But this is not to say there was no cryonics talk. Far from it. I was cornered by the Michelob Dry by a gentleman from Indiana who stated, I think more out of guilt at eating our food and drinking our beer, that I had thirty seconds to "Give him the pitch." He then glanced conspicuously at his watch. I took a deep breath, sighed to myself, and tried. "O.K. You're on a ship at sea. She strikes as iceberg: begins to sink. You're off course, no one knows where you are; the lifeboat has a leak, no food, no water. Do you get on?" His eyes widened a bit as he looked off for a moment, then lowered his arm and said, "Not bad. Let's talk." They wanted to know.
They really wanted to know.
All in all, I came away from the Space Development Conference with a very pleasant reaction and hopeful plans for the future. These people want to go to space, and they are aware that it may take longer than their "lifespan" to reach a point when they can. And it pisses them off. I think we should make our reservations now:
next year in San Antonio.
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ALCOR AT THE SPACE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE by John LaValley The International Space Development Conference took place this year at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Anaheim. As much as I hate to start a glowing report on a sour note, I must say that the Pan Pathetic is one BUTT-UGLY hotel. And with a scenic elevator that would not stop on the most useful floor, to boot. Jeez, mon! But enough nonsense. The fact is that I found the conference very fascinating. Apart from an occasional sojourn to the art show or the huckster room, I almost never left the Alcor suite. This was partly due to sheer laziness, but mostly because of an idea that struck me the first day of the conference. Alcor's participation was more visible than that of most of the other organizations present. One would have to have been hibernating not to know we were there. To our presence there were two distinct reactions; outright rejection and cautious curiosity. Those who rejected us, I felt, would not be swayed by even the most poetic and profound wisdom. The others would show up sooner or later at the Alcor suite and they would be the ones worth talking to. This kind of intellectual triage may be unfair to certain individuals, but when time is limited what else can one do? Anyway, many people did come to see us. And while cryonics was still met by criticism, it was rational (!) criticism. People were asking specific questions about Alcor, about cryonic suspension procedures,