Deb Geisler says running a World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) is like "putting on a party for 7,000 of your closest friends."
Geisler helped throw a slightly smaller party Saturday night at the Arisia SF convention in Boston, officially launching that city's bid to host Worldcon in 2004.
She is a member of the Boston in 2004 Committee, an organization of SF fans from area cities. Should their bid win enough support from other fans, the Worldcon will be held in Boston for the first time since 1989.
Stark tales of Arisia and Boskone!
The committee's Galactic Patrol theme pays homage to Boston's two best-known conventions -- Arisia and Boskone -- whose names are taken from E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman stories.
In Smith's stories, the Boskonians are villainous space pirates, but Geisler's fellow fans stress that the organizers and attendees of the Boskone convention are not of similarly low character.
The name actually arose because SF fans are notoriously fond of puns, acronyms and obscure literary references. When the first Boston SF convention was proposed, it was called "Boscon" until someone noticed the similarity to Smith's aliens and suggested "Boskone" instead. More than three decades later, the name remains.
However, Boskone, an older convention, is traditionally a celebration of literary SF. When fans decided to create a new convention honoring television and film as well, it was only natural that they would name the event after the Boskonians' Golden Age rivals -- the Arisians, masters of the interplanetary peacekeepers known as the Lensmen.
Mythological and cosmic rivalries aside, the Boston in 2004 Committee adopted the Lensman as its standard because the image suggests a conceptual middle ground where Arisians, Boskonians and Boston fans of every stripe can come together toward a common goal.
A family reunion for Jedi and Klingons
Under the auspices of the World Science Fiction Society, a different city hosts Worldcon each year, usually over the Labor Day weekend.
In addition to the usual SF convention activities -- including panel discussions, film and video presentations, games and costume contests -- Worldcon has two important functions.
First, Worldcon members choose the recipients of the annual Science Fiction Achievement Awards, also known as the
.
Convention goers vote on the Hugos, the most prestigious awards given by science fiction fans, much like the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences vote on the Oscars.
In addition, attendees select the sites of future Worldcons, voting on bids three years in advance. Fans attending this year's Worldcon, Chicon 2000 in Chicago, will determine the site for Worldcon 2003.
The Boston in 2004 bid currently faces competition from Charlotte and New York City. With 20 months to go before the question goes to a vote in Philadelphia, other cities may also enter bids. Any of the current committees could also withdraw their bids or focus their efforts on a different city.
Winning bids have come from all over the world. Over the convention's 61-year history, cities as diverse as Denver, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Melbourne have had their turn hosting Worldcon.
The tools and the talent
An experienced convention-runner, Geisler helped organize Noreascon 3, Boston's last World Science Fiction Convention, over a decade ago.
The Boston in 2004 Committee also includes the chairs of four previous Worldcons, as well as members who have run every division of Worldcon and countless other local and regional science fiction conventions.
Experience alone is not enough. Organizing a science fiction convention is a labor of love, requiring tremendous amounts of energy and enthusiasm.
As volunteers, their only reward is the satisfaction of a job well done. They won't even get free memberships to the convention they're hoping to host.
Although Geisler knows that the process can "eat you alive," her obvious enthusiasm suggests that she looks forward to Worldcon in the same way schoolchildren anticipate summer vacation.
To infinity and beyond!
Space was literally the centerpiece of the 2004 bid party. Visitors entering the hotel suite where the party was held immediately encountered a 6-foot blue rocket ship, a souvenir from an earlier convention.
Approximately 50 guests filled the suite to swap SF war stories, show their support for the bid or simply to decompress and enjoy the free food and drink after a long day making the convention rounds.
How did the Lensman theme resonate for the generations of fans who haven't read Smith's space opera tales from the late 1930s and 1940s?
Geisler observed that while younger fans may not know the specifics of these stories, they can easily embrace the Golden Age spirit of the Galactic Patrol. As she put it, "kids love rockets and rayguns and creepy monsters."
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