Indeed, much of Santa Cruz's geek culture was born on the campus of UC Santa Cruz. As the geeks tell it, geeking began back in the '80s under the influence of the late-night blur of the computer labs. Then they invite their friends to all come and live in the bedrooms. The geeks troop up the stairs to Craig's bedroom and flop themselves onto the floor and the king-size bed with black sheets. Between bites of take-out calzone they discuss comic books, their distrust of the media and their hatred of any form of censorship.
Geeks know how to have a good time, they say.
It's one of the fallacies that geeks are happiest communicating with faceless friends. We're definitely not people who just sit around and geek. But there is something special about that wired connection. As the geeks talk, Ian lays his head down in Susan's lap and she strokes his long dark hair. Craig, her boyfriend, sits across the room.