Worldcon 2025: Prologue.

Today's the big day - well, the day before the big day, but still. 

It's 6:00 AM, and I'm waiting to board the Amtrak train to Seattle, ready to spend the next five days at Worldcon, the annual World Science Fiction Society convention where the Hugo Awards are presented.  I'm a bit conflicted, to be honest. On one hand, this is a unique experience, and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to attend. On the other hand, the current rift between Canada and the USA makes travel across the border a bit of a political statement, and a lot of people have cancelled trips like this.  On the gripping hand?*  Everything was booked and paid for last November, long before the current situation developed, and to be honest, I'd rather not lose my money.

Surprisingly, the bus is actually a faster option than Amtrak rail - notably so, with the bus taking three hours and 45 minutes and the train logging in at four hours and 25.  However, the train has other advantages, not the least of which is that passengers go through US Immigration while still in Canada, which means if there are any issues, you can't be detained, only refused entry.  I don't anticipate any problems, but my wife has read too many cautionary tales on the internet for us to ignore possible complications, better safe than sorry.

However, things have changed since my last train trip to the US.  Shortly after crossing the border, there is a brief stop so that Immigration can check our documents again - and now we're on American soil. The inspection announcement is stern:  while the agents are on the train, passengers will not leave their seats, will not use the rest rooms, and will not use electronic devices. 

Fortunately, it's just a quick passport check by a polite Immigration agent, they collect our entry forms, and we're back on our way, actually arriving at King Street Station a little bit early. 

I leave the station and hike up to Pike Place Market, where I temporarily stash my luggage, and do a bit of shopping at Golden Age Collectables.  I top up my assortment of genre buttons, then head up to the street so that I can scout a route to the convention center and register, hopefully avoiding a lineup tomorrow.

The Summit Convention Center is an imposing structure, conveniently located a straight five minute walk from the Westlake Monorail stop.  Once inside, there's a bit of a line for registration but it's not too serious, only a few people have decided to pick up today - presumably tomorrow morning will be a LOT busier.  The age spectrum is skewed a bit older than I expected, there are more than a few white-haired attendees in line.

A friendly volunteer registers me, and I collect my badge, along with a couple of ribbons (apparently ribbons are a Worldcon thing).  That's all there is at this point in the process:  program guides and souvenir books won't be available until Wednesday morning.

Back to Pike Place, where I collect my luggage, and trudge up to my VRBO booking, about a kilometer and a half north.  Checking in goes smoothly - it's not a large space but well set up, and really, all I need is a place to sleep and shower, with the kitchenette being a welcome convenience for morning tea and breakfast. It's not very close to the convention center, but it's a relatively short ten minute walk to the Space Needle monorail terminal, which, as already established, is just five minutes from the Center - I'm all set. 

I'm really not sure what to expect in the morning.  Media coverage of events like San Diego Comic Con has left me with the impression that large fan conventions are like feeding time at the zoo, as my mother would say, but I'd also like to think that the Worldcon crowd is going to be a little more genteel than their comic book cousins.  

In my mind, this is a bit like a geek Pride Week. Admittedly, in the age of the internet, being a science fiction and fantasy fan is not the lonely experience that it was when I was a teenager, but there's still a certain feeling of isolation that comes with the territory, and as such I can't help but think that this is going to be a validating experience.

Ultimately, it's going to be a wait and see situation  - but I'm confident that it's going to be a good five days. 

- Sid

* This useful term is taken from The Gripping Hand, the sequel to The Mote in God's Eye, by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven.  The two books detail humanity's first alien contact - the aliens in question are asymmetrical, with two arms on one side, and a larger, more muscular arm on the other - allowing them to have look at one hand, the other hand, and then, to wrap the question up, the large gripping hand. Coincidentally, Mr. Niven is on several of the convention's panels.

Worldcon 2025: There's a Glitter Tattoo event as well.*

I appreciate that the organizers for Worldcon are looking to fill five days with programming that needs to appeal to a wide variety of tastes, but I admit to being a little surprised to find out that cardboard tree construction was on the list.  Still, it's all about inclusion - enjoy, tree builders!

- Sid 

* "Who doesn't love glitter?  Or tattoos?"  Well said. 

Worldcon 2025: Merch!

I'm trying to keep my Worldcon adventure as inexpensive as possible, but I do think that one of these will make its way into my luggage for the trip home. 

- Sid

Worldcon 2025: Lord Valentine's Castle.

Without missing a beat, Valentine began to walk inland, over the smoothly rising dunes toward the dense jungle wall. The trees parted as he approached, bowing to left and right, clearing a track for him, a scarlet-paved way leading to the unknown interior of the island. He looked ahead and saw foothills before him, low gray hills that rose in slow ascent to become steeply rising granite flanks, beyond which lay jagged peaks, a formidable sharp-tipped cordillera stretching on and on and on to the heart of a continent. And on the highest peak of all, on a summit so lofty that the air about it shimmered with a pale luminous glow seen only in dreams, sprawled the buttressed walls of the Castle. Valentine marched toward it, juggling as he went. Figures passed him along the path, coming the other way, waving, smiling, bowing. Lord Voriax was one, and his mother the Lady another, and the tall solemn figure of the Pontifex Tyeveras, all greeting him cordially, and Valentine waved back to them without dropping a diadem, without breaking the smooth serene flow of his juggling.  He was on the foothill trail now, and effortlessly moving upward, with a crowd growing about him, Carabella, and Sleet close at hand, Zalzan Kavol and the whole juggling band of Skandars, Lisamon Hultin the giantess and Khun of Kianimot, Shanamir, Vinorkis, Gorzval, Lorivade, Asenhart, hundreds of others, Hjorts and Ghayrogs and Liimen and Vroons, merchants, farmers, fishers, acrobats, musicians, Duke Nascimonte the bandit chieftain, Tisana the dream-speaker, Gitamorn Suul and Dondak-Sajamir arm in arm, a horde of dancing Metamorphs, a phalanx of dragon-captains merrily brandishing harpoons, a skittering cavorting troop of forest-brethren swinging hand over hand through the trees alongside the path, everyone singing, laughing, prancing, followed him toward the Castle, Lord Malibor’s Castle, Lord Spurifon’s Castle, Lord Confalume’s Castle, Lord Stiamot’s Castle, Lord Valentine’s Castle—”

Robert Silverberg, Lord Valentine's Castle

Success - the first edition hardcover copy of Lord Valentine's Castle* that I ordered last week through AbeBooks arrived this morning at about eleven o'clock, and it's in absolutely beautiful condition, well worth the money - I'll be proud to have Robert Silverberg sign this.  My heartfelt thanks to Jeff Coopman at The Usual Suspects in St. Catharine's, Ontario for all his help in making this happen before my departure for Seattle and Worldcon tomorrow morning.

- Sid

* Cover art by Ron Walotsky, op. cit. 

Worldcon 2025: In pursuit of Lord Valentine.

In the process of filtering through the epic list of programming for the five days of Worldcon, I was surprised to see legendary science fiction author Robert Silverberg listed as being a member of the panel at the Authors We Are Starting to Forget event on the first day of the conference. (There's some mild irony here, it's entirely possibly that some of the younger attendees may not be familiar with Mr. Silverberg's work.)

A quick check on Google revealed that Silverberg is 90 years old, which probably makes him one of the few remaining authors from the Golden Age of science fiction, with his first stories being submitted for publication during his early teenage years. (It also mentioned that he has never missed a Hugo awards event since their debut in 1953.)

I'm generally not an autograph hunter, but when I realized that he would also be available for autographs the following day, I decided that it was an opportunity that couldn't be missed, and added the autograph session (and the Forgotten Authors event) to my schedule. 

The selection of novel was easy - my favourite Silverberg story is his award-winning 1980 novel Lord Valentine's Castle, which marked his return to science fiction* after his announced retirement from writing in 1975.  The book details the fall and rise of the titular Valentine, who is cast down from his throne as Coronal of the planet Majipoor after having his mind transferred to a different body, and who must traverse the planet as part of an itinerant troupe of jugglers to regain his position and defeat the usurper.  It's an excellent, well-written novel, somewhat different from his earlier work:  thoughtful, introspective, playful and dramatic, with a final line that delivers an unexpectedly bittersweet ending to the story.**

However, as is the case with many of my more treasured books, my well-read 45-year-old paperback copy of Lord Valentine's Castle was somewhat the worse for wear,  so I decided to see if I could track down a hardover copy of the first edition.

My initial online search revealed several options, but shipping time was unpredictable, so I set off the following morning to tour the local used bookstores in hopes of a lucky discovery. 

Pulp Fiction's Main Street location yielded nothing, nor did The Paper Hound, on Pender.  I discovered a copy of the paperback edition in good condition at MacLeod's, just down the street from the Paper Hound, which was quite a surprise - MacLeod's is one of those bookstores which has lost the battle with its inventory, and as such browsing can be a challenging experience. 

In the words of my ex-boss in Toronto, a good plan today is better than a great plan tomorrow, so I bought the paperback edition as a backup (my existing copy also being in need of replacement) and headed off to the Seabus for a trip to North Vancouver and Book Lovers, a store which I hadn't previously visited.

Sadly, Book Lovers also came up empty for Lord Valentine, and I headed home with just a paperback copy to show from my five hour bookstore tour.

I returned to the web, and eventually found a first edition hardcover copy in Fine Condition at an Ontario bookseller for $35.00 CAD on AbeBooks, and decided to take a chance on having it delivered before I left.  I paid extra for expedited 2-7 day shipping, but so far the provided Canada Post tracking number hasn't shown any progress since I placed my order last Friday, and I leave next Tuesday at 7:15 AM.

And now we wait - fingers crossed.

- Sid 

 

* Or fantasy - there seems to be some variation in how the Majipoor Cycle, made up of Lord Valentine's Castle and a number of longer and shorter related works, is classified.

**It's also possible that a studious reader could learn how to juggle over the course of the story.

It seems so little to ask, when you think about it.

That's absolutely the message that I want to send to the world on a sweatshirt, but sadly it's really not my colour.

- Sid

 

Broadway and Ontario, Vancouver.

"Our hands are no longer dark with soil, yet we reshape our environment like never before. Communities now live in realms inconceivable before through the power of the internet and modern technology. We are more connected then ever, yet it is often experienced through a digital surrogate. The future is uncertain, but we could all take a moment to reflect on what it is to live and to be." 

L. L. PHILLIPS, Digital Renaissance.

- Sid

Worldcon 2025: It's happening!

Round trip Amtrak ticket purchased for my trip to Worldcon and the Hugos in Seattle next month!  And there are finally some reviews for my little affordable VRBO booking near the Space Needle - it's always bit worrisome when a property hasn't received a single comment.

Just over a month to go!

- Sid

  

"I herald...Galactus."

"This equation not only confirms alternate dimensions, it suggests that parallel Earths exist on different dimensional planes..."

 Reed Richards, The Fantastic Four

We're three weeks out from the commercial release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and I'm wondering if it's going to be an epic catastrophe.

Let me be clear: in saying that, I don't mean to say that the film is going to bomb at the box office (although I have some misgivings about Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards*), or that the franchise is cursed (even if this is, coincidentally, the fourth attempt to boot the concept), but rather that I think that the Fantastic Four are going to fail in their duty to protect the planet.  Galactus, an entity of immeasurable power who consumes the life force of worlds in order to survive, is going to destroy their world, and they will be the only survivors, trans-dimensional refugees seeking a new home on a parallel Earth. 

In Galactus' original appearance in the Fantastic Four comic book**, he is defeated with the aid of Uatu the Watcher, a cosmic being who is charged with watching over our dimension.***  

Uatu violates his oath of passive observation to help the Fantastic Four save the Earth by sending the Human Torch to steal the Ultimate Nullifier, a weapon of infinite destructive power, from Galactus' spaceship.  Threatened with destruction, Galactus agrees to find another world to devour, and departs.

Why do I think that the movie's conclusion may be different?  None of the trailers show anything suggesting that the FF are getting an assist from the Watcher, although they may be helped by the Silver Surfer, herald of Galactus, who rebels in the comics version and attempts to thwart his**** master's will but only succeeds in delaying him.  (As punishment, Galactus imprisons the Silver Surfer on Earth.)  Left to their own resources, it may well be that Reed and the gang might not be able to stop an all-powerful cosmic being. 

Second, there's that tantalizing after-credits scene from The Thunderbolts, where the team's computer announces that it has detected an "extra dimensional ship entering atmosphere", and then displays a satellite image of a ship marked with the distinctive 4 symbol.

The same ship is shown in the First Steps trailers, and I can easily imagine Reed Richards frantically adjusting the ship's drive to create an interdimensional portal to allow the team to escape as Galactus consumes their Earth - yes, it could just be an exploratory flight, but drama dictates a more significant - and possibly disastrous - reason for the ship's appearance.

I could easily be wrong in my speculation.  In the comics, Reed spends most of his spare time building portals into alternate dimensions (which, come to think of it, causes most of the problems that the team has to deal with).  As such, it's not hard to imagine that they might end up visiting what we'll call the MCU dimension, for lack of a better term.

But, but, if I'm right, full points to the creative team - it would be a bold decision to introduce the Fantastic Four to the MCU as escapees from the destruction of a parallel Earth. 

Regardless of how and why the Fantastic Four make their way to the MCUniverse, this raises another question.  It's already been announced that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning to Marvel as Doctor Doom. Given that Victor von Doom is the most intimately connected foe of the Fantastic Four, who do not exist in the MCU until now, in what parallel universe does he originate?  It may well be that the Fantastic Four are fleeing Doctor Doom rather than Galactus - it would certainly be a better setup for Mr. Downey's return than the destruction of Earth-FF.  

But wait, there would have to be some reason that Doctor Doom was Tony Stark, or is it a huge coincidence that they look the same?  And what about von Doom's disfigured face, the result of a failed lab experiment that von Doom blames on Reed Richards?  Is Tony Stark somehow the hereditary ruler of the East European nation of Latveria as well? You know, I give up - it's only 21 days to First Steps, let's just wait and see what happens.

- Sid

* Pedro Pascal: fine actor, no question - but honestly, I agree with the people who think that John Krasinski would have been a better fit for Reed Richards, as already demonstrated in the second Doctor Strange movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

** Issues 48-50, aka The Galactus Trilogy. 

*** Fans of Marvel TV will recognize the Watcher from the What If? animated series on Disney+. 

**** In the trailers for the film, the Surfer is obviously female rather than male. In the comics, the Silver Surfer is Norrin Radd, an alien who strikes a bargain with Galactus to spare his home world in exchange for becoming his servant and seeking out other worlds for consumption.  In this version, the Surfer may well be Radd's companion, Shalla-Bal.