X-Message-Number: 7378
Date: 29 Dec 96 18:36:37 EST
From: Paul Wakfer <>
Subject: Re: Alcor statement on Prometheus

     My thanks to Steve Bridge and the Alcor board of directors for their
statement on the Prometheus Project and their decision to continue giving
it news coverage. Steve's description:

>Currently, the Prometheus Project (PP) is only a proposal to form a
>company to do brain preservation research.  Paul Wakfer, the Project
>Coordinator is merely accepting "pledges" for investments while
>evaluating whether it would be useful to form a corporation (or
>similar entity) and sell shares.

is quite correct except for the fact that since November the Project has
been extended to have as its main goal the development of fully-reversible,
whole-body suspended animation within 20 years.

In addition, since "No company currently exists." I continue to maintain
that Alcor's statement:

>Our attorney has told us that Alcor, because of its non-profit status,
>must be careful not to promote or appear to promote the sale of
>shares in a company for which no offering or prospectus exist.

is not relevant since not only is there no offering or prospectus, but
there is not even any company in existence which might sell shares (nor
will there be any of these until the pledge total is much larger and full
science and business plans have been produced). However, since Alcor's
conditions for eventual directed donation acceptance:

>If Mr. Wakfer eventually produces a business
>plan, a prospectus, and an offering, and if thereafter Alcor's Board
>of Directors determines that an investment in such a company would
>be beneficial to Alcor and its suspension members, then we would
>accept directed donations to make such investments.

are a subset of the conditions under which every pledger is participating,
their conservative stance on the Project should have no negative effect on
current donation pledge acceptance. In addition, while I also disagree with
the opinion of Alcor's lawyers concerning: 

>people who donated
>money to a non-profit for the purpose of investment in PP could be
>given a proxy to vote those shares on behalf of the non-profit.  Our
>attorneys have told us that this does not properly reflect the
>relationship between a non-profit organization and its donors, and
>that such a proxy would be improper.  Alcor must be the voter of any
>shares it owns.

This *was* only a suggestion (although a strong one) in order to prevent
the political partisanship of competing organizations from playing any role
in the direction or operations of the Prometheus Project. Therefore, I am
happy to accept Alcor's decision concerning this point and to let the
pledgers decide (either when they pledge or later, if and when it becomes
time to honor their plege) whether they wish to: a) purchase shares with
full voting privileges, b) donate money for share purchases to a 501(c)3
organization which will use any profits to fund cryonics and life-extension
research and will give them proxy voting power over the shares purchased
from their donations, or c) donate money to an organization which will use
any profits to advance cryonics and will not give them proxy voting power
over the shares purchased from their donations. However, because I am still
determined to keep the political considerations of competing organizations
out of all Prometheus Project decisions (individual political maneuverings
are bad enough), I may decide to construct the eventual share prospectus so
that corporations may only purchase non-voting shares (with all other share
rights and values the same, and only if such a distinction is legal, of
course).

Please do not take these expressions of reservations as any kind of
"begrudging" attitude towards Alcor's statement. I am truly delighted to
see it and I sincerely thank Steve Bridge and the Alcor board of directors
for their assistance in this revolutionary endeavor to greatly increase the
chance that each of us will achieve a vastly extended life.


-- Paul --

Paul Wakfer
email:  phone:909-481-9620  pager:800-805-2870

HELP TO ACHIEVE - PERFECTED SUSPENDED ANIMATION WITHIN 20 YEARS!

Check out the Prometheus Project web site at URL:
http://www.prometheus-project.org/prometheus/


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