Hey Cowboy, interesting thread.
I don't fear the pain of death, but I fear the great dissappointment that I will miss out on the chance for immortality. I'm an Extropian and think there is a chance that within the next 10-20 years that our lifespans will actually double to about 150 years, and that within 100 years that we will have immortality by means of replicating the total information pattern that makes us...us. We can create then new bodies, flesh if we want by genetics or designer bodies of our choosing including machines or whatever.
Many people tell me that they wouldn't want to live forever, maybe I wouldn't either but I sure would like several billion years to find out! Anyway, considering the amount of time that I'm expected to live now (80 years) and what might become optional (80 billion years) I don't want to miss out on the fun.
Skipper