It’s been my great pleasure to number Jay Lake among my friends. He’s been my editor and publisher for a couple stories, and I’ve been his editor and publisher for a couple of stories. And despite this, we’re still friends!
Here’s a photo of us together (taken by Scott Edelman, Yokohama, Japan, 2007). I’m the handsome, bespectacled, large fellow with the van dyke, and Jay’s the other guy.
As you may or may not already know, Jay’s been fighting cancer for several years. The current hope for treatment involves whole genome sequencing of a tumor, an obscenely expensive procedure. So when I learned of the fundraiser to pay to have this procedure, with any extra proceeds going to cover a leave of absence from his DayJob, I contacted one of the folks organizing the effort and asked how I could help (beyond, you know, just throwing money at it).
Now, if futuristic medical science isn’t enough to get your attention, here’s where it gets really interesting. Various famous authors stepped up and promised to supply “Acts of Whimsy” in response to various amounts of money being raised.
I can’t compete with the epic power of the fanbases of people like Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi, but it occurred to me that I could provide something they can’t, specifically, a Klingon Act of Whimsy!
As I write this, the big toteboard on Jay’s fundraising page is just a bit under $40K. It’s been running for less than four days, and managed more than $20K in its first 24 hours. For reasons dating all the way back to my fraternity days (and let’s have a shout-out to Sigma Nu here, as a challenge to them as well!), the number 46 has always been dear to me. So, here’s my pledge: if the donations reach $46K, I will post a video in which I reveal (and correctly pronounce), Five Pick-Up Lines Used in Federations Bars by Klingons!!!
Here’s the thing, whether you speak Klingon, or you are a part of Klingon fandom, or you hang out with people who dress like Klingons, or you want to know what the hell that alien is saying to you in the bar, this is your chance to know! And all you have to do to make it happen is contribute a small donation to this extraordinary fundraising event.
So, even if you’ve never read a word of Jay’s fiction or had the great pleasure to meet and talk with the man, I am challenging every Klingon fan to lend their support, show me your heart, and laugh in the face of cancer. And I am challenging every Star Trek fan to make a contribution and boldly call forth a miracle of science. I’ve spent the last 20 years traveling the world promoting Klingon and I’ve seen first hand what Star Trek can inspire. Now it’s personal, and I’m asking you to show a little bit of that here and now for my friend.
That, and I know you want those pick-up lines.
Here’s the link, click it, give it a read, and then show some Trek love. Thank you.
