They've led vastly different lives, but Goulburn man Ron Fielding is set to join the ranks of John Wayne and Walt Disney.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
What does a small-town removalist and cab driver have in common with these legends of the screen? Like Wayne and Disney, at his life's end, Mr Fielding, 78, has chosen to be cryogenically frozen.
Unlike traditional burial or cremation, cryonic preservation considers the prospect of immortality. Cryonics preserves the human body at -196 degrees Celsius so that future medical technology might reanimate it, reverse ageing and treat disease.
Mr Fielding has paid $38,000 to have his body frozen in the United States. Since then, an Australian facility has been in the works. The first of its kind in the country, Southern Cryonics is expected to open in Holbrook in south-eastern NSW by early 2021.
Southern Cryonics founder Peter Tsolakides said there were many overseas facilities, but getting people there was risky. "Timing is critical and the right steps have to be done in that time. It's always better if you're closer," Mr Tsolakides said.
Initially the process will cost $50,000 for founding members, but after March 31 immortality will cost a cool $150,000. Currently, 27 people had booked in, but Mr Tsolakides was confident there would soon be more.
Mr Fielding is now debating whether to have his remains frozen closer to home. It might cost another $10,000 just to get his body to the facility in the US, he said.
He didn't know for sure whether he was going to come back, but "if there's a chance, why not do it? ... I believe in science: it's the future," he said. "Sixty years ago, my grandma used to go crook when I read Flash Gordon comics. Now we've been to the moon."
Years ago, Mr Fielding had asked himself the question: 'Why should you die?' ... "We are an intelligent race and getting more and more advanced. Space is definitely where we have to go eventually because we can't all live here," he said.
The science enthusiast's main concern was whether his children would have to pay ongoing costs. Mr Tsolakides said there would be no ongoing costs for relatives.
Mr Tsolakides said there was a cost for suspending someone and then ongoing costs of liquid nitrogen and care-taking. The founder said the interest on the initial payment would cover future costs.
If the company were to close, they had the capability to shift people into another facility, Mr Tsolakides said. "It ends with how we use our money and hopefully the people who continue to run this business continue to run it responsibly."
While some might be concerned about religious or moral ramifications of cryonics, Mr Fielding said he wasn't worried about the afterlife. While he was raised in the Church of England and an altar attendant until the age of 21, Mr Fielding said he was not religious, and was skeptical about the existence of a god. "I believe in technology," he said.
While his son has also signed on to be cryogenically frozen, this belief doesn't resonate with the rest of the family. "A lot of the kids think about it, but religion is in the back of their heads," Mr Fielding said. Many friends and family members have asked the Goulburn man 'Why do you want to come back?': "If I've still got my memories then that's all I need," he said.
Mr Fielding loves history and would like to see what happened to his family and read about the history of his time.
He believes he will be brought back within the next 500 years and has spent time imagining what the future may be like. "We won't have cars with tyres and all that jazz," he said, and laughed. "I don't know whether robots will be feeding us or what. I won't know what houses will be like, how to eat, how to shower, but I'll be happy to just have my memories."
His optimism about the future was a sentiment shared by many people interested in cryogenics. Mr Tsolakides said while he was optimistic, he always stressed to his clients there was no guarantee of resurrection. Additionally, he said, the world might be in a state you wouldn't want to come back to.
Have your say: send a letter to the editor.
