X-Message-Number: 1772
From:	Ben Best <>
Date:	Thu, 18 Feb 1993 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: more on sf worldcon in sf


   I am glad to hear that Lola McCrary is co-ordinating a Party Suite.
I could contribute something, or even stay at the Suite, but such
arrangements need not be dealt-with as a cryonet conference topic.
I will contact Lola directly at , and I recommend that
others who wish to contribute-to or stay-in the Party Suite do the
same thing.

   I am told that 80% of the Dealer's Tables for Toronto's annual
Science Fiction Convention are booked by the end of the previous
year's convention. It doesn't surprise me that the WorldCon Dealer's
room is already reserved-out. Planning for a Dealer's table requires
planning *far* in advance. I am impressed that Alcor is on the waiting
list, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

  This leaves the question of panels, and the remarks of Charles Platt
concerning "science fictionoids".

  Yes, Charles, only a TINY fraction of SFoids are potential
cryonicists. But so are only a TINY fraction of libertarians,
computer programmers, OMNI-readers or any other potential market. I
was quite prejudiced by the experience of Brenda Peters, Brian Wowk,
Steve Harris, et. al. at the 42nd West Coast Science Fantasy Conference
(as described in CRYONICS, September 1989), but the 1991 WorldCon
shattered my expectations.  Perhaps WesterCon attracted too many
"fantasy" types or was too small to have a worthwhile number of
potentials. If only 5% of attendees have a serious potential interest,
that can mean 300 people at a conference of 6,000. In the Chicago
WorldCon Party Suite I saw a steady influx of imaginative, creative,
interesting and *interested* people, often with highly technical
background and education. Don't forget that Mike Darwin met Steve
Bridge at an Indianapolis Science Fiction Club, and turned him
into a cryonicist after a year of badgering. Ettinger, the Chamberlains,
and a host of others had *some* association of science fiction with
their entry into cryonics.

   On the topic of panels, what I would want the most is a panel
where we could present the technical case for cryonics -- and I would
most want to be on this panel. I would like to hear who else would
want to be on this panel, and a suggested title (I still like,
"Is Cryonics Science Fiction?").  This panel might be hardest to
arrange, and might attract the least number of people. Another panel
that makes a direct connection between cryonics and access to the
future is probably a good idea also, and "Visit the Future through
Cryonics?" sounds like an excellent title. I would hope that you
(Charles) are volunteering to be moderator of this panel, and
would look for others to be on the panel (perhaps those you
mentioned).

   Once we can agree on the panels and who is on them, we can lobby
for those panels to be included on the program. This could be done
independently as well as in concert.

                     Ben Best (ben.best%)
--
Canada Remote Systems - Toronto, Ontario
416-629-7000/629-7044

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