June 7–9, 2019
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The Future Society of Central Oklahoma Presents SOONERCON 28 JUNE 7–9, 2019 7–9, JUNE JUNE 26–28, 2020 EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER | NORMAN, OK JUNE 7– 9, 2019 Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center GET YOUR EARLY BIRD MEMBERSHIP Norman, OK AT CONVENTION REGISTRATION. TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Chair ........4 Artist Guest of Honor .... 27 A Note from FSCOK .........5 Writers Workshop Clinician ......................... 29 SoonerCon 28 Sponsors ..6 Toastmaster .................... 31 Convention Committee .....7 Featured Guests ..............33 Letter from Positive Tomorrows ........................9 The Art of Julie Dillon .... 48 SoonerCon Policies ........11 SoonerCon 27 Winners .53 Special Thanks ................16 Program Summaries Friday ......................... 55 Friends of SoonerCon ....17 Saturday .................... 67 Facility Map ....................18 Sunday ....................... 79 Program Highlights .........21 Guest Bios ...................... 87 Literary Guest of Honor .25 Final Salute ...................120 Cover illustration by Julie Dillon. Book design by Phillip Grimes. Edited by Mark Alfred, Matthew Alfred, Aislinn Burrows, Amber Hanneken, Damon Seymour, Shai Fenwick, and Leonard Bishop. The SoonerCon Program Book, Volume 14, Number 1, is published annually by the Future Society of Central Oklahoma (FSCOK). Copyright © 2019 FSCOK. After publication in this form, all rights return to individual authors and artists. Nothing in this Program Book may be reproduced without the permission of FSCOK and/or the individual artist or author. All copyrighted images remain the property of their prospective owners. FROM THE CHAIR e call it bravery when someone perseveres, despite their fear, to endure the challenges before them. It sounds easy, but it’s one of the most difficult things to be: Brave. ScienceW fiction’s narratives and its imagined technologies envision a brave creative space. It takes real guts to envision the realities of the future—to ask not only what is probable, but to dream and bring to life what is possible. It is a brave act to give hope, to care about tomorrow. Hope thrives in new beginnings and in possibilities. There are no shortages of opportunities for courage, fresh starts, and optimism in the face of what may come to be— in this multiverse. SoonerCon 28’s theme is “Brave New Worlds,” because we have embraced our own new beginnings. As members of the Future Society of Central OK, we aspire towards the possibilities of positive futures. Let me be the first to welcome you, and invite you to explore and imagine with us in our new convention home. This year’s event features more space, guests, activities, meetups, workshops, gaming, kids programming, costuming, vendors, parties, panels, and excitement than ever before! Thank you for joining Oklahoma’s longest- running fandom and pop-culture experience. The con committee staff have worked tirelessly over the past year to level-up SoonerCon. No small feat; much XP gained. These people are my ride-or-dies, and many of my dearest lifelong friends and family. I am truly humbled to have served alongside them these past two years as convention chair. I am honored by their faith, mentorship, compassion, and love. Indeed, SoonerCon would not be possible without the dedicated support of so many people in fandom and in the metro community. To all our volunteers, donors, sponsors, advertisers, supporters, friends, and fans—you are so appreciated. We see you, and we all thank you for believing in what we can achieve together. Thanks as well go to our eleven headline guests, whose creations, inventions, and imaginations have inspired us and made our world a better, more interesting, and more entertaining place. It is a treasure to have them with us this weekend. I hope everyone will take the opportunity to visit with these folks, and all of our amazing panelists, presenters, and performers. Swing by our charity store to learn more about SoonerCon’s charitable partner, Positive Tomorrows, a nonprofit school that serves homeless OKC elementary students. Education is essential to breaking the poverty cycle, and Positive Tomorrows works tremendously hard to do this every day for their students and their families. Proceeds from sales in our charity store, along with Saturday’s charity auction, will benefit Positive Tomorrows. Remember: Fear is the mind-killer. Struggle, loss, birth, and change are inevitable in life, but we can choose how our perceptions and curiosity shape the world. That is power. Know that your membership to SoonerCon is helping to make a brave new world right here at home. A vast sequence of small, bold steps by many individuals make giant leaps possible for us all. Thank you for attending SoonerCon 28: Brave New Worlds. Here’s wishing everyone a fun and fellowship-filled convention experience! Cheers as always, Aislinn Burrows, SoonerCon Convention Chair Photo by JSJ Photography. 2 A NOTE FROM FSCOK oonerCon has been around since 1986, but the Future Society of Central SOklahoma, as a sponsoring organization, has only come into existence in the last few years. The Board’s principal responsibilities are two-fold—to ensure that we stay compliant with all the rules and requirements for a Federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and to make certain that SoonerCon is working towards the fulfillment of our mission statement. That mission is: Promoting arts, literature, and the sciences through the lens of pop culture. I believe this year’s SoonerCon will achieve that splendidly. Spread throughout the jam-packed schedule is a broad spectrum of writing and lit, arts, and science—and they’re available and accessible for all ages. SoonerCon is a celebration, and we’re glad to share it with you. But, as any event organizer will tell you, celebrations take a lot of work. If you enjoy this celebration, I invite you to follow us on social media, and consider getting more involved. FSCOK sponsors other, smaller events throughout the year, and it is always open to people interested in a more active level of participation. Pop culture is more and more a part of everyday life. To quote Sam Gamgee (before he was Sam Gamgee), “This is our time, guys. This is our time.” Thank you for joining us here at SoonerCon. Enjoy your weekend, watch for future events, and consider this an invitation to become part of a group of extraordinary people, whose efforts make Oklahoma a better place for all of us. Leonard R. Bishop FSCOK BOARD OF DIRECTORS President, 2019 Board of Directors Future Society of Central Oklahoma Leonard Bishop President www.fscok.org Perrin Smith Vice President James Smith Treasurer Shai Fenwick Secretary Brittany Ellis Member-at-Large 3 WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR SPONSORS PATRON SPONSORS EST 48 CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS SUPPORTING SPONSORS 110 EVENTS CRAZED LEMMING PRODUCTIONS JUNIPER JONES PHOTOGRAPHY PAYLESS THRIFT/VALUE VILLAGE THRIFT SIGNS TO GO COMPANION SPONSORS ELITE TANK, INC. MCKINLEY DESIGN STUDIO REAPER MINIATURES 4 CONVENTION COMMITTEE If you meet any of these people, tell them “Thank You.” Aislinn Burrows Convention Chair Matthew Alfred Phillip Grimes Zac Hallows Director of Programming Director of Marketing & PR Director of Operations Jeanie Burns Caleb Haldane James Smith Director of Finance Director of IT & Software Director of Development Development Mark Alfred Jerry Hansen Tim Pesch Editor-in-Chief & Archivist Videographer & Software SoonerCon Dance Coordinator Annette Asprin Developer Ty Randolph Cash Manager Sahar Hasan Children’s Programming Leonard Bishop Hotel Liaison Assistant Coordinator, Heroic Inner Kids Guest Relations Coordinator Sean Hinckley Robert Raymond James Borja Head Gopher Special Guest Liaison & Green Room co-Chair (Programming & IT) Bernina OKC Carmen Bryan Lauren Howard Katie Reddick AV Chair Children’s Programming Hotel Liaison Assistant Coordinator, Heroic Inner Kids Marci Bull Brian Scoles Art Show Chair Rebecca Jackson Logistics Chair Serendipity Video Room Taylor Burrows Kristi Selensky Coordinator, SoonerCon Writers Workshop Coordinator Safety Officer Secretary Damon Seymour Ken Chalker Matthew Jones Exhibitors Chair Sr. Web Developer & TD Lighting Productions Administrator, IT Support Kimber Chessmore (Main Programming AV) FSCOK Volunteer Perrin Smith Jennifer Jones FSCOK Vice President Coordinator Shuttle Captain & Michael Dean Special Guest Liaison Shannon Smith Charity Co-Coordinator Kaylnn Loftin Member-at-large Brittany Ellis Art Show co-Chair Savannah Thomas Anime Room Coordinator Joseph Loftin Volunteers Registration Assistant Shai Fenwick Art Show Coordinator, Logistics Bill Thompson Hotel Liaison Jessica Lothrop Gaming Chair Daniel Grimes Green Room co-Chair Arich Walters IT & Network Support Brenton Major Logistics Coordinator Elaina Hamilton PTSD Software Developer Pandy Warren Charity Coordinator Ryan McKinley Special Guest Liaison Chase Hamilton Costuming Chair Shana Wiessner AV Gopher Andy Merts Convention Store Manager Amber Hanneken PTSD Software Developer Howard Wilson II Social Media Coordinator Peng Pan Content Contributor Software & Web Developer 5 UNCLE BILL WANTS YOU TO JOIN THE SOONERCON 29 COMMITTEE Visit the SoonerCon Info Table for more info. Dear Friends and Members of SoonerCon, Positive Tomorrows wishes to express our sincerest gratitude for being selected as the 2019 SoonerCon Charity. As Oklahoma's only elementary school specifically for children and families experiencing homelessness, this support means the world to hundreds of little ones