X-Message-Number: 870
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 92 17:18:12 PDT
From: 
Subject: Re:  cryonics: #862 - #864

The railroad industry in the last century thought it was in the railroard
business.  When the automobile came along, the railroad industry paid for 
that misconception very dearly.  Had they realized they were in fact in
the transportation business, you might be buying cars with nameplates on them
such as "Southern Pacific," and there would probably be no General Motors. 

Hopefully, the "cryonics" organizations won't make the same mistake.  They
are in the immortality business--NOT the cryogenic freezing business.  We as
individual immortalists and we as organizations dedicated to selling 
immortality should never forget what business we are in.  

With this in mind, it should be obvious that "cryonics" organizations will
not limit themselves to reviving 20th century cryonics patients when that
technology becomes available.  That is, as long as they don't forget what
business they are in.  There are many threats to survival other than old age 
and other 20th century diseases, and the future will see the creation or 
discovery of survival threats that don't exist today and which we may never 
have imagined.

The very technology that enables the revival of cryonics patients will make
other life-preserving services possible.  One aspect of the immortality 
business that nanotechnology may create is Personality Backup.  This service 
would store copies of individuals at frequent intervals that could be revived 
in case the original individual suffered an unrecoverable accident.  

In a competitive business environment, company credibility and reputation are 
very important considerations for determining market share and/or pricing.
Given a choice, an immortalist (or even a non-deathist) would rather do
business with a company that had the fewest "black marks" on its record.
Failure to revive a customer merely because he was "old" or "backward" would
certainly qualify as a black mark.  It certainly would not inspire trust and
confidence in prospective customers.  

The marketing considerations are not unlike those involved in the banking
industry.  Bank customers seek security, reliability, trustworthiness,
prudence, soundness and a reputation for fair dealing and discreteness when
choosing a bank.  Immortality customers seek the same things, only more so.

Would you do business with a bank that had a reputation for losing its
depositor's money?  Banks are honest because any whiff of dishonesty can
cost them dearly in market share, if not drive them out of business.  Mere
rumors of bank instability can cause a "run on the bank."  A similar 
psychology would probably be in effect for an Immortality Bank.  The only
thing more important than your property is your life.  

"Immortality Express:  Don't leave your nano-fortress without it!"

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