The Alphaville Herald

The Geeks Are Coming!

by Alphaville Herald on 04/05/05 at 11:40 am

by Budka Groshomme

A fanatical group of science fiction fans in northwest Indigo sim has built some kick-ass space ships that are now poised ready to sally forth to destroy the Alliance, the Borg, or the Klingons!

Or perhaps they’re just getting ready to attack the puzzling array of oversized teddy bears ranged along a bluff nearby.

SciFiGeeks was founded by two university friends while studying online worlds. In 2004 NeuralClone Zaius and Chosen Few discovered their common love for matters Sci-Fi about the same time they found Second Life. Both quickly learned that SL provided an element that, unlike traditional SF, allowed them to become active participants in their fantasies. This was amazing. “You have to remember that, a few years ago, SL itself was just SF,” declared NeuralClone.

The group grew to nearly 100 members in only a matter of weeks after being founded, testament to the fact that Second Life attracts SF fans from all walks of life.

Strangely, to the eyes of one who is used to the SF convention circuit, the characters that form the Sci-Fi Geeks do not appear that much different from those attending one of the many SF conventions around the country. Nor do they differ from the other fantastic inhabitants of SL who quickly discover to their delight that Sci-Fi and SL go hand-in-hand. Some members don their costumes when they visit, some have adopted SF avatars full time, and others prefer to maintain a more “normal” Second Life guise.

Many of the members realize their favorite shows, movies, and stories in their builds, as evidenced by the huge green Klingon bird of prey above the museum. This ship, like its accompanying alliance ship, are fully realized with internal structures from the engine room to the command bridge. Both ships are accessible by teleport from the lobby of the museum the Geeks have built in Indigo.

The bridge of the Defiant

Below the menacing ships, at ground level, lies the SciFiGeek’s museum. The contents of this building pay homage to the genre. On the ground floor is Star Trek’s holodeck, where one can image objects and scenes from favored science fiction settings – a telephone booth for Dr Who fans and a scary Lovecraftean monster, among others.

Upstairs, the walls are adorned with an array of posters from SF movies of the past – “Monsters of the Deep”, “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”, “Destination Moon” and others that bring back memories of buttery popcorn, sticky, pop-soaked floors and treasured afternoons spent staring in amazement over what now look like cheesy special effects.

At the time, these movies of science fiction’s past were wonderful trips for the imagination. Later generations stared in fascination at the same visions on black and white television, interrupted endlessly by commercials, and strung over many more hours. Later still, these same movies appeared on color sets side by side with actual television SF shows! Star Trek, with its cheap velour suits and many aliens in not-very-convincing rubber suits, paved the way for better SF on TV. Similarly, the success of the first Star Wars, building on a fan base teethed on television, was largely responsible for the big budget releases we enjoy today.

Many of the science fiction fans here in SL are seeking the same sort of SF release that they get from the SF flicks and shows. What brings them together? Perhaps, like SL itself, Sci-Fi deals with what it means to be truly human as no other genre might. “If the soul of Sci-Fi is great stories,” Chosen Few declared, “Then technology is its heart.”

Chosen Few

Through the Sci-Fi Geeks, fans have found a sense of identity and established a community of shared interests. They are no trivial group either. Still growing rapidly, they permeate every layer of SL, no doubt acting as a leaven to the greater cultural conscience. On any given day in Indigo, at any hour, you may find them gathering together, in twos and threes, sometimes more, to share their love of science fiction in all its many forms.

Most, you will discover in your conversations, are fans of the visual forms, sucked in by movies and television of all vintages. Others are print fans, both of novels and short fiction. Regardless of their particular interest, all are willing to talk endlessly about their favorites and, more interestingly, their passionate interest in the art form that science fiction has become.

Recently, the SciFiGeeks launched their Web site, through which they hope to attract ever more members pay the rent on their land and share their love of the genre. We wish them the geekiest of luck.