X-Message-Number: 4241
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 1995 23:29:14 -0500 (CDT)
From: N E U R O M A N C E R <>
Subject: SCI.CRYONICS "Interstellar Immersion Biostasis"

    from MAC TONNIES 

    What is the cryonics cummunity's attitude re. casting human bodies into
space in durable, radiation-proof pods?
    I'm well aware of the odds of being found by an advanced culture (whether
our own or someone else's...), but have to wonder if taking one's chances in
the interstellar vacuum might be safer than containment here on Earth.  Space
presents myriad hazards, but might such obstacles compare to Earth's financial
infrastructure?
    If jettisoned int
o interstellar space, a low-tech pod should be able to
remain cold for long periods.  Cosmic rays, while carcinogous to living tissue,
would pass through a damaged cellular matrix already in need of repair.
    It is plausible that a future spacefaring community could locate such pods
and revive their occupants...from a psychosocial vantage, reviving space-
borne cryonauts might be very appealing, in which case considerable effort
would be invested in tracking down as many capsules as possible.
    The option is ludicrous, but I foresee it becoming available to the public
in the next century...and therefore dealt with by cryonicists.

    Mac Tonnies 3-18-95


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