X-Message-Number: 5976 Date: 22 Mar 96 11:41:14 EST From: "Kent, Saul" <> Subject: Science Fiction Writers The author of "The Age Of The Pussyfoot" is Fred Pohl. Pohl was sympathetic to cryonics. He was helpful in getting Bob Ettinger's "The Prospect Of Immortality" published in 1964. He was not, interested, however, in being frozen himself. As I recall, he said he couldn't afford it. When he was offered a free suspension by Alcor, he replied that he didn't want to be frozen unless his entire family could also be frozen, and that he couldn't afford to do that. The Alcor offer made Pohl so uncomfortable about dealing with cryonicists that he subsequently avoided such contacts. In the late 1960s, I debated Lester Del Rey about cryonics at a science fiction meeting in New Jersey. During the meeting, Isaac Asimov came in and joined the discussion. The gist of Asimov's comment about cryonics was about the same as his comment about extending lifespan in general. He said: "I'm against it because I think it would be bad for society to keep so many 'older' people around." When asked about whether he was in favor of staying alive himself, Asimov jokingly said: "Of course, I'm the one exception to the rule. I think I think it would be good for society if I lived forever." I was once on a radio show with Arthur Clarke (He was just leaving as I was coming on). Clarke said he thought cryonics would work and that he was in favor of it. Although Del Rey and Asimov were skeptical about the possibility of restoring patients to life who had been frozen under poor conditions, they were intellectually honest enough not to rule it out and were quite certain that perfected suspended animation would someday be achieved. Both Pohl and Clarke seemed to think the cryonics might work even with poorly frozen patients. The one I talked to at length was Pohl, who was really quite favorable towards cryonics and didn't have the social concerns about it expressed by Del Rey and Asimov. In my opinion, Pohl wouldn't take the next logical step (signing up himself) because he was afraid of being embarrassed publicly if he took such a "radical" position. On the other hand, I think Pohl felt comfortable being sympathetic to cryonics "professionally" because he was, after all, a science fiction writer who was expected to speculate about the future. In fact, it was Pohl's article in the June issue of Playboy magazine ("Intimations Of Immortality") that introduced me to the idea of cryonics. ---Saul Kent Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=5976