By Gary Michael Church
Today marks half a century since humans landed on the Moon. I was 8 years old. Sadly, I have no memory of the event. Most likely my father was at sea and my mother busy with her many children. I cannot ask them as they are now gone. I remember Star Trek being on too late for me anymore and peaking around the corner to watch but always getting caught. I do have a vivid memory of watching the later Apollo 13 splash down on a black and white elementary school TV and my teacher crying.
Humans measure history by the century and begin with the “Common Era” 20 of those centuries ago. When one closes in on 60 they appreciate 50 years as making up a life mostly completed. At that stage, as various health problems manifest, mortality can no longer be denied. In regards to humankind half a century is actually quite significant when considering the last 20 full centuries making up most of recorded history. Before long the first quarter of the 21st century will end and I will be 65 years old. Averaging the lifespans of my mother and father I will then have only 15 short years left to live. The numbers do not lie.
The numbers tell me from the Wright brothers first flight in 1903 to the launch of Apollo 8 which carried humans beyond Earth orbit 65 years passed. In terms of humankind expanding off-world, no comparable progress has occurred. This is disturbing due to the problem of extinction. While individual oblivion shocks our sensibilities what is far worse is the numbing effect death has on the collective drive to preserve our species. This juxtaposition of the individual and collective illuminates why we are in such danger. Nobody cares about a century from now. We are all prisoners on death row.
My granddaughter, born in 2016, may live to see the next century arrive. There is the distinct possibility medical advances will give her an indefinite lifespan. I am not optimistic right now about the world she will be living in. The only solution, in my view, is selfish and pragmatic. The way to save the world is to freeze people. Actually, not freeze them, but cryopreserve them without damage. The very real possibility of this was demonstrated around the turn of the century with Norio Owada’s Cells Alive system. If ever there was a conspiracy theory this is it: we can freeze people and then revive them without damage. Perhaps I should try and go on that conspiracy radio show and expose the truth: “they” actually know how to freeze without damage and nobody needs to die! It is a conspiracy. The reality is it is most likely as a species we are simply too stupid to save survive. That we could not save ourselves if a dinosaur killing asteroid or comet was suddenly detected a few days away, despite having the technology to see them coming and deflect them for over half a century, is…
To save the world we have to save each individual. Then everybody cares as a collective. No other option.
Freezing people would surely change everything overnight. The entire human race would mobilize in “The Great Rescue” to save the 150,000 people who normally die every day. Then addressing the logical progression of steps that automatically follow. With approximately 56 million a year being frozen, within ten years half a billion will be in cold storage. The short list is how to freeze people, how to freeze a couple billion while we figure out how to reverse aging, and what to do when we start bringing them all back to life. Freezing people makes star travel practical so solving the first solves the last.
Ice on the Moon 