Chapter 21
“Are you joking, Ms Yeager?” Reuben exclaimed. “You want us to keep you cryonically frozen as well?”
Cassandra nodded and calmly replied, “That’s right. And, from this day onward, I’m the biggest shareholder of your cryonics research team. From now on, 10% of Yeager Corporation’s annual profits will be donated to the cryonics research facility to aid in the development of the thawing and revival method.”
While 10% didn’t sound like much, it was when it involved Yeager Corporation. After all, the company’s monthly net profit alone was hundreds of millions of dollars!
“Ms. Yeager, we are truly grateful that you are willing to sponsor our research, but cryonic technology was created mainly to cater to people who are suffering from terminal diseases,” Reuben patiently explained. “It’s for patients who are facing conditions like ALS, cancer, or multiple organ failure, situations where the current medical technology can’t provide them with much hope for survival.
“Many of them are still young, so instead of withering away, they hope to say their goodbyes to their loved ones before being cryonically frozen. That way, their conditions will be put on hold as well. As science and technology continue to develop, advancements will be made in the field of medicine as well. They are waiting for the day when their conditions can also be cured. Only then will they undergo a cryonic revival.”
After a pause, Reuben added somewhat hesitantly, “You’re of perfectly sound health, Ms. Yeager. You’re not afflicted with any diseases at all, so I don’t understand why you wish to be frozen.”
Hearing that, Cassandra looked over at the room where Sebastian’s cryogenic chamber was being stored. Her eyes filled with affection.
“He will be very lonely if I’m not there with him when he wakes up, and I… won’t ever let him feel lonely again.”
Reuben was startled by what he heard, and after a while, he let out a heavy sigh.
“I know you love Mr. Lowell deeply, Ms. Yeager, but love isn’t everything,” Reuben said. “I feel it is my responsibility to warn you that even though time stops for you when you’re cryonically frozen, life carries on as usual for your friends and family.
“When you wake up perhaps a hundred or even a thousand years from now, all of the people you know and love may have left this world already. The patients have no other choice. In order to get another shot at life, they have to rest their hopes on cryonic technology, but that’s not the same for you.
“You’re perfectly healthy. You can continue to have a blissful, happy life in a familiar world with your friends and family beside you. Are you really going to give up everything you have right now for the sake of love? For the sake of being frozen together with Mr. Lowell?”
In response to Reuben’s heartfelt question, Cassandra nodded without hesitation.
“You don’t need to try and talk me out of it. I’ve made my mind up already.”
She knew the world she would be waking up to would be a completely foreign one. That was all the more reason why she was determined to freeze herself and accompany Sebastian in his slumber. That way, he wouldn’t be scared when he woke up.
He said she was his only connection to this world. Well, in that case, it was a given that she had to accompany him through this journey of being frozen in time, awaiting the future.
“I’m moved by your love for Mr. Lowell, Ms. Yeager, but I’m afraid I have more bad news to share,” Reuben said with a sigh. “Even now, the process of thawing and reviving humans who have been cryonically frozen is still purely theoretical.
“Every single one of us on the research team is passionate about developing the technology needed for the revival process, but we have to admit that there’s still a possibility of failure. We might never be able to find a safe way to thaw a human being.
“I informed Mr. Lowell of this before as well. If our research ends in failure, you and Mr. Lowell might never wake up again.”
