Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend Uni-Con, a sci-fi/gaming/anime con at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. The campus is very nice; I'd never been before, but it's hilly (my legs protested a time or two).

This is recontrsuted from my notes and any inconsistencies are my own.

I went to a couple of very cool panels. One, presented by author and editor Jeanne Cavelos, was called "One mother, two fathers: The history of science fiction." Actually it was pretty fascinating, but a little scholarly for my first event of the day. I took a few notes and learned that in 1817, Mary Shelley invented science fiction with the publication of Frankenstein. It was interesting to note how much Frankenstein overlaps with other genres, including Gothic literature. Next, in 1863, Jules Verne introduced what is usually referred to as "hard" science fiction (with more science content and explanation) with his novel Five Weeks in a Balloon. a story of how the exploration of Africa could be undertaken by air. It becomes science fiction in that use of current technology (hot air balloons) is expanded to either help or threaten mankind. Isaac Asimov and Michael Crichton would be examples of a contemporary authors that do this. In 1895, HG Wells took the adventure tale and the tale of wonder from the the realm of the fantastic to the scientific with the publication of The Time Machine. His works center less on hard science and include elements of what is commonly called "romantic" science fiction. In romantic science fiction, the emphasis is on the story and the characters rather than the gadgets. The scientific premise is introduced and usually glossed over or not well-explained and then becomes a part of the story. In The Time Machine, the story is about the implications of class in society and the possible impact on the future. The futuristic setting allows the extreme case to be examined and perhaps provides the reader with a fresh perspective on the present. Star Wars is a very good example of romantic science fiction. There was more information about the characterisitics of science fiction, types of science fiction, as well as a mention of the difficulty in defining literary genre and a brief conjecture as to why science fiction readership is on the decline, but I think I'll stop here.

I wandered about, checked out the vendors, looked at the board games (Cat-opoly!), and as it turns out, I missed Orc & Pie, which I really really wanted to play (never played before) .

I went to a panel entitled "The Science of Star Wars" and found out that energy weapons are possible, but maybe not in the way that we see them onscreen. Also, there is a possibility that hovercars could happen! There's science in there. I promise. I found out that plasma will form a beam, but only to a point, then it wants to form a sphere and is attracted to metal. I found out that it's theoretically possible to form a laser sword, but that in limiting the length of the beam, you may cause other problems. I also learned about surface and ground effects and how that informs lift, thrust, and propulsion in traditional hovercraft and vehicles that get more lift than that.

Following this panel, I had considered attending the keynote address by Walter Koenig, but as he was running late due to travel issues, I wandered up to check out Wildside Gaming where I spent the rest of my afternoon. I later heard that the address was excellent and while I enjoyed the game, I'm sorry I missed it . . .

Wildside Gaming . . . very cool system. Easy to learn, fun to play. Our village was attacked by mimes (yes I know it sounds silly, but think about it. It's actually kind of creepy.) and we had to track down the culprits. We had a blast tromping about and not really solving things. But we did storm the castle, beat up some guards, killed a few of them, had a few drinks and attended a cool party.

All in all, a very fun day, with interesting people, doing stuff that I enjoyed.

Tags: Con NH Sci-fi Gaming