X-Message-Number: 7557
Date: 25 Jan 97 00:07:25 EST
From: Paul Wakfer <>
Subject: Prometheus Correspondence Continued

Here is some more of my continuing exchange with a person who picked up on
my post of a summary of the Prometheus Project to a bionet newsgroup.

>>I take no offense by your remark about "flakes" even though it applies to
>>me since I am currently signed up for cryonics - just in case, and doing
>>all that I can to assure that I won't ever need it until it is perfected.
>
>Ooops ... sorry.

No problem. Don't worry about it. I've been called worse things before :).

>I cannot help feeling, however, that although it would be great if an
>effective cryonics technology DID exist, wishing it were so does not make
>it so.

I totally agree and I am glad to have this exchange with you, because we
really seem to be in tune.

>Of course, the people involved use the latest technology - it would be
>outright dishonest not to. But I am not sanguine about the chances of it
>succeeding.

Neither am I and neither are the other realistic people involved with
cryonics. But it is at least conceivable that current cryonics processes
might allow one to be restored given enough advancement of time and
technology, whereas if one is buried or burned it is certain that there is
no chance of restoration. And those of us who are not flakes are determined
to do the research which will perfect suspended animation if it is at all
possible to do so in order to give ourselves a reasonable chance for life
extension by this process.

>(I have had some experience preserving tissues and cells by freezing,

I suspected as much and that's why I am particularly happy to have this
exchange with you. Generally, Cryobiologists treat us with contempt and
will have nothing to do with us.

>so I know just what a massive task of total reconstruction awaits the
>scientists in the future who are going to try to revive the frozen.

I totally agree with this assessment as applied to those frozen with past,
current, and near future techniques. If you read some of the detail at the
cryonics web sites eg. www.Alcor.org, www.CryoCare.org, www.CryoNet.org,
however, you will see that there are several possible alternatives to
trying to reconstruct the entire damaged person in-situ cell by cell. The
two biggest problems for the cryonicist are 1) that one doesn't know for
certain that the mind (identity, memory and other mental faculties) is even
being saved and preserved by current techniques, and 2) because of no such
proof and because of the very damaging cryopreservation process, the size
and power of the cryonics community is so small (and will remain that way
until and unless suspended animation is perfected) that the chance of
getting a patient through to the far future (without thawing out) when
restoration techniques might possibly be developed, is very slim.

Where are you physically located? If you are ever in Southern California,
you might like to see the labs of the cryonics research facility 21st
Century Medicine. Housed in the same building, is BioPreservation, the most
technically advanced cryopreservation service provider, and the long-term
care operation of CryoSpan.

Again thanks for the exchange and I hope to hear from you again.


-- Paul --

Paul Wakfer
email:  phone:909-481-9620  pager:800-805-2870

HELP TO ACHIEVE - PERFECTED SUSPENDED ANIMATION WITHIN 20 YEARS!

Check out the Prometheus Project web site at URL:
http://www.prometheus-project.org/prometheus/


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