"Less Dead" by Aurelia

"Less Dead" by Aurelia

Author: LessWrong March 11, 2026 Duration: 14:11
Come with me if you want to live. – The Terminator

'Close enough' only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. – Traditional




After 10 years of research my company, Nectome, has created a new method for whole-body, whole-brain, human end-of-life preservation for the purpose of future revival. Our protocol is capable of preserving every synapse and every cell in the body with enough detail that current neuroscience says long-term memories are preserved. It's compatible with traditional funerals at room temperature and stable for hundreds of years at cold temperatures.

The short version

  • We're making a non-Pascal's wager version of cryonics.
  • Our method is an end-of-life procedure for whole-body, whole-brain human preservation with the goal of eventual future revival.
  • Preservation occurs after legal death.
  • Even without the near-term possibility of revival we can be confident that preservation actually works.
  • We preserve the whole body, including the brain, at nanoscale, subsynaptic detail. We are capable of preserving every neuron and every synapse in the brain, and almost every protein, lipid, and nucleic acid within each cell and throughout the entire body is held in place by molecular crosslinks.
  • It works by using fixative to bind together the proteins [...]


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Outline:

(00:47) The short version

(03:03) Maybe isnt good enough for me

(05:41) A preservation protocol thats worthy of us

(08:28) What does preservation look like for you?

(10:43) Conclusion

(12:03) I want you to live

The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration.

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First published:
March 11th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/E9xfgJHvs6M55kABD/less-dead

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

Two microscopy images showing cellular tissue structure at different magnifications.Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.


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