My husband was assimilated at an Emerald City Comic Con, and even the Borg adored him. Thank you, Patrick Stewart.

Star Trek fans never doubted the amount of love the community had for Patrick Stewart, who died Wednesday at age 86. But I experienced that love firsthand. Back in 2021, my husband, Rob, dressed as Captain Jean-Luc Picard for Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, and the adoration he received, simply for cosplaying Stewart’s beloved character, was overwhelming.

Our planning wasn’t complicated. Looking for a costume that would go with his shaved head and being a big fan of the show, it made sense for him to put on a red and black Star Trek uniform shirt, pin on a combadge and four pips to denote the Starfleet rank of captain, and step into some black shoes. Except for his glasses (and mask since this was 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic), it was an eerily accurate look.

Once we walked into the Seattle Convention Center for the con, it was as if the real Patrick Stewart had shown up. The respect Stewart had built up for Picard transferred seamlessly to his lookalike. Just walking around with Rob made me feel like a celebrity escort. We couldn’t travel more than a few feet without someone noticing and calling out to him, always with glee, always with respect.

“Hey, Captain! Captain!”
“Jean-Luc!”
“Make it so, sir!”
“Engage!”
“Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra!”

Rob didn’t even wear costume-authentic black pants.

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