Life is the urge to ecstasy. Nature's bioterrorism is far more fearsome than man-made bioterrorism. -- Stanley Falkow We hold life to be sacred, but we also know the foundation of life consists in a stream of codes not so different from the successive frames of a watchvid. Why then cannot we cut one code short here, and start another there? Is life so fragile that it can withstand no tampering? Does the sacred brook no improvement? -- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Dynamics of Mind" Why do you insist that the human genetic code is "sacred" or "taboo"? It is a chemical process and nothing more. For that matter -we- are chemical processes and nothing more. If you deny yourself a useful tool simply because it reminds you uncomfortably of your mortality, you have uselessly and pointlessly crippled yourself. -- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Looking God in the Eye" "There is no such thing as a natural death." -J.R.R. Tolkien "To those that ask me why I want to live forever, I ask why they want to die... "Does cryonics work?: The clinical trials are in progress. Come back in a century and we'll give you a reliable answer." "Would I rather be in the control group, or the experimental group?" Ralph Merkle "My guess is that people don't yet realize how "handy" an indefinite lifespan will be." -- J Corbally "To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals." Ben Franklin >>Another ethical minefield opens: the cloning of pets. > >Are you sure you don't mean the *owning* of pets? > >If not, what on earth are you getting agitated about? Is there an `ethical >minefield' about *breeding* cats? Buying a Persian rather than a >tortoiseshell? Having a cat rather than a dog? Will the new pussy be placed >under intolerable psychological stress, lest it not measure up to the >accomplishments of its dead sibling? Will difficulties arise over >inheritance? I'm getting very tired of the implication that `clone' is a >synonym for `demon seed of Frankenscience'. Damien Broderick DNA to others as you would have them DNA to you. Gregor Mendel died for your sins. Redraw your MAP2 Match it, batch it, latch it. Axe your axons. Cloning and the reprogramming of DNA is the first serious step in becoming one with God.' Dr Richard G. Seed "Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves but also to that Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring." -- Carl Sagan "for our children, then, nature will no longer be something they are born into but rather something they program Rifkin If our society seems more nihilistic than that of previous eras, perhaps this is simply a sign of our maturity as a sentient species. As our collective consciousness expands beyond a crucial point, we are at last ready to accept life's fundamental truth: that life's only purpose is life itself. -- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang "Looking God in the Eye" Life is merely an orderly decay of energy states, and survival requires the continual discovery of new energy to pump into the system. He who controls the sources of energy controls the means of survival. -- CEO Nwabudike Morgan "The Centauri Monopoly" In one sense, Dolly is best understood as one drop in a towering wave (of genetic research) that is about to crash over us. The achievement will prove enormously valuable if it galvanizes us into readyimg ourselves for this inundation of helpful, treacherous, value-shattering and lifesaving information.'' --Jessica Mathews, researcher, Council on Foreign Relations. "Men will not be content to manufacture life: they will want to improve on it. John Bernal Things that do not change, are not alive. Alexander Chislenko I believe in God. I believe that God is infinite in capacity to love. I believe that God put us in the middle of so much empty space for a reason. I believe that God loves life and wants for us to make more of it. Mickey Kalinay