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/ Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=7557