Sci-Fi TV

Having secured a secret entrance to the Wreck of the Returned, the Starfinder Society is finally ready to launch a rescue mission into the Wreck, to liberate the lost Starfinder Zizenzi and the countless other citizens of Akiton who’ve been abducted by the Functionary’s forces and await forced conversion into mindless servitors of the Wreck. While numerous teams prepare to enter the conversion facility, First Seeker Sarmak has tasked one special team with breaching the conversion facility’s central control room and dispatching the cure to conversion through the ventilation system. If successful, all the converted innocents within the Wreck will regain their autonomy and break free from the Wreck’s control. Unfortunately, the central control is sure to be heavily guarded… Prepare for battle, Starfinders! A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for 3rd through 4th-level characters, playable in 2-3 hours. This is an adventure in the ongoing Invasion's Edge metaplot. Written by Matt Morris.

**THE POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS OVER YOU** You are welcome to arrive 15 minutes early for refreshments! At the lecture "The Power of the Subconscious", the speaker will clearly and understandably explain topics such as: What is the exact definition of the Subconscious Mind? How does it inflict unwanted feelings and anxiety in you? What determines how much pressure it exerts on a person? What exactly is the goal of the subconscious? This is not just a lecture where you sit quietly and listen. It's interactive and LIVE, so you can ask questions at any time. And the most important topic: **HOW DO YOU TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SUBCOUNSCIOUS!** This group is sponsored by the Dianetics Life Improvement Center.

I was so burned by Ready Player One that I don't even want to give Spielberg a chance (Emily: What is up with that dress?) but Josh O'Connor won me over in Wake Up Dead Man, so we're including it in this month's marathon run. Your host will be in E8. Let's get food afterwards.

*Root* is a game of woodland might and right. Stalk the woods as one of the Vagabonds, seize the initiative with the Eyrie birds of prey, rule over your subjects as the Marquise de Cat, or command the Woodland Alliance to create a new order. With creatures and cunning, you'll rule a fantastic forest kingdom in the ultimate asymmetric board game of adventure and war.

**Could it be that the perfect format doesn't exist because the cards for it haven’t yet been made? Are ideas already budding in your mind? Let’s bring them to life. Even if they aren't perfect, I want to see them in action! Expand an existing theme or brew an entirely new one.** **Here’s a card editor you may use:** **[https://lauqerm.github.io/ygocarder/](https://lauqerm.github.io/ygocarder/?data=%7B%22fm%22%3A%22tcg%22%2C%22rg%22%3A%22en%22%2C%22fr%22%3A%22ritual%22%2C%22lf%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22rf%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22rpf%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22fo%22%3A%22normal%22%2C%22op%22%3A%7B%22opbd%22%3A100%2C%22oppd%22%3A100%2C%22optx%22%3A100%2C%22opnm%22%3A100%2C%22opbf%22%3A%22%23404040%22%2C%22opab%22%3Atrue%2C%22opnb%22%3Atrue%2C%22opeb%22%3Atrue%2C%22opfb%22%3Atrue%2C%22opbl%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22fn%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22afn%22%3A%22normal%22%2C%22of%22%3A%5B%22normal%22%2C%22normal%22%2C%22normal%22%2C%22normal%22%5D%2C%22na%22%3A%22Junko%22%2C%22nst%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22ns%22%3A%7B%22nsfs%22%3A%22%23000000%22%2C%22nssc%22%3A%22%23000000%22%7D%2C%22at%22%3A%22TRAP%22%2C%22att%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22sf%22%3A%22NO+ICON%22%2C%22it%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22st%22%3A6%2C%22stl%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22sa%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22ar%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fh5kXZeC.png%22%2C%22ad%22%3A%22%22%2C%22as%22%3A%22online%22%2C%22af%22%3Afalse%2C%22arc%22%3A%7B%22aru%22%3A%22%25%22%2C%22ara%22%3A1.325%2C%22arx%22%3A0%2C%22ary%22%3A4%2C%22arw%22%3A100%2C%22arh%22%3A67.54716981132076%7D%2C%22hbg%22%3Afalse%2C%22bg%22%3A%22%22%2C%22bgd%22%3A%22%22%2C%22bf%22%3Afalse%2C%22bgs%22%3A%22online%22%2C%22bgt%22%3A%22fit%22%2C%22bgc%22%3A%7B%22bgx%22%3A0%2C%22bgy%22%3A4%2C%22bgw%22%3A100%2C%22bgh%22%3A89.5%2C%22bgu%22%3A%22%25%22%2C%22bga%22%3A1%7D%2C%22lm%22%3A%5B%221%22%2C%223%22%2C%227%22%2C%229%22%5D%2C%22lr%22%3A%22%22%2C%22il%22%3Anull%2C%22ip%22%3Atrue%2C%22pf%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22pe%22%3A%22Once+per+turn%3A+You+can+pay+800+LP%2C+increase+this+card%27s+Pendulum+Scale+by+1.%22%2C%22rs%22%3A%224%22%2C%22bs%22%3A%224%22%2C%22psi%22%3A%22medium%22%2C%22ta%22%3A%5B%22Trap+Card%22%5D%2C%22es%22%3A%7B%22cdtl%22%3A%22strict%22%2C%22efs%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22eus%22%3A0%2C%22ebg%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22eml%22%3A0%2C%22ejr%22%3A100%7D%2C%22ps%22%3A%7B%22pfs%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22pus%22%3A0%2C%22pbg%22%3A%22auto%22%2C%22pml%22%3A0%2C%22pjr%22%3A100%7D%2C%22ef%22%3A%22%5B2%2B+Effect+Monsters%5D%5CnEach+time+an+opponent%27s+monster+activates+its+effect%2C+place+1+Pure+Counter+on+that+opponent%27s+monster+%28max.+1%29+after+that+effect+resolves.+Unaffected+by+activated+effects+from+monster+with+a+Pure+Counter.+Cannot+be+destroyed+by+battle+with+monsters+with+a+Pure+Counter.%22%2C%22si%22%3A%22YGOC-EN001%22%2C%22atk%22%3A%222000%22%2C%22def%22%3A%222000%22%2C%22pw%22%3A%2218111996%22%2C%22sti%22%3A%22holo5%22%2C%22fe%22%3A%221%3Cst%3E+Edition%22%2C%22ife%22%3Atrue%2C%22act%22%3A%22%22%2C%22hct%22%3Afalse%2C%22isp%22%3Afalse%2C%22ile%22%3Afalse%2C%22idt%22%3Afalse%2C%22ilc%22%3Afalse%2C%22cr%22%3A%22%C2%A92020+Studio+Dice%2FSHUEISHA+TV+TOKYO%2C+KONAMI%22%2C%22fh%22%3Atrue%2C%22sts%22%3A%5Bfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%2Cfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%5D%2C%22tts%22%3A%5Bfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%2Cfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%5D%2C%22ets%22%3A%5Bfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%2Cfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%5D%2C%22pts%22%3A%5Bfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%2Cfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%5D%2C%22ots%22%3A%5Bfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%2Cfalse%2C%22%23000000%22%5D%2C%22dl%22%3A%5B%22%22%2C%22%22%2C%22%22%2C%22%22%2C%22%22%2C%22%22%2C%22%22%5D%2C%22fl%22%3A%5B0%2C0%5D%2C%22ve%22%3A3%7D)** **Just click and type away. Don’t hold back your imagination.** **And, as for the non-custom cards you use, don't worry about points or forbidden/limited status. A little bit of chaos can be fun sometimes!**

**THE POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS OVER YOU** You are welcome to arrive 15 minutes early for refreshments! At the lecture "The Power of the Subconscious", the speaker will clearly and understandably explain topics such as: * What is the exact definition of the Subconscious Mind? * How does it inflict unwanted feelings and anxiety in you? * What determines how much pressure it exerts on a person? * What exactly is the goal of the subconscious? This is not just a lecture where you sit quietly and listen. It's interactive and LIVE, so you can ask questions at any time. And the most important topic: **HOW DO YOU TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SUBCOUNSCIOUS!** This group is sponsored by the Dianetics Life Improvement Center.

**\*TO ATTEND GET TICKET At** [https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13508#tix](https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13508#tix) (Multiple Meetup groups are co-organizing so the RSVP's shown are just a very small portion attending. We'll have at least 20 registered.) Our last online Bingo Night Party was such a BIG hit, we're doing it again! Do you like to play BINGO or want to just do something different?! Then you will LOVE this event! Here is your opportunity to have some fun playing our Live "Bingo" game. You will also get to socialize and make other friends from the comfort of your home. Prizes included Amazon gift cards, free future events and more! This completely online event will be LIVE and you will be able to see and hear the other participants while playing. You will either need to print or draw out your bingo cards. We will email you with how to get it after registering. You can have more than 1 person on your team as long as they're from your house and use same device. Friends/family around the country can also play. They would just need to also register for a ticket. This event will be held on Zoom which you would access through your computer/webcam, or via your phone/tablet. On day of the event, you will get a secured Zoom link and link to print out Bingo cards. \*RSVPS ON HERE ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF ACTUAL ATTENDANCE as this is a multi group event. Cost: $15-$20 depending on how early you register. **\*TO ATTEND GET TICKET AT -** [https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13508#tix](https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13508#tix)

Don’t miss your chance to check out the INCREDIBLE pop-rock Moon Landing Duo at The National Harbor Stars & Smiles Foodie Festival June 14th at 2 pm! (Set time subject to change). Featuring @shelleystarofficial and @alanxtra, this pair is truly out of this world! 🌎

It's that good, I want to see it again! This time at the **Regal Kingstowne**. Kenji Tanigaki, 2025 - martial arts, crime thriller Joe Taslim and Xie Miao team up to seek vengeance on the criminal system that captured their loved ones. Yayan Ruhian and JeeJa Yanin are also in the credits... it's going to be bloody! Sitting in H9 at the 3:50pm showing at Regal Kingstowne. I'll be in the lobby around 3:30pm if anyone wants to chat beforehand, and we'll meet back there after! Tickets and more info at [Regal](https://www.regmovies.com/movies/the-furious-ho00021752).

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Lafayette’s Long Fight for Liberty,”** a look at the life, struggles, and legacy of America’s favorite fighting Frenchman, with Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland and author of *The American Revolution and the Fate of the World.* [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-lafayette](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-lafayette) .] When the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States in 1824, Americans greeted him with a frenzy of affection unmatched by anything the nation had ever shown a single individual. Crowds filled streets, towns held ceremonies in his honor, Congress showered him with gifts, and parents named children for the French aristocrat who had helped win the American Revolution. Explore the extraordinary life behind that adulation with historian Richard Bell, whose excellent past talks have earned him a big following among Profs and Pints fans. Professor Bell will take Lafayette far beyond his familiar role as George Washington’s young protégé and the hero of Yorktown. You’ll learn how Lafayette became one of the Atlantic world’s most persistent champions of liberty—fighting for constitutional government, religious freedom, prison reform, press freedom, antislavery, and independence movements from Greece to Poland. You’ll also hear how Lafayette’s ideals repeatedly put him in danger, making him a target of kings, radicals, imperial powers, and revolutionaries who regarded him as “the most dangerous man of all.” Professor Bell will show how Lafayette’s life was full of contradictions: a nobleman who challenged aristocratic privilege, a centrist caught between monarchy and mob rule, an antislavery advocate whose efforts fell short, and a dreamer whose causes often failed in his lifetime. Yet Lafayette never stopped trying to make liberty universal. Come learn why Lafayette’s name still graces hundreds of American towns, parks, counties, schools, rivers, and lakes—and why his most important monument might be not any statue or place name, but the freedoms he helped generations of people imagine, demand, and defend. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: From an 1834 portrait of Lieutenant General Lafayette painted by Joseph-Désiré Court (Palace of Versailles / Wikimedia).

DC/DOX '26, the celebration of documentaries, is one of the best film festivals in the DMV. For four days - June 11-14 - the filmfest will explore a plethora of fascinating subjects. **See the whole schedule [here](https://dcdoxfest2026.eventive.org/schedule).** (The date of the film we're seeing is June 14 at 7pm - apologies for initial misprint.) For the ArtHouse, we'll see The Lorraine, the first feature-length documentary about the iconic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, and its owners, Walter and Loree Bailey. A safe haven for African Americans traveling during segregation and Jim Crow laws in the United States, the Lorraine is most widely remembered for one horrific event: the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the balcony outside Room 306. **Tickets cost $17 and can be purchased [here](https://dcdoxfest2026.eventive.org/schedule/69f10d0c6f84d223c7c571eb).** It will sell out, I believe. Woolly Mammoth Theater is a great venue. We'll do something social probably before nearby. WAS JUST TOLD THAT THE DIRECTOR WILL BE THERE FOR A DISCUSSION AFTER. VERY COOL. Throughout his career, director Sam Pollard has received numerous awards and honors. In 1998, he was nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Academy Award for *4 Little Girls* with Spike Lee. He won a Peabody Award for *When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts* in 2006 and received three Emmy Awards between 2007 and 2010. He also received the International Documentary Association’s Avid Excellence in Editing Award in 2008 and their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020, followed by a Career Achievement Peabody Award in 2021. But the story of the Lorraine is far greater than that one tragic day. This documentary captures the astonishing and inspiring story of an enterprising Black couple’s pursuit of the American Dream, told through the voices of those who lived it. Their purchase of the motel in 1945 laid the foundation for a hub of social, political, and creative power, making the Lorraine a cradle of innovation and community-building. Civil rights demonstrations were planned there. Musical hits were written there. The film captures it all, including the Black community’s determined effort decades later to save the building, preserving both the history that unfolded there and the powerful symbolism it continues to embody.

Open gaming at Panera! New players welcome. We have many games on hand or you can bring your own. We are happy to teach or learn one of yours.

Let's go see the Maiden of Steel in a solo adventure.

…Transform Our Lives, Work, and World (2024) by Jamie Metzl, 432 pages [Genetics] • Paperback • Hardcover • Kindle • Audiobook • Library: [https://fcplcat.fairfaxcounty.gov/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&pos=1&cn=615082](https://fcplcat.fairfaxcounty.gov/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&pos=1&cn=615082) Check the How To Find Us section for Zoom Link **(Remember, the Zoom Link is different each month, do not bookmark)** ### Review “In Superconvergence, Jamie Metzl takes readers on a magical journey through the science of the intersecting genetics, biotech, and AI revolutions, deeply explores the implications, and challenges us to think creatively and proactively about what comes next. Very few books are absolute must-reads. This is one.”―Siddhartha Mukherjee, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and author of The Gene: An Intimate History "During the 25 years I have known Jamie Metzl, he has always been ahead of the curve. There is no one better to help us understand and prepare for the fast-approaching technological revolutions. Superconvergence is brilliant. I can't recommend it more strongly."―Sanjay Gupta MD, bestseller author, neurosurgeon, and Emmy-award winning chief medical correspondent (CNN) "Our world is defined by our science and technology—whether we like it or not. The question now is not whether to use these powers, but how best to use them. In Superconvergence, Jamie Metzl takes us on a journey through the new capabilities that are radically transforming ecosystems inside us and around us, challenging each of us to get personally involved with building the future we want."―Beth Shapiro, University of California Santa Cruz evolutionary biologist and author of Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined―and Redefined―Nature "In a fine counter-blast to the pessimism of today, Jamie Metzl lays out just how spectacular the future of humanity and planet can be if we harness innovation responsibly and imaginatively to create what he calls the 'spiral of progress.'"―Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works, and co-author of Viral: The search for the Origin of Covid-19 “A page-turning journey through space and time that shows us how our lives will be changed by imminent technological advances we once only dreamed of.”―David Sinclair, Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, and author of Lifespan: Why We Age―and Why We Don't Have To “The superconvergence of the genetics, biotechnology, and AI revolutions provides spectacular opportunities for building a better world. It also represents an almost limitless investment opportunity. We were excited to collaborate with Jamie Metzl, one of the world's great experts on how these aspirations can best be realized, including in capital markets. Superconvergence is a master class for imagining, investing in, and building a future we'd like to inhabit."―Jeremy Schwartz, Global Chief Investment Officer, WisdomTree “A clear examination of a transitional moment in the story of life on Earth…. Metzl capably describes recent developments in genetics and biotech and looks at how AI is providing an analytical engine of unprecedented power…. An important book in which the author sets out a path for the future based on his experience and expertise.”―Kirkus “Erudite, optimistic, and timely.”―Science Magazine "[In Superconvergence] Mr. Metzl has identified an important truth: that the convergence of new technologies is galvanizing us to reimagine how to meet urgent challenges in medicine and the environment. It’s a compelling opportunity—provided we manage to sidestep self-induced catastrophes along the way."―The Wall Street Journal ### About the Author Jamie Metzl is a leading technology and healthcare futurist and the founder and chair of OneShared.World. He is the author of Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity and four other books and was a member of the World Health Organization expert advisory committee on human genome editing. Jamie previously served in the U.S. National Security Council, State Department, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee and with the United Nations in Cambodia. His work has been featured by most major media organizations around the world, including 60 Minutes, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, the Times of London, Le Monde, and Paris Match, and his podcast interviews with Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, and others have reached tens of millions of listeners. He lives in New York City. Visit Jamiemetzl.com.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Can Artificial Intelligence ‘See’?”** A look at how humans and artificial intelligence systems interpret the visual world in fundamentally different ways, with Arryn Robbins, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Richmond and cognitive scientist who researches visual attention, perception, and category learning. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-can-AI-see](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-can-AI-see) .] Artificial intelligence can now identify faces, categorize objects, describe scenes, and outperform humans on certain visual tasks. But does AI actually “see” the world the way that people do? Or does it arrive at correct answers using representations that differ markedly from human perception? Join Arryn Robbins of the University of Richmond for a fascinating exploration of how humans and AI construct meaning from visual information and a look at comparisons between human perception and AI that reveal just how dynamic and context-dependent our own visual systems really are. Dr. Robbins, who previously has given excellent Profs and Pints talks on flaws and biases in human visual perception, will draw from research in cognitive science, visual perception, and AI vision systems. She’ll explain how human perception is not merely a simple recording of the world, but an active process shaped by expectations, context, goals, and recent experience. You’ll learn how humans form flexible mental representations that allow us to recognize objects across changing environments and conditions, and why those representations continuously adapt as we interact with the world. Many AI systems, by contrast, learn visual categories through statistical patterns in data. They can produce impressive results, but sometimes they also produce strange and unexpected failures, and sometimes they classify images in ways that seem strange to us. Dr. Robbins will discuss what these differences reveal about the nature of perception itself, and why the mismatch between human and AI representations matters for technologies like self-driving cars, medical imaging, facial recognition, and automated surveillance. Important for anyone trying to understand the rapidly growing role of AI in daily life, this talk will explore one of the biggest questions in cognitive science and artificial intelligence: What does it actually mean to “see” and understand the world? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: “Eye Farm” by Nevit Dilmen (Wikimedia Commons).

A struggling screenwriter suffers no shortage of challenges both professionally and personally. His life takes a bizarre detour when a homeless person begins following him. Eventually the writer learns that there’s much more to the fellow than his unkempt appearance and chaotic demeanor. The story may confuse the viewer at times, but once the paradox comes into focus – many paradoxes, actually – the plot surges forward to a memorably peculiar ending. ■ Title — *Paradox Lost* ■ Director — Dennis Curlett ■ Cast — Clarissa Thibeaux, Danny Cymbal, Dennis Curlett ■ Unrated, suitable for general audiences ■ ©2021 \| 1h 33m \| Comedy\, Sci\-Fi ■ Distributed by Gravitas Ventures

Come out and see the coolest Alien Glam Pop Rock band there is, Shelley Star and the Galaxy! They are out of this world 🌎✨💜👽