X-Message-Number: 24156
Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 01:17:02 -0700
From: Mike Perry <>
Subject: Re: Robert Nelson

In reply to :

>Message #24153
>Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 18:44:48 -0400
>From: 
>Subject: RE: Robert Nelson
>
>In reply to:
>
>Message #24145
>Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 17:20:55 -0700
>Subject: Robert Nelson
>From: Joesph A Zarka <>
>
> >1. Was Robert Nelson a person who truly was interested in making
> >cryonics work for the better of humanity and failed because he made some
> >poor decisions?  Or..........
> >
> >2. Was Robert Nelson just hoping to cash in on the possibility of
> >cryonics taking off and making a lot of money? Was he being deseptive 
> to >his clients in the hopes that he could hold on long enough to cash in 
> on >the boom he thought was soon coming?
>
>I never met Robert Nelson and cannot speculate knowledgeably on his 
>specific motivations.  In general, however, I want to point out that the 
>two choices above are not mutally exclusive.

I did interview him extensively, but a question like this is a tough one to 
be sure about an answer to--here is my best guess however. I think Nelson 
started with good intentions. But, being the type of go-it-alone business 
person he was, and not always having good judgment on such a difficult 
matter as running a cryonics operation, he found himself involved in 
increasing difficulties, and reacted badly. His reactions involved 
coverup--he didn't want people to know that things weren't going well and 
so he instinctively tried to project an aura of "everything is fine" when 
it wasn't. Coverup and difficulties led to more of both, secrecy, 
deception, etc., and finally, what we know as the Chatsworth disaster.

On the personal level, I have always found Nelson to be friendly, outgoing, 
and willing to discuss any matter I cared to bring up. He was a little 
sensitive on a few issues (particularly didn't like to be quoted using 
street language for instance) and was prone to some memory lapses, which 
might have tied in with other problems relating to his business 
decisions--I don't know. I don't think I've ever encountered anybody like 
him, though, who could sound so heroic and inspiring about something so bleak.

Mike Perry

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