Subject: RE: Implementing your Resurrection
Date: June 9, 2008
From: Flash Light
To: Dr. Chic Schissel

Dr. Schissel:

I was amused to learn (from whatever your sources are) that Pascal lost his wager in "heaven." However, I'm more concerned with the results of his wager here on Earth, and specifically the possibility that you may be able to win that wager down here by permitting your DNA to be cloned.

You wrote, "Some of the issues you raise have been dissected by philosophers for centuries to no convincing outcome." Agreed. What has changed after all those centuries, is that for the first time in history, we have the possibility of testing a concept of resurrection through genetic engineering science. Hence, for the first time science may be able to produce a convincing outcome, either proving or disproving a (heretofore) metaphysical proposition.

You wrote, "DNA transmits instincts, not memories." I completely agree. Memories would not be recovered by cloning. Therefore your clone, if he wanted to recover the memories erased upon your death (and I believe he would), would need to do the hard work of re-learning those memories. Hence I expect he would re-read the words you had published in Pique and elsewhere. This, I suggest, is similar to an amnesiac seeking to recover memories lost due to trauma less severe than death.

You wrote, "Were I successfully and perfectly cloned would I, myself, experience things or would my clone experience things as a person other than myself."

Fascinating question. In my opinion, since we all change everyday, we all experience life as a person other than ourselves every day. Yet we all adapt quite successfully, and wake up every day believing we are ourselves. That belief is probably hard wired into our DNA's neural operating system, So yes, your clone would believe it was yourself, although the particular name it identified with is undoubtedly programmed during upbringing, and therefore your clone would need to be raised with your name, in order for him to identify as you by name.

However, even though he identified with your name, he would also be aware that he had forgotten decades of memories which he needed to re-learn by long and difficult study. Are you experiencing this as a person other than you were when you memories were intact? Clearly yes, but that person is once again believing it is yourself, believing it is your DNA, albeit now in recovery from the trauma of death, and therefore needing to re-read and re-learn all of your writing.

I certainly believe aspects of our upbringing affect our development. For example, your clone should be raised with your name, and in a similar culture to the one you were raised in. If Shakespeare were raised in a culture speaking Spanish, that would surely impact his ability to become an English language poet. Your clone would need the opportunities for an education similar to the opportunities you had.

You wrote, "Nevertheless I'm all for cloning, of humans as well as animals. Science has always answered difficult questions, and someday it may answer these questions."

I suggest that time is now. Genetic engineering has progressed to the point where such questions may be answered, and you are in the position to be one of those who answer it.

Bringing your body back to life is a matter of genetic engineering, and we can assume it will take about 9 months, once we were able to find a suitable surrogate mother. Once your body is restored to life, the time required for rehabilitation science to restore your mind I would estimate at about 20 years.

The developing DNA would need to go through the educational system again, just as you had to your first time around There would need to be counseling, similar to helping an amnesiac recover memories through study. Your DNA would have the advantage of not having to figure out who he was going to be, because he would know who he was from his studies. He would need to research and learn all you had written, before your loss of memory due to death, if he wanted to claim he had recovered from death.

I hope you will volunteer to be the first to be resurrected by genetic engineering, not from the desire to become immortal, but rather to serve the cause of science. You are one of the few who can understand this experiment, and who might be willing to risk their immortal soul, to see if medical science can resurrect the dead by means of genetic engineering and rehabilitation science.

If your clone succeeds in recovering your memories by study, and announces he believes he has recovered from death, and is able to demonstrate some of your talents, I expect he will thereby win Pascal's wager, alter the debate of metaphysics for approximately the next millennium, and demonstrate the profound spiritual power of science.

Therefore I put the question to you again: Are you willing to risk your "immortal soul" and volunteer to be the first human willingly cloned? Would you permit the attempt of science to bring you back to life, in both body and mind, knowing full well that it is an experiment to further science, and such an attempt might fail?

Peace,

Flash