X-Message-Number: 751
Date: 19 Apr 92 01:11:25 EDT
From: Steve Bridge <>
Subject: Alcor Indiana Newsletter #3
TO: Kevin
ALCOR INDIANA NEWSLETTER #3
March/April 1992
Editor: Richard Shock
CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?
How about SEVERAL dimes? ALCOR INDIANA NEWSLETTER is free of charge
and will remain so for the foreseeable future, but ALCOR INDIANA members
have yet to win the lottery, make a killing on the stock market, or
publish that best-selling novel. CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PRINTING AND POSTAGE
OF THIS NEWSLETTER ARE MORE THAN WELCOME.
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EDITORIAL ANGST
Because AIN is bimonthly, you may not have noticed that it's a full
week late. Fear not: your editor hasn't succumbed to the evils of
procrastination. He HAS been on a cross-country trip at a crucial time in
newsletter production, however. On April 4 I had the pleasure of
attending ALCOR's 20th Anniversary banquet in Ontario, California
(unfortunately, I traveled there by train, slashing 96 hours from my work
schedule). Depending on coverage of the event in CRYONICS, a summary may
appear in AIN #4.
Also. . .
Over the last few months a number of people have attempted to call me
at the business number listed toward the end of these newsletters.
Through a series of unfortunate and maddening coincidences, I've managed
to miss every one of these calls. The individuals in question have my
most profuse apologies. Be assured, I'm NOT avoiding anyone!
Be further assured that if you call either of those numbers and I'm
not present, the person who answers will be a member of my family and will
keep your communication in the strictest confidence. In other words,
please don't hesitate to leave your name and a number where I can reach
you.
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GETTING IN TOUCH WITH OURSELVES
Members of ALCOR INDIANA are happy to acknowledge officially the
exchange of newsletters with other ALCOR affiliates and cryonics
organizations, including the CRYONICS SOCIETY OF CANADA, ALCOR NEW YORK,
and through electronic media, ALCOR NORTH. ALCOR INDIANA NEWSLETTER is
regularly made available on Kevin Q. Brown's Cryonet system.
In local developments, ALCOR INDIANA wishes to announce the public
opening of a small electronic bulletin dedicated to cryonics and
immortalist thought. ALCOR INDIANA COMMUNICATIONS BOARD can be reached at
(317) 870-5780 from 7:00 PM through 9:00 AM. (Indianapolis is currently on
Central Time, but we don't change our clocks during the year. Everyone
else does, so the effect is that for 6 months we are on New York time and
then the other 6 months on Chicago time. Right now it is Chicago time. I
hope this helps you -- it doesn't help us.) (Note that calls during the
day will simply reach a business voice phone. Unless you're a retailer
who needs arts and crafts supplies, PLEASE confine calls to night hours.)
While AICB is still developing, it currently carries ASCII listings of
ALCOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA meeting notes, Kevin Q. Brown's Cryonet files,
and the Venturist Monthly News.
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ALCOR INDIANA OPEN MEETING!
While ALCOR INDIANA considers every meeting potentially open to
nonmembers, we would like to offer a special invitation in June to anyone
interested in cryonics. If you're free on June 14 around 1:00 PM, contact
Steve Bridge at (317) 359-7260 or write to ALCOR INDIANA NEWSLETTER at 670
S. St.Rd. 421 N., Zionsville, IN 46077 to reserve a spot and find out
where we're meeting. Lunch or dinner may be part of the schedule,
depending on the number of respondents. We're looking forward to seeing
you!
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FIFTEEN YEARS IN CRYONICS
By Steve Bridge
During the first weekend in April, 1992, Richard Shock and I traveled
to California for a dual celebration: the 20th Anniversary of the
founding of Alcor Life Extension Foundation and the 25th Anniversary of
the first cryonic suspension, that of Professor James Bedford. I hadn't
considered until I returned home that this was also a major anniversary
for ME: 15 years in cryonics. Even calculating the beginnings of
cryonics from 1964, when Robert C.W. Ettinger's book, The Prospect of
Immortality, was published, I was surprised to suddenly realize that I
have been involved in cryonics for more than one half of its existence.
I'm dangerously close to being an "old-timer."
So I'm going to tell you my personal cryonics history. I realize here
that you might have visions of the character of Ted Baxter from the Mary
Tyler Moore Show, who kept trying to win an award so he could tell his
long-rehearsed life story -- "It all began at a little 60-watt radio
station in Fargo, North Dakota . . ." But there is a use to this.
Through my experiences I hope to give you some perspective on the past of
cryonics to compare with what you learn about today.
It's odd what simple events can coincide to change a person's life. A
date with another woman, a different subject taken in school, an alternate
choice of jobs, or a simple invitation rejected and I might never have
come into personal contact with the idea of cryonic suspension. In 1975,
I was a children's librarian at the Warren Branch of the Indianapolis-
Marion County Public Library. I was recently divorced and pretty lonely,
and I was spending a lot of time at home reading science fiction and
fantasy and wondering how soon I could apply to be the first librarian on
the moon. When Mark Sharpe, a science fiction fan and library patron,
asked me if I wanted to accompany the local science fiction club to a
preview showing of "Space 1999," I certainly had nothing better to do.
The show was not too good, but the people were a lot of fun, so the
following month I became an official member of the Indiana Science Fiction
Association (ISFA).
On a snowy February Saturday evening in 1976, Mark brought two other
people to ISFA. Floyd Tolle was a quiet, thoughtful engineer at RCA, and
Mike Darwin was an intense young man who worked at McDonald's Restaurant.
As usual, the evening's conversation ranged from books to politics to
science to economics. After a couple of hours, I was in the middle of a
heated conversation with Mike and several others about economics in the
world of the next century. I no longer remember the comment that
prompted his answer, but Mike Darwin said, "But that won't be true when
cryonics becomes widespread." Some clever person in the group pointed
out, "Oh, that's just science fiction." And Mike replied, "No, it's not.
I've frozen two people myself."
You've never seen such a stunned group of people (including Floyd, who
had only met Mike the previous week). Science fiction had become truth
right in front of our faces, as surely as if aliens had walked through the
front door. As you can well imagine, we spent the REST of the evening
arguing about cryonics and hearing Mike's incredible tales of being a
teenage cryonicist. As a Junior High School student In 1967, Mike had
heard about the freezing of Dr. Bedford in California and immediately
began learning all he could about this new technology. In high school, he
had traveled to New York to help the Cryonics Society of New York with a
suspension and had been horrified by the primitive equipment and lack of
medical knowledge. Several years later he had gone to California and
apprenticed under Fred and Linda Chamberlain, the founders of Alcor. Mike
had only recently moved back to his home town to take stock of his life.
Over the next few weeks and months, Mike and I became very close
friends, spending hours together and on the telephone discussing life in
general and "staying alive" in particular. Floyd, Mike, and I, along with
young science fiction fans Anna Schoppenhorst and Carolyn Doyle, (and a
few others on occasion) formed a core group of friends as intense as any I
have ever had. I quickly realized that the idea of an indefinite lifespan
fit many of the ideas I had had since I was a child. Like many children,
I saw nothing good about death and assumed it could be overcome. I told
friends as a child that my goals were to live to be 100 and change the
world. After talks with Mike Darwin, I suspected I might have been
setting my sights too low.
Also at this time, my family had been experiencing a high number of
deaths and hospitalizations. In 1974-1975, my father's parents and older
brother had died, my mother had broken her leg and HER mother had broken
her hip, and the family dog had died. My mother's sudden death in the
fall of 1976 was extremely hard on us all, but my new friends (including
Linda Sannita, a teacher I had just begun to date) helped me get through
it. These deaths and the presence of friends who were actively interested
in combating death combined to give me a new awareness of what I could do
in the world.
Soon after we met, Mike Darwin began work at a local blood plasma
center, where donated blood is treated to remove red blood cells and
stored as plasma for burn and accident victims. Mike had always been
drawn to medicine and this increased his interest tremendously. As Mike
became more confident in himself, he grew increasingly intent on starting
an Indianapolis cryonics organization, so he could put into practice the
various medical ideas he had. Again and again he would say, "Steve, if I
just had a hundred dollars, I could start a cryonics group here." I date
my identity as a cryonicist from February, 1977, when I finally wrote Mike
a check for $100.00 and said, "Here, now shut up."
Now it was Mike Darwin's turn to be stunned -- for about 10 seconds.
Then he shifted gears. . . and pronouns. "Great," he said, "now, here's
what we have to do."
Did you notice that word, "we"? So did I. By the end of the evening
I had agreed to get some books from the library on non-profit corporations
and to determine what it took to start a cryonics group. Not for the last
time, I wondered what I had gotten myself into.
We needed three adults to form a corporation, so we talked Floyd into
joining us as a director. Floyd soon convinced us to hire an attorney to
help us with the incorporation, and that "just a hundred dollars" suddenly
had another zero after it (MY money, of course.) Mike actually wanted to
form two corporations: the expected non-profit one and a second, for-
profit corporation which could protect Mike's ownership of some equipment
he had already purchased with his own money and protect any future items
he might purchase or patents he might produce. (This was reasonable to
me. I certainly wasn't planning to do any medical or technical work, and
I could not imagine I would ever help perform a suspension.)
The attorney, predictably, thought two corporations was an even better
idea than one ($$$!); but now we needed TWO sets of officers to avoid
conflict of interest. Floyd and I managed to persuade Judson Horning, an
ISFA member only mildly interested in cryonics, to be director #3 for the
non-profit. Mike would be the president of Soma, Inc., the for-profit
corporation (which only required two people). But we needed one more.
Fortunately, about this time Allen Lopp, a computer science student at
Indiana University, 60 miles to south of Indianapolis, became interested
in cryonics and wrote to Bob Ettinger. Ettinger told him to call us and
we very quickly added him to our circle of friends. He agreed to be the
second Soma board member.
Now all we needed was a properly scientific (but open-ended) name for
the non-profit group, an application to the IRS for tax-exempt status
(like magic, more of my money disappeared), the completion of the forms
for the State of Indiana, and we were ready to change the world.
On July 1, 1977, the Institute for Advanced Biological Studies, Inc.
(IABS) drew its first legal breath with Steve Bridge (say, what?) as its
President. The sum total of my cryonics knowledge was from reading The
Prospect of Immortality (once) and a couple of issues of The Immortalist,
the newsletter of Robert Ettinger's own Cryonics Association, a visit in
May from Robert Ettinger himself, and whatever Mike told me.
Ettinger wrote about us in his newsletter at the time, "The Indiana
people are mostly young, energetic, and enthusiastic. As reported in an
earlier issue, they plan both a non-profit and a commercial organization,
the latter to provide the actual services. . . . In addition to assets and
equipment previously reported, they have an ambulance and a plot of land.
They hope eventually to have not only a storage facility, but also a
nursing home where terminally ill patients can receive optimal care and
preparation for freezing." [The Immortalist, June, 1977, Vol.8, #6]
The "ambulance" was actually an old hearse with at least 200,000 miles
on it. I have no idea what "the plot of land" referred to was, since we
had not yet begun looking at buildings, to the best of my recollection.
The storage facility and nursing home were wild ideas far ahead of our
ability to accomplish.
The irony of the big goals mixed with little experience in the
paragraph quoted above is not lost on me. This was actually fairly
typical of new cryonicists in the 1970's and not that much different from
many newcomers today. We certainly were "enthusiastic," though. Even at
that young age, Mike's charisma and energy were unmistakable. I was more
cautious but still excited about participating in an adventure. I had
never known anyone involved in an undertaking this bold, and here I was
doing it! But, oh, was I naive.
It is important here to understand the state of cryonics in 1977. I
did NOT understand how bad it was for several years afterward, and then
only looking back in comparison. It was just as well I didn't. By 1977,
the mini-boom that cryonics had experienced at the beginning of the decade
had almost completely collapsed. The Cryonics Society of New York, which
had as many as six patients in suspension at its peak, had gone out of
business (with all patients transferred to other organizations or
relatives or properly buried), leaving its founders, Curtis Henderson and
Saul Kent, exhausted and practically bankrupt. At about the same time,
the original California cryonics organizations -- Cryonics Society of
California and Cryonics Interment -- were also collapsing and abandoning
several patients, although we did not know the tragic details until 1979.
The early cryonics organizations were poorly organized, undisciplined
collections of "individualists" who had few ideas about how to make
cryonics succeed. They assumed that if they could just get things started
with enthusiasm, then the professionals would finally come in and take
things over. And there were people dying out there. They had to do
something. But not everyone can handle the emotional aspects of
performing suspensions. The pressure of being on the front-lines is
tremendous; there is a lot of back-breaking and sometimes lonely work to
do; and low-technology suspensions are not pretty to watch. (How many of
you could easily watch even high-tech heart surgery today?)
Technically, the situation was hardly better. During the first decade
of cryonics history, most suspensions were performed by morticians or by
lawyers, writers, and teachers using mortuary pumps. There was little
knowledge of anatomy and physiology, no research or engineering work, and
the concept of "sterile technique" was totally unknown. The confusion,
haste, and aura of improvisation which attended any cryonic suspension
caused Curtis Henderson to refer to cryonics as "guerrilla theatre."
As things began to go wrong -- as friends died without being
suspended, as personal finances began to disintegrate -- most of the early
enthusiasts retreated to a more normal life.
Before the collapse of CSC/CI, most California cryonicists had split
off and formed their own organizations: Trans Time (commercial) and Bay
Area Cryonics Society (non-profit) in Northern California; and Manrise
Corporation (commercial) and The Alcor Society for Solid State Hypothermia
(non-profit) in Southern California. In 1977 Trans Time had five patients
in suspension, including the first patient suspended by Alcor (in 1976).
Besides 2 or 3 patients under the care of relatives in various states,
that was the sum total of all patients still in suspension, out of a total
of approximately 27 people who had been frozen since 1967. [Michael
Perry's chart, Cryonics, Volume 11, #10, October, 1990, p. 4.]
Ettinger's Cryonics Association in Michigan was just forming the
Cryonics Institute to perform suspensions. The Cryonics Society of South
Florida (several years later to merge with Alcor) advertised "a consulting
biologist on retainer to direct cryonic suspensions," but I doubt if they
were ready to accomplish such a task. [Life Extension Magazine, Volume 1,
Number 1, March/April, 1977, p. 19.]
In 1977 Thomas Donaldson estimated only about 60 signed-up suspension
members total for all organizations. [ibid., p.7] As we learned later,
it was probably fewer than that, since many "signed-up members" in fact
had inadequate funding or none at all.
In the early 1970's, Fred Chamberlain of Alcor brought engineering
knowledge to the field by designing flow controls and other devices to
enhance perfusion. ("Perfusion" is the act of running a liquid through
something. We are all being perfused by our own blood. In cryonics,
"perfusion" refers to the act of washing out a suspension patient's blood
and replacing it with protective chemicals.) But medical knowledge and
procedures lagged far behind.
1977 can be seen as a watershed year for cryonics in many ways; but
perhaps the most important event of the year was the involvement of Jerry
Leaf. Jerry was a perfusionist and thoracic (chest) surgeon (but not a
physician) at UCLA. His knowledge of medical technology and surgical
procedures gave an immediate boost to California cryonics. Jerry started
his own company, Cryovita Laboratories, and began helping both Trans
Time/BACS and Manrise/Alcor on suspensions and research. It is no
exaggeration to say that without Jerry Leaf, cryonics today might still be
"guerrilla theatre."
The re-involvement of Mike Darwin in cryonics in 1977, via IABS and
Soma, was also a major step forward; but that wouldn't be apparent for
about three more years. You could say I was getting on the cryonics
elevator at just the right time. We were on the ground floor, but at
least the elevator had climbed out of the sub-basement and basement. Of
course, at the time I didn't know any of this. I just saw a good idea and
no other choice existed for me than to go forward.
[To be continued]
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ALCOR INDIANA MEETING NOTES
February 23, 1992:
The monthly meeting of Alcor Indiana was held Sunday at 6:00 PM, in
the apartment of Angalee Shepherd and Stephen Bridge. Present were
Angalee Shepherd, Stephen Bridge, Margaret Schwarz, Robert Schwarz, and
Richard Shock.
-- Discussion resumed from an earlier meeting in regard to the
purchase of a Michigan Instruments Heart-Lung Resuscitator unit. Mr.
Bridge had been informed by Alcor Central's Tanya Jones that the unit
would cost $4930. With this figure, the group was able to make a final
decision on financing. It was agreed to proceed with a loan of $5000 from
a private source. Mr. Schwarz agreed to handle the necessary paperwork.
[Mr. Schwarz completed the paperwork by the following Sunday, at which
time Alcor Indiana members met and signed the agreement. The loan would
be paid off from an open fund, with a quarterly minimum amount of $350.
Mrs. Schwarz volunteered to oversee the ongoing financial arrangements.]
-- Margaret Schwarz brought up the question of how Alcor local groups
might have greater input with the organization's Board of Directors. Mr.
Bridge mentioned some of his ideas on the subject, as well as legal
constraints in corporate structure. Mr. Schwarz suggested that Alcor
Indiana should obtain a copy of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation
charter before any serious discussion could continue.
-- Talk turned to the latest draft of proposed Alcor chapter
guidelines. Mr. Shock strongly protested the section dealing with
newsletter content, calling it vague and open to possible repressive
misinterpretation. However, in general the group approved of what it saw.
[Please note that "Alcor Indiana" is only a de facto chapter of Alcor
Life Extension Foundation, since (1) Alcor Indiana's five full members are
all Alcor suspension members, and (2) Alcor's Board of Directors has yet
to adopt official chapter guidelines. When official Alcor chapters exist,
Alcor Indiana members will probably pursue that status.]
-- Mr. Bridge mentioned that a South Bend, Indiana television
interview with Alcor Indiana members (Stephen Bridge, Angalee Shepherd,
Richard Shock) would air the week of February 24 - 28. Mr. Bridge was to
receive a videotape of the final piece.
Mr. Shock moved that all Alcor Indiana members be made aware of media
opportunities as far in advance as possible. (Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz had
been unable to attend the interview on such short notice.)
-- Mr. Bridge disclosed two minor publicity opportunities in the near
future. First, he had been asked to make a cryonics presentation for a
local highschool class (see CLASSROOM CRYONICS, later in this issue).
Second, he wanted to include an Alcor advertisement in the program book
for a local science fiction convention, "Inconjunction," to be held the
first weekend in July. Mr. Shock was working on the advertisement design.
-- Mr. Shock called attention to the Feb. 1992 issue of CRYONICS
magazine, where Alcor president Carlos Mondragon announced a new suggested
policy of Total Body Washouts with the chemical "Viaspan" for patient
transport from remote locations. Since Alcor Indiana currently has no
access Viaspan, Mr. Shock wondered about the practicality of acquiring it
(cost, shelf life, etc.). Mr. Bridge agreed to investigate the
possibility with Alcor Central.
-- Mr. Schwarz gave a synopsis of his Feb. 22 meeting with the
Indianapolis mortician who aided in the suspension of Mr. Schwarz's mother
in 1988. Mr. Schwarz first confirmed that an "H"-size oxygen tank left at
the mortuary was still intact, and made plans to exchange it for a full
cylinder. He then tested the feasibility of transporting an assembled
Portable Ice Bath in a hearse. (During the Alice Schwarz suspension, a
mortician's van was used; this same van would not be available on a
regular basis.) The PIB fit, but was too large to allow easy en route
access by a transport technician. Finally, Mr. Schwarz updated the
mortician on Alcor suspension medications and discussed local details such
as hospital and coroner cooperation in releasing legally dead patients.
The mortician responded positively to these subjects, voicing no
difficulties.
[ continued - KQB ]
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