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The following is a list of common science fiction themes. | |||
{{Original research|date=August 2008}} | |||
{{Unreferenced|date=August 2008}} | |||
==Overarching themes== | |||
The following is a '''list of science fiction themes'''. | |||
==Common themes and tropes== | |||
{{seealso|Science fiction genre}} | {{seealso|Science fiction genre}} | ||
*] | |||
*] | *] | ||
*] | *] | ||
**Science fiction is used to raise awareness of ecological ideas. Lends itself well to dystopian futures. Frank Herbert and Kim Stanley Robinson are known for their serious concern with ecological issues. | |||
*] | |||
**"Age of Greater Scarcity", often in connection with ecological or post-apocalyptic themes. In such ]s, people are poorer and have fewer resources to draw on. | |||
**] (arguments over how to distribute resources are irrelevant since anyone can have anything they reasonably want). Examples include: | |||
**#]' ] | |||
**#]'s '']'', which uses a "]" | |||
**#]'s ] | |||
**#The '']'' series of television shows and films, in which humanity has "transcended" the need for money through an indeterminate future economic system that is likely aided by technologies that allow nearly infinite energy and the fabrication of virtually any object from energy. | |||
*] | |||
*The ] | *The ] | ||
*] | *] | ||
*] | |||
*]s or universes. | |||
*] | |||
===]=== | |||
*"Age of Greater Scarcity", often in connection with ecological or post-apocalyptic themes. In such ]s, people are poorer and have fewer resources to draw on. | |||
*] (arguments over how to distribute resources are irrelevant since anyone can have anything they reasonably want). Examples include: | |||
===]=== | |||
**] | **] | ||
**]: history repeating itself (either on long or short scales) | **]: history repeating itself (either on long or short scales) | ||
**Scientific ] of the future (e.g. ]) | **Scientific ] of the future (e.g. ]) | ||
**] | **] | ||
*] | |||
*] | |||
**Alien languages (e.g. ]) | **Alien languages (e.g. ]) | ||
**All humans speaking one language | **All humans speaking one language (possibly ]) | ||
**Current human languages evolving/splitting | **Current human languages evolving/splitting | ||
**The ] being strongly true (e.g. ] by ] or ] by ]) | **The ] being strongly true (e.g. ] by ] or ] by ]) | ||
**]s (e.g. ]) | **]s (e.g. ]) | ||
===Military=== | |||
*] - strategy, weapons, ranks, technologies. | *] - strategy, weapons, ranks, technologies. | ||
**]s | **]s | ||
**] | **] | ||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*]s or universes. | |||
===]=== | |||
**There is a space based civilization variant of this theme. This plot device allows writers to write ] while accounting for the lack of technological advancement and thus similarity to the present day. | |||
*] and ]{{Fact|date=September 2008}} | |||
*] | *] | ||
*] (including ]s, ], ] and ]) | *] (including ]s, ], ] and ]) | ||
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** ] | ** ] | ||
** ] | ** ] | ||
*] and ] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*return to ]{{Fact|date=September 2008}} | |||
*]s | |||
*hive-like ] societies | |||
*] | |||
*]s{{Fact|date=September 2008}} | |||
*] |
*] | ||
*]s & ] | |||
*] - a belief that the universe is entirely the creation of one's own mind{{Fact|date=September 2008}} | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==Types of beings== | ==Types of beings== | ||
*Alternate intelligences | |||
**] | |||
{{See also|List of stock characters in science fiction}} | |||
**Beings of pure mentality | |||
**]s | |||
**]s - memories, characters and consciences of persons being uploaded to a computer or storage media | |||
**] - the "sphere of human thought" | |||
**] & ] - a belief that the universe is entirely the creation of one's own mind | |||
*]s and ]s | |||
**]s | |||
**]s and ]s | |||
**]s | |||
**]s | |||
*Characters | |||
**The ] or ] & ] | |||
**The ] | |||
**The God-Like Alien | |||
**The Golem | |||
**The Ignorant Friend | |||
**] | |||
**The Robot Clone | |||
**The Robot Servant | |||
**The ] | |||
***The ] | |||
***The Amoral Scientist | |||
***The Heroic Scientist | |||
***The Lame Amoral Scientist | |||
**The ] | |||
*]s | |||
*] (see ]) | |||
**] | |||
**] | |||
**] | |||
**] | |||
***Principles of non-interference (e.g. ]) | |||
*Living Planets | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*]s | |||
*] - using technology to "raise" non-human animals to human evolutionary levels | |||
==Body and mind alterations== | ==Body and mind alterations== | ||
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**] | **] | ||
**] | **] | ||
**] | **] - a proposed problem in which the reduced death rate caused by ]s would lead to a shortage of organs available for transplant | ||
*Mind interfacing | |||
**Memory removal/editing | |||
**] | **] | ||
**] | **] | ||
**Neural implants to directly interface with machinery | **Neural implants to directly interface with machinery | ||
*] & ] | *] & ] (nanomilitary, nanomaterials, nanoecology, nanomedicine, nanocomputing, nanospace, nanoenergy) | ||
*] | *] | ||
**] | **] | ||
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**] | **] | ||
*] | *] | ||
*] | *] (size-changing, miniaturization, magnification, shrinking, and enlargement) | ||
*] | *] | ||
*] | *] | ||
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{{Main|Political ideas in science fiction}} | {{Main|Political ideas in science fiction}} | ||
*] | *] | ||
*] | |||
*] (see: ] and ]) | *] (see: ] and ]) | ||
*] | |||
*] | |||
**return to ] | |||
**hive-like ] societies | |||
**future ]s | |||
*] | |||
*]s and ]s | *]s and ]s | ||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*]s | *]s | ||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*]''' | *]''' | ||
{{main|Libertarian science fiction}} | {{main|Libertarian science fiction}} | ||
*Limited-franchise ] | |||
*] and ] | |||
*] | |||
*] and ] | |||
*] state | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] vs. ] (see: ]) | |||
*] | |||
*] | *] | ||
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==Travel== | ==Travel== | ||
*] of other planets, moons, ]s, etc. | *] of other planets, moons, ]s, etc. | ||
**] | ***] | ||
*Moving planets | *Moving planets | ||
*] | *] | ||
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*] & ] | *] & ] | ||
*] & ] | *] & ] | ||
*]/] | |||
*Technology | |||
*Technology | |||
**Far advanced technology for the time. | |||
**Alien technology being found and used by humans. Most of the time for selfish purposes, or is being used incorrectly (not how it's supposed to work) |
**Far advanced technology for the time. | ||
**Alien technology being found and used by humans. Most of the time for selfish purposes, or is being used incorrectly (not how it's supposed to work) | |||
*] and ] | *] and ] | ||
*] | *] | ||
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] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] |
Revision as of 08:04, 14 November 2008
The following is a list of common science fiction themes.
Overarching themes
See also: Science fiction genre- Cosmology
- Creation of the Universe
- Ecology
- Science fiction is used to raise awareness of ecological ideas. Lends itself well to dystopian futures. Frank Herbert and Kim Stanley Robinson are known for their serious concern with ecological issues.
- Economics
- "Age of Greater Scarcity", often in connection with ecological or post-apocalyptic themes. In such dystopias, people are poorer and have fewer resources to draw on.
- Post-"Age of Scarcity" (arguments over how to distribute resources are irrelevant since anyone can have anything they reasonably want). Examples include:
- Iain M. Banks' The Culture
- Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, which uses a "reputation economy"
- Frederik Pohl's The Midas Plague
- The Star Trek series of television shows and films, in which humanity has "transcended" the need for money through an indeterminate future economic system that is likely aided by technologies that allow nearly infinite energy and the fabrication of virtually any object from energy.
- Fantasy fiction
- The future
- History
- Alternate history
- Historical cycles: history repeating itself (either on long or short scales)
- Scientific prediction of the future (e.g. psychohistory)
- Secret history
- Horror fiction
- Language
- Alien languages (e.g. Klingon)
- All humans speaking one language (possibly Esperanto)
- Current human languages evolving/splitting
- The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis being strongly true (e.g. Babel 17 by Samuel R. Delany or The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance)
- Universal Translators (e.g. Babel fish)
- Military - strategy, weapons, ranks, technologies.
- Omega Point
- Quantum suicide and immortality
- Parallel worlds or universes.
- There is a space based civilization variant of this theme. This plot device allows writers to write soft science fiction while accounting for the lack of technological advancement and thus similarity to the present day.
- Religious ideas in science fiction
- Sex (including gender roles, polygamy, sexuality and procreation)
- Sociology and sociobiology
- Space Opera
- Symbionts
- Ultimate fate of the Universe
- Zero population growth
Types of beings
- Alternate intelligences
- Artificial intelligence
- Beings of pure mentality
- Hive minds
- Infomorphs - memories, characters and consciences of persons being uploaded to a computer or storage media
- Noosphere - the "sphere of human thought"
- Solipsism & Solipsism syndrome - a belief that the universe is entirely the creation of one's own mind
- Androids and Gynoids
- Characters
- The Absent-minded professor or Monomane & Eclecticism
- The Detective
- The God-Like Alien
- The Golem
- The Ignorant Friend
- Redshirt
- The Robot Clone
- The Robot Servant
- The Scientist
- The Mad Scientist
- The Amoral Scientist
- The Heroic Scientist
- The Lame Amoral Scientist
- The Wedge
- Clones
- Extraterrestrial life (see Extraterrestrial life in culture)
- Alien invasion
- Astrobiology
- Benevolent aliens
- First contact
- Principles of non-interference (e.g. Prime Directive)
- Living Planets
- Mutants
- Shapeshifters
- Superhumans
- Uplifted animals - using technology to "raise" non-human animals to human evolutionary levels
Body and mind alterations
- Bio-implants
- Body modification, including genetic modification
- Bionics
- Cybernetics
- Intelligence amplification
- Invisibility
- Life extension, Biological immortality, Universal immortalism and immortality
- Artificial organs
- Cloning
- Cryonics
- The Organ Bank Problem - a proposed problem in which the reduced death rate caused by organ transplants would lead to a shortage of organs available for transplant
- Mind interfacing
- Memory removal/editing
- Mind control
- Mind uploading
- Neural implants to directly interface with machinery
- Molecular manufacturing & Nanotechnology (nanomilitary, nanomaterials, nanoecology, nanomedicine, nanocomputing, nanospace, nanoenergy)
- Psi powers and psychic phenomenon
- Paradise engineering
- Resizing (size-changing, miniaturization, magnification, shrinking, and enlargement)
- Shapeshifting
- Telepathy
- Teleportation
Possible futures
- Alien invasions
- Apocalypses or world wide disasters
- Post-apocalyptic life - new societies that develop after the event
- Posthumanism
- Ultimate fate of the Universe & Kardashev scale
Political structures
Main article: Political ideas in science fiction- Alien Contact
- Anarchism
- Anarcho-capitalism (see: Anarcho-capitalist literature and Libertarian science fiction)
- Assassination
- Astrosociology
- return to feudalism
- hive-like eusocial societies
- future caste systems
- Capitalism
- Dystopias and utopias
- Environmentalism
- Economics
- Eugenics
- Fascism
- Galactic empires
- Interstellar federation of planets
- Legal personality
- Libertarianism
- Limited-franchise republic
- Militarism
- Mind reading and mind control
- National security state
- Nepotism
- Pacifism
- Plutocracy
- Proportional representation
- Racism
- Revolution
- Slavery
- Socialism
- Theocracy
- Totalitarianism vs. Libertarianism (see: Libertarian science fiction)
- Treason
- World government
Habitats
- Alien Reality Television, usually the protagonist discovers his life has been one big reality television show for aliens.
- Alien Zoo, a zoo where humans are kept as exhibits.
- Arcologies - enormous habitats (hyperstructures) of extremely high human population density
- Domed city
- Endemic
- Exploring alien habitats.
- Floating City
- Seasteading & Ocean colonization
- Space colonization
- Underground city
- Walking City
Travel
- Colonization of other planets, moons, asteroids, etc.
- Moving planets
- Space exploration
- Interstellar travel
- Faster-than-light travel and communications
- Much slower than Light
- Very nearly light speed
- Bussard ramjets
- Ursula LeGuin's NAFAL ships, and the Twin paradox
- Space stations
- Interstellar travel
- Time travel
- Alternate histories: time travel can be used as a plot device to explore parallel universes. While alternate history has its own category (see above), it often occurs in time travel stories as well.
- Anachronism
- The Grandfather paradox -- e.g. Can someone go back in time and kill his parents before they beget the killer?
- Travel to the Earth's center
Technologies
- Artificial gravity
- Artificial intelligence
- Singularity
- Star lifting & Stellar engineering
- Megascale engineering & Planetary engineering
- Moreaus/Unpeople
- Technology
- Far advanced technology for the time.
- Alien technology being found and used by humans. Most of the time for selfish purposes, or is being used incorrectly (not how it's supposed to work)
- Virtual reality and simulated reality
- Weapons