If you were in the countdown to your life, what would you most like to do?
Perhaps most people would choose to go with the flow of death, but in 1967, when a wealthy American man was facing a crisis of life because of a terminal illnessHe made a shocking choice - to spend a huge amount of money to freeze his body.
Convinced that at some point in the future, the development of science and technology would give him a chance to overcome disease and have life again, the tycoon named James Bedford hovered between despair and hope, and finally chose this journey of life across time and space to becomeThe first human in global history to be voluntarily cryopreserved in the hope of future resuscitation.
Now, half a century later, James had planned to be awakened in 2017So, has the once-rich American man been successfully resurrected? What was his fate?
"There is only one disease in this world, the disease of poverty. ”Many people can't have an epiphany in their lives, and James already understood it in his twentiesWhat exactly did he go through? Will you have such a deep insight into life and death? Born in 1893, James was the son of a wealthy family in Massachusetts, USA, so to speakJames was destined to be an upper-class man from birth, enjoying the top material resources and elite education.
And he did not live up to the cultivation of him at home, he has a superior IQ, plus the cultivation of high-quality educational resources and his own hard workAs an adult, James worked as a professor of physics and psychology at the University of CaliforniaHe has published many influential works and is well-known.
James not only has a successful career, but also has a very smooth road to loveHe has been in love for many years, like-minded girlfriend Anna, the two entered the palace of marriage in 1917, at this time he was only 24 years old, and he had a double harvest in love and career, which is really enviableMaybe it was too smooth, and soon he ushered in a major blow.
Less than half a year after getting married, Anna died of illness, and the departure of her lover hit James deeply, and at the same time, a sense of tension rose in her heartIt turns out that life is so fragile, it turns out that death is so sudden, and his healthy wife is powerless in the face of illness, so what about himself who has been weak and sick since childhood? Death is like a scythe hanging over his head, and he will cut off his life at any time.
Some people may think that James is unfounded, but this fear of death keeps him awake at night, tossing and turning, and finally he understands a truth, poor disease is the only disease in the world that cannot be **. If you have money, your wife will get the best, and your life will be extended, and if you have money, you will have the best medical team when you are seriously ill.
James is backed by a large family with a deep background, and he has a keen investment vision, coupled with the impetus of the times, he quickly accumulated a huge fortune and became one of the richest people in the United StatesStatus, wealth, prestige, James is at his fingertips, and at the same time, his relationship has also ushered in a second spring.
Three years after the loss of his wife, James married his second wife, and the two raised five children together, and the family was harmonious and full of laughter, but James was too busy and had little time to spend with his family, which made him deeply regret it, and decided to pay more attention to his family and loved ones after retirement.
But accidents always come suddenly, and in 1965, James was diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer, and to make matters worse, the cancer had gradually spread to his lungs, which caused him to fall into deep fear. Despite his great wealth, and despite his attempts at various ** methods, his condition did not remission, but worsened day by day.
Just when James was desperate, a book called "The Hope of Eternal Life - Future Cryonics Vision" was given to himNew Hope, so what exactly is this book about? And how did James achieve his dream of "eternal life"?
In 1962, Dr. Robert from the United States proposed a new idea about life and published a book on it, he arguedSmall animals and even ancient creatures will still have signs of life after being suddenly frozen and thawed again, so must be the case with humans.
However, due to the limitations of the social environment and science and technology, this idea only exists in the theoretical spaceEven so, this view has still won the approval and support of many researchers, and has sparked heated discussions in society.
Desperate, James came across the book "The Expectation of Eternal Life" by chance, and mentioned in the bookA new idea of "cryonics".Intrigued, he got in touch with Robert's assistant Nelson to meet Robert in person.
The two met and came to an agreement that James would fund it, and Robert would turn the idea into reality, and James would be his first test subjectThe first person in the world to undergo cryonicsThe two of them envision a future in which all diseases will be treated and people can be reborn through cryonics.
Research has been a very expensive field ever sinceIn just one year, James provided more than $600,000 in research funding to Robert's research teamMany people can't make so much money in their lifetime, but he is willing to invest so much money in it for a slim idea, which makes everyone say: Poverty limits my imagination.
In 1967, James died, and his freezing program was launchedWith the help of dry ice, his body temperature quickly dropped, and the scientific team immediately carried out a series of delicate procedures, including infusion of cardiopulmonary oxygen, injection of blood anticoagulants, and administration of anticoagulant drugs to minimize the damage to the body's cells during the freezing process.
They also inserted a catheter through the carotid artery to replace the blood in the body with a cryoprotectant to prevent the formation of ice crystals, going through these complex pretreatment stepsJames's body was eventually placed in a liquid nitrogen capsule and began a long slumber, waiting to be "awakened and resurrected" after 50 years.
Although this process takes a lot of time and resources, it marks an important step forward in the field of "cryonics".With James's precedent, many wealthy people also choose to follow in his footsteps, freeze their bodies, and wait for a new life.
But not all followers were so lucky, according to pre-1980 statistics, there were about 20 cases of frozen people worldwide, and most of these patients were eventually thawed and buried, fortunately, James's body was still lying peacefully in the cryophoric for many yearsSo, half a century has passed, how is he now?
In 2017, James' 50-year contract expired, but he failed to regain his life from the liquid nitrogen capsule, and half a century later, the once hopeful rich man finally failed to escape the fate of deathHe was the first person to eat crabs in cryonics, but now he is a controversial failure.
In this regard, the relevant team said that the current thawing technology has not reached the ideal level, and rash thawing without safe and reliable thawing technology will only cause more damage to James's body.
Many people said they were not surprised by this resultJames was not frozen before he died, but was frozen and sealed after his death, and no matter how advanced science and technology were, he could not really bring the dead back to life. The freezer is like a refrigerator, and the preservation effect is first-class, but to say that it can be resurrected is simply a fantasy.
At the moment when science and technology are very developed, it is still impossible to find a completely harmless freezing method to the human bodyNot to mention in the past period when the level of science and technology was very backwardThe freezing methods used by Robert's team are extremely harmful to the human body
Scientists generally agree that the chances of his resurrection are almost nil, given the limitations of freezing technology and the damage caused during the freezing process.
Despite the challenges of cryonics, there is still hope for a segment of the populationThey are keeping an eye on the latest developments in the field and hoping that technological advances will bring about a turnaround in this technology, and the cryolabs in Los Angeles are still working on safer and more effective thawing solutions, and although the probability of success is slim, this belief still supports some to continue their exploration.
In James and others who choose to freeze their bodies, we can see a manThe ultimate desire to survive, they are not stupid, they are just under the threat of death, they want to seize a glimmer of life, whether it is true or not, they have to fight hard.
Today, the bodies of many others are still sealed in freezers, waiting for the miracle that may never come.
The pursuit of immortality is certainly the eternal dream of human beings, but the value of life lies not only in its length, but also in its depth and quality.
With the help of technology, our exploration of eternal life is gradually deepening, but at the same time, we should also be soberly aware of thatThe true meaning of life lies not in the endless years, but in how to live in the present moment to the fullest, grasp every moment, and leave no regrets.