X-Message-Number: 21257
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:18:52 -0700
From: Mike Perry <>
Subject: Letter sent to Editor of NY Daily News

Dear Editor:

In response to Bill Madden's article of Feb. 19 concerning cryonics, I find 
it sadly misinformed and misleading. I have worked at Alcor since the 
1980s, forgoing a possibly lucrative career (I have a Ph.D. in computer 
science) for something I consider more important--a calling, not a career. 
Cryonics (the correct term for the practice, not "cryogenics,") has, I 
feel, some strong arguments in its favor, despite the seemingly great or 
insuperable difficulties of reanimating someone who is now frozen. We 
cannot be certain it will work, of course, but there is ground for hope. 
Future technology should accomplish wonders of which we at present may have 
an inkling, but are certainly not privy to all the details. In any case 
what we are doing at Alcor is a brave attempt to save lives, to extend 
lives, and to heal. It must not be confused with conventional practices of 
"disposal" of human remains. We are not here to provide "closure" for those 
who feel that such disposal is appropriate, but to provide an opportunity 
for those who long for something more. We are not so concerned with 
symbolic gestures such as placing people in individual containers as we are 
in ensuring they will be in the best possible physical shape when, as we 
think, future technology can be brought to bear on the problem of restoring 
them to consciousness and health.

I and most of the other Alcor staff members, along with all the officers 
and directors, have made arrangements for cryonic preservation with Alcor, 
and thus have a personal stake in the future of Alcor. We consider it our 
lifeboat, and are committed to making it as viable an operation as 
possible. The charge that our liquid nitrogen levels were "dangerously low" 
is based on misinformation we would be happy to correct if asked. We invite 
the public's questions and comments, but ask in return a reasonable sense 
of fairness and objectivity. Our practice is perhaps hard to understand, 
but our intentions are honorable, and we are very serious in the pursuit of 
our goal, for all those entrusted to our care.

Mike Perry
Care Assistant,
Alcor Foundation

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