What, Why, & How

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Our proposal is, generally, to hold an adjunct or second session of the World Science Fiction Convention at Luna City in the year 2017, in coordination with the WSFS and the year's Worldcon organizers (not that we have any way of guessing who that will be). We expect to host a guest or two, along with perhaps ten attending members from Terra, & to arrange two-way high-definition television links to allow holding joint programming with the terrestrial (primary) session.

Now, what is our motive for doing this? Firstly, of course, it seems likely that many of our lunar pioneers will fall somewhere in or near the SF fandom, & it is self-evident that they will not be able to attend any convention which is held in Terra. If they want to have a convention at all, then, they will have to hold their own. If it is feasible (& we see no obstacle) to arrange joint proceedings via telecommunications with a large terrestrial convention, having a diversity of programming, the convention thus held would be far more satisfactory than whatever could be cooked up on the spot.

Secondly, the advance preparation gives us another avenue to engage engage the SF fandom, while the possibility of actually attending serves as incentive & to an extent reward. In particular the position of Lunar Guest of Honor allows us to thank someone who has been especially helpful. Thirdly, the event serves as a sort of kick-off to lunar space tourism. Certainly by 5 years after First Landing, the settlement should be sufficiently well established to allow supporting a dozen or so visitors at a time, & passage costs should have come down significantly from the $100 million dollars the Russians are asking for a Zond-style lunar circumnavigation (an uncomfortable & hazardous enterprise for which they have already taken more than one reservation). It will give us something to publicize, & demonstrate in the clearest way that Luna City is "open for business".

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Let it be noted that 2017 will be, barring accidents, the 75th Worldcon. Surely that's long enough to wait!

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See also the dedicated site.