True, there was a tall, burly man dressed in a shimmering blue robe, hair swept up in the distinctive, fan-shaped style of a Centauri on the popular "Babylon 5" TV series, with a duck under one arm. But most of the crowd here in the Baltimore Convention Center appears more sober-minded, with the Birkenstock and beard count off the charts.

It features panel discussions on all manner of science fiction topics, autograph sessions with big-name science fiction authors, science fiction art and history exhibits, science fiction folk- singing (called filking), movies and a large dealer room with hundreds of tables filled with science fiction merchandise.