X-Message-Number: 6601
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 1996 20:39:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ben Best <>
Subject: SCI.CRYONICS Canadian Support for The Prometheus Project

    As President of the Cryonics Society of Canada, I want to express my
support for The Prometheus Project. Discussions of The Project will appear
in CANADIAN CRYONICS NEWS, as will announcements and reviews of Prometheus
events. My mailing list is available for the promotion of The Prometheus
Project.

   The Cryonics Society of Canada is non-partisan -- we have members 
belonging to the American Cryonics Society, to Alcor and to CryoCare. I
cannot verify whether we have any Cryonics Institute members, but they 
would be welcome. I give my support as CSC President with the trust and
understanding that The Prometheus Project will not be used for "partisan"
ends. There are no guarantees in life, but I have reason to trust that
The Prometheus Project is truly non-partisan.

    Cryonicists share common goals, but can be bitterly divisive over the
best means to achieve those goals. And they can become bitterly divisive
over which personalities or organizations can most effectively lead us to
the acheivement of our goals. Sometimes this leads to healthy competition,
but often it leads to self-destructive behavior among the planet's foremost
survivors. I urge everyone to put partisanship aside if possible -- perhaps
even to risk a little trust -- the risk might well be worth it.

   We have known for years that progress is being made on organ preservation
research. And we have known for many years that cryonicists, more than any
others, have an interest in seeing such research applied to brains. If we
don't do this work, no one else is likely to. Demonstrating full 
functionality of a mammalian brain which has been vitrified is a challenging
project, to say the least. I would be glad to see proof of zero structural
damage as evidenced by electron microscopy. I would be delighted to see
demonstrable full viability of a formerly vitrified brain. These advances
alone would be 80% as convincing to me as a personal experience of
vitrification & reanimation. 

   If I can't support The Prometheus Project, what else can I support that
could be so specifically focused on preserving the very brain that is 
the substance of survival? Life is too short to wait for the "perfect"
Project -- to paraphrase Keynes, "In the long run we would all be dead."

                 -- Ben Best ()


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