[Open] Panel Submissions, Convention 2026

[Dartz]

From: panels@26.concom.fen
To:[Registered]
Subj: It's that time of year again

Hi all,

You're getting this message because you've registed an attending membership at this year's Convention. We're offering you first shot at proposing a Panel at this year's main event. So, just reply back with the following:

Your Panel Title.
A short blurb that might fit into the back of a Convention program.
A quick list of requirements.

And any particularl scheduling conflicts, security requirements or environmental needs.

But most of all, try to make it something people will be interested in.

Ja Ne!
Michiko

[M Fnord]

From: fnordfnordnfnord@soviet.fen
To: panels@26.concom.fen

Oh yeah, it's that time again isn't it? Here's a couple panels we'd like to throw this year, barring any scheduling conflicts with legislative sessions.

The Year In Exosolar Exploration
Once again it's time to talk about goings on in the final Final Frontier. Discussion topics will include: the current state of colonization on the charted habitats, updates on precursor artifacts, the latest images from Starfleet probe missions and more!
Requirements: This one's usually a popular one, so get us a room with a lot of seats and top-quality AV gear to work with.

Future Economics
Automation and handwavium are slowly (and not so slowly!) obsoleting the economic systems we grew up with, and everybody's looking for the big way forward. What does universal basic income really entail? What's participatory economics? Is money obsolete in the handwavium age? All these questions and more will be asked, if not answered at this panel.
Requirements: AI holopresence capability will be necessary--we know for a fact Lun *will* be at this one but we're not sure if she'll be infomorphing or driving a android for this one. Also, depending on turnout the crowd might get... rowdy. Especially if you remember the Federation/Ancap dustup at last year's econ track. Probably a good idea to have some beefy security people nearby just in case.

Space Architecture 101
Handwavium can make just about anything spaceworthy, but that doesn't mean that's the best way of doing it. Join noted spacecraft designer Sora Hasegawa and a couple friends for an introduction to the ancient and delicate art of building spaceships that work and look good in the process.
Requirements: A projector capable of working with a standard handbrain and a decent interwave connection.

Waterbending
Learn the ancient and noble arts of manipulating water using only your chi.
Requirements: A nice open space with a water feature the venue isn't too afraid of getting stray water around. Tina's planning beginner, intermediate and advanced classes, so staggering those through the convention would be a nice change of pace.

That covers us for the moment, at any rate. We'll let you know if there's any changes or additions to our roster.

--MST(&J!)

[LynnInDenver]

From: LordAndMaster@jmc.fen
To: panels@26.concom.fen

We do have one or two ideas here:

Ethics in Handwavium: Is it your child or a slave?
So you've got an idea for a companion or helper... is it really right to create them, and do you have any problem if they have no interest in being what you made them to be?
Requirements: AI holopresence will likely be necessary, as well as a suitably accessible room for Holly's telepresence rig. Depending on the crowd, an increased security presence might be necessary.

Shipping and Rocking in the Fen World
What currently goes into getting all the stuff needed for modern Fen life from the point of origin to your local manufacturer and store, and more importantly, helps make sure it happens safely? Captain Antilles of Jupiter Mining Corporation speaks frankly about the challenges and rewards of being an interplanetary shipper.
Requirements: A reasonably stable interwave connection and the appropriate display devices should be all we really need for this. This was reasonably well attended five years ago, and from my inbox it seems like the curiousity is peaking again. Especially keep in mind the accident last month with the automated cargo hauler and that fast courier boat, it might spike the attendance a little bit, so we might need a slightly larger room this time.

[robkelk]

OOC: Are these proposals only going to the convention staff? Because if Noah knows about "Future Economics" or "Ethics in Handwavium: Is it your child or a slave?", he'd want to be on those panels.

[M Fnord]

Generally, submissions go to Programming, who then decide what's going to go on the schedule and who's going to be on the panels (assuming it's not a solo presentation or the submitter has their own preference list). At least that's how con programming works in this neck of the woods; I assume different cons do different things etc.

[robkelk]

From: mamabear@stellvia.fen
To: panels@26.concom.fen

If you have room, we'd be interested in chairing these panels.

So You Want to Be a Fenspace Magnate
You have an idea, and you think you can make that idea work so well that you'll be as rich as Marsden, O'Neill, or Scott. We're here to help you make that happen, or at least tell you how not to lose your shirt trying.
Requirements: A digital whiteboard, an Interwave connection, and enough power points to run a half-dozen interwave-connected terminals. We'll supply the terminals.

Virtual Astroball
Using a custom-modded version of Aces High!, play virtual Astroball against the L5 All-Stations in the same simulators that the team uses to practice.
Requirements: Enough power to run 33 large video screens, eleven high-powered servers, and a multi-path router, and a room large enough for ten VR cockpits and a referee's station. The servers and router are rack-mounted, taking up an entire server-room rack. Optionally, an audio/video feed to the rest of the Con so people can watch the matches in real time. If there's enough interest, we'll run this throughout the Con.

-Yayoi

[Dartz]

Local cons generally just used the Panels Officer to handle that level of programming - I ran a regular gunpla panel, and an occasional kit building workshop at cons. But local cons are fairly small so that flexibility is easy. Three people can be overworked into burnout while a dozen other bask in the glory of being 'committee'

Anyway

-----


from: Jet.Jaguar@Frigga-rock.fen
to: panels@26.concom.fen
Subj: A not-quite creative achronism

Welcome to the Retrofuture.
Bubblegum Crisis, Megazone 23, Madox, The Dirty Pair, A guide to the future promised to us by the greatest decade ever. Bright colours. Neon Lights. Big Busy Machinery, Buzzing Screens and Wireframe Graphics. The future as it should have been, a thrilling and dirty world crackling with energy, shining lights and deep shadows, without an iDevice or a Facebook in sight

I need a speaker set, some power, and some security people to confiscate any mobile phone and replace them with something a little more 'apprpriate'.

-Jet
------

[DeputyJones]

From: grand_poobah@pavonis.fen
To: panels@26.concom.fen

Seele has been speaking with several others about the coming con. You will find attached several documents from them in support of these proposals.

Our Friend and Enemy the Atom
A controlled debate regarding the growing construction and use of nuclear reactors in Fenspace and for export to Earth and the extrasolar colonies, recent accidents and incidents involving such in the Solsphere (still waiting to hear back from Crystal Tokyo regarding possibility of speaker on Frigga incident), unmonitored fissile material extraction and smuggling, and safety considerations regarding cosmic radiation. Speakers from the top two reactor producers in Fenspace - Kranss-Maffai, LLC and MIP Company - and Dane guest speaker from Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Requirements: A large projection screen, room for ~180-200 people, and WiFi support for the same. Attendees should bring tablets.