The Big Unknown: When Might the Frozen Wake Up?
The most pressing question surrounding cryonics remains: When might a successful revival actually happen? Hundreds of people have opted to be frozen, their metal capsules marked not with an expiration date, but with an open-ended question.
“I think 50 years is probably too soon because that’ll fly by quicker than we expect, and 200 years feels like a long time when you consider how far we’ve come since the Industrial Revolution,” says Gibson. “So, somewhere in that window seems plausible.”
But whether you’ll want to wake up sometime between 2069 and 2219 is an entirely different question. By the year 2100, the United Nations projects the world’s population will swell to 11.2 billion. The planet might feel a little crowded. Teenagers of the future may seamlessly navigate whatever replaces Instagram on their iPhone SXXX with elongated, hyper-flexible thumbs, while you—with your quaint, 21st-century mindset—could feel like an antique artifact on display.
And then there’s loneliness. Emerging into a distant future where everyone you knew is long gone might feel isolating. Fortunately, some cryonics companies, like Russia’s KrioRus, have considered this scenario. They offer clients the option of preserving their pets alongside them—a comforting, if slightly surreal, solution to an uncertain awakening.
But who are some people that have chosen to freeze their bodies until times unknown?
