| Vol. 20, Issue 1 - January 1, 2000 | Copyright 2000 |
The Electronic Edition
Robin R. Brunner, Publisher
David Henninger, Editor
The Circular of Janus is a publication of the Circle of Janus Science Fiction Club of Central Indiana. Subscription is included with membership, $15.00/year. For information write to Circle of Janus, P.O. Box 68514, Indianapolis, IN 46268-0514. Web Page: http://www.inconjunction.org/coj. E-mail: webmaster@inconjunction.org.
In This Edition:
- ELECTION RESULTS
- A. E. VAN VOGT
- THE FLYING RAY-GUN
- ELECTRIC SHEEP
- SYMPHONY ON THE PRARIE
- A VAN VOGT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Election Results
The 2000 officer's election was hotly contested among a surprisingly large field of qualified candidates. Here are the winners:
- Vicki Merriman, President
- Jeff Thompson, Vice President
- Lynette Cowper, Secretary
- Kathie Thompson, Treasurer
- Sergeant at Arms, Andy Andrews
- Con Chair for 2002, Vicki Merriman
Several races were among more than two candidates and the winning margins were slim. It was generally agreed that we should discuss amending the by-laws to allow runoff elections between the two leading candidates when they are considered too close. This proposal would have a lot of details to work out. More on this later.
The Science Fiction Writers of America had this to say about his career.
"Van Vogt's science fiction career began with the short story "Black Destroyer," published in John
Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction in 1939. Over the next eight years, van Vogt placed at least
35 stories in Astounding. Among them were the memorable stories later incorporated into the
"fix-up" novels THE WEAPON SHOPS OF ISHER (1951) and THE WORLD OF NULL-A (1948). Other volumes
in both series followed. Van Vogt's first novel SLAN (1946) is widely considered a classic of
the field, and a prototype for the SF wish-fulfillment tale. His other notable works include
THE VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE (1950), EMPIRE OF THE ATOM (1957) and CHILDREN OF TOMORROW (1970).
Considered a giant by pros, critics, and older fans, he is largely unrecognized by the modern SF
reading population. Van Vogt was a pioneer. He was the first author to use teleportation,
cloning, and terra-forming, all under different terms since the modern ones were not in use. His
classic short story and later novel, The Weapons Shop of Isher, is a brilliant representation of
the philosophy of the armed citizen, though it remains controversial among the liberal and
conservative communities. SLAN, the story of a feared and hunted minority that is transformed
into the next step in human evolution became a mantra for Fandom of the day. No SF library is
complete without van Vogt.
Alfred Elton van Vogt is survived by his second wife, Lydia.
Cards may be sent to 2850 Belden Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068-1902, to the attention of Lydia
van Vogt.
Similar weapons mounted in naval surface ships can't be far behind. They would be used to protect
the fleet from anti-ship missiles like the silkworm and exocet.
Electric Sheep won the Marilyn K. Glick Young Composer's Showcase award. It will be toward
the end of a program that includes Saint-Saens, Satie/Debussy, and Franck. It will be at
the Circle Theater February 18 at 8 PM and February 19 at 5:30 PM.
A. E. van Vogt, 1912-2000
A. E. van Vogt has died of complications of pneumonia. He was 87. He passed away on January 26,
2000. Van Vogt was a science fiction master of the Golden Age. In 1996, he was named a Grand Master
by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and was selected as one of four inaugural
inductees in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
The Flying Ray-Gun
It sounds like an episode of a Buster Crabb, Flash Gordon serial but this time it's real. An air
ship will be armed with a ray weapon capable of shooting down rockets. A brand-new Boeing 747-400
freighter arrived Saturday in Wichita, Kansas, to be converted into the first Airborne Laser (ABL)
platform. a multi-megawatt chemical laser will be installed in the aircraft as an anti-missile
weapon. The oxygen-iodine laser beam will be fired from a turret on the plane's nose. Its
designed to knock down Scud-type missiles at a range of hundreds of miles. The U.S. Air Force
plans to acquire a fleet of seven ABLs that will be available for deployment to world hot spots
in a matter of hours.
Electric Sheep
The thirteenth concert in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Classical Series features a
piece that has a science fiction connection. Electric Sheep is a composition by Kenneth D,
Froelich and is based on the Phillip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Dick's story depicts a future devoid of animal life. Pets are androids made to look like
animals. Froehlich says, "In Electric Sheep I have attempted to capture the essence (or
lack there of) of the fake animals. the piece is playful and highly rhythmic, yet is still
shrouded in an icy coldness that perhaps a living sheep would be without."