What is Stasis?

My newest book, KrysaLynn, involves “stasis”. But what kind of stasis are we talking about? Cryogenics, biostasis, cryonics, and cryosleep/torpor are often confused in many science fiction pieces. Let’s take a look at each kind of stasis to understand what kind my protagonist, KrysaLynn, endured.

Cryogenics

Cryogenics is the science behind it all. It is the science of extremely cold temperatures. According to the Cryogenic Society of America, Inc., “many people use 120 K ( -243.67 ºF) as the upper end of the cryogenic region.” Others scientists consider 200K (99.67 ºF) as the maximum temperature for cryogenics. Cryogenics first became recognized as a science in the late 1800’s. Today, medical equipment such as MRI systems and transportation of gasses in liquid form are just two applications of cryogenics in use around the world.

Biostasis

Biostasis is best described in an article by Tomorrow Biostasis when they wrote, “Biostasis is the ability of an organism to tolerate environmental changes without having to actively react to them. It is typically a normal occurrence in certain organisms that have to endure difficult living conditions. This can include surviving droughts, freezing temperatures, or a change in pH levels, pressure, or temperature.”

Basically, it’s how organisms tolerate the extremes. Biostasis and cryogenics are the basic sciences that every kind of stasis below is based upon.

Cryonics

Cryonics is the science of freezing a person at the time of death in hopes of bringing them out of their cryonic stasis in the future when the science exists to heal them. The actual practice of placing a person in a cryonic stasis is sometimes referred to as cryopreservation.

According to the Cryonic Institute, the concept behind cryonic preservation started with a story written by Professor Robert CW Ettinger in 1948. Tomorrow Biostasis has a list of celebrities who either have been frozen or reportedly want to be cryonically preserved. The first person to be cryonically preserved was James Bedford in 1967. He is still in cryonic stasis at Alcor’s Facility in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Cryosleep/Torpor

Cryosleep is the practice and science behind placing a person in a state of suspended animation. Basically, a person would be frozen in a “sleep” state while they are still alive in hopes of bringing them out of the freezing conditions at a later date in the same condition.

While the idea of cryosleep is more popular in science fiction, NASA and a company called SpaceWorks are working in a slightly different angle. They are working on the process of placing a person in a deep sleep state known as torpor. Torpor involves slowing down a person’s metabolic rate over an extended period of time.

So, what kind of stasis was KrysaLynn stuck in?

Cryosleep is the best defining term of the kind of stasis KrysaLynn was placed in for 500 years. Now you will be able to better identify how much research was put into the science fiction you have read. Just don’t judge the author too hard. It is all a matter of theories that have not been proven to work yet. Let us hope for the sake of all those who have entered stasis that the theories prove valid. Only time will tell.

“Cryonics wouldn’t be possible unless there was a way to put people into Biostasis at Cryogenic temperatures.”