| abstract
| - Wedge rats is the term used to describe a social group particular to WPI. Wedge rats are usually associated with the Science Fiction Society (SFS) and also sometimes with the Society for Medieval Arts and Sciences (SMAS). The term "Wedge rat" refers to the tendency of Wedge rats to congregate in and around the Wedge, though in recent years since the construction of the Campus Center the community has in large part relocated to the Class of 1946 Lounge, often referred to as the Octagon or the Octo-Wedge. Most Wedge rats are self-identifying; they accept the term and are not afraid to identify with it. In some circles, however, the term is used in a derogatory manner, as the Wedge rats have a highly negative reputation in some campus factions. Wedge rats tend to enjoy computers, playing games of all sorts, immersing themselves in science fiction or fantasy books and partaking in tabletop or live-action role-playing games, though few Wedge rats enjoy all of these things and there are many who enjoy none of the above. The community as a whole is remarkably harmonious, with no major altercations or internal enmities in recent memory, and is also highly cohesive: many Wedge rats who have graduated from WPI remain in the community as so-called "Wedge elders" and continue to participate in activities and social gatherings for many years. These elders often offer interesting perspectives into the history of WPI spanning back into the 1980s. Among the Wedge elders, those current students who refer to themselves as Wedge rats are sometimes called "Neo-Wedge rats" instead, emphasizing the often vast differences between the community as it exists today and the way things used to be ten years hence. Wedge rats often find themselves together in large groups at unexpected and sometimes unlikely times and places. This phenomenon has been jokingly dubbed "Wedge gravity" and occurs frequently, and to the occasional consternation and discomfort of bystanders who suddenly find themselves surrounded by rather large groups of energetic and often very loud gamers for no apparent reason. Indeed, it is an acknowledged problem among Wedge rats that some lack volume control, and when assembled in groups of thirty or more (not at all uncommon, especially on Friday nights in the Wedge) their combined voices can often register well beyond the "dull roar" level. There is also the phenomena of "Wedge Summoning," where speaking the name of a Wedge Rat enough times will generally lead to their sudden appearance. The most impressive of these instances involved a Wedge Elder deciding at random to return to WPI during the summer, and stood in the Wedge. Moments later, another Elder randomly showed up from across town, eventually joined by another who had shown up randomly from across the state, and finally (and most impressively) the last walked in, who had decided for no particular reason to fly in from California to visit WPI. The campus community at large also tends to associate the Wedge rats (and the SFS) extensively with the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. This has perplexed some Wedge rats, many of whom don't really know anything about Cthulhu, but in recent years the SFS has embraced the association and Cthulhu has become something of a logo. Two of the last three designs of SFS T-shirts have featured Cthulhu in one form or another, and one suggestion for last year's T-shirt involved the phrase, "Now 99% Cthulhu Free!" (In the end, Cthulhu never made it onto that shirt, to the relief of some.)
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