X-Message-Number: 2747
From: Ralph Merkle <>
Subject: CRYONICS Trip Report: The Alcor Open House
Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 11:52:26 PDT
Trip Report: The Alcor Open House
My wife and I went to the Alcor open house and found it very
pleasant. The staff seemed about as euphoric as possible for a
group that is both overworked and underpaid. There are several
reasons for this, all of which combine to produce a warm glow.
For starters, the internal infighting and bickering that has
marred the last few years was absent (resulting in pleasant
conversations about Alcor's next steps and future plans instead
of who's fighting with whom).
Further, the recent move
(1) has virtually eliminated earthquake risk as an issue
(2) has solved the severe space crunch at the old facility
(3) has exchanged the grudgingly tolerant bureacrats of California
for a new set of bureacrats in Arizona who seem to be treating Alcor
reasonably or better (even much better, in some cases)
(4) has eliminated the zoning restrictions that were hampering Alcor's
animal research at the old facility
(5) has reduced the cost-of-living of the staff (an important factor,
considering their salaries) and
(6) has given Alcor a beautiful building with which to impress visitors
(a not insignificant factor, considering that visitors often wonder
in the back of their minds if Alcor can keep them frozen for the
necessary number of decades).
The move itself generated favorable publicity, particularly a
very nice piece in USA Today which treated cryonics as a
reasonable activity engaged in by reasonable people. This kind
of publicity is increasing (as the recent episode of Picket
Fences illustrates).
There are, of course, downsides. While the patient care fund
continues to be healthy, Alcor is very tight on cash.
Several years ago when I joined Alcor, I concluded it would be
short of cash for the foreseeable future. There are several
basic reasons for this: (1) Alcor is growing, and must pay for
next years growth from last years revenues. This is a problem
for all growing organizations and Alcor is no exception. (2)
The number of suspensions being done annually is too small to
support a full time suspension team. Despite this, Alcor must
maintain supplies, facilities and people in readiness for
suspensions. This costs money. (3) Because Alcor was founded
by and is supported by idealists who want to make cryonics grow
as rapidly as possible, there is a systematic effort to reduce
suspension costs and dues as much as can possibly be tolerated
in order to encourage growth.
The shortfall is made up by penny pinching anywhere and
everywhere that it's possible, and by donations from the
members: you and me. When I considered these facts, and also
contemplated the consequences if the cryonics movement were to
grow slowly (or perhaps even collapse), the conclusion was obvious:
donations to Alcor above and beyond the annual dues. My wife
and I have been making donations to Alcor every quarter ever
since.
While each individual situation is unique, I would strongly
encourage all members of all cryonics organizations to think
very seriously about donating money, time, equipment, or
whatever else they can to their cryonics organization. And one
more factor: a dollar donated today is worth a lot more than a
dollar donated a few years from now. Cryonics is enjoying
exponential growth, but the absolute numbers are still very
small. A little help now translates into a much bigger impact
than even a lot of help later. So donate now, when you can have
a big impact.
Many of the problems faced by cryonics today can be greatly
helped (or even solved) by sheer weight of numbers and the
money, votes and resources that they can command. If we expect
to influence legislation, if we expect to have a favorable
legal, social and economic environment when we are suspended, if
we expect significant funding for research aimed at better
suspensions: we need to grow.
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