Adventures in immortality

So I'm going to share some adventures I'm having in figuring out what to do with myself after I die. It's morbid, and I still haven't figured out what I'm doing for the next few years of my life, but I suppose better sooner than later? I really have no good excuse for this.

I have every intent of making myself useful after I die, and that means not being embalmed and encased in metal under the earth for god knows how long. I am already an organ and tissue donor, but the question comes up--what about the rest of me? That's when I remembered the weird, wonderful, and surreal experience of Body Worlds.

For anyone who is unaware--become aware. And go see it. Body Worlds is the exhibition of real human bodies preserved via a method called plastination. The institute responsible for Body Worlds has a detailed explanation of plastination on their website, but roughly speaking, it's a bit like fossilization, except with plastic polymers instead of minerals. The plastination process replaces the perishable cells and tissues of the body with a non-perishable polymer, preserving the body in all its incredible detail. Every muscle, every blood vessel, every organ and ligament on display, all from bodies voluntarily donated by people.

I know I'm weird compared to the average person when it comes to being squeamish. I've been elbow-deep in a vat of brains for anatomy lab, dissected more invertebrates than most people know exist, and had a lovely chat about different types of stitches with the doctor sewing up my foot. That being said, I am not unique in my response to Body Worlds. Despite the display of real human bodies and the sheer weirdness of seeing inside other people, most people respond favorably to Body Worlds. Some strange people like me have near-religious experiences.

I remember seeing one display where only the blood vessels were preserved. A woman, her child, and a bird in simulated flight stood in the case, their forms composed of nothing but the finest web of crimson. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. I don't have words to describe the feeling I had.

The long and the short of it is that I'm currently going through the information packet and paperwork to donate my body for plastination. It's perfectly compatible with organ and tissue donation--that happens first. What remains of the bodies is then sent to the Institute for Plastination to be transformed into an anatomical display. This, as far as I'm concerned, is the most meaningful kind of immortality I can achieve; my body serves a purpose after death, saving lives and educating the public about the wonderful mechanism that is the human body. What could possibly be cooler than that?

Of course, it's not just like I can sign a few forms and be guaranteed plastination upon death--there's more to it than that. I'll update with details in later posts, after I've figured out exactly what I'm doing.