Cryonics is the low-temperature freezing and storage of human remains in the hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticism by the mainstream scientific community. It is generally viewed as a pseudoscience, and its practice has been characterized as quackery.
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which involves the same person or deity coming back to another body. Disappearance of a body is another similar, but distinct, belief in some religions.
Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of Reason magazine.
Extropianism, also referred to as the philosophy of extropy, is an "evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition". Extropians believe that advances in science and technology will some day let people live indefinitely. An extropian may wish to contribute to this goal, e.g. by doing research and development or by volunteering to test new technology.
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess 'biological immortality' due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit.
A miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. "Limited series" is a more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. As of 2021, the popularity of miniseries format has increased in both streaming services and broadcast television.
James L. Halperin is an American businessman and author, who is the co-founder and co-chairman of Heritage Auctions, now the largest American auction house with 2022 sales in excess of $1.45 billion. In 1985 Halperin authored a text on grading coins, How to Grade U.S. Coins, upon which the grading standards of the grading services PCGS and NGC were ultimately based. He is the author of two futurist fiction books, The Truth Machine (1996) and The First Immortal (1997), which were in 2001 both chosen by PC Magazine in a survey put out to their online newsletter subscribers, as possible responses for the top 17 science/technology fiction books of the previous 20 years. In the 1980s he and his businesses were investigated by federal agencies, which investigation was settled by signing consent decrees and agreeing to pay a substantial fine.
The Divine Invasion is a 1981 science fantasy novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It is the second book in the gnostic VALIS trilogy, and takes place in the indeterminate future, perhaps a century or more after VALIS. The novel, originally titled Valis Regained, was nominated to the BSFA Award.
Biological immortality is a state in which the rate of mortality from senescence is stable or decreasing, thus decoupling it from chronological age. Various unicellular and multicellular species, including some vertebrates, achieve this state either throughout their existence or after living long enough. A biologically immortal living being can still die from means other than senescence, such as through injury, poison, disease, predation, lack of available resources, or changes to environment.
Gulliver's Travels is an American-British TV miniseries based on Jonathan Swift's 1726 satirical novel of the same name, produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. This miniseries is notable for being one of the very few adaptations of Swift's novel to feature all four voyages. The miniseries aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4, and in the United States on NBC in February 1996. The miniseries stars Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Tom Sturridge, James Fox, Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, Alfre Woodard, Kristin Scott Thomas, and John Gielgud.
Michael G. Darwin, formerly known as Michael Federowicz, is a former president of cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation. He was president from 1983 to 1988, and research director until 1992. He was also the founder and president of BioPreservation, Inc., and a cofounder, member of the board of directors, and director of research at Twenty-First Century Medicine from 1993 to 1999.
Jerry Donnell Leaf was Vice President and Director of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation, and President of the cryonics service firm Cryovita, Inc. until his death in 1991.
Curtis Henderson was a pioneer in the practice of cryonics.
Frederick Rockwell Chamberlain III and Linda Chamberlain founded the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Their long and continued history of activism in cryonics make them among the most well-known cryonics pioneers. David Pascal wrote in the November/December 2005 issue of the Mensa Bulletin that, second to the man credited with the original idea for cryonics, Robert Ettinger, the Chamberlains have contributed more than anyone to the field of cryonics.
Immortality is a common theme in fiction. The concept has been depicted since the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known work of fiction. Originally appearing in the domain of mythology, it has later become a recurring element in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. For most of literary history, the dominant perspective has been that the desire for immortality is misguided, albeit strong; among the posited drawbacks are ennui, loneliness, and social stagnation. This view was challenged in the 20th century by writers such as George Bernard Shaw and Roger Zelazny. Immortality is commonly obtained either from supernatural entities or objects such as the Fountain of Youth or through biological or technological means such as brain transplants.
Robert Brush is an American writer-producer and composer, best known for his work as executive producer, writer and show runner of ABC's The Wonder Years. For The Wonder Years he received an Emmy for individual writing, the Peabody Award, and multiple Humanitas Awards. He wrote, developed and produced the CBS hit series Early Edition, and ABC's Karen Sisco, as well as adapting for television the novels The Prince of Tides and Scruples (miniseries).
Suspended animation in fiction refers to the temporary cessation of life processes experienced by fictional characters, followed by their subsequent revival. This process is commonly employed as a plot device in science fiction narratives. It is frequently utilized to transport a character from the past to the future or to facilitate interstellar space travel, which necessitates an extended journey for months or years. In addition to accomplishing the character's primary objective in the future, they often encounter the unfamiliarity of a new world, which may bear only faint resemblance to their previous surroundings. On occasion, a character is portrayed as possessing skills or abilities that have become lost to society during their period of suspension, enabling them to assume a heroic role in their new temporal setting.
Picture Windows is an American television miniseries that aired on Showtime in 1995. It consists of six short films, each inspired by a different iconic painting, matched with a story by a renowned author, and directed by a prominent filmmaker such as Norman Jewison, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Kaplan, Joe Dante, John Boorman, and Bob Rafelson, respectively. With a different cast in each installment, these films included performances by a number of notable actors, including Alan Arkin, George Segal, Sally Kirkland, Robert Loggia, Steve Zahn, Brooke Adams, Dan Hedaya, Michael Lerner, Ron Perlman, and John Hurt. Co-creator David Wesley Wachs also wrote and directed a 20-minute pilot titled The Life of Art based on the painting Hitchhiker by Robert Gwathmey. Dan Halperin directed the pilot episode for the series entitled Rosemary, which was produced by Halperin and Scott JT Frank under their Epiphany Pictures banner.
Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee Jr. is an American journalist and writer. He was a reporter and editor at The Boston Globe for 25 years, including a period when he supervised the Pulitzer Prize–winning investigation into sexual abuse by priests in the Boston archdiocese, and is the author of a comprehensive biography of Ted Williams. His book, The Forgotten: How the People of One Pennsylvania County Elected Donald Trump and Changed America, about Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and the 2016 United States presidential election was released on October 2, 2018.
Cryonics Institute (CI) is an American nonprofit foundation that provides cryonics services. CI freezes deceased humans and pets in liquid nitrogen with the hope of restoring them with technology in the future.
