Many SF tales, from Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star" to Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz to Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow, deal with the intersection of unexpected discoveries on the faith of the characters. Cultural discourse often presents religious faith and science as polar opposites, and certainly there's a long history of conflict between them. But many people of many faiths have happily and successfully reconciled their beliefs with a scientific worldview, and SF/F is no stranger to spirituality, either. Both Joanna Russ and David Hartwell have described SF/F as essentially religious. This panel will present a civil conversation -- between people who respect both faith and science -- about how the two inform each other, both in SF/F and in the rest of the world.

Hands up all the Reno fans. We have a look at how a convention in Reno came about, by fans from out of state, and whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. We explore whether there is a floating Worldcon body of volunteers, who are brilliant no matter where they operate. If so, is this conducive to getting new volunteers and activists.

Weta Digital's Norman Cates will give a presentation on recent Weta Digital (including X-Men: First Classand Rise of the Planet of the Apes) with, perhaps, a few unexpected journeys along the way. Note that recording and photography during this presentation are not permitted.