Eek! I just discovered, I'm a sci-fi geek!

If you asked me even two days ago if I considered myself a sci-fi geek, heck, even a sci-fi fan, I would've given you a resounding no. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just didn't see it as a genre I'd ever thrown myself into...at least not willingly.

Okay, I grew up with Battlestar Galactica but I was a kid and I watched what my parents and brother did. I saw every episode of Star Trek the New Generation when I was in college, but that was really more about a guy than any real compulsion to watch the show. I did enjoy it though.
"Captain, I am not a merry man," so sayeth Worf.
Best line evah.
I've also seen all the Star Wars movies...several times, again more about my boyfriend picking the movies than any desire on my part.

Firefly, now that show I watched voluntarily but only when it'd been off the air for several years. Then I had to watch Serenity the movie because we were egregiously robbed of a resolution to Joss Whedon's epic vision. But c'mon, a young Nathan Fillion in tight pants...really? That's not me being a sci-fi fan, it's just that I enjoy an attractive man in tight pants. It's the same reason I love football, but I digress.

So yesterday, when discussing a neighbor's Captain Mal Halloween costume, another neighbor pounced on me and gleefully dubbed me a sci-fi geek simply because I required no explanation as to who Captain Mal was. At first I railed against this characterization, but as the science fiction references flew--Romulan Ale, I, Robot, Huttanese, etc, etc, I conceded the point that I am at least conversant in sci-fi jargon, but it's not like I speak Klingon or anything. Really, I don't.

Then it occurred to me that I have what's considered a science fiction release coming up this week, the second in a series of three as a matter of fact. Smuggler's Blues is set in the year 2017 and Sailor's Knot in 2037. These books are a continuation of the post-apocalyptic world I set up in Landlocked. They are all part of Ellora's Cave's Aeon line, which yes, is futuristic and science-y kind of fiction. I'm also working on a book set in the 22nd century titled Beautiful Monster. It was inspired by what's considered the very first work of science fiction--Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

All right, all right. So what's the big deal? I like science fiction and that's a good thing. And maybe I even am a geek, but I think there's something about putting characters into unfamiliar surroundings and situations that distills in them what is uniquely and unmistakably human. As Morgan Freeman's character stated in The Magic of Belle Isle (notably NOT a sci-fi flick, I do watch other stuff, ya know), "You don't have to leave the planet to tell a good story." No, it's true you don't, but it sure is fun to depart from reality once in a while. If that makes me a sci-fi geek then so be it. I embrace my geekdom and all that comes with it. Except learning to speak Klingon. I draw the line there.

Live long and prosper,
Cindy