I had a great time at the Escape Velocity convention in downtown Washington D.C. this weekend. I got to chat with Joe Haldeman for half an hour and then be on a panel with him (about Drones, AI, and Military SF). He was articulate, insightful, and brought a perspective to the topic of having fought in a war (Vietnam) because of a non-voluntary draft, because he didn’t want to go to prison. He also nailed a lot of the current issues with drone warfare when he wrote Forever Peace a good twenty years ago. (My 17-year-old daughter also got to sit and chat with Joe’s wife, who told her stories about when she and Joe started dating when they were both teenagers.)

I also briefly met Cas Anvar (who plays Alex Kamal in The Expanse), who was gracious and charming, saying how much he appreciated the storytelling skills of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck and their involvement in making The Expanse a high quality show. He also said it would be awesome to star in the Superposition TV show when it gets made, and I should tell them to give him a call. (This last was pure politeness — he doesn’t know me or the book, but it was still an awesome thing for him to say.)

I enjoyed all the other panels I was on, and those I attended, and appreciated that there was more of a serious science track than at a lot of the conventions I go to. And as always, enjoyed hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones!