Welcome to our new lair! Every Villain or Hero needs a place to call home and Clockwork Alchemy is the San Francisco Bay Area’s own steampunk convention, and this year we celebrate the Villains and Heroes of alternative history, sci-fi, and fantasy.
That is right, VILLAINS and Heroes. Why put villains first? Like two sides of a coin, villains define heroes just as heroes define villains. Where would Holmes be without Moriarty? A great mind lost to a 7% solution or the lure of an opium den. Instead, the game is afoot and Holmes and Watson are off on another hair raising adventure chasing their greatest foe.
Heroes are easy. Their legacy of admirable actions echoes in real life, in movies, and in literature. They may wear a cape, or even a mask, but that’s not what makes them heroic. Heroes are guided by compassion, altruism, or devotion to a rule of law. The tradition of heroism is to be champions of and for the people.
Villains are more subtle, and needn’t be assumed paragons of evil. The Villain is the hero in their own story. Yet their grand ambitions frequently reach beyond the bounds of everyday morality, and they often act from the same motivations as the Heroes who set out to thwart them. But for whose benefit do the Villains act? Their own? A larger population? The individual’s journey to Villainy is a plot in which the protagonist, who often starts out well-intentioned, turns into a monster.
This year we encourage you to find your inner Villain or Hero. What fantastical contraptions will you create to aid you in your quest? Who will be your foe? Above all, which side will be victorious? Join us at Clockwork Alchemy next April, and tell us the story of your Hero or your Villain, or surprise us with your take on a character who embodies both natures at once!