Chicon 2000 Infobot News - 09-Sep-1999 Chicon 2000, P. O. Box 642057, Chicago IL 60664, fax: 312-946-3779 The Chicon 2000 Infobot News is a service of the Chicon 2000 Web Site, http://www.chicon.org/ . If you know someone who'd like to subscribe, tell 'em to go to our web site at http://www.chicon.org/ and enter their e-mail address. If your e-mail address changes, or if you wish to be removed from the Chicon 2000 Infobot News mailing list, or if you don't have web access and want to be added to the list, please write to listmaster@chicon.org. In this issue: Art Show Dancing Fools Filk Music Masquerade: A Call to Compete Dealers' Room Update Infobot News Back from the Dead An Interview with Ben Bova, our Author Guest of Honor Missing Members ("Lost Souls") Membership Rates Service Mark Notice Art Show * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Todd Cameron Hamilton, artshow@chicon.org The Chicon Art Show is going to be a mix of something old and something new. You will of course see the old traditional stand-bys that we have come to know and love from World Con art shows mixed in with some new ideas and technologies that will hopefully streamline the paperwork and make standing in line for hours a thing of the past. We will again be located in Lower Wacker Hall as we were for the previous two Chicons only this time we will also have the auctions there as well, so that we do not need to transport the art any farther than we can fling a badger. The entire art show, from the paperwork to the security and auctions, is being handled this time around by one large group so that we can avoid some of the communication problems that have plagued shows in the past. All of the Senior Art Show staff for Chicon has at least 15 years of experience with art shows including 4 veteran artists and one former ASFA president. A mass mailing will be sent out in October with detailed information on the cost and sizes of panels and tables. You can of course contact us at the Chicon Web Site in order to make sure that you are on the mailing list if your address is different from the one that is listed with our data base or if you are not in any of the myriad other lists we have colated for this purpose...or if you would just like us to send the information to a friend. We are currently planning on having 5 auctions during the duration of the convention and our chief auctioneer is of course Dr. Bob and his band of renouned. If necessary, you may also send me a snail mail at: Todd Cameron Hamilton (Chicon Art Show) 1220 South Westnedge Kalamazoo, MI 49008 We look forward to seeing you there and admiring your art. Dancing Fools * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * kT FitzSimmons, dances@chicon.org Yes, we in the Events Division are Dancing Fools -- we know nothing about them except that many of you out there not only enjoy dances but actually look forward to them. Always eager to please (if we weren't, we wouldn't be here in the first place), we plan to have a variety of dances -- Regency, Swing, Sock Hop, Disco, Polka? -- over the course of the convention. The problem is, we need people who love to dance and who love dances to help us organize and run the dances. We also need just plain old ideas: What kind of dances do you like? Should we have pre-dance lessons? What about refreshments? If you are interested in helping out in any way, please contact kT FitzSimmons at the Chicon website or by snail mail. Please be sure to include your name, email address, and home and work phone numbers. Let's all have Happy Feet! Filk Music * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Masquerade: A Call to Compete * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Nancy E. Mildebrandt, Costumer and Director, masq@chicon.org First and foremost, I need to know if you will be competing and then some basic information about your entry. Since I am at the basic planning stage for what I will call hardware (stage size, type of lighting, green room size, etc.), I need you, the costumer, to tell me how much space you will require. So, if you are interested in competing, let me know that, as well as how large your entry will be (number of people, approximate size [area] of the costume, etc.) by e-mailing or writing to me at the address below. I know it may seem a bit early to send this information, but I want to try to avoid some of the pitfalls that past directors have come up against. Although we plan to conduct a full technical rehearsal for the evening's show at the convention, this will help us make sure that the rehearsal, and show, go as smoothly and quickly as possible. I will be running this event using ICG guidelines for divisions. In some ways, this event will be run like many other masquerades which have come before it, but in other ways, I will be doing some things a bit differently (I have a different way of writing up the tech form). I want to see a very open line of communication between the entrants and myself. Therefore, feel free to contact me at anytime. In addition, in the coming months, I will be producing a newsletter for anyone interested in competing in the Chicon 2000 competition or for anyone interested in helping out backstage with the competition. If you wish to be on the mailing list, please send me a note at my e-mail or snail-mail address below. Again, let me know if you are planning on competing. I realize that plans can change, so even if you are only thinking about attending and competing, let me know. I would rather plan for too many, than have to squeeze you into a limited space. Yours in costuming, Nancy E. Mildebrandt 1316 Sherman Ave. South Milwaukee WI 53172 e-mail: masq@chicon.org Dealers' Room Update * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Larry Smith, dealers@chicon.org Dealers' Room Update [New 09-Sep-1999] At this time, we have more requests for tables than will be available in the Chicon 2000 Dealers' Room and are not accepting any more requests. A committee will be reviewing the applications later this summer and determining who will be assigned tables (and how many) and who will be placed on the waiting list. We'll be contacting everyone who sent in a request with their status and final table rates early this fall. Infobot News Back from the Dead * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Chaz Boston Baden, webmaster@chicon.org Hello, everyone. This is your webmaster and Infobot News editor, Chaz Boston Baden, and I'm back at work on www.chicon.org. Two things happened over the previous 12 months: I concentrated my online efforts on www.99.nasfic.org, which was the website for this year's North American Science Fiction Convention; and also, I served a term as PTA president at a middle school. I think the latter had the greater impact on my work here, but suffice it to say that both are behind me now and I'm concentrating on the Chicon 2000 web site and Infobot News. I'm behind by an extra Progress Report - you'll see a few bits from PR3 show up online, plus the highlights from PR4, and those and any other material that we put on the web page will also show up here, in the Infobot News. So as not to bombard you with everything at once, I'll be stretching the material out over a few weeks. Aren't you glad I put the little summary at the beginning? An Interview with Ben Bova, our Author Guest of Honor * * * * * * * * * An Interview with the Author Guest of Honor [New 09-Sep-1999] by Jeremy Bloom Ben Bova's new non-fiction book explores one of the most exciting scientific arenas that just a few years ago was the exclusive domain of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Immortality. In it, the multiple-award winning author, editor, scientist and Chicon 2K GOH takes a look at the breakthroughs in medical science that may soon allow people to recover fully from even major illness and injuries, neverage, and with luck avoid death completely. Bova believes some of us alive today may never have to die, and considering how the ranks of SF's grand masters have been thinning, that's a very good thing. I asked if he considers that he himself may have a shot at being among that elite group. Bova: I think I may be on the cusp. If the research goes fast enough, I could hang in there and get to do it. J.B.: In 66 years of life, you've seen some major changes in the world, from the development of RADAR and nuclear weapons in WWII to the cold war and the space race, and now the advent of tiny computers, biotech, nanotech, and the Y2K problem. What would you say was the most significant change? Bova: The biggest was the advent of nuclear power. It obviously changed world politics. Atomic bombs ended WWII and saved millions of American and Japanese lives. And then the atomic bomb fostered a stalemate in the cold war for nearly half a century. That probably prevented WWIII. With nuclear weapons, both East and West feared going to war directly. When you stop to think that WWII ostensibly began over control of the city of Danzig, and WWI began over the assassination of an Archduke who wasn't even in the line of succession.... The US and USSR both had wonderful excuses to go to war. But they steered clear. Nuclear weapons prevented global catastrophe - but it was a real tightrope path. J.B.: And we went into other forms of rivalry, like the space race. Bova: The space race was really a front. What happened was this: In the 1950s the USSR was developing long-range ballistic missiles. The US was not, thanks to our wonderful scientific advisors from MIT who said that making long-range missiles was impossible.The scientists in the Soviet Union said the same thing to Stalin, and Stalin said "I don't care. Build them." So the Soviet engineers went out and built rockets that worked. Then American intelligence woke up to the fact that the Russians were flying missiles over 5,000 mile test-ranges. So then there was a secret crash program. During the Hungarian revolt in 1956, Krushchev had sent telegrams to every capital in Europe, saying, "Don't intervene; we have rockets that can reach your cities." A year later, Krushchev decided to use space as a means of advertising - to a disbelieving world - that the Russians really had those rockets. Sputnik was an advertisement that said "We have missiles that can drop a hydrogen bomb down your chimney." The US was desperate to show that we could do the same thing, and in our inefficient capitalist way we made a bumbling start, and then finally under Kennedy we got some direction - to go to the Moon. J.B.: And you started with the space program in the pre-NASA days. Bova: I never worked directly with NASA. Early on, I worked with what was then the Glen. L. Martin Company, subsequently Martin-Marietta and now Lockheed-Martin. In 1956, Martin was building the launcher for what was supposed to be the world's first artificial satellite, the Vanguard. It turned out to be the third, after Sputnik and Explorer I. We finally launched on St. Patrick's Day, 1958. I'm sitting here beside a scale model of that incredibly flimsy rocket. J.B.: I understand you took some of your engineering colleagues to your first Worldcon? Bova: That was 1957, I believe, in NYC. I dragged the two top engineers from the Vanguard project to talk to the assembled SF community about REALLY going into space, which was what we were doing. And unfortunately, the first thing we saw was Forrest J. Ackerman with a giant poster for Famous Monsters of Hollywood. And they turned tail, and I had to literally grab them by their coattails to keep them from running out. They ended up on the panel with Arthur Clark and Willy Ley, and really loved it. But science fiction has many faces, and one of those faces nearly queered the deal. J.B.: It is a big tent. Bova: With many holes in it. J.B.: You were also involved in promoting defenses against those rockets. Bova: Yes. For many years I worked with a research lab that did pioneering work on re-entry physics, and then went on to invent high-powered lasers that ultimately broke the back of the cold war by providing the possibility of a defense against ballistic missiles. J.B.: ...another thing you had predicted in a story. Bova: Yeah, in my Novel Millennium, in 1976. In 1966, I arranged the first top-secret briefing in the Pentagon, to tell our military that lasers of virtually any power could be built. Our lab did the basic work, understanding the physics. From then on it was just engineering. J.B.: But there has always been that corollary of the missile gap: what you might call "the engineering gap". The time it takes between the knowledge, and the ability to put it into practice. Bova: I would call it a political gap. Because it's the political decisions that tell the engineers what to do. J.B.: Like the difference between Truman's and Stalin's orders to their engineers. Bova: Exactly. J.B.: And on the subject of immortality, there's a major political gap. Bova: When I was writing "Immortality", I saw that all through history, whenever there was a major medical breakthrough, it was first met with cries of disbelief, and then cries of "We've never done that before, so it must be wrong." Organ transplants, as late as the 1960s, were met by cries of "They're playing God. This person's heart is giving out, he's supposed to die." Even lightning rods. Churchmen strongly believed that lightning was god's way of showing displeasure, and putting up a lightning rod was a satanic way to avoid God's wrath. Churches in New England were among the last places to put up lightning rods, and for a while the ONLY buildings being hit by lightning were the churches! All those nice tall steeples, with no lightning rods.... So the churchmen had to change their opinion about why lightning struck. Cotton Mather, that fierce Puritan preacher, inoculated his son against smallpox, and was roundly castigated by the other preachers for trying to avoid the wrath of God. To try to avert the wrath of God was wrong - someone even threw a bomb into Cotton Mather's house. Every time you take an aspirin, you're playing God. Every time you put a Bandaid over a cut to avoid infection, you're preventing the natural course, and playing God. J.B.: Are you a believer? Bova: No. J.B.: You were raised Catholic. Bova: That's why I'm not a believer. J.B.: You and the Pope have major areas of disagreement. Bova: The Pope hasn't said anything about immortality. But he did come out against cloning. And somebody in the Vatican even said that clones wouldn't have souls - either the result of lunacy, or watching too many bad science fiction movies. How can anybody say whether a creature has a soul or not? J.B.: Do you see this as being an issue that will possibly lead to violence? Bova: Possibly. The issue is real right now, in that some of the research requires human fetal tissue, and there's a government ban. So that research is being supported privately - which means the corporations that support it will have the rights to the results. J.B.: So the government is missing the boat? Bova: Worse, they will end up having to sue the companies to break their monopolies, spending money on lawyers instead of on research. J.B.: In your novel Moonwar, you write about a similar problem when nanotech has become feasible, and is the subject of witch hunts. Bova: There are real fears about nanotech, and I share them. You could make some very nasty bugs that would be truly weapons of mass destruction. But I don't think banning it is the answer. J.B.: And the technology to do that doesn't exist yet... Bova: No. But wait ten years. Technology just keeps on going. Banning is one of the first things people think of. "I don't like it, so let's pass a law." But that won't stop it. The world doesn't work that way. In my novels, I use the Moon as a far away place to show that even when you ban it, technology can be developed elsewhere, where the law doesn't apply. As far as I know, there is still a law on the books in Boston, banning people from holding hands on a public street. J.B.: Sounds like a good idea. That stuff might lead to dancing.... What other predictions have you seen come to fruition? Bova: One of the things that I predicted in a couple of early stories was the idea of virtual reality - the idea that with computers and electronics, you could create a real-seeming hallucination. That was "The Next Logical Step." It appeared in Analog in May, 1962. J.B.: When computers were the size of hotel rooms. Bova: Yeah. J.B.: Could you have foreseen a palmtop computer? Bova: Sure, I wrote about that. I foresaw small portable computers - to the point that you could actually have a direct implant as an extension of your brain. J.B.: ... Which would make crashes much more frustrating. Would you want a Microsoft product in your head? Bova: Sure. J.B.: You would trust Bill Gates that far? Bova: Why not. Who else you gonna trust? J.B.: You've also written about the prospect of space tourism. Do you see that coming in your lifetime? Bova: Well, if the work I see coming to fruition in "Immortality" comes soon enough, my lifetime may be long enough to get to Alpha Centauri. J.B.: Did John Glenn's return to space encourage you? Bova: I don't think I needed encouragement - I'd love to go. I do think it was a wonderful piece of public relations for NASA. And it showed you don't have to be a tough young jet jockey - you can be an actor or a journalist, or an old jet jockey. J.B.: In a way, science fiction has been providing good PR for NASA for years. Can you point to any one SF book or film that has made a real difference? Bova: The impact on the world has been very subtle. I think SF has influenced a lot of kids to get into science, and then they have changed the world. But I don't see any direct effect from any one book or film - with one exception, perhaps. In the 1950s George Pal made a film with Robert Heinlein called "Destination Moon." That hit with the impact of Star Wars at the time, with people lining up around the block. That film, I think, prepared the general public for the idea that going to the Moon was practical. Everything they did was wrong, as far as the actual technology that NASA ended up using, but it showed that the technology was doable, it wasn't fantasy. And I think that prepared the way for Kennedy, and for the public acceptance of his decision. J.B.: Do you think if friendly aliens ever show up on our doorstep, films like ET will have helped to create a public acceptance? Bova: No, I doubt it. I don't think those aliens will be anything like ET. J.B.: ...even so, in the way that Pal's rocket's were all wrong, but still helped the psychological preparation? That we're not alone? Bova: I see what you mean. I don't know... those films are so fantastic, so out of touch with reality. ET was really about an alien truck driver who didn't understand what was really going on. Watching a truck driver stumble across a landscape isn't Science Fiction. An SF novel would have begun at the point where Spielberg ended the movie - what happens when he gets inside the spacecraft, THAT is science fiction. J.B.: I understand you may have some interesting things happening on the media side of SF yourself... Bova: The novel Mars is in development with Columbia-Tri Star. Whether anything comes of that... There are also people looking at developing a TV series based on Orion, and also a series based on Sam Gunn. That would be fun - sort of a "Maverick" in space. But of course, nothing may come of any of this. I cannot predict what Hollywood will do.. J.B.: What are you travel/convention plans over the next year? Bova: I'm not really that big a convention-goer. I write. Going to a Worldcon takes up a lot of writing time. I do go to local conventions here in Florida, where I can drive up on Friday and come home on Saturday. And if I'm invited as guest of honor I'm too embarrassed to say no. [He'll be GOH at Millenicon in Cincinnati March 19-20, and ConVersion in Calgary July 23-25]. I'll be in London for the British release of Return to Mars in mid-June. And I intend to go to Australia, largely because I love Australia. I'll probably show up at Chicago. [laughs]. Missing Members ("Lost Souls") * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rev. 07-Sep-1999 If you know of a current address for any of these, please contact us at reg@chicon.org, or write to us: Chicon 2000 Registration P. O. Box 642057 Chicago IL 60664 P0232; Adams; Kathy; Oak Lawn; IL; USA; 06/17/1998 A2065; Allen; James; St Louis; MO; USA; 11/13/1997 P1173; Bard; Alan; Eugene; OR; USA; 11/16/1997 A2677; Bouler; Betty; Atlanta; GA; USA; 10/04/1998 A1262; Bumby; Margaret; Ann Arbor; MI; USA; 06/12/1999 A2316; De Vore; Carl; London; ON; Canada; 07/28/1998 S2222; Doss; Stacy; College Station; TX; USA; 05/18/1998 P1578; Ducett; Colleen; Mount Prospect; IL; USA; 11/09/1997 P0275; Elliot; Floyd; ; ; USA; 10/12/1994 P0667; Howard; Christie; Fenton; MO; USA; 06/23/1999 A1905; Johnson; Julie S.; Minneapolis; MN; USA; 06/12/1999 P0450; Johnson; Steve; Union Hrove; IL; USA; 11/13/1997 P0651; Jones; Eileen; Stillwater; MN; USA; 11/09/1997 P1738; Kemp; Doug; ; ; USA; 06/25/1997 P1052; Laird; Robbie; Ann Arbor; MI; USA; 11/09/1997 P0724; Lesko; Netti; Hyattsville; MD; USA; 11/09/1997 P1194; Lewis; Tudor I.; Lincoln; NE; USA; 05/31/1998 P1051; Loeschner; Paul; Ann Arbor; MI; USA; 11/09/1997 P1685; Lucard; Dalen K.; Dayton; OH; USA; 11/09/1997 P0701; Mason; Damian; Toledo; OH; USA; 11/09/1997 A0906; McGeachin; William T.; Louisville; KY; USA; 06/12/1999 A0439; Modrzyk; Elizabeth; Chicago; IL; USA; 05/18/1998 P1456; Nakajima; Marie; Saginami Tokyo; ; Japan; 03/23/1998 P0493; Nickence; Joe; Chicago; IL; USA; 11/13/1997 P2212; Nikolai; Teleguine; Middleton; CT; USA; 12/29/1998 P1115; O'Brien; Laura; Chicago; IL; USA; 11/13/1997 P1794; Ortiz; Mariela; New York; NY; USA; 07/30/1999 S2389; Pedersen; Diana; W.P.G.; MB; Canada; 07/28/1998 P1133; Peterson; Brian; Chicago; IL; USA; 09/28/1998 P0618; Pierce; Marti; Clearwater; FL; USA; 08/24/1999 A2979; Prinee; Mary; Milwaukee; WI; USA; 06/12/1999 P0515; Rechtnitz; William P.; Lyons; IL; USA; 11/13/1997 A1065; Roberg; Sharon; Garnerville; NY; USA; 08/23/1999 S1535; Shafer; Bart; Rolling Meadows; IL; USA; 05/31/1998 P0381; Simmons; Shannon W.; Tampa; FL; USA; 11/09/1997 P0767; Stupperich; Kathleen; Colorado Springs; CO; USA; 11/09/1997 A2977; Trost; Kelly; Erie; PA; USA; 06/12/1999 P0828; Trout; Ron; Indianapolis; IN; USA; 12/26/1998 S1978; Von Orlow; Ariane; Berlin; ; Germany; 08/23/1999 P0999; Wilson; Carl; Streamwood; IL; USA; 11/09/1997 A2183; Zaretsky; Graham; Reynoldsburg; OH; USA; 06/29/1999 A1164; Zeve; Steve; Randallstown; MD; USA; 07/28/1998 Membership Rates * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * DEADLINE IS 01-OCT-1999 for these rates. Sign up this month and save! Attending Membership (No Vote, no Patronage or support)...... $135 Conversion: if you have a supporting membership ............. $95 Kids 9-12 ................................................... $50 born on or after 01-Sep-1987 Childcare Membership ........................................ $135 Supporting Membership (Must pay conversion fee to attend) $40 Deadline for these rates: 01-Oct-1999. Make Checks Payable To: Chicon 2000 P.O. Box 642057, Chicago IL 60664 fax: 312-946-3779 Note: we can now accept credit cards. You can find our registration form on the web site, or write to info@chicon.org and put send signup in the message. Either print out the form, and mail it in, or (if you don't mind e-mailing credit card info) send it to reg@chicon.org. Service Mark Notice * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Service Mark Notice: "World Science Fiction Society", "WSFS", "World Science Fiction Convention", "Worldcon", "NASFiC" and "Hugo Award" are registered service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society. 19990909.txt sent to 942 subscribers of CHICON-NEWS. -- Chicon 2000 - the 58th World Science Fiction Convention 31 Aug - 04 Sep 2000 - Chicago IL http://www.chicon.org/