X-Message-Number: 4214 Date: Sat, 15 Apr 1995 22:35:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Robin Helweg-Larsen <> Subject: SCI.CRYONICS - New Stories About Death I'm looking for input about the idea of putting together an anthology of other people's short stories, exploring death in all its modes - not all about cryonics, but also historical fiction for example; looking at the idea of CHOICE in death, people choosing to die, or giving up on life, or striving for immortality. This is presented here after discussion with a couple of established writers with cryocredentials - hopefully it will be brought to life! My idea is that some of the stuff in "New Stories About Death" would deal with death as believed inevitable ("Will of God" in a way that the reader would understand the character's attitude, while feeling that that was an archaic, medieval attitude that the reader cannot share), and other stories would deal with the unfairness or frustration or bitterness of death, while others again would offer an immortalist alternative. The book would include - but not, I trust, be dominated by - SF writers. As I envisage it, it need not even be all fiction: so long as each item was a *story*, it could include historical events or personal memoirs. The devious intent would be to lead the unwary, who had thought to buy an intellectually chic (or profoundly meaningful) anthology about the Big D, into actually considering immortalism and cryonics: the cryonics stories here could be about the far future, the near future, the current situations and protocols, or Benjamin Franklin. I would welcome comments, suggestions, leads about writers who might have something interesting to say, themes that I ought to cover, religious or social views of death that I may not have considered, anyone else I ought to contact or know about. Therefore non-US comments are particularly welcome. I want an established publisher (and expect to offer contributors cash, not copies) but this is not my main occupation, so it will be a slow process; contact me at If anyone has an actual manuscript they would be good enough to let me see, (SASE, please, or 2 IRCs), my mailing address is: Robin Helweg-Larsen 327 Burlage Circle Chapel Hill, NC 27514-2703 Thank you Robin HL Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=4214