Ethically, cryogenics shakes up fundamental beliefs. In a Moroccan society where death is seen as a sacred and inevitable step, this quest for immortality could be seen as an attempt to defy the natural and divine order.
What if death was no longer inevitable? If our passage into the unknown could be suspended, while waiting for science to find solutions to the ills that overwhelm us? This dream, or this nightmare depending on your perspective, is becoming reality in certain cryogenics laboratories. But behind this technological prowess lie serious questions: what are we prepared to sacrifice to push the limits of life?
A technological leap or an escape from death?
In an American center dedicated to cryogenics, 245 bodies lie in chilling silence, immersed in tanks of liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C. These bodies, which scientists call “patients,” patiently await a medicine of the future capable of curing the illnesses that took them away and restoring their vital functions.
The cost of this suspension between life and death is astronomical. Complete cryonics costs around $200,000, while preserving just the brain – considered the seat of consciousness – costs $80,000. These sums, which seem dizzying, have not stopped hundreds of people from placing their hope in this technology. But can we really cheat death, or is it a carefully maintained illusion?
A psychological and philosophical dizziness
If one day these “patients” were resuscitated, what world would they discover? Would this future world only be recognizable, or would it become a foreign land, populated by unknowns and incomprehensible innovations? The existential loneliness, the loss of bearings and the trauma linked to an improbable reintegration could be as frightening as death itself.
Ethically, cryogenics shakes up fundamental beliefs. In a Moroccan society where death is seen as a sacred and inevitable step, this quest for immortality could be seen as an attempt to defy the natural and divine order. Suspending death means questioning our relationship with impermanence and spirituality, essential pillars of many cultures, including ours.
Science facing its limits
The technical challenges of cryogenics remain immense. No cryogenic bodies have yet been resuscitated. Cryonics itself causes significant cellular damage that no current technology can repair. This uncertainty raises an essential question: are we willing to bet on science that promises miracles without concrete proof?
A reflection for Morocco
In our country, the very idea of cryogenics seems to belong to science fiction. However, globalization and access to technologies could introduce this debate into our scientific and philosophical circles. Beyond technical considerations, this subject could lead us to think about our relationship to life, death and the future.
The ultimate dilemma: Push back or accept the inevitable?
Cryonics does not just question medicine. It challenges our humanity and our ability to accept our finitude. In seeking to prolong life, do we risk forgetting what gives it meaning: its fragility and its ephemeral nature?
Ultimately, this quest for immortality seems more like a headlong rush than true progress. It forces us to question what makes existence rich: is it the duration, or the moments that we choose to infuse into it?
Cryonics, whether celebrated as a futuristic miracle or feared as an arrogant attempt to play God, is a mirror that reflects our deepest anxieties. So, and you, would you choose to cross the centuries in search of an uncertain future, or to fully live the present moment, with all that it entails of beauty and fragility?
