Being a science fiction writer, and concerned with the future of humankind, I used to often wonder what would happen if that year’s Dragon Con was the last. How would people–if there were any people left–go on without it. This year we are getting a small taste of it. I know it won’t be the last Dragon Con ever. Things will bounce back to some new normal that will be normal enough to allow this event and others like it to coninue taking place. But how do we cope in the interim? In this Year Without a Dragon Con.
I write this in capital letters because it feels big. It feels significant. It feels foreboding. But it isn’t just Dragon Con we are doing without this year (and yeah, I know it’s going virtual, and I’m excited about that. I am participating in it. But you and I know it won’t be the same). Other conventions–one of which I was also really looking forward to, ConCarolinas, were also cancelled. It has been a year without my mother, who died of a stroke in March. It has been a year without in-person schooling for my daughter and her friends. A year without birthdays. A year without funerals. This has been the year we all learned how to use Zoom, and share humerous quarantine memes on social media.
Humans are social animals. Even the most introverted among us. And this virus cuts to the quick of who we are as a species. And all the conspiracy videos made by people who slept through high school Biology, all the libertarian selfishness about masks impinging on our (their) freedom is just a backlash against restrictions on our communal nature. It is sad that our institutions have to suffer in order for us to survive. And Dragon Con has certainly established itself as an institution. Founded in 1987 Dragon Con has grown to become one of the largest fan-run gatherings of fans of science fiction, fantasy, horror, games, and comics in the world. It’s absense this year will be felt not only by the 80k or so people who attend each year, but all the downtown Atlanta hotels and other businesses that now look forward to each Labor Day.
So while I look forward to participating in the virtual panels and other events (I’ve already been on a couple of pre-recorded panels), I am anticipating returning next year to the physical convention. There is something heady about actually being in that space, about being around thousands of others who share at least some of your interests, about hanging out with my author friends. Just know that this too will pass. We will all be back next year, and Dragon Con 2021 will be off the chain.
Soon. I’m looking forward to it.