THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 15, 1995 TAG: 9511160729
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 181 lines
JUAN JORDAN STOOD in the lobby of the Sheraton Inn on Saturday, hands on hips, peering quizzically up a wide staircase to the second floor.
The visitor from New York City tilted his upturned head to one side and stroked his chin thoughtfully as a ``Star Trek'' Klingon with a forehead bulbous and wrinkled as a walnut shell descended to the landing of the ``L'' shaped stairway. The alien's long, stringy black hair and black-and-silver-striped jacket fanned out behind him.
``Do you know what's going on upstairs?'' Jordan asked politely of a passer-by.
Like other guests of the Oceanfront hotel, 23-year-old Jordan's curiosity was piqued by the array of costumes he'd seen. If it was ``a play,'' as he postulated during his several minutes' deliberation, it was certainly a strange one, what with maidens in medieval dress mingling with pointed-ear Spock look-alikes and blue-faced, antennaed Andorians.
``Well, it takes a lot to surprise New Yorkers,'' said the young man finally, shrugging his shoulders.
The spaced-out aliens and the earthy characters from merry old England were among those, dressed plain and fancy, who came to Sci-Con 17, a three-day science fiction convention sponsored last weekend for the 17th consecutive year by the Hampton Roads Science Fiction Association.
Jordan's reaction was as detached and analytical as that of Spock, the ``Star Trek'' Vulcan noted for his objective observations of the universe aboard the starship Enterprise, which has, for three decades, gone ``where no man has gone before.''
About 800 role-playing gamers, science fiction writers and artists mingled Saturday at the Sheraton with Starfleet officers and alien creatures in what, at first, seemed an unlikely mix.
But no matter their game or their garb, what these aficionados of the fantastic share is an imagination so vivid it allows them to wander at will in another time, another place and to positively impact their invented universes, large or small, past or future.
``The rules are different than here, but at least it works,'' said Karen Stein, a 33-year-old Blacksburg graduate student, pointing out an assortment of gaming books at the event's flea market. The volumes define the times and places invented by their authors and set the groundwork for character play.
``Some of them are world-saving, some are adversarial,'' said Stein of the time-warp fantasy games.
Stein's fictitious name for the weekend was ``Imp.'' She was dressed in a green-and-brown print tabard in keeping with the time and place she'd chosen for her weekend fantasy. But she planned to slip into something black and velvet (and, of course, medieval) for the dance Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Federation and Alien Empire of Star Trek fame were sitting down to sign a mutual cooperation treaty Saturday morning. In keeping with their reputation, Klingons got into a boisterous dispute over whether to sign.
Capt. Mike Broome of the Imperial Klingon Vessel Hegh'Ta had to bodily fend off one of his fellow outer space creatures before he could manage to put his Klingonese signature to the accord, on behalf of his nation.
``Those guys always make things difficult,'' said Harry Anders of the U.S. Starship Powhatan, as he watched the momentous event. ``You can't do anything easy with those guys.''
A Vulcan with pointed ears put his pen to the treaty, as a Romulan and an Andorian looked on somewhat skeptically.
Starfleet representatives, in red tunics, remained composed and confident as the five-page document - inscribed in four languages, including Galactic Standard English - was passed down the long conference table for their formal approval.
The pact represents a figurative truce between the warring fictional factions and is also a literal coming together of the 10 Hampton Roads Star Trek science fiction groups with the aim of collectively doing more good for the larger community. Already, the groups individually do fund-raising and volunteer work for many Hampton Roads charities.
The declaration of support defined ``the moral and ethical responsibility to support each other in every undertaking.''
The terms reached Saturday ``could be indicative of worldwide cooperation,'' said Capt. Richard Hewitt, commander of the U.S. Starship Jamestown. ``I'd like to see it happen in the real world.''
The analogy of possibility drawn by Hewitt is in keeping with the long-running television series ``Star Trek,'' which fans say has for 30 years mirrored the situation in the real world.
During the 1960s, the TV space adventure based on Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi book series seemed a reflection of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. In the fictional, intergalactic universe, misunderstandings sometimes escalated into battles, with no apparent victor. The result was an appreciative nod from a weary, post-World War II viewing public, who agreed that the ravages of war more often than not overshadow the fruits of victory.
Later, the TV series was a commentary on the Vietnam War, with the ``hill people'' being supplied weapons by the Klingons, and the valley people getting help from other valley people - a parallel not lost on fans, said Lt. Col. Thomas Rawls, a Starfleet Marine from Chesapeake.
During the Vietnam era, too, the well-known Vulcan greeting, ``Live long and prosper'' (delivered in the TV series in universal sign language with four fingers raised and spread in a ``V'') became a derivative of the two-finger peace sign popular during the '60s.
And more recently, the world situation was imaged in the modern ``Star Trek'' series when the fall of the Klingon empire - which came after one of the Alien Empire's planets exploded - coincided with the fall of the Berlin wall, said Rawls, 39.
Like many other ``Trekkies'' at the weekend convention, Rawls' longtime hobby had its origins in a childhood fascination with science fiction books.
Scott Melrose of Rocky Mount, N.C., became permanently enamored at age 7 when he read the Jules Verne novel ``20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.'' The 25-year-old was dressed Saturday as a Calon Zatachi, a Jedi, from the ``Star Wars'' movie series. It was one of three costumes he planned to wear during the weekend. For the evening dance, he posed as a Starfleet admiral.
John Desmarais, 29, of New York City, said that the literary aspects of Sci-Con 17 were his primary focus. The convention featured panel discussions and workshops led by noted sci-fi writers, including Ann Crispin, author of several ``Star Trek'' novels, and Larry Bond, who collaborated with Tom Clancy on ``The Hunt for Red October.''
Desmarais, a systems analyst for a consulting firm, said that, while the ``Star Trek fans are usually the most visible,'' in fact, most of those who attend sci-fi conventions are drawn, like him, by their common literary interests. He became a fan of the genre at age 6 when his three older sisters gave him for Christmas a box of Robert Heinlin novels, including ``Red Planet.''
As for those who dress up, ``it's real hard to get a hotel to take you seriously,'' said Desmarais, watching a long-eared, blue-caped Jedi stroll by.
But for Mike Broome, the Klingon vessel captain, role-playing takes precedence.
``You can get out and dress up, have fun,'' he said, adjusting his molded forehead and nose. ``I've got to remold these,'' said Broome, smoothing the wrinkle from an earlobe. ``They went through the dryer.''
The 36-year-old former Navy man chose to join an alien club because ``the Feds are just a little too perfect.'' Klingons, on the other hand, being an aggressor species, allow one to ``be arrogant and obnoxious. It's a safety valve - the dark side can get out.''
Broome said that he was getting a bit hungry waiting for the treaty signing and was about to embark on a feeding frenzy, consuming mounds of ``gargh,'' or gummy worms and washing them down with some ``burus,'' or Klingon fire wine. Live worms are standard fare for ``real'' Klingons.
Broome's wife, Lori, is also a member of the Virginia Beach club K'trag Sutai Qla 'Vag. An advanced race in this regard, Klingons don't discriminate, explained Mike Broome.
And, as for future generations, when the Broomes do have children, ``more than likely'' they'll get involved in a Star Trek fan club, said Mike Broome. ``But it's up to them which group - Federation or Empire,'' said the electronics technician.
No matter whether these sci-fi fans chose to align themselves with Empire or Federation forces, they share a common goal - to bring to life the altruistic ideals of ``Star Trek'' originator Roddenberry.
In the words of Roy Sesler of the Powhatan crew, ``If we work to make it better, it gets better, so we have to work, treat all like people. Whether they are from Earth, or they are Romulans or Klingons, whether they are 2 feet tall, made of jelly, humanoid, made of stone, if they have a brain, we can work together.'' ILLUSTRATION: ON THE COVER
A treaty
Mike Broome and Tracy Philips, representatives of "The Federation"
and "Alien Empire," sign a figurative truce between their warring
fictional factions - and a literal pact to bring together the 10
Hampton Roads Star Trek science fiction group.
Photos, including color cover, by L. TODD SPENCER
Heather Tyler, left, adjusts a virtual-reality helmet for Robyn
Honeycutt, 7. About 800 role-playing gamers, science fiction writers
and artists mingled with Starfleet officers and alien creatures.
David Carpenter of York County strikes an imposing figure as the
comic-book character Guyver during the costume contest at the 17th
annual sci-fi convention at the Sheraton Inn/Oceanfront.
Juliet Arrighi plays Dragon Dice, one of the many board games on
display at the Sci-Con 17 convention.
It was just another day in the arms of Magneto of the X-Men for
Kelly Bowers, who also knows the comic-book as her father, Mike.
Staff Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
A costumed Brad Freeman of Norfolk wathces as Steve Freeman plays a
boardgame called Battle Tech at the science-fiction convention.
by CNB