X-Message-Number: 17595
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 08:05:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: Driven FromThePack <>
Subject: L'Affaire Rosewater , or, The Problem with Undertakers

I don't think an undertaker would make a very good
cryopreservationist, despite the fact that they
probably would possess greater knowledge of the basics
of the type of surgery required than would the average
cryonics standby team volunteer.  

L'Affaire Rosewater confirms my thinking in this area.
So, therefore, when I go, I plan to be in the
geographical area of the standby team, and not have to
rely upon an undertaker to cryopreserve me.  That's my
*plan*, anyway...

The undertaker is just out to make a buck. The problem
is that there are no controls or feedback on what the
undertaker does with respect to the cryopreservation. 

I can just see some undertaker who finally gets the
body of a cryonicist and has to finally earn his
retainer fee:  He grumbles about it a bit, wonders
where he put that packet containing the
cryopreservation protocols, searches about for it a
bit, and finally just gives the cryonicist corpse the
"standard treatment." The standard treament being in
large part what has been the standard practice for
undertakers for thousands of years, maybe, a witches
brew containing rosewater and lanolin, etc, etc.

The undertaker is in a hurry; he has customers
waiting...and so when he has to fill out the report
for the cryonics org, he just writes in something
about how he followed the "standard protocol I
received from the cryonics org..."

Totally "unexceptionable."

I suspect that this has happened several times,
especially in, ahem, "remote locations."

Cryonics might be something that takes some passion. I
know that I would much prefer having someone with some
passion (and a little training, at least)
cryopreserving me...

However, I know that I would rather be cryopreserved
by an undertaker, than to not be cryopreserved at all.
Hell, it just MIGHT work. I really do suspect that
even brains poorly cryopreserved will one day be
resurrected in some form.  Why not--if it is
information, in whatever form, then at some point in
time, it is likely that that information will be
"read". And after that, who knows what might
happen...some grad student might get it as a thesis
project....


P.S. Re: Platt and Skrecky--tone it down a little,
please. Both of you should apologize. Remember, people
are watching...."lone eccentric" and "psychopath"
indeed....


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