I went to Worldcon 2026 (LACon V) and Gazed into the Abyss

I've been out of the game a while and, frankly, have not read a mainstream SFFH book in years, but since the con was a mere 30-45 minute drive away, I felt like I couldn't pass up the chance. I had a decent time despite the oppressive heat and humidity. The people attending this kind of event are largely pretty nice and left-leaning, despite the demographic hewing towards middle-aged white folks. They gave me a "No Kings" ribbon when I picked up my badge and probably more people asked me about that than anything else. I got to shake Greg Kasavin's hand and he told me he thinks about Super Robot Wars a lot, which is certainly a more meaningful interaction than the time I told Brandon Sanderson his fly was down. The con was also weirdly demoralizing, which is the opposite of what I wanted to get out of it! Oops! The broad schedule for WorldCon is that panels/events last for around 60 minutes and start every 90 minutes, giving a 30-minute break in between to move around and get to your…