X-Message-Number: 9701
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 18:37:22 -0700
From: Paul Wakfer <>
Subject: Re: CryoNet #9690 CryoCare Update
References: <>

> Message #9690
> Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 10:03:21 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Charles Platt <>
> Subject: CryoCare Update

> Paul Wakfer has quit from CryoCare,

I wish to clarify this statement, although I believe that I announced
this earlier. Since early February, I have not been signed up with any
cryonics organization. There are many reasons for this which I do not
have the time or desire to fully explain right now. Here is a short,
brief list. But please, I have no wish to debate these on this venue.
I expect this list may also add to the current messages concerning the
failure of the cryonics movement and why more people are not signed up. 

1. I have never had life insurance because I have philosophical problems
with it. Furthermore, at my age (60), it would be very expensive. In
fact, that is one of my problems with it, that an extremely healthy 60
year old is lumped together with all those who die near 60.

2. I have spent all my liquid funds in promoting cryonics research and
related activities. During 6 years of intense involvement with cryonics,
I have found no income producing "place" for myself within it. The end
result of this is that I no longer have sufficient funding of a type
which will satisfy the sign-up requirements of any cryonics organization
with which I would wish to sign up.

3. I believe that the chances of current cryonics practice saving my
life, if I should die suddenly, are so minute that I am better off to
use my scarce funds to continue to improve those chances. This is
especially so because of my extreme good health, apparent low rate of
aging, and consequent low chance of near term death.

4. I have a somewhat different view of the value of life and the concern
about death than do others. I view my great desire for, and enjoyment of
life as a "primary", not something which is rationally derivable from
more fundamental principles. I also see a vast distinction between
loving life and wanting as much of it as possible on the one hand, and
yet, it also not "mattering" (to me, that is) in a fundamental sense, if
I should suddenly drop dead (never to be conscious again). Thus, to me,
wanting to live and being unconcerned with death are not inconsistent.

5. I have always disliked the idea of the large yearly "readiness" fees,
believing that these should instead be covered by charges to those who
are suspended and therefore use the service. In addition, I did not wish
to any longer be paying fees to the person who was most directly
responsible for my difficulties with 21CM and CryoSpan.

6. Finally, my decision to not remain signed up at this time is an act
of *protest* against a community of people most of whom refuse to
accept the clear evidence of their exceedingly slim chances for survival
by means of cryonics, and continue to sit on their fannies with their
pockets relatively loaded with money instead of digging deeply (even
one tenth as much as I have done) to do what is necessary to ensure the
survival of those lives which they profess to value so dearly.
To give an extreme example of how ludicrous is this state of affairs, if
Don Laughlin were simply to sell *one* of his antique automobiles each
year and give the proceeds to suspended animation research, there is an
excellent chance that within 20 years, life as we know it would be
revolutionized by the achievement of reversible human vitrification.

I still wish to live as long as possible. I am still doing everything
possible to prolong my current life cycle. I still consider myself a
cryonicist. I plan to continue to maintain my CryoCare paperwork all
signed and in order, so that if I become terminal, I or my loyal friends
and relatives (who have independent access to my assets) can easily
re-enroll me and I will be cryopreserved. I do have sufficient hard
assets which could be liquidated to pay for it in an emergency. Please
do not bother to try to tell me of the various vulnerabilities of this
approach, as I am well aware of them all. It is my wish and expectation
that within a couple of years, after I have made some money and partly
recovered my financial position, after BioTransport has come on-line,
and after the vitrification developments of 21CM have become available
for patient cryopreservation, I will again become fully signed up with a
cryonics organization.


> In response to Paul's complaints, which do not name any specific
> individuals and thus are very much open to interpretation,

Please note that I take exception to the use of the word "complaints". I
was non-specific because I believe it serves no purpose to drag out 4
years of conflict history when the possibility of similar conflict no
longer exists. There was no intention to "generically" cast aspersions
nor to malign innocent people.


> I reiterate my
> previous statement that at no time in the past four years did Paul ever
> complain of any failure on our part to live up to our contractual
> agreement.

This is correct. CryoSpan's and my personal dealings with CryoCare have
been above reproach. I would like to go further and state categorically
that I have no grievance against Charles Platt as an individual. The
only problem that I have with him, and the reason why *he* seems to
always be bearing the brunt of my expressions of displeasure, is because
he continues to be unwilling to accept that I have any legitimate
grounds for my grievances and, worse, he continues to assert that I,
along with everyone else, am completely satisfied with the outcome.

As I am leaving Wed AM for Hawaii, Taipei, and Tokyo, I will be unable
to reply to any further posts on this matter (which is probably just as
well ;-)

 
-- Paul --

 Voice/Fax: 416-968-6291 Page: 800-805-2870
The Institute for Neural Cryobiology - http://neurocryo.org
Perfected cryopreservation of Central Nervous System tissue
for neuroscience research and medical repair of brain diseases

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9701