Just wrapped up the Lunacon science program that I put together, and am delighted at how it went. A friend of mine from the con circuit, who didn't know I was science track coordinator this year, told me nonchalantly that he'd been coming to Lunacon for ten years and this was "the best science track I've ever seen here." That was really nice to hear. And I was super happy that part of that was having a fellow virologist and State Department senior Health Scientist, Dr. Jessica Petrillo, as part of the program. It really got across how much the government, even now, values the future and science that she was allowed to attend in her official capacity--and in fact enthusiastically encouraged to do so. Something she said is still sticking with me. That basically, the government needs science fiction to show them what problems people care about, and to see what we want to see improved. In other words, that science fiction is art that is also a strategic asset.
