This image was lost some time after publication, but you can still view it here.

When Michael Jackson was felled by a "severe flu" in the middle of his child molestation trial, we speculated that he was preparing for the worst by buying time to "fake his death, gather the seeds of a new, utopian Neverland society from the talent roster at Nickolodeon, and escape to the secret colony he’s prepared on the dark side of the moon." As it turns out, Jackson may have had a far more rational plan for self-preservation in the event of a conviction:

Just like baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, Jackson discussed having his remains cryogenically preserved so that he might be brought back to life, according to author Michael Luckman. "Michael has gone to extreme lengths to achieve immortality," says Luckman, who met the singer last year and remains tight with several Jacko associates. Besides taking GH3, the Romanian-developed drug that purportedly makes you live longer, Jackson invested millions in DNA research in the hope of engineering perfect offspring, Luckman tells us.

The self-sculpting Jackson is also said to have deposited his own genetic matter in three sperm banks around the world.

Even with the finest cryogenic scientists money could buy, Jackson knew that the thawing process is a touchy business, and he took no chances with the survival of his line. To prepare for the unlikely event that all three sperm banks failed to ensure the motility of his seed, the erstwhile pop star has spent years quietly smuggling his genetic material out of Neverland in a host of cancer patients, child actors, and German Boy scout troops, ensuring that in one form or another, the King of Pop will live forever.