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Description
This is the march of the undead
We rise against tyranny
This is the march of the undead
Rise from the temple of cryonics

-Cryonic Temple, Temple of Cryonics

They tell you it is just like sleeping. And for your own good, they lie.

Cryosleep, the method of inducing suspended animation of organisms through cryogenics, is ancient technology in the age of the Great Compass. By 5300 CE, with even the most extreme long range space travel times being measured in single digit years rather than decades, cryosleep has largely been superseded by various types of short term anabiotic hibernation, but for most of beastkind's history among the stars the technology was the only viable method of non-generational interstellar travel.

The technology has not changed significantly since the Twelve Planets era. The subject is sedated and surgical ports for rapid liquid exchange opened. Body temperature is gradually lowered while blood and other body fluids are drained and replaced with cryo-resilient substitutes. Blood gas exchange is maintained until a temperature is reached where circulation effectively ceases; at this point biochemistry has long since been suspended. Reanimation is achieved by reversing the process, raising the temperature to restart first circulation and then basic metabolism. Cryo-resilient circulatory fluids are replaced with a degradable blood substitute. Autonomous body functions are artificially elicited.
During the Twelve Planets era bodies were normally kept in dewar capsules filled with thermal buffer fluid, placed at an angle with the head at the "bottom" (in relation to the acceleration of the ship) to reduce the risk of brain damage in the event of cooling failure. An internal rig kept bodies rotating to prevent frozen tissue from cracking under the prolonged stress of interstellar acceleration.

The use of "bodies" is deliberate as it accurately describes the most troubling aspect of cryosleep. The temperatures in cryosleep are far below those used in any other kind of medical cryogenics, having more in common with non-destructive meat preservation than with hibernation, and similarly bodies in cryosleep do not awaken if improperly thawed but simply decompose as any other meat. Cryosleep is in effect not sleep at all, but death under controlled conditions.

While the failure rate and risk of permanent complications have always been relatively high, the greatest danger of cryosleep is psychological trauma. A not insignificant number of subjects familiar with the specifics of the procedure become afflicted with some degree of identity crisis, unspecific anxiety, or depression related to a loss of self. At worst - nearly eliminated by 5300 CE but quite common in the Twelve Planets era - subjects may develop a "homing terror", intense body dysmorphia and suicidal ideations fuelled by a need to return to a "natural" state of death. Although preventative measures and treatments have become very sophisticated, the most successful preventative measure is simply the continued use of obfuscating language and discouraging subjects with preexisting psychological conditions or intense spiritual beliefs from learning more about the procedure.

From the sketchbook, ink and some touching up with white Pilot pen. 1x5 centimeters.

Description
This is the march of the undead
We rise against tyranny
This is the march of the undead
Rise from the temple of cryonics

-Cryonic Temple, Temple of Cryonics

They tell you it is just like sleeping. And for your own good, they lie.

Cryosleep, the method of inducing suspended animation of organisms through cryogenics, is ancient technology in the age of the Great Compass. By 5300 CE, with even the most extreme long range space travel times being measured in single digit years rather than decades, cryosleep has largely been superseded by various types of short term anabiotic hibernation, but for most of beastkind's history among the stars the technology was the only viable method of non-generational interstellar travel.

The technology has not changed significantly since the Twelve Planets era. The subject is sedated and surgical ports for rapid liquid exchange opened. Body temperature is gradually lowered while blood and other body fluids are drained and replaced with cryo-resilient substitutes. Blood gas exchange is maintained until a temperature is reached where circulation effectively ceases; at this point biochemistry has long since been suspended. Reanimation is achieved by reversing the process, raising the temperature to restart first circulation and then basic metabolism. Cryo-resilient circulatory fluids are replaced with a degradable blood substitute. Autonomous body functions are artificially elicited.
During the Twelve Planets era bodies were normally kept in dewar capsules filled with thermal buffer fluid, placed at an angle with the head at the "bottom" (in relation to the acceleration of the ship) to reduce the risk of brain damage in the event of cooling failure. An internal rig kept bodies rotating to prevent frozen tissue from cracking under the prolonged stress of interstellar acceleration.

The use of "bodies" is deliberate as it accurately describes the most troubling aspect of cryosleep. The temperatures in cryosleep are far below those used in any other kind of medical cryogenics, having more in common with non-destructive meat preservation than with hibernation, and similarly bodies in cryosleep do not awaken if improperly thawed but simply decompose as any other meat. Cryosleep is in effect not sleep at all, but death under controlled conditions.

While the failure rate and risk of permanent complications have always been relatively high, the greatest danger of cryosleep is psychological trauma. A not insignificant number of subjects familiar with the specifics of the procedure become afflicted with some degree of identity crisis, unspecific anxiety, or depression related to a loss of self. At worst - nearly eliminated by 5300 CE but quite common in the Twelve Planets era - subjects may develop a "homing terror", intense body dysmorphia and suicidal ideations fuelled by a need to return to a "natural" state of death. Although preventative measures and treatments have become very sophisticated, the most successful preventative measure is simply the continued use of obfuscating language and discouraging subjects with preexisting psychological conditions or intense spiritual beliefs from learning more about the procedure.

From the sketchbook, ink and some touching up with white Pilot pen. 1x5 centimeters.