Londinium in CMDIV A.U.C.
A convention report by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 2015 by Evelyn C. Leeper
[In 2012 I was scheduled to be on a panel at Philcon titled "Londinium Wins the Worldcon in A.D. 201", but was unable to attend due to Hurricane Sandy. However, I had written up some ideas and hate to see them wasted, so ...

The description read as follows: "This began as a typo for "London in 2014" but we began to wonder what would happen in some alternate universe if there really was a "science fiction" convention in Roman Britain in the 9th year of the reign of Septimius Severus, i.e. A.D. 201. Lucian of Samosata as guest of honor? Tasteful orgies in the con suite? What would you look for in the huckster room? A signed Apuleius? An old copy of MARVELOUS THINGS BEYOND THULE? What good is our erudition if we can't use it frivolously at times like this? So, just imagine an early 3rd Century Worldcon. Complete with useful hints for the time-traveler on such matters as money, clothing, accommodations, and not accidentally changing history."]

Londinium in CMDIV A.U.C. (convention report):

It had been fifty years since Apuleius (THE GOLDEN ASS) died, and someone was suggesting awarding the "Puleii".

There had been a lot of debate about membership classes, but eventually the Committee decided that these would be Citizen, Provincial, and Chattel. In an attempt to get some diversity, Provincials who had to travel more than 400 leagues were given half off their memberships. The concern was not about paying for the convention--that would be covered by all the nobility paying for various events, and naturally they would all try to out-do each other. But there was a real issue of whether there would be some recognition of different levels of citizens. But when a couple of senators said that having their names attached to events they were sponsoring was sufficient, that settled it. The convention did ask that those who came with several slaves to lend them to the convention to do the menial work involved.

(This led people to ask if the coliseum chosen was really ready for such a convention. There was plenty of room for the lectures, panels, and so on by dividing up the seating areas (which could hold to 6000 for events like the opening and closing ceremonies, though the lack of sound barriers was a problem that future conventions in Britannia should be aware of. The interior areas were fine for the Market and Statuary Area, but a lot of the attendees who were on a budget objected to the cheapest accommodations being the underground gladiatorial cells. In fact, some of the last to request rooms ended up in cleaned-out animal cages!)

There were the usual religious ceremonies, invoking the gods, including Mithras, but the few Christians at L-con kept a very low profile due to restrictive laws about conversion.

People were discussing the latest scientific books: Ptolemy's "Magnis Syntaxis" (an Arab fan called it "Almagest and Geography", but I doubt that will catch on) (CMIV A.U.C.) and Galen's medical treatments (CMXLIV A.U.C.). Copies of these, along with Apuleius as well as other classics, were being commissioned in the Market but how long the copying would take was not clear. There were also various types of Greek and Persian armor for the costumers doing historical fiction skits. Darius of the Helvetii was there as always, with his supply of ancient coins of all types. And of course, there were the usual sorts of spoils from the Sack of Byzantium.

Programming ran from mid-morning to sundown, with a long dinner break at mid-day. There was also the usual banquet and Virgil Drinking Game (the rhapsodist recites Virgil's "Aeneid" and whenever he comes to a simile, everyone drinks). As far as regular programming, there was a panel titled "Where Is My Aeolipile?" discussing why some predictions and inventions never seemed to be developed. Another panel speculated on various artifacts of the gods, such as the magical device rumored to have been lost in a shipwreck off the island of Antikythera. The "Other Worlds" panel covered all the usual places: Atlantis, Hyperborea, Thule, and so on.

One of the scriptores suggested that someone should write take inspiration from Gaius Iulius Caesar's "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres" and write three stories, one set in the land of the Nelgae, one in the land of the Aquitani, and one in the land of the Gauls. Several people suggested the scriptor was just trying to create more business for himself by suggesting such a "trilogia" and it was a bad idea.

And some Briton named Arthur moderated a panel about the year MMI A.U.C.

It had been five years since Princips Septimius Severus sacked Byzantium, and two of the legionnaires of that campaign were on a panel about the future of warfare. (They were listed as Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, but someone told me those were just their badge names.)

Someone had suggested Lucian of Samosata as guest of honor, but this was not likely--he died ten years ago.

There was much debate over the location of the next Worldcon in four years, with Carthage and Athens the main contenders. There was also a "Byzantium in CMLIX" bid, but it was pretty much considered an attempt by residents of that city to get their economy going again. Due to the time required to collect the ballots from the various corners of the Empire, the results will not be known for several months. Londinium in CMDIV A.U.C. (convention report by Evelyn C. Leeper) In 2012 I was scheduled to be on a panel at Philcon titled "Londinium Wins the Worldcon in A.D. 201", but was unable to attend due to Hurricane Sandy. However, I had written up some ideas and hate to see them wasted, so ... The description read as follows: "This began as a typo for "London in 2014" but we began to wonder what would happen in some alternate universe if there really was a "science fiction" convention in Roman Britain in the 9th year of the reign of Septimius Severus, i.e. A.D. 201. Lucian of Samosata as guest of honor? Tasteful orgies in the con suite? What would you look for in the huckster room? A signed Apuleius? An old copy of MARVELOUS THINGS BEYOND THULE? What good is our erudition if we can't use it frivolously at times like this? So, just imagine an early 3rd Century Worldcon. Complete with useful hints for the time-traveler on such matters as money, clothing, accommodations, and not accidentally changing history." Londinium in CMDIV A.U.C. (convention report): It had been fifty years since Apuleius (THE GOLDEN ASS) died, and someone was suggesting awarding the "Puleii". There had been a lot of debate about membership classes, but eventually the Committee decided that these would be Citizen, Provincial, and Chattel. In an attempt to get some diversity, Provincials who had to travel more than 400 leagues were given half off their memberships. The concern was not about paying for the convention--that would be covered by all the nobility paying for various events, and naturally they would all try to out-do each other. But there was a real issue of whether there would be some recognition of different levels of citizens. But when a couple of senators said that having their names attached to events they were sponsoring was sufficient, that settled it. The convention did ask that those who came with several slaves to lend them to the convention to do the menial work involved. (This led people to ask if the coliseum chosen was really ready for such a convention. There was plenty of room for the lectures, panels, and so on by dividing up the seating areas (which could hold to 6000 for events like the opening and closing ceremonies, though the lack of sound barriers was a problem that future conventions in Britannia should be aware of. The interior areas were fine for the Market and Statuary Area, but a lot of the attendees who were on a budget objected to the cheapest accommodations being the underground gladiatorial cells. In fact, some of the last to request rooms ended up in cleaned-out animal cages!) There were the usual religious ceremonies, invoking the gods, including Mithras, but the few Christians at L-con kept a very low profile due to restrictive laws about conversion. People were discussing the latest scientific books: Ptolemy's "Magnis Syntaxis" (some Arab called it "Almagest and Geography", but I doubt that will catch on) (CMIV A.U.C.) and Galen's medical treatments (CMXLIV A.U.C.). Copies of these, along with Apuleius as well as other classics, were being commissioned in the Market but how long the copying would take was not clear. There were also various types of Greek and Persian armor for the costumers doing historical fiction skits. Darius of the Helvetii was there as always, with his supply of ancient coins of all types. And of course, there were the usual sorts of spoils from the Sack of Byzantium. Programming ran from mid-morning to sundown, with a long dinner break at mid-day. There was also the usual banquet and Virgil Drinking Game (the rhapsodist recites Virgil's "Aeneid" and whenever he comes to a simile, everyone drinks). As far as regular programming, there was a panel titled "Where Is My Aeolipile?" discussing why some predictions and inventions never seemed to be developed. Another panel speculated on various artifacts of the gods, such as the magical device rumored to have been lost in a shipwreck off the island of Antikythera. The "Other Worlds" panel covered all the usual places: Atlantis, Hyperborea, Thule, and so on. One of the scriptores suggested that someone should write take inspiration from Gaius Iulius Caesar's "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres" and write three stories, one set in the land of the Nelgae, one in the land of the Aquitani, and one in the land of the Gauls. Several people suggested the scriptor was just trying to create more business for himself by suggesting such a "trilogia" and it was a bad idea. And some Briton named Arthur moderated a panel about the year MMI A.U.C. It had been five years since Princips Septimius Severus sacked Byzantium, and two of the legionnaires of that campaign were on a panel about the future of warfare. (They were listed as Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, but someone told me those were just their badge names.) Someone had suggested Lucian of Samosata as guest of honor, but this was not likely--he died ten years ago. There was much debate over the location of the next Worldcon in four years, with Carthage and Athens the main contenders. There was also a "Byzantium in CMLIX" bid, but it was pretty much considered an attempt by residents of that city to get their economy going again. Due to the time required to collect the ballots from the various corners of the Empire, the results will not be known for several months.