Lake Geneva #2 Table of Contents Pages 2-3: Table of Contents Page 4: Strength in Our Differences (Pablo M.A Vazquez) Pages 5-6: Letters of Comment Pages 7-9: “Quis ut Deus: An Interview with Warren Spector” (James T.M Griffin) Pages 11-13: “Gloriosus Regina: An Interview with Caroline Spector” (Pablo M.A Vazquez III) Page 15: “LiFi: A Review” (Christopher Garcia) Page 15: Recommendations from Lake Geneva Pages 17-26: “Nandi: A Steamfunk Tale” (Balogun Ojetade) Pages 27-28: “Experiencing Video Games Post-Mass Effect, or How I Arrived Late to the Party” (Devin Baumann) Lake Geneva Commune/Normandy Officers on Deck: Pablo M.A Vazquez III James T.M Griffin Ashley F. Cano Lauren Laslo Art: Cover/Page 10 “Sira/N.A Tribe: Electric Kids” by James Eugene (http://jameseugene.com/) Page 29“Studying Dok”Art by Alexa“Dok”Smothers (http://dok-alexa.deviantart.com) Thanks for reading and enjoy! Strength in Our Differences Dear Readers: First off, let me start off by saying that it is an absolute honor to have received such a positive reception from fandom at large. This is a labor of love for all involved, including the contributors and the artists, so from all of us at Lake Geneva, this mad SF/F commune we have here in deep in the heart of Texas, we'd like to say thank you and stick around, we've got so much more to show you, especially in this issue! Issue #2 is double the size of Issue #1 and I'm quite happy with everything on these pages! Amazing interviews, a fantastic short story, reviews, articles and all that fine jazz. However, what makes this issue a bit different from the first one surrounds an important conversation that we've been having in greater fandom for years now. If SF/F fandom is supposed to encompass all of Science-Fiction and Fantasy the world over, why is there a certain elitism based simply on literature and, even then, why is there further an elitism there of white male dominance? Where do the rest of us fit in? Lake Geneva's members are diverse and so are our interests, as can be seen through the pages of this issue, our first one, and all future issues. We make the attempt to show that we shouldn't narrow our view of this wonderful genre, but instead expand it, show all the beauty, masterpieces, flops/jokes, adventures and stories that we all have to offer one another. I take inspiration here from the least inspirational of sources, The American Dollar: E Pluribus Unum, “Out of Many, One”. We are not our own islands, but the greater parts of a whole. What's this all mean? Well, Lake Geneva will always publish anything relating to SF/F, the fandoms, and all surrounding it. However, we will maintain what Chris Garcia once fantastically called a “literary lens” by which we will view all of SF/F. Basically, just as we view books critically and intellectually, so will we view everything else and there's no reason not to. That's what attracts folks like me to this specific part of greater fandom and it's something we need to remember before it's too late and we've gone off the deep end. Anyways, enough of my preaching to what is most likely the choir. Enjoy this issue, which you can clearly see has arrived pretty much a month late. Apologies! We'll be doing our best to throw these out to you the fastest we can without sacrificing quality and content (and our free time to actually enjoy the varied mediums of Science-Fiction and Fantasy). Just remember, even if you're not a fan of some of the mediums/sub-genres you see on these pages, keep an open mind, explore, and you just might be. Strength in our differences, after all, and a damn good time. With Deepest Regards and Wishing You an Entertaining Read, Pablo M.A Vazquez Lake Geneva's Philosopher-King/Editor Letters of Comment Wish to contact Lake Geneva? No? You want to throw us into a raging supernova? Fine, but at least tell us why with an email to [email protected]! Hey, if you're chosen, you'll grace the pages of our next issue and be able to brag about it to all of your friends! Cassie Clarke writes: “I wanted to write a quick note telling you how much I enjoyed reading through the first issue of Lake Geneva. It's funny, because I've also always been interested in fanzines despite being quite a bit younger than most of fanzine fandom, and attending WorldCon this year (and hearing all the chatter about the Best Fanzine category) was enough to get me started on a fanzine of my own. Reading your welcome letter was a bit surreal in how closely it mirrored my own experience. Is that creepy to admit? Probably. I'm sorry. As if that weren't enough of a coincidence, you mentioned 2046 on your rec list -- 2046 is easily one of my favorite movies of all time! AND you mentioned Janelle Monae, who I have been listening to lately. So there was a lot for me to get excited about in this issue. I'm really looking forward to the next one!” Lake Geneva responds: “Why thank you! It's always fantastic to hear from fellow enthusiastic young fen, especially when there's so much in common between our editors and yourself. Perhaps we'll see a Cassie Clarke review/article in one of our future issues? :-)” Earl Kemp writes: “Okay, guys...I think you did an excellent job for a #1 issue. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.” Lake Geneva responds: “Why thank you, sir! We hope to continue being excellent in your eyes!” Christopher Garcia writes: “Great to see it in full color! Good read, too! And now, I make some brief comments! First off, that's a cover! There's a sense of disquiet to it that I think Mary Shelley would have quite understood, and probably enjoyed! Hey, it was great to meet ya at LSC! I had a really good time, though I did fail in my curatorial role at the Convention, but I had an incredibly good time, though I'm not sure how I didn't put together the name Post- Modern Jukebox with the so enjoyable YouTube videos I've been watching! I wish I had gone to see 'em! Cordwainer Smith, or more accurately Paul Linebarger, may be the most interesting man of the last century. From all of his Diplomatic activities to the writing to the fact that he was associated with some of the most incredible individuals of the last century. To me, there's no question that his work Scanners Live in Vain is one of the finest works of Science Fiction, and I wish I'd have read The Dead Lady of Clown Town. His rediscovery was somewhat shocking in another aspect: his wife, I believe, had arranged to publish one of his unpublished stories to Harlan Ellison for Last Dangerous Visions. That NESFA compilation published that story and Harlan FLIPPED! Though, I understand that he just tends to do that. I have a softspot for Blizzard. I'm working on an exhibit for the Computer History Museum on World of Warcraft, which I've never played, but I have played StarCraft, which is a great game, especially in the Story Mode. On the other hand, I usually don't go towards the books based on any video game. I've read a couple, one of which was a Warcraft novel, and it seems to take too much pre-existing knowledge of their universes. Hell, I don't even have that great a knowledge of OUR Universe! That Seance image is damn creepy! That's an interesting little story. It's got a vibe to it that reminds me a little of Vance or Brunner. I do like Detroit, even if the GIants beat 'em last year and the As are going forward on 'em right now! Recommendations. I've recently discovered Janelle Monae, and she's good stuff. Her videos are very interesting, and there's one, I can't remember which, which reminds me of a gender-swapped version of Outkast's Hey Ya. I might have to get her album. Wait, do people buy albums these days? I do have everything Parliament ever recorded. I really hope they'll put George Clinton and P-Funk'll get into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame some day. I love Aliette's writing, but could never get too much into Nalo. I've not read McNeill, so I may have to go and find it! I did forget to mention that The Substitute is available on Netflix. Not streaming, but on DVD! Hey, good stuff! Can't wait to see the next issue!” Lake Geneva responds: “Thanks for the extra commentary there, very awesome stuff. We're sad you missed out on PMJ, but Pablo has plans for them on the convention circuit yet. As to Ms. Monae, were you perhaps thinking of “Many Moons” or “Dance Apocalyptic”? “Many Moons” features Big Boi of Outkast in the video, so that may be the one you're thinking of. As to P-Funk, is there a petition we can start to get them in the SF Hall of Fame? We're definitely glad you enjoyed our first issue, Mr.