EsoTech
Panelists: Rex Church, Paul Laffoley, Wes Unruh, Ikipr

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

The line between magick and technology has always been blurred. No less a luminary than Sir Isaac Newton was an accomplished alchemist. Whether it be the far out biopsychology of Wilhelm Reich, the bad physics of the Chaos Magickians, or Nikolai Tesla’s secrets man was not meant to know, renegade science and magick seem to go hand in hand more than ever. As science pushes the boundaries of what man can accomplish, it also expands our notions of what is possible. Esozone’s panel of mad
scientists will discuss the possibilities of FutureTech- for better or for worse.

Which Tomorrow?
Panelists: Antero Alli, Dennis McKenna, Nemo, Freeman
Moderator: Nick Pell

“When did the future go from being a promise to being a threat?”

Speculative fiction generally falls into one of two camps. First, there is the utopian, Star Trek-style vision of the future. People from disparate backgrounds working together towards common goals in a world largely devoid of the problems of the present. However, the dark twin of this literary trope- the dystopian fantasy- has largely eclipsed the former over the last thirty years. Visions of zombie apocalypse, last man on Earth death fantasies, and technology as oppressive monster have
largely replaced the Camelot-era visions of a future where humanity finds peace. What will tomorrow be like and how can we tell? More importantly, how does one influence the future on a macro scale? Don’t look for any easy or comforting answers from this panel!