality as a Transient Orbit Running Down

One axiom. One operation. Zero free parameters. Most cells divide only a limited number of times before they stop — the Hayflick limit — and that exhaustion drives aging. Why a finite division count at all? This paper forces the answer. The fold has two kinds of orbit: a transient orbit (denominator carrying factors of two) decays, shedding one factor per step until it runs down; an eternal orbit (odd denominator) cycles forever. A mortal cell is a transient orbit with a finite supply of factors of two — when they are gone (the Hayflick limit), it can divide no more. An immortal cell (germ line, cancer) is an eternal orbit that never runs down. Aging is the transient running down: the steady, irreversible loss of the factors of two a mortal orbit can shed, until it reaches its floor. The finite lifespan of a cell is the finite length of a transient. Machine-checked; reproduces from one command. A standalone result within the Smithian Fold Theory of Everything (SFTOE). Full corpus, code, and the run-it-yourself VERIFY.md protocol: https://github.com/MettaMazza/Smithian-Fold-Theory