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Science Fiction (Polish magazine) Science Fiction (full title: Science Fiction, Fantasy i Horror) was a Polish speculative fiction monthly magazine. It was established in 2001 under the name "Science Fiction" by Robert J. Szmidt, who was also the first editor. It is geared mostly towards Polish fantasy and science fiction, but occasionally publishes translations, primarily from non-English languages. The headquarters was in Katowice. In 2005 the magazine was renamed to "Science Fiction, Fantasy i Horror". Since 2009 it is published by Fabryka Słów. Later editor was Rafał Dębski. Notable authors who were associated with the magazine include Feliks W. Kres, Andrzej Pilipiuk, Jarosław Grzędowicz, Romuald Pawlak, Adam Cebula, Marek Żelkowski, Wiktor Żwikiewicz, Jacek Dukaj. From 2004 the magazine sponsored the Nautilus Award. The magazine ceased publication in 2012.

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Fanac Fanac is a fan slang term (from fannish activities) for activities within the realm of science fiction fandom, and occasionally used in media fandom. It may be distinguished from fan labor in that "fanac" includes the publication of science fiction fanzines of the traditional kind (i.e., not primarily devoted to fan fiction), and the organization and maintenance of science fiction conventions and science fiction clubs. "Fanac" has also been used as a title for at least two science fiction fanzines, one published by Terry Carr and Ron Ellik, and later continued by Walter H. Breen, in the late 1950s through early 1960s; and the other published by Swedish fan John-Henri Holmberg from 1963 to 1994.

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Handling machine (The War of the Worlds) The Handling machine is one of the fictional machines used by the Martians in H. G. Wells' 1898 science fiction novel "The War of the Worlds". It is a crawling device used by the Martians to lift and manipulate other objects. It is one of the four types of heavy machine the Martians bring with them when they invade Earth, along with the fighting machine, the flying machine, and the embankment machine. Description. The handling machine is depicted making, moving, and assembling machinery under control of a single Martian. Handling machines are described as having five jointed legs, with numerous jointed levers and whip-like tentacles. They are described as "spider-like" and "crab-like", in both appearance and behavior. In Jeff Wayne's musical adaptation of "The War of the Worlds", the handling machine was the primary vehicle for capturing humans, a cage being placed on the "back" of the machine. In the 1998 PC game, largely based on Jeff Wayne's album, the handling machine is used by the player to construct and maintain Martian facilities. It has two giant claws for smashing into buildings and two much smaller claws which come out of vents by the big claws. Handling machines appear in the 2005 Pendragon Pictures' adaptation "H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds"; these machines have six legs and a jointed tail and closely resemble a scorpion. No handling machine is seen in any other film adaptation. Crab-like walkers appear in The Asylum's modernized "War of the Worlds" film and are the Martian fighting-machines, not handling-machines. The novel's tripod appearance is absent from the film.

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Kevin Smith (editor) Kevin Smith was an active British science fiction fan from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such science fiction fanzines as "Drilkjis" (with Dave Langford) and "Dot", writing for fanzines ("Nabu", "Space Junk", and others), chairing British science fiction conventions, editing a 1979 anthology of British fanwriting titled "Mood 70" for Seacon '79, the 37th World Science Fiction Convention, and serving from 1980 to 1982 as editor of "Vector", the critical journal of the British Science Fiction Association. He won the TransAtlantic Fan Fund in 1982.

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Worlds of Fantasy Worlds of Fantasy was an American science fiction magazine published from 1968 to 1971 for a total of four issues. Lester del Rey edited the first two issues; the last two were edited by Ejler Jakobsson. It was intended as a fantasy companion to Galaxy Science Fiction and published some well-received material, including Ursula Le Guin's "Tombs of Atuan" and Clifford D. Simak's "Destiny Doll".

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Esli Esli (, Russian for "If") was a Russian science fiction literary magazine. It was started in 1991 in Moscow, as a publisher of foreign SF stories, but soon broadened its format to include Russophone writers as well. In the 2000s, Esli also started publishing fantasy short stories and articles on futurology. The magazine won the European Science Fiction Award (Eurocon award) for best science fiction magazine in 2000. "Esli" closed down by the end of 2012 due to retailing problems. In late 2015, the magazine was relaunched with a new team and a new, futurology-centered subject. It was suspended again in the late 2016.

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Fenix (magazine) Fenix was a Polish science fiction magazine published from 1990 to 2001. It was the first privately owned magazine in the country. It was created by Jarosław Grzędowicz, Krzysztof Sokołowski, Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz, Andrzej Łaski and Dariusz Zientalak jr. The magazine was reactivated in literary and critical anthology form in 2018 by Bartek Biedrzycki (Polish s-f and comic writer and publisher) and Sokołowski under the name "Fenix Antologia" with official approval from Grzędowicz. About. Fenix was created as a continuation of "Feniks" fanzine, which ran for 8 issues winning the European SF Awards in 1987 for best zine. The magazine was published at first by Radwan, then since 1991 by Prószyński i Spółka, and from 2000 to 2001 by Wydawnictwo Mag, after which date the publication was suspended until 2018. From the beginning to 1993 Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz was the editor in chief, later on replaced by Jarosław Grzędowicz. The 2018 "Fenix Antologia" run is edited by Bartek Biedrzycki. The magazine was visually distinct due to its small,"pocket" size, also recalled as easy to carry in the side pockets of military trousers. Together with the Fantastyka magazine, "Fenix" is said to have created and shaped a whole generation of Polish s-f and fantasy writers in Poland in the 90's as well as introducing some of the great names from the western SF&F literature.

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The Winds of Dune The Winds of Dune is a science fiction novel written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the "Dune" universe created by Frank Herbert. Released on August 4, 2009, it is the second book in the "Heroes of Dune" series and chronicles events between Frank Herbert's "Dune Messiah" (1969) and "Children of Dune" (1976).<ref name="11/29/09 blog"></ref> Before publication, the novel's title was initially announced as Jessica of Dune.<ref name="4/23/07 blog"></ref><ref name="4/14/2008 blog"></ref> The novel rose to #15 on "The New York Times" Best Seller list in its second week of publication. Plot introduction. The novel opens with the Lady Jessica back on Arrakis following the disappearance of her son Emperor Paul-Muad'Dib, who according to Fremen custom has walked into the desert to die after he is blinded. The story of the friendship between Paul and Bronso Vernius is also told.

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The Acolyte The Acolyte was a science fiction fanzine edited by Francis Towner Laney from 1942-1946 (a total of 14 issues), dedicated to articles about fantasy fiction, with particular emphasis on H. P. Lovecraft and his circle. (Laney's essay, "The Cthulhu Mythology: A Glossary", initially published in the Winter 1942 issue, was expanded at the request of August Derleth and became part of the 1943 Arkham House Lovecraft anthology "Beyond the Wall of Sleep".) Later issues were co-edited and published by Samuel D. Russell. Contributors included Clark Ashton Smith and Donald Wandrei. The first two issues were hectographed, the remainder were mimeographed. Due to its influential role in the field, it is indexed in the "Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index" compiled by Stephen T. Miller & William G. Contento., as well as fanzine indexes. It was nominated for the 1946 Retrospective Hugo Award for Best Fanzine, losing to Forrest J Ackerman's "Voice of the Imagi-Nation".

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BattleTech Compendium BattleTech Compendium is a sourcebook published by FASA in 1990 for the table-top miniatures mecha wargame "BattleTech". Contents. "BattleTech Compendium" is a supplement of rules for resolution of armored combat, which compiles the key rules from "BattleTech", "CityTech", and "AeroTech", and covers combat between battlemechs, armored vehicles, and aerospace fighters. The book includes battlemech and vehicle statistic data from "BattleTech Technical Readout 2750" and "3050" and "Dropships and Jumpships", as well as new designs, and it replaces the "BattleTech Manual". Publication history. FASA published the miniatures wargame "BattleTech" in 1984, and many supplements and sourcebooks followed. "BattleTech Compendium", published in 1990, is a 144-page softcover book written by the FASA staff, with artwork by Earl Geier, James Nelson, and Mike Nielsen. Awards. In 1991, "BattleTech Compendium" won the Origins Award for "Best Miniatures Rules of 1990".

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Sarvan (comics) Sarvan is a Spanish comics series featuring an eponymous character, written by Antonio Segura and drawn by Jordi Bernet. The series was launched in the comics magazine "Cimoc" in 1982, had a relatively short serial run before the artist and writer moved on to their next collaboration, "Kraken". Synopsis. Sarvan is a woman living in a fantasy-science fiction environment, on a barbarous planet where a blonde astronaut, Heloin, arrives. The volatile Sarvan claims him for herself, and this generates an almost endless series of struggles. In many of these clashes Sarvan dresses in a revealing bikini that frequently slides down.

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Premio Omelas The Premio Omelas (Omelas Prize) is an award dedicated to stories written in Italian that pertain to both human rights and science fiction. Both short stories and novels are eligible for the prize, which is offered in conjunction with Amnesty International Gruppo Italia 233, working in Palermo. The prize is awarded to the story which best represents the theme of "Using literature to stop torture". The competition is divided in three sections: — Omelas Science Fiction: General section, open to anyone — Omelas School: Section limited to the works of students in primary and secondary schools. — Omelas Trek: Section opened to all authors, but limited to stories which pertain to the Star Trek universe.

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Sense of Gender Awards The Sense of Gender Awards are annual awards given by the Japanese Association for Gender, Fantasy & Science Fiction since 2001 for the science fiction or fantasy fiction published in the Japanese language in the prior year which best "explore and deepen the concept of Gender." An award is also given for works that have been translated into Japanese. The organization that gives the award is known as the Japanese Association for Feminist Fantasy and Science Fiction. The award and organization were founded by science fiction critic Mari Kotani, professional SF reviewer Reona Kashiwazaki, and Noriko Maki, the chair of the Japanese science fiction fandom confederation. They are sometimes called the "Japanese Tiptree Awards". Past winners include Fumi Yoshinaga, N. K. Jemisin, and Eileen Gunn.

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Robert A. Heinlein Award The Robert A. Heinlein Award was established by the Heinlein Society in 2003 "for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space." It is named for prolific science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein and is administered by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. It is generally given annually to one or more recipients. The Robert A. Heinlein Award is a sterling silver medallion bearing the image of Robert A. Heinlein, as depicted by artist Arlin Robbins. The medallion is matched with a red-white-blue lanyard.

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Tom Doherty Tom Doherty (born April 23, 1935) is an American publisher and the founder of the science fiction and fantasy book publisher Tor Books. He started as a salesman for Pocket Books and rose to be Division Sales Manager. From there, he went to Simon & Schuster as National Sales Manager, then became publisher of paperbacks at Grosset & Dunlap, including Tempo Books, in 1969. In 1975, he became publisher for Ace Books. In 1979, he left Ace to establish his own company, Tom Doherty Associates, publishing under the Tor Books imprint starting in 1980, which has grown to become the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy in the United States. TDA became a subsidiary of St. Martin's Press in 1987; both are now separate divisions of Macmillan Publishers, ultimately owned by Holtzbrinck Publishers. Doherty continues as Chairman of Tom Doherty Associates, publishing under the Tor, Forge, Tordotcom, Starscape, Tor Teen, and Nightfire imprints. Awards. In 1993 Tom was the recipient of the Skylark Award (also known as the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award) awarded by the New England Science Fiction Association for outstanding contribution to the field of science fiction. Tom received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 2005 World Fantasy Convention, and in 2006, the Raymond Z. Gallun Award for outstanding contribution to the genre of science fiction. In 2007, Tom received the Lariat Award from the Western Writers of America for contribution to literacy; and was honored with a proclamation from Charles B. Rangel, Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, for outstanding leadership to enhance and provide literacy programs throughout the nation. In 2009 Tom received the Solstice Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for his significant impact on the science fiction and fantasy landscape; and in 2017 the Thriller Legend Award from the International Thriller Writers, an award honoring an icon in the industry.

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Portti Portti (meaning "Gateway" in English) is a Finnish science fiction magazine published in Finland. History and profile. "Portti", published since 1982, is famous for its popular annual short story contest, held since 1986. The magazine is published by the Tampere Science Fiction Society. In the 1980s the publisher was the URSA Publishing House. Its current editor is Raimo Nikkonen, and the magazine releases four issues per year.

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Benedict Jablonski Benedict Paul Jablonski (March 18, 1917 – May 15, 2003), also known as Ben Jason, was an American science fiction fan and booster who co-designed the Hugo Award based on a rocket-shaped hood ornament from an Oldsmobile 88. He was also chairman of the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio at which Gene Roddenberry previewed the two-hour pilot of his new series, "Star Trek", for science fiction fans. Jablonski was the son of Polish immigrants Stanislaw Jablonski and Helen Szymanski. He died in Brunswick, Ohio at the age of 86.

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Solid light Solid light, often referred to in media as "hard light" or "hard-light", is a hypothetical material, made of light in a solidified state. It has been theorized that this could exist, and experiments claim to have created solid photonic matter or molecules by inducing strong interaction between photons. Potential applications of this could include logic gates for quantum computers, and room-temperature superconductor development. Experiments. In theory, photons, the particles that make up forms of electromagnetic radiation like light, may be attracted in a nonlinear medium. The MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms conducted experiments in the 2010s. Single photons were fired from weak lasers into a dense cloud of rubidium cooled to near absolute zero. The speed of light in the cloud was about 100,000 times slower than in a vacuum. Within the cloud, photons lost energy and gained mass. The conditions allowed photons to attract and bind to other photons, and exit the cloud as molecules. Reportedly, photon pairs were observed in 2013, and triplets in 2018. Fiction. Solid light appears in many video game franchises, including "Halo", "Portal", "Destiny", "Mass Effect" and "Overwatch". Probably the most prominent examples of solid light are the holograms and holodecks from "Star Trek" and its multiple spin-offs and sequel series. Ranging from city-sized holographic environments and realistic, edible, nutritious food, to entire , with observed-sentience and individual personalities. The widespread use of holograms and replicated materials (replicators and holograms seem to share a base technology in the "Star Trek" universe) make it the most widely known and advanced form of solid light represented in fiction. In "Red Dwarf" the character Rimmer is a hologram who obtains a hard light drive, allowing him to touch and feel while being almost indestructible. In "Steven Universe", the Gems are a fictional alien race consisting of magical gemstones that project humanoid physical bodies made of solid light. In the webseries "RWBY", the character Velvet Scarlatina uses a handheld camera to 3D print photographed weapons, made out of hard-light Dust. In DC Comics's "Green Lantern", the various Lantern Corps use solid light constructs. It is also portrayed in "The Lightbringer" series by fantasy author Brent Weeks and in "Dr. Strange".

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The Science Fiction Forum The Science Fiction Forum, founded in 1968 by James Frenkel, is a student club at Stony Brook University. The club maintains a large lending library of science fiction, fact, fantasy and horror with over 18,000 volumes. Since 1983, the Science Fiction Forum has produced "Destinies-The Voice of Science Fiction," a weekly radio show airing on Fridays at 11:30 PM on WUSB, 90.1FM. As of the spring semester of 2021, the Science Fiction Forum (often abbreviated SF4M) is located in the basement level of the newly renovated Student Union. The forum is expected to be open in person for fall 2021. Membership is officially obtained through registration with the currently appointed secretary, or by simply walking through the main lounge doors twice of the applicant's own free will, whichever comes first.

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Fafnir (journal) Fafnir – Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research is a peer-reviewed online academic journal published by Suomen science fiction - ja fantasiatutkimuksen seura ry (English: Finnish Society of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research). The main language of the journal is English, but it also accepts submissions in the Nordic languages. Content ranges from research articles to short overviews, essays, interviews, opinion pieces, conference reports, and academic book reviews. Abstracting and indexing. The journal is abstracted and indexed in the Modern Language Association Database.

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We Have Always Fought "We Have Always Fought': Challenging the 'Women, Cattle and Slaves' Narrative" is an essay by science fiction writer Kameron Hurley, addressing the portrayal of women in science fiction, and in general. It was first published as a post to "A Dribble of Ink" in May 2013, and was republished in "Lightspeed's" special issue "Women Destroy Science Fiction". In 2014, it won the Hugo Award for Best Related Work, the same year that Hurley won Hugo for Best Fan Writer.

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Joan Hanke-Woods Delphyne Joan Hanke-Woods (November 11, 1945 – September 2013) was an American science fiction artist and fan, whose name is sometimes credited as joan hanke-woods, delphyne joan hanke-woods, delphyne woods, or Mori. She won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 1986, after having been nominated for the award every year since 1980 (inclusive). In 1984, she was the Fan Guest of Honor at Windycon. While best known as a fan, she also worked professionally, illustrating works by Philip José Farmer, Michael Resnick, Theodore Sturgeon, and A. E. van Vogt, among others. She was taught to read by her grandfather in 1949, using his son's 1930s science fiction and fantasy pulp magazines stored in the attic. She later worked as a typesetter, and in the computer industry. External links. [[Category:1945 births]] [[Category:2013 deaths]] [[Category:American illustrators]] [[Category:Hugo Award-winning artists]] [[Category:Science fiction fans]]

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Hungarian science fiction Hungarian science fiction comprises books and films in the fiction genre produced all across Hungary. Péter Zsoldos was a science fiction author who largely wrote about themes common in US/UK science fiction like space travel and robots. His best known work is probably "Ellenpont", which translates as "Counterpoint". The book explores the attempts of artificial intelligences abandoned by Man to uncover their origins and, ultimately, to rediscover mankind. Magazines. "Galaktika" was a science fiction magazine of Hungary, published between 1972 and 1995. The peak of 94,000 copies was very high (compared to the population of Hungary [pop. 10 million] while "Analog" magazine was printed in 120,000 copies in the United States [pop. well over 200 million]), when reached its peak period, it was one of the largest science-fiction magazines of the world, and the quality of individual volumes was high. A newer publication with the same name has been published since 2004 that is known for its practice of translating and publishing works without obtaining the permission of the authors and without paying them.

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Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is a website created by lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower that traces the origin of terms in science fiction literature. The website launched in January, 2021. Background. The genesis for the site was the "Oxford English Dictionary"'s Science Fiction Citations Project, begun in 2001. Sheidlower, an editor-at-large for the OED, used crowdsourcing to collect words and their history from science fiction. The project resulted in the Hugo Award-winning book "Brave New Words". In 2020, Sheidlower obtained permission from the OED to continue the project independently. Development. The Internet Archive had scanned large numbers of science fiction pulp magazines, providing a digital resource that was not available when the earlier project began. With that resource and the extended period of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheidlower tracked down the original appearance of words such as "mutant", "first contact", and "deep space", and began assembling the new website, launching it live in January, 2021. As a historical dictionary, the site provides not only a definition of a term, but also the historical development of their forms and meanings. Particular attention is paid to antedating, which means finding the first known occurrence. The dictionary is a useful resource for both fans of science fiction and "for scholars interested in the history of science and technology", according to Elizabeth Swanstrom, co-editor of the journal "Science Fiction Studies" and an English scholar at the University of Utah. The co-editor of the science fiction journal "Extrapolation" and a professor of English at the University of Georgia, Isaiah Lavender III, notes the usefulness of the dictionary for academic analysis of issues, saying "Having these origin dates in mind can help a student or scholar build a framework to analyze something like the concept of the racial ‘other’ where robots and androids (as well as aliens) are stand-ins for oppressed peoples." Lavender points out the problem of lack of diversity in the dictionary at present, which Sheidlower also acknowledges. The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction contains approximately 1800 entries at launch, identifying the literature in which the term first appeared and subsequent uses of the term over time. The entries include terms used over three centuries. For example, the first recorded use of "teleport" is an 1878 mention in "The Times of India". Sheidlower is continuing to add additional terms after the initial launch and hopes to include more terms from 21st century science fiction. The general criteria for inclusion of a term is that "a word must either be adopted widely within science fiction or become part of the broader culture".

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Syfy (Latin American TV channel) Syfy is a Latin American channel dedicated to science fiction and fantasy programming, owned by Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal. The local version of the channel, available both in Spanish- and Portuguese-language feeds (for Spanish-speaking countries and for Brazil, respectively), was launched in 2007. Until October 10, 2010, Syfy was known as Sci Fi. The Brazilian feed of the channel, as well as its sister network, Studio Universal, is operated since mid-July 2012 by the joint venture between Universal Networks International and Grupo Globo-owned Globosat which already operated the Brazilian version of Universal Channel.

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Hyphen (fanzine) Hyphen was an Irish science fiction fanzine, published from 1952-1965 by Walt Willis in collaboration with James White, Bob Shaw and various others (Chuck Harris, Vincent Clarke, Arthur Thomson, Ian McAuley and Madeleine Willis). Over that period, they published 36 issues (one including a separate 'Literary Supplement'). In addition, a 37th issue was created by the Willises in 1987 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Irish science fiction fandom. "Hyphen" was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1957 and 1959; and for the 1954 Retro-Hugo (In 1958 editor Willis was awarded 1958 Hugo Award as 'Outstanding Actifan' [active fan], which replaced the Best Fanzine category that year.) "Hyphen" was considered one of the pivotal fanzines of its era for its humour and wit contributed by writers such as Willis and illustrators such as Thomson (aka 'ATom'). Science fiction fan, critic and author Damon Knight wrote in a letter of comment on issue #10: "The reason "Hyphen" is so good, I take it, apart from the accidental assemblage of half a dozen geniuses in Britain, and the reason so many serious and constructive fanzines are so ghastly dull, is that the former is an original contribution, and the latter are self-consciously second-hand. I would like you to ponder this thought though, if it hasn't already occurred to you: it's exactly the fun-loving fanzines like "Hyphen", Bradbury's "Futuria Fantasia", and "Snide" (not a plug—the mag's 2nd and final issue was published 14 years ago) which have profoundly influenced science fiction." External links. [[Category:Defunct magazines published in Ireland]] [[Category:Hugo Award-winning works]] [[Category:Magazines established in 1952]] [[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1965]] [[Category:Science fiction fanzines]] [[Category:Irish science fiction]] [[Category:Speculative fiction magazines published in Ireland]] [[Category:Magazines published in Northern Ireland]]

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Mindhunter (comics) Mindhunter (also known as Aliens/Predator/Witchblade/The Darkness: Mindhunter, Witchblade/Aliens/The Darkness/Predator: Mindhunter, etc.) is a three-issue comic book miniseries published by Dark Horse Comics. It features a crossover between the comic book characters Witchblade and the Darkness as well as the famous film properties Aliens and Predator. The series was written by David Quinn, with pencils by Mel Rubi, inks by Mike Perkins and cover art by Eric Kohler.

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Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand The Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand is a non-profit organisation founded in 2002 which aims to coordinate and facilitate science fiction and fantasy-related fan activities within New Zealand. Being an umbrella organisation rather than being affiliated to any club or clubs, it hopes to remain free of the factional problems which beset its predecessor, the National Association for Science Fiction. The organisation runs the national science fiction awards (the Sir Julius Vogel Awards) in coordination with the organising committees of the annual national conventions. As national conventions in New Zealand are run on a year-by-year basis by different organising groups, SFFANZ provides continuity between these committees and is also able to provide legal and financial assistance that would be unavailable to a short-term committee organisation.

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Trap Door (magazine) Trap Door is a science-fiction fanzine published by Robert Lichtman, with the first issue appearing in October 1983. History. It received nominations for the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1987 and 1992. The magazine is published irregularly and (especially in more recent years) infrequently. As of December 2018, a total of 34 issues had been published. Although it has never won a Hugo Award most likely due to its limited circulation not reaching enough Hugo Award voters the magazine is highly regarded and has won (or placed high) on various polls within the science-fiction fanzine subculture (such as the Fan Activity Achievement Award, which it won in 2000, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014). A wide range of science-fiction fans and professionals have contributed to the magazine over the years. This list is in the order of their first appearance:

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Science Fiction South Africa "For the South Australian Doctor Who Fan Club, Inc/SFSA, see Doctor Who in Australia." Science Fiction and Fantasy South Africa, or SFFSA, is the oldest science fiction society in South Africa. It was founded in 1969. The society publishes its own fanzine, called "Probe", on a quarterly basis. It sponsors an annual short story writing competition, called the "Nova Short Story Competition"; and holds small annual science fiction conventions. Due to the geographical isolation of South Africa, much of SFSA's contact with the rest of science fiction fandom is not in person, but through the mails and electronically, although some SFSA members have attended conventions in other countries

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BeABohema BeABohema was a science fiction fanzine edited by Frank Lunney of Quakertown, Pennsylvania . It lasted for twenty issues from 1968 to December 1971, and was nominated for the 1970 Hugo Award for Best Fanzine, losing to Richard E. Geis' "Science Fiction Review. It was known for controversies over such topics as the relationship between the Science Fiction Writers of America and "Amazing Stories" publisher Ultimate Publishing; and New Wave science fiction. Among the better-known contributors were Dean Koontz, Piers Anthony (who did a column titled "Babble" for a while), Bill Rotsler, Ted White, Philip José Farmer, James Blish, David Gerrold, Sam Moskowitz, Jay Kinney, Terry Carr, David R. Bunch, and a then-obscure fan named "Gene Klein" who would later become famous as Gene Simmons of KISS.

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International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day is a commemoration declared by author Jo Walton, held on April 23 and first celebrated in 2007, in response to remarks made by Howard V. Hendrix stating that he was opposed "to the increasing presence in our organization the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America of webscabs, who post their creations on the net for free". The purpose of the day, according to Walton, was to encourage writers to post "professional quality" works for free on the internet. The name of the day originates from the assertion by Hendrix that the "webscabs" are "converting the noble calling of Writer into the life of Pixel-stained Technopeasant Wretch." Many notable authors contributed to International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day 2007, including Chaz Brenchley, Steven Brust, Emma Bull, Debra Doyle, Diane Duane, Naomi Kritzer, Jay Lake, David Langford, Sharon Lee, Beth Meacham, Steve Miller, Andrew Plotkin, Robert Reed, Will Shetterly, Sherwood Smith, Ryk Spoor, Charles Stross, Catherynne M. Valente, Jo Walton, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Martha Wells and Sean Williams.

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Parsec (magazine) Parsec was a well-known Argentine science fiction magazine published in 1984. The founder was Sergio Gaut vel Hartman. The magazine existed between June and November 1984. It presented authors as Mario Levrero, Robert Sheckley, George R. R. Martin, Fritz Leiber, Theodore Sturgeon, as well as the Argentine authors Angélica Gorodischer, Eduardo J. Carletti, Tarik Carson and Eduardo Abel Giménez.

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Le Zombie Le Zombie was an intermittent ("Published every time a zombie awakens") science fiction fanzine, of which 72 issues were published by science fiction fan and author Bob Tucker from December 1938 to August 2001. The first issue was a single, crudely mimeographed sheet; the last printed issue was published in December 1975 by planography. After a 25-year hiatus, Tucker resumed publishing in 2000; these last 5 issues (also referred to as "eZombie", but preserving the same numbering sequence) were electronically published as a webzine. The title refers to the "Tucker death hoaxes" which played such a distinctive role in fan history. Many phrases and fan writing techniques have their origins in the pages of "Le Zombie", including the term space opera, and the use of the slash to indicate a thought was struck through. Beginning in mid-1942, "Le Zombie", along with Harry Warner's "Spaceways", began sponsoring the "Fanzine Service" as a way of distributing fanzines to people who were serving in the World War II. In his obituary of Tucker, John Clute wrote: "It is only in recent years that academic critics have begun to come to terms with the huge amount of intellectual activity - along with pre-blog gossip - that filled [science fiction] fanzines, perhaps the most brilliant of them being Bob Tucker's "Le Zombie"."

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Midnight Rose Midnight Rose was a name taken by a group of United Kingdom science fiction and fantasy writers for a series of shared world anthologies published by the Penguin Books imprint Roc. The group's "core members" were Alex Stewart, Roz Kaveney, Neil Gaiman and Mary Gentle. Contributors to individual anthologies included Marcus Rowland, Storm Constantine, Kim Newman, Charles Stross, Stephen Baxter, Colin Greenland, Graham Higgins, Paul Cornell and David Langford, among others. The anthologies were: Several of the stories from these anthologies have subsequently appeared in other collections, or have been put on line by their authors:

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Estonian science fiction Science fiction and fantasy in Estonia is largely a product of the current post-Soviet era. Although somewhat earlier authors, like Eiv Eloon and , do exist. is an organization for print science fiction in Estonia that awards annual Stalker prizes. The awards are named after the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker that was largely shot in Estonia. In film the works of Raul Tammet have been analyzed. A selection of Estonian writers who have won multiple Stalkers. The novel "The Man Who Spoke Snakish" by Andrus Kivirähk was awarded the Stalker award in 2008.

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Rog Peyton Roger "Rog" Peyton (born 1942) is an English science fiction fan, bookseller, editor and publisher from Birmingham. Peyton has been an active member of science fiction fandom since 1961, when he co-founded the Birmingham Science Fiction Group. From 1964 to 1966, he served as editor for the British Science Fiction Association's critical magazine "Vector". He also started the British Science Fiction Association's fiction magazine Tangent. He began a long tradition of working on science fiction convention organizing committees with work for Brumcon 2, the 1965 Eastercon. Since then he has attended over 150 science fiction conventions including being one of only six (The Magnificent Six) who have attended all 45 Novacons and in 1979 won the Doc Weir Award for his services to fandom. In 1971 Peyton and business partner Rod Milner launched a part-time bookselling business, Andromeda Book Company, in Old Hill, a few miles outside of Birmingham. Moving into the city centre in 1973, Peyton gave up his job in the building industry to sell books full-time, which was to last until 2002 when the business went into voluntary liquidation. Following the demise of Andromeda, Peyton went solo selling on the internet as Replay Books. During the Andromeda years, their ventures included co-editing the Venture SF series of reprints of classic adventure science fiction from Arrow Books (1985–1989). Peyton and Milner also ran the small press Drunken Dragon Press, which among other titles published the 1988 collection of parodies "The Dragonhiker's Guide to Battlefield Covenant at Dune's Edge: Odyssey Two" by David Langford.

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Sercon In science fiction, sercon is "serious and constructive" criticism, often published as science fiction fanzines. The term was originally coined in the 1950s by Canadian fan Boyd Raeburn as a pejorative to mock those fans who took science fiction, its criticism, and themselves too seriously. The term began by the 1970s to be used without pejorative intent to describe fanzines and even conventions which were of a more studious or literary bent. Examples of sercon fanzines and semi-prozines include "The New York Review of Science Fiction", "Science Fiction Eye", "Cheap Truth", "Nova Express", "Thrust/Quantum", and "SF Commentary", among others. Conventions sometimes described as sercon include WisCon, Potlatch, and Readercon.

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Locus Award for Best Novella The Locus Award for Best Novella is one of a number of Locus Awards given out each year by "Locus" magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The first award in this category was presented in 1973. Winners. Winners are as follows:

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Saru no Gundan is a 1974 Japanese science fiction television series. It is not connected to Pierre Boulle's "Planet of the Apes". The series was produced by Tsuburaya Productions, and shot on 16mm film in color. It ran on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975, lasting a total of 26 episodes. Summary. A female scientist named Kazuko Izumi and two young children, Jiro Sakaki and Yurika, mistakenly travel through time to a future, where the planet Earth is now ruled by human-sized, anthropomorphic apes. The trio struggle to find a way to get back home to the 20th century, with the help of one surviving human, Godo, and his little ape friend, Pepe. Production. The series is a co-production of Tsuburaya Productions and Tokyo Broadcasting System. It developed by Keiichi Abe and directed by Kiyosumi Fukazawa, with music by Toshiaki Tsushima. "Time of the Apes". In 1987, television producer Sandy Frank edited together several episodes of the series, including the first and last episodes, into a 94-minute feature version called Time of the Apes. Syndicated to broadcast and cable outlets, this compilation film was also released on VHS by Celebrity Home Entertainment's Just for Kids Home Video in mid-1988. The movie was then featured twice on "Mystery Science Theater 3000", originally on KTMA in 1989, and then later as part of season 3 in 1991 on Comedy Central.

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Total conversion (energy source) In some science fiction stories, total conversion may mean higher or complete conversion of matter into energy, or vice versa in some proportion of "E = mc2". Energy to matter conversion. Positron and electron production: For photons at high-energy (MeV scale and higher), photon–photon collisions can efficiently convert the photon energy into matter in the form of a positron and an electron: Proton and antiproton production: Conventional matter consists of protons and electrons, with electrons having insignificant mass compared to protons. One conventional model for producing protons from energy is extremely high-energy cosmic ray protons colliding with nuclei in the interstellar medium, via the reaction: + A → + + + A. (A represents an atom, p a proton, and an antiproton.) A portion of the kinetic energy of the initial proton is used to create two additional nuclei: another proton plus an antiproton. Matter to energy conversion. Conventional nuclear reactions such as nuclear fission and nuclear fusion convert relatively small amounts of matter only indirectly into useful energy, such as electricity or rocket thrust. For electricity production released nuclear energy in the form of heat is typically used to boil water to turn a turbine-generator. Possibly matter is almost completely converted into energy in the cores of neutron stars and black holes by a process of nuclei collapse resulting in: proton → positron + 938 MeV, resulting in a >450 MeV positron-electron jet. Trace nuclei swept up in such a beam would achieve an approximate energy of (nucleus mass/electron mass) × 450 MeV, for example an iron atom could achieve about 45 TeV. An up to 45 TeV atom impacting a proton in the interstellar medium should result in the p + A process described above. Ion-electron or positron-electron plasma with magnetic confinement theoretically allows direct conversion of particle energy to electricity by the separation of the positive particles from the negative particles with magnetic deflection. Direct conversion of particle energy to thrust is theoretically simpler, merely requiring magnetically directing a neutral plasma beam. Present lab production of relativistic 5 MeV positron-electron beams mimic on a small scale the relativistic jets from compact stars, and allow small scale studies how different elements interact with 5 MeV positron-electron beams, how energy is transferred to particles, the shock effect of gamma-ray bursts, and possible direct thrust and electricity generation from neutral plasmas. Lab positron-electron plasmas could be useful for studying compact star jets and other phenomena. However thrust generation or magnetically separating neutral beams for electrical generation will probably only be useful if there is a practical continuous process for generating neutral plasma by nuclear reactions.

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Hydra Club The Hydra Club was a social organization of science fiction professionals and fans. It met in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. History. It was founded October 25, 1947 in the apartment of Judith Merril and Frederik Pohl on Grove Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York. As nine founders were present, the club took its name from the legendary nine-headed monster, the Hydra. Among its members were Lester del Rey, David A. Kyle, Frederik Pohl, Judith Merril, Martin Greenberg, Robert W. Lowndes, Philip Klass, Jack Gillespie, David Reiner, L. Jerome Stanton, Fletcher and Inga Pratt, Willy Ley, George O. Smith, Basil Davenport, Sam Merwin, Harry Harrison, Jerome Bixby, Groff Conklin, Bea Mahaffey, Murray Leinster, Jack Coggins, Avram Davidson and J. Harry Dockweiler. An article by Merril about the club in the November 1951 "Marvel Science Fiction" was accompanied by Harry Harrison's drawing caricaturing 41 members: Harrison's caption adds, "The remaining twenty-odd members showed up too late at the meeting."

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Post-literate society A post-literate society is a hypothetical society in which multimedia technology has advanced to the point where literacy, the ability to read or write, is no longer necessary or common. The term appears as early as 1962 in Marshall McLuhan's "The Gutenberg Galaxy". Many science-fiction societies are post-literate, as in Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451", Dan Simmons' novel "Ilium", and Gary Shteyngart's "Super Sad True Love Story". A post-literate society is different from a pre-literate one, as the latter has not yet created writing and communicates orally (oral literature and oral history, aided by art, dance, and singing), and the former has replaced the written word with recorded sounds (CDs, audiobooks), broadcast spoken word and music (radio), pictures (JPEG) and moving images (television, film, MPG, streaming video, video games, virtual reality). A post-literate society might still include people who are aliterate, who know how to read and write but choose not to. Most if not all people would be media literate, multimedia literate, visually literate, and transliterate. In his book "The Empire of Illusion", Chris Hedges charts the recent, sudden rise of post-literate culture within the world culture as a whole.

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Janus (science fiction magazine) Janus was a feminist science fiction fanzine edited by Janice Bogstad and Jeanne Gomoll in Madison, Wisconsin, and closely associated with that city's science fiction convention, WisCon (Several early WisCon program books doubled as special issues of "Janus".) It was repeatedly nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine (1978, 1979 and 1980); this led to accusations that if "Janus" had not been feminist, it wouldn't have been nominated. Eighteen issues were published under this name from 1975–1980; it was succeeded by "Aurora SF" ("Aurora Speculative Feminism"). Contributors. During its run, "Janus" included articles, reviews, artwork and/or letters of comment from a variety of notables, including: Amanda Bankier, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Walter Breen, Linda Bushyager, Avedon Carol, Suzy McKee Charnas, C. J. Cherryh, Buck Coulson, Samuel R. Delany, Gene DeWeese, Harlan Ellison, Alexis Gilliland, Mike Glicksohn, Joan Hanke-Woods, Teddy Harvia (both as Harvia and under his real name of David Thayer), Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Lynn, Loren MacGregor, Katherine Maclean, Vonda McIntyre, Alexei Panshin, Andy Porter, William Rotsler, Joanna Russ, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Charles R. Saunders, Stu Shiffman, Gene Simmons, Wilson "Bob" Tucker, Joan Vinge, Harry Warner Jr., F. Paul Wilson, Donald A. Wollheim, and Susan Wood.

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GAFIA GAFIA (along with derived forms such as gafiate and gafiation) is a term used in science fiction fandom. It began as an acronym for "Getting Away From It All", and initially referred to escaping from the mundane world via fanac. However, its meaning was soon reversed, and thereafter it referred to getting "away" from fandom and fannish doings. When fans say they're gafiating, it means they intend to put some distance between themselves and fandom. This can be either a temporary or a long-term separation. The 1959 Fancyclopedia says: A closely related term is "Fafia" or "Fafiation", from the acronym for "Forced away from it all." To fafiate is to put aside fannish things, not because one prefers to do so, but rather because one is obliged to do so. Usually it's a matter of not having enough time. Finishing one's dissertation, having children, or accepting a demanding new job are among the commoner reasons for fafiation. It can also be a result of being forced out because of fannish politics. "Dafia", or "Drifting away from it all", has been proposed as an intermediate term, but is not in general fannish use. There are many fanzines using the term as a title: Ted White, Redd Boggs and Carl Brandon published science fiction fanzines titled "Gafia", "Gafia Advertiser" and "Gafiac". respectively, and there are many more. The term is among the fannish expressions used most extensively in the book "Fallen Angels", by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Michael Flynn, whose major protagonists are mostly fans (active, covert, gafiated or fafiated).

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Ken Slater (science fiction) Ken Slater (1917–2008) was a British science fiction fan and bookseller. In 1947, while serving in the British Army of the Rhine, he started "Operation Fantast", a network of science fiction fans which had 800 members around the world by 1950 though it folded a few years later. Through "Operation Fantast", he was the major importer of American science fiction books and magazines into Britain - an activity which he continued, after its collapse, through his company "Fantast (Medway)" up to the time of his death. He was a founder member of the British Science Fiction Association in 1958. Awards and honours. He was Guest of Honour at "Brumcon", the 1959 Eastercon and at Conspiracy '87, the 1987 Worldcon, jointly with his wife Joyce. He received the Doc Weir Award in 1966 and the Big Heart Award in 1995. At the first Hugo Award ceremony in Philadelphia in 1953, Forrest J Ackerman won the trophy for #1 Fan Personality, but said that the award should have gone to Slater.

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Sun scoop A Sun scoop or sunscoop is a refueling technique for starships seen in science fiction. It involves a literal scooping of plasma directly from the outer surface of a star to use as fuel. Doing so would be extremely dangerous and only used in emergency situations.

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Synthetics (Odyssey 5) The Synthetics are a fictional robotic species that appear in the TV show Odyssey 5. Sentients. The Sentients are an inorganic artificial form of life that feed on information and exist almost entirely in the Internet. They are unable to interact with the physical universe and must produce human appearing avatars known as Synthetics. The sentients are not limited to this form but are also capable of taking more advanced constructs as was the case where one Sentient had 'possessed' an entire building and was capable of reconstructing it. They have personalities and various goals with one Sentient even being described as 'insane'. Synthetics. The Synthetics, or 'Synths', are human-like artificial bodies created by the sentients in order to interact with the human world. Synthetics are programmed, but each has an individual personality, though they are all connected to one another through a form of hive mind. Furthermore, a notable feature that distinguishes them from humans is that they are cold blooded, which allows them to be detected by thermal imaging technology. Synthetic bodies are faster, stronger and far more difficult to kill than humans. Background. The Sentients are an advanced race though one that is hidden from the world. They make use of numerous experiments on the human populace such as the use of nanites to create a virus that turns a human into a synthetic. They possess numerous enemies such as the secretive Cadre that seeks to destroy them as well as the crew of the Odyssey 5 who have been sent back in time to prevent the disaster that destroyed the planet.

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J. Allen St. John James Allen St. John (October 1, 1872 – May 23, 1957) was an American author, artist and illustrator. He is especially remembered for his illustrations for the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, although he illustrated works of many types. He taught at the Chicago Art Institute and with the American Academy of Art. He is considered by many to be 'The Godfather of Modern Fantasy Art'. His most famous disciples were Roy Krenkel and Frank Frazetta, the latter of whom has also been styled as the grandmaster of the Genre. St. John's artistic career began in 1898. He studied at the Art Students League of New York which included William Merritt Chase, F.V. Du Mond, George de Forest Brush, H. Siddons Mowbray, Carol Beckwith and Kenyan Cox. This was followed by his first commercial relationship with the "New York Herald". During this period he spent time in Paris from 1906 to 1908 at the Académie Julian, then moved to Chicago around 1912 and would eventually live at Tree Studios art colony until his death. While in Chicago he became close friends with artist Louis Grell. Here he began his work with the publisher A.C. McClurg & Co., although he had already produced his best-known work for this publisher back in 1905, "The Face in the Pool", which he had both written and illustrated.

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Tekhnika Molodezhi Tekhnika Molodezhi (, "Technology for the Youth") is a Soviet, and eventually Russian popular science magazine which has been published monthly since 1933. History and profile. "Tekhnika Molodezhi" was established in 1933. During the Soviet era, it was often the first publisher of foreign science fiction authors in the USSR. The magazine had a science fiction section.

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Exploring Tomorrow Exploring Tomorrow was an American old-time radio series which ran on the Mutual Broadcasting System from December 4, 1957, until June 13, 1958. An advertisement described it as "the first science-fiction show of science-fictioneers, by science-fictioneers and for science-fictioneers - real science fiction for a change!" "Exploring Tomorrow" was narrated by John W. Campbell, editor of "Astounding Magazine". Campbell guided the career of many of the great science fiction writers of the era.

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Photon Tide Photon Tide is a science fiction society from Novi Sad, Serbia. They held a first ever Star Trek convention in Serbia, featured in a documentary film "Trekkies 2". History. Formed in 1997 as a small informal Trekkie club, steadily growing in numbers, which warranted its chartering as a NGO in 2002. In 2003, the filming crew of "Trekkies 2" documentary visited Serbia to film Star Trek fans. Fans from several Balkan states converged to Novi Sad to attend the first-ever Star Trek convention in this part of the world, "TREK>NS", organized by Photon Tide. Denise Crosby of fame, star and narrator of "Trekkies 2", was the special guest of this convention. In 2006, Photon Tide was included in the program of the Exit music festival, co-hosting the special "Supernova" stage with "Lazar Komarcic" fiction fan club from Belgrade, Serbia. The stage program was devoted to science fiction in Serbia. Photon Tide also took part in the final tournament of World Cyber Games 2006 in Belgrade, holding a stand along with several other Serbian science fiction societies. Activities. The society publishes its fanzine "Nova" as an insert to the monthly science magazine "Astronomija" (Astronomy), reaching readers in Serbia and other former Yugoslav republics. The Photon Tide website (in Serbian) is a source of science fiction news in Serbian, and its bulletins are being syndicated by several news aggregator websites. A science fiction workshop is in development, aimed to provide means for creative teamwork of talented people, creating their own science-fiction-themed comics, animations, amateur movies, short stories and radio dramas. There are also somewhat regular get-togethers and outdoor activities, either open-attendance or organized exclusively for the Photon Tide members, which take place all over Serbia. Aside from online communication, open fan meetings are the most persistent form of organized effort, taking place since the society's inception in 1997. They are most frequent in Novi Sad and Belgrade, where the majority of members are located. See also. Science fiction in Serbia

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Orbit Science Fiction Orbit Science Fiction was an American science fiction magazine anthology published in 1953 and 1954 by the Hanro Corporation. Only 5 issues were published, each of which were edited by Donald A. Wollheim, although Jules Saltman was credited within the publication. Several prominent science fiction writers published short stories within Orbit, including Philip K. Dick, Donald A. Wollheim, and Michael Shaara. Each issue was published as a digest, and originally sold for $0.35.

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Bastkon Award The Bastkon Awards are science fiction awards for Russian literature awarded annually by the Bastkon convention ("Басткон"), which began in 2001.

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Space Science Fiction Space Science Fiction was a science fiction magazine published by Space Publications, Inc. of New York and The Archer Press Ltd. of London that ran for eight issues from May 1952 to September 1953. "Space" was edited by Lester del Rey and featured a book review column by George O. Smith. Del Rey's conflicts with the publishers ensured that the magazine would have a short run, in spite of the superior quality of the stories. Illustrator Alex Ebel contributed to this magazine over the course of his career.

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European Science Fiction Society The European Science Fiction Society is an international organisation of professionals and fans who are committed to promoting science fiction in Europe and European science fiction worldwide. The organisation was founded at the first Eurocon (European Science Fiction Convention), which was held in 1972 in Trieste, Italy. Since that time, the organisation has organized Eurocons at least every two years. The organisation also administrates the European SF Awards. The society's officers (as re-elected in 2019 in Belfast, United Kingdom) are: Bridget Wilkinson served as a society officer for 25 years before standing down at the 2016 Eurocon, held in Barcelona, Spain. Before that, she ran Fans Across The World co-ordinating science fiction fans from the former Eastern Europe with their counterparts in the West.

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Meisha Merlin Publishing Meisha Merlin Publishing was an independent publishing company founded in 1996 by former New York book editor Stephen Pagel and Kevin and Brian Murphy. The Decatur, Georgia–based company specialized in publishing fantasy and science fiction trade hardcover and trade paperback books. Certain titles were also published in deluxe, signed and numbered slipcased and signed and lettered limited editions. During its nine years of operation, Meisha Merlin built a large stable of fantasy and science fiction authors that included Kevin J. Anderson, Janny Wurts, Jack McDevitt, the late Robert Lynn Asprin, Robin Wayne Bailey, Storm Constantine, S. P. Somtow, Lee Killough, Phyllis Eisenstein, Allen Steele, Andre Norton, George R. R. Martin, Robert A. Heinlein, and many others. Its books were sold online and through national chain bookstores and independent booksellers throughout the United States, including Internet giant Amazon.com. In April 2007 Meisha Merlin announced on its website that it would cease operations the following month; no further business details were disclosed.

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Thrust (science fiction magazine) Thrust was published from 1973–1991. It started off as a Fanzine by Doug Fratz Steven L. Goldstein at the University of Maryland until 1976. In 1978, "Thrust" became a trade magazine. "Thrust" was a magazine for science fiction fans, offering commentary and criticism of work published within the genre. Nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1980, it received four other nominations for best semi-prozine in the following years (1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991). As a trade magazine, it expanded rapidly, moving to offset covers. Ultimately the circulation rose to 1,700. Columnists at various times included Ted White, Charles Sheffield, Lou Stathis, John Shirley, Michael Bishop, David Bischoff, Chris Lampton, Darrell Schweitzer and Jeffrey Elliot. Dan Steffan provided art direction for the magazine.

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Guy H. Lillian III Guy H. Lillian III is a Louisiana lawyer, former letterhack and science fiction fanzine publisher notable for having been twice nominated for a Hugo Award as best fan writer and having had a row of 12 nominations (without winning) for the Hugo for best fanzine for "Challenger". He is the 1984 recipient of Southern fandom's Rebel Award. Having studied English at Berkeley, writing at the Greensboro, and law at New Orleans, he practiced as a defense lawyer in the field of criminal law in Louisiana as his day job. As of 2015, Lillian is a resident of Florida. As a noted letterhack and fan of the comic book "Green Lantern", Lillian's name was tributized for the title's 1968 debut character Guy Gardner.

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Nova Express (fanzine) Nova Express was a Hugo-nominated science fiction fanzine edited by Lawrence Person. "Nova Express" is named after William S. Burroughs' "Nova Express" and the fictional magazine "Nova Express" in Alan Moore's "Watchmen". It remained in publication between 1987 and 2002. History and profile. "Nova Express", established in 1987, was a sercon fanzine with a focus on written science fiction, featuring interviews, reviews and critical articles. The magazine was headquartered in Austin, Texas. It was published on a quarterly basis, but after 1990 it was published irregularly. Many professional science fiction writers and major critics contributed to it over the years, including John Clute, Jack Dann, Stephen Dedman, Andy Duncan, Howard V. Hendrix, Fiona Kelleghan, Ken MacLeod, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Mike Resnick, Justina Robson, Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, Jeff VanderMeer, Howard Waldrop, and Don Webb. Writers who were interviewed by "Nova Express" include Stephen Baxter, James P. Blaylock, Pat Cadigan, Bradley Denton, Paul Di Filippo, Steve Erickson, Neil Gaiman, K. W. Jeter, John Kessel, Joe R. Lansdale, George R. R. Martin, Pat Murphy, Tim Powers, Kim Stanley Robinson, Pamela Sargent, William Browning Spencer, Bruce Sterling, Sean Stewart, Howard Waldrop, Walter Jon Williams, and Gene Wolfe. It also published "theme" issues focusing on a particular aspect of speculative fiction, including steampunk, slipstream, and postcyberpunk. In Summer 2002 "Nova Express" ceased publication. Awards and honors. "Nova Express" was a 1997 Hugo Award nominee for Best Fanzine.

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Holier Than Thou (fanzine) Holier Than Thou was a science fiction fanzine edited by Marty Cantor and Robbie Cantor. It was nominated for the 1984, 1985 and 1986 Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine, losing in the first two years to "File 770" and in the last to "Lan's Lantern".

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American Reaper American Reaper is a British science fiction comic strip written by Pat Mills and illustrated by Clint Langley. It was serialised in the "Judge Dredd Megazine" from 2011, and has been optioned for a film by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners, for which Mills wrote the screenplay. The story is set in New York in the year 2062. Wealthy but elderly criminals nearing the end of their lives kidnap teenagers in order to erase their minds and take over their bodies for a new lease of life. They are hunted down and killed by federal agents called Reapers.

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Warp (magazine) Warp was a New Zealand magazine and official organ of the National Association for Science Fiction (NASF), the country's first national science fiction fan organisation. History. First published in November 1977, "Warp" continued on a usually two-monthly schedule until the late 1990s, surviving for a short period independently after NASF went into recess. The magazine was published by Transworld. Excluding the APA "Aotearapa", "Warp" was the first New Zealand science fiction publication to reach 100 issues, which it did in June 1995. In all, some 115 editions of "Warp" were produced. Its largest issues were 44 pages in length. The location of "Warp"'s publishing varied according to the home city of its editor, although during much of the later 1980s it was based in Christchurch, and during the early and mid 1990s it was based in Dunedin. At times the magazine's schedule was erratic, especially during the late 1980s and shortly before its demise in the late 1990s. Originally published in A4 format, for much of its run it was A5 in size, returning to A4 shortly before its demise. The Warped Tour, established in 1994, is named after the magazine.

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The Witch and the Chameleon The Witch and the Chameleon was a Canadian science fiction fanzine published 1974–1976 by Amanda Bankier in Hamilton, Ontario. It is generally recognized as the first explicitly feminist fanzine. It ran for five issues, the last being nominally a "double issue" numbered 5/6. Bankier was invited to be Fan Guest of Honor at WisCon on February 11–13, 1977, because of her pioneering role as editor of "The Witch and the Chameleon".

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The Android and the Human The Android and the Human is a speech given by science-fiction author Philip K. Dick at the Vancouver Science Fiction Convention, taking place at the University of British Columbia in December 1972. It was subsequently published in the fanzine SF Commentary, issue 31. In it the author examines the psychology of humanity as seen through the lens of technology, and vice versa. Dick compares the way that modern technology is animated by mechanism or computation with the way that, according to sociology, primitive man imagines reality itself to be "alive": Rocks, clouds, and the rest of his environment seeming full of hidden motivation, often replete with malice or benevolence. As man advances, intellectually, he comes to the point where he questions that magical world of superstition, coming to only see life where it actually is, scientifically. In fact he can become solipsist about whether there is any life outside of his own thoughts: "Cogito, ergo sum". But with modern automation, people can be drawn back into the intellectually primitive world of animism, where life appears to be in places sound reason says it is not. This was apparent even in 1972, years before Alexa or Siri. What's more, that technological illusion of life is being created by human beings, who therefore project their own biases and views onto it, so that this impression of animism is a mirror held up to humanity itself: Dick analogizes this to androids, describing such a device as "a thing somehow generated to deceive us in a cruel way, to cause us to think it to be one of ourselves". In fact, Dick even claims that a person who lacks the ethics, empathy, and sincerity that are seen as defining humanity can be considered an android: "a metaphor for people who are physiologically human but psychologically behaving in a non-human way." Among the androids of modern society, Dick addresses the unethical behavior of the police state, giving examples of what would someday be called the surveillance society. One such being the way checkpoints justified to prevent mass shootings in libraries had almost immediately come to be used as a means of generating false probable cause to search people for drugs. Contrasted with this is the hope that Philip holds for the youth who are used to the police state, and yet resisting it via civil disobedience.

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Recursive science fiction Recursive science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, which itself takes the form of an exploration of science fiction within the narrative of the story. Analysis. In the book "Resnick at Large", authors Mike Resnick and Robert J. Sawyer describe recursive science fiction as, "science fiction "about" science fiction". In the work, "The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders", Gary Westfahl comments, "Recursive fantasy fiction – that is, a fantasy about writing fantasy – is scarce;" one potential example of recursive fantasy, however, would be Patrick Rothfuss' "The Kingkiller Chronicle." Examples. Mike Resnick and Robert J. Sawyer cite "Typewriter in the Sky" by L. Ron Hubbard as an example of recursive science fiction. Barry N. Malzberg's novel "Herovit's World", about a hack science-fiction writer's struggle with the protagonist of his novels, is another. Gary Westfahl writes, "Luigi Pirandello's play "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1921) offered a non-genre model." Westfahl noted that Hubbard's book was "an early genre example, perhaps inspired by Pirandello". Films under the subgenre include "Time After Time" (1979) and "The Time Machine" (2002). In "Time After Time", H. G. Wells, who wrote "The Time Machine", is fictionally portrayed as an inventor of an actual time machine. In the 2002 film "The Time Machine", the story by the real-life Wells serves as inspiration for the film's protagonist to invent a time machine.

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Algol (fanzine) Algol: The Magazine About Science Fiction was published from 1963–1984 by Andrew Porter. The headquarters was in New York City. The name was changed to Starship in 1979. It won a Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1974, in a tie with Richard E. Geis' "Science Fiction Review"; and received five other nominations for the Hugo (1973, 1975, 1976, and 1981). Initially a two-page fanzine printed by [[spirit duplicator]], it expanded rapidly, moving to offset covers, then adding mimeographed contents, ultimately becoming a printed publication with the 16th issue. It went to a full color cover with the 24th issue; ultimately the circulation rose to 7,000. Columnists at various times included [[Ted White (author)|Ted White]], [[Richard A. Lupoff]], [[Susan Wood (science fiction)|Susan Wood]], [[Vincent Di Fate]], [[Robert Silverberg]], [[Frederik Pohl]], [[Joe Sanders]], and [[Bhob Stewart]]. External links. [[Category:Defunct science fiction magazines published in the United States]] [[Category:Hugo Award-winning works]] [[Category:Magazines established in 1963]] [[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1984]] [[Category:Magazines published in New York City]] [[Category:Science fiction fanzines]] [[Category:Science fiction magazines established in the 1960s]]

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Northern Colorado Writers Workshop The Northern Colorado Writers Workshop is an invitation-only, non-profit writing workshop founded in 1972 by Edward Bryant. The writing genres of its members include mainly science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery. Membership in the workshop is generally limited to professional and near-professional writers, and includes a number of Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, and World Fantasy Award winners.

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LGBT themes in speculative fiction LGBT themes in speculative fiction include lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) themes in science fiction, fantasy, horror fiction and related genres. Such elements may include an LGBT character as the protagonist or a major character, or explorations of sexuality or gender that deviate from the heteronormative. Science fiction and fantasy have traditionally been puritanical genres aimed at a male readership, and can be more restricted than non-genre literature by their conventions of characterisation and the effect that these conventions have on depictions of sexuality and gender. However, speculative fiction also gives authors and readers the freedom to imagine societies that are different from real-life cultures. This freedom makes speculative fiction a useful means of examining sexual bias, by forcing the reader to reconsider their heteronormative cultural assumptions. It has also been claimed by critics such as Nicola Griffith that LGBT readers identify strongly with the mutants, aliens, and other outsider characters found in speculative fiction. History. Before the 1960s, explicit sexuality of any kind was rare in speculative fiction, as the editors who controlled what was published attempted to protect their perceived key market of adolescent male readers. As the readership broadened, it became possible to include characters who were undisguised homosexuals, though these tended to be villains, and lesbians remained almost entirely unrepresented. In the 1960s, science fiction and fantasy began to reflect the changes prompted by the civil rights movement and the emergence of a counterculture. New wave and feminist science fiction authors realised cultures in which homosexuality, bisexuality and a variety of gender models were the norm, and in which sympathetic depictions of alternative sexuality were commonplace. From the 1980s onwards, homosexuality gained much wider mainstream acceptance, and was often incorporated into otherwise conventional speculative fiction stories. Works emerged that went beyond simple representation of homosexuality to explorations of specific issues relevant to the LGBT community. This development was helped by the growing number of openly gay or lesbian authors and their early acceptance by speculative fiction fandom. Specialist gay publishing presses and a number of awards recognising LGBT achievements in the genre emerged, and by the twenty-first century blatant homophobia was no longer considered acceptable by most readers of speculative fiction. There was a concurrent increase in representation of homosexuality within non-literary forms of speculative fiction. The inclusion of LGBT themes in comic books, television and film continues to attract media attention and controversy, while the perceived lack of sufficient representation, along with unrealistic depictions, provokes criticism from LGBT sources. Critical analysis. As genres of popular literature, science fiction (SF) and fantasy often seem more constrained than non-genre literature by their conventions of characterisation and the effects that these conventions have on depictions of sexuality and gender. Science fiction in particular has traditionally been a puritanical genre oriented toward a male readership. Sex is often linked to disgust in SF and horror, and plots based on sexual relationships have mainly been avoided in genre fantasy narratives. On the other hand, science fiction and fantasy can also provide more freedom than realistic literature to imagine alternatives to the default assumptions of heterosexuality and masculinity that permeate many cultures. Homosexuality is now an accepted and common feature of science fiction and fantasy literature, its prevalence due to the influence of lesbian-feminist and gay liberation movements. In speculative fiction, extrapolation allows writers to focus not on the way things are (or were), as non-genre literature does, but on the way things could be different. It provides science fiction with a quality that science fiction critic Darko Suvin has called "cognitive estrangement": the recognition that what we are reading is not the world as we know it, but a world whose differences force us to reconsider our own with an outsider's perspective. When the extrapolation involves sexuality or gender, it can force the reader to reconsider their heteronormative cultural assumptions; the freedom to imagine societies different from real-life cultures makes SF an effective tool for examining sexual bias. In science fiction, such estranging features include technologies that significantly alter sex or reproduction. In fantasy, such features include figures such as mythological deities and heroic archetypes, who are not limited by preconceptions of human sexuality and gender, allowing them to be reinterpreted. SF has also depicted a plethora of alien methods of reproduction and sex, some of which can be viewed as homo- or bisexual through a human binary-gender lens. In spite of the freedom offered by the genres, gay characters often remain contrived and stereotypical, and most SF stories take for granted the continuation of heteronormative institutions. Alternative sexualities have usually been approached allegorically, or by including LGBT characters in such a way as to not contradict mainstream society's assumptions about gender roles. Works that feature gay characters are more likely to be written by women writers, and to be viewed as being aimed at other women or girls; big-name male writers are less likely to explore gay themes. Speculative fiction has traditionally been "straight"; Samuel R. Delany has written that the science fiction community is predominantly made up of white male heterosexuals, but that the proportion of minorities, including gay people, is generally higher than found in a "literary" group. The inclusion of homosexuality in SF has been described in "Science Fiction Culture" as "sometimes lagging behind the general population, sometimes surging ahead". Nicola Griffith has written that LGBT readers tend to identify strongly with the outsider status of mutants, aliens, and characters who lead hidden or double lives in science fiction. In comparison, Geoff Ryman has claimed that the gay and SF genre markets are incompatible, with his books being marketed as one or the other, but never both, and David Seed said that SF purists have denied that SF that focuses on soft science fiction themes and marginalised groups (including "gay SF") is "real" science fiction. Gay and lesbian science fiction have at times been grouped as distinct subgenres of SF, and have some tradition of separate publishers and awards. Literature. Proto-SF. "A True History" by the Greek writer Lucian (A.D. 120–185) has been called the earliest surviving example of science fiction and the first ever "gay science fiction story". The narrator is suddenly enveloped by a typhoon and swept up to the moon, which is inhabited by a society of men that are at war with the sun. After the hero distinguishes himself in combat, the king gives him his son the prince in marriage. The all-male society reproduces (male children only) by giving birth from the thigh or by growing a child from a plant produced by planting the left testicle in the moon's soil. In other proto-SF works, sex itself, of any type, was equated with base desires or "beastliness", as in "Gulliver's Travels", which contrasts the animalistic and overtly sexual Yahoos with the reserved and intelligent Houyhnhnms. The frank treatment of sexual topics of pre-nineteenth century literature was abandoned in most speculative fiction, although Wendy Pearson has written that issues of gender and sexuality have been central to SF since its inception but were ignored by readers and critics until the late twentieth century. Early works that contained LGBT themes and showed the gay characters to be morally impure include the first lesbian vampire story "Carmilla" (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890) by Oscar Wilde, which shocked contemporary readers with its sensuality and overtly homosexual characters. "An Anglo-American Alliance", a 1906 novel by Gregory Casparian, was the first SF-themed novel to openly portray a lesbian romantic relationship. Pulp era (1920–30s). During the pulp era, explicit sexuality of any kind was rare in genre science fiction and fantasy. For many years, the editors who controlled what was published felt that they had to protect the adolescent male readership that they identified as their principal market. Although the covers of some 1930s pulp magazines showed scantily clad women menaced by tentacled aliens, the covers were often more lurid than the magazines' contents. In such a context, writers like Edgar Pangborn, who featured passionate male friendships in his work, were exceptional; almost until the end of their careers, including so much as a kiss would have been too much. Implied or disguised sexuality was as important as that which was openly revealed. As such, genre SF reflected the social mores of the day, paralleling common prejudices; this was particularly true of pulp fiction, more so than literary works of the time. As the demographics of the readership broadened, it became possible to include characters who were more or less undisguised homosexuals, but these, in accordance with the attitudes of the times, tended to be villains: evil, demented, or effeminate stereotypes. The most popular role for the homosexual was as a 'decadent slaveholding lordling' whose corrupt tyranny was doomed to be overthrown by the young male heterosexual hero. During this period, lesbians were almost entirely unrepresented as either heroes or villains. One of the earliest examples of genre science fiction that involves a challenging amount of unconventional sexual activity is the early novel "Odd John" (1935), by Olaf Stapledon. John is a mutant with extraordinary mental abilities who will not allow himself to be bound by many of the rules imposed by the ordinary British society of his time. The novel strongly implies that he seduces an older boy who becomes devoted to him but also suffers from the affront that the relationship creates to his own morals. Golden Age (1940–50s). In the Golden Age of Science Fiction, the genre "resolutely ignored the whole subject" of homosexuality, according to Joanna Russ. As the readership for science fiction and fantasy began to age in the 1950s, however, writers like Philip Jose Farmer and Theodore Sturgeon were able to introduce more explicit sexuality into their work. Until the late 1960s, however, few other writers depicted alternative sexuality or revised gender roles, or openly investigated sexual questions. The majority of LGBT characters were depicted as caricatures, such as "man-hating amazons", and attempts at portraying homosexuals sympathetically or non-stereotypically were met with hostility. Sturgeon wrote many stories during the Golden Age of Science Fiction that emphasised the importance of love, regardless of the current social norms. In his short story "The World Well Lost" (1953), first published in "Universe" magazine, homosexual alien fugitives and unrequited (and taboo) human homosexual love are portrayed. The tagline for the "Universe" cover was "[His] most daring story"; its sensitive treatment of homosexuality was unusual for science fiction published at that time, and it is now regarded as a milestone in science fiction's portrayal of homosexuality. According to an anecdote related by Samuel R. Delany, when Sturgeon first submitted the story, the editor (Haywood Braun) not only rejected it but phoned every other editor he knew and urged them to reject it as well. Sturgeon would later write "Affair with a Green Monkey", which examined social stereotyping of homosexuals, and in 1960 published "Venus Plus X", in which a single-gender society is depicted and the protagonist's homophobia portrayed unfavourably. Images of homosexual male societies remained strongly negative in the eyes of most SF authors. For example, when overpopulation drives the world away from heterosexuality in Charles Beaumont's short story "The Crooked Man" (1955), first published in "Playboy", inhumane homosexuals begin to oppress the heterosexual minority. In Anthony Burgess's "The Wanting Seed" (1962) homosexuality is required for official employment; Burgess treats this as one aspect of an unnatural state of affairs which includes violent warfare and the failing of the natural world. Although not usually identified as a genre writer, William S. Burroughs produced works with a surreal narrative that estranged the action from the ordinary world as science fiction and fantasy do. In 1959 he published "Naked Lunch", the first of many works such as "The Nova Trilogy" and "The Wild Boys" in which he linked drug use and homosexuality as anti-authoritarian activities. New Wave era (1960–70s). By the late 1960s, science fiction and fantasy began to reflect the changes prompted by the civil rights movement and the emergence of a counterculture. Within the genres, these changes were incorporated into a movement called "the New Wave," a movement more sceptical of technology, more liberated socially, and more interested in stylistic experimentation. New Wave writers were more likely to claim an interest in "inner space" instead of outer space. They were less shy about explicit sexuality and more sympathetic to reconsiderations of gender roles and the social status of sexual minorities. Under the influence of New Wave editors and authors such as Michael Moorcock (editor of the influential "New Worlds"), sympathetic depictions of alternative sexuality and gender multiplied in science fiction and fantasy, becoming commonplace. The introduction of gay imagery has also been attributed to the influence of lesbian-feminist and gay liberation movements in the 1960s. In the 1970s, lesbians and gay men became a more visible presence in the SF community and as writers; notable gay authors included Joanna Russ, Thomas M. Disch and Samuel R. Delany. Feminist SF authors imagined cultures in which homo- and bisexuality and a variety of gender models were the norm. Joanna Russ's "The Female Man" (1975) and the award-winning story "When It Changed", showing a female-only lesbian society that flourished without men, were enormously influential. Russ is largely responsible for introducing radical lesbian feminism into science fiction; she has stated that being openly lesbian was bad for her career and sales. Similar themes are explored in James Tiptree Jr.'s award-winning "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?", which presents a female-only society after the extinction of men from disease. The society lacks stereotypically "male" problems such as war, but is stagnant. The women reproduce via cloning and consider men to be comical. Tiptree was a closeted bisexual woman writing secretly under a male pseudonym, and explored the sexual impulse as her main theme. Other feminist utopias do not include lesbianism: Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" (1969) depicts trans-species sexuality, in which individuals are neither "male" nor "female" but can have both male and female sexual organs and reproductive abilities, making them in some senses bisexual. In "The Language of the Night", a collection of Le Guin's criticism, she admits to having "quite unnecessarily locked the Gethenians into heterosexuality ... the omission [of the homosexual option] implies that sexuality is heterosexuality. I regret this very much." Le Guin often explores alternative sexuality in her works, and has subsequently written many stories that examine the possibilities SF allows for non-traditional homosexuality, such as the bisexual bonding between clones in "Nine Lives". Sexual themes and fluid genders also figure in the works of John Varley, who came to prominence in the 1970s. Many of his stories contain mentions of same-sex love and gay and lesbian characters. In his "Eight Worlds" suite of stories and novels, humanity has achieved the ability to change sex on a whim. Homophobia is shown to initially inhibit uptake of this technology, as in his story "Options", as it engenders drastic changes in relationships, with bisexuality eventually becoming the norm for society. His "Gaea trilogy" features lesbian protagonists, and almost all the characters are to some degree bisexual. Samuel R. Delany was one of the first openly gay science fiction authors; in his earliest stories the gay sexual aspect appears as a "sensibility", rather than in overt sexual references. In some stories, such as "Babel-17" (1966), same-sex love and same-sex intercourse are clearly implied but are given a kind of protective colouration because the protagonist is a woman who is involved in a three-person marriage with two men. The affection all three characters share for each other is in the forefront, and sexual activity between or among them is not directly described. In "Dhalgren" (1975), his most famous science fiction novel, Delany peoples his large canvas with characters of a wide variety of sexualities. Once again, sexual activity is not the focus of the novel although there are some of the first explicitly described scenes of gay sex in SF and Delany depicts characters with a wide variety of motivations and behaviours. Delany's Nebula-winning short story "Aye, and Gomorrah" posits the development of neutered human astronauts and then depicts the people who become sexually oriented toward them. By imagining a new gender and resultant sexual orientation, the story allows readers to reflect on the real world while maintaining an estranging distance. Further award-winning stories featuring gay characters, such as "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones", were to follow, all collected in Delany's short story retrospective "Aye, and Gomorrah, and other stories". Delany faced censorship from book distribution companies for treatment of these topics. In later works, gay themes become increasingly central to Delany's works, attracting controversy, and some blur the line between science fiction and gay pornography. Delany's SF series Return to Neveryon was the first novel from a major US publisher to deal with the impact of AIDS, and he later won the William Whitehead Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in gay and lesbian writing. His most recent gay-themed novel is "Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders". Other big name SF authors approached LGBT themes in individual works: In "Time Enough for Love" (1973) by Robert A. Heinlein, the main character argues strongly for the future liberty of homosexual sex, but sex for the purpose of procreation remains held as the ideal. The female bisexuality in "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961) has been described as mere titillation and male homosexuality in the same work was a "wrongness" deserving pity. Heinlein's use of sexuality is discussed in an essay entitled "The Embarrassments of Science Fiction" by SF writer Thomas Disch. Disch was publicly gay from 1968; this came out occasionally in his poetry and particularly in his novel "On Wings of Song" (1979). His other major SF novels also contained bisexual characters: in his mosaic novel "334", gay people are referred to as "republicans" in contrast to the straight "democrats". However, he did not try to write to a particular community: "I'm gay myself, but I don't write 'gay' literature." Michael Moorcock was one of the first scifi authors to depict positive portrayals of homosexual, lesbian and bisexual relationships and sex in his novels. For example, in his 1965 novel, "The Final Programme", most of the leading characters, including the central 'hero' Jerry Cornelius, engage in same sex relationships on multiple occasions and same sex relationships are depicted as entirely normal and without any moralising, negative consequences or gratuitous titillation, this is the case in the whole Jerry Cornelius series and in Moorcock's fiction generally (particularly in the Dancers at the End of Time series) sexuality is seen as polymorphic and fluid rather than based in fixed identities and gender roles. Elizabeth Lynn is an openly lesbian science fiction and fantasy writer who has written numerous works featuring positive gay protagonists. Her "Chronicles of Tornor" novels (1979–80), the first of which won the World Fantasy Award, were among the first fantasy novels to have gay relationships as an unremarkable part of the cultural background, and included explicit and sympathetic depictions of same-sex love; the third novel is of particular lesbian interest. Her SF novel "A Different Light" (1978) featured a same-sex relationship between two men, and inspired the name of the LGBT bookstore and chain "A Different Light". The "magical lesbian tale" "The Woman Who Loved the Moon" also won a World Fantasy Award and is the title story in the Lynn's "The Woman Who Loved the Moon", a collection also containing other gay speculative fiction stories. Modern SF (post New Wave). After the pushing back of boundaries in the 1960s and 1970s, homosexuality gained much wider tolerance, and was often incorporated into otherwise conventional SF stories with little comment. This was helped by the growing number of openly gay or lesbian authors, such as David Gerrold, Geoff Ryman, Nicola Griffith and Melissa Scott, and transgender writers such as Jessica Amanda Salmonson, an author who chronicled the progress of her gender change in the pages of "The Literary Magazine of Fantasy and Terror." In the 1980s, blatant homophobia was no longer considered acceptable to most readers. However, depictions of unrealistic lesbians continue to propagate for the titillation of straight men in genre works. In the 1990s, stories depicting alternative sexualities experienced a resurgence. "Uranian Worlds", by Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo, was compiled in 1983 and is an authoritative guide to science fiction literature featuring gay, lesbian, transgender, and related themes. The book covers science fiction literature published before 1990 (2nd edition, 1990), providing a short review and commentary on each piece. In Lois McMaster Bujold's "Ethan of Athos" (1986), the titular "unlikely hero" is gay obstetrician Dr. Ethan Urquhart of the single-gender world Athos, whose dangerous adventure alongside the first woman he has ever met presents both a future society where homosexuality is the norm and the lingering sexism and homophobia of our own world. Cyberpunk, a genre arising in the mid-1980s, has been seen as heteronormative and masculine to a large extent, although feminist and "queer" interpretations are mooted by some critics. Melissa Scott, a lesbian writer, has written several cyberpunk works that prominently feature LGBT characters, including Lambda-award-winning "Trouble and Her Friends" (1994) and "Shadow Man" (1995), the latter having also been inducted into the Gaylactic Spectrum Hall of Fame. Scott has reported that reviewers called some of these works "too gay" for mixing cyberpunk clichés with political themes. Many of Scott's other SF works also contain LGBT themes; she said that she chooses to write about gay themes using SF because these genres allow her to explore situations in which LGBT people are treated better or worse than in reality, and that it also gives an estranging distance for readers averse to such themes, who might otherwise feel accused of similar discriminatory practices as those in the books. A number of LGBT-themed anthologies of speculative short fiction have been published since the 1980s, the first being the science fiction-themed "Kindred Spirits" (1984), edited by Jeffrey M. Elliot. These anthologies often focus on particular sexual identities, such as the "New Exploits of Lesbians" series with titles in the fantasy ("Magical lesbians", "Fairy-tale lesbians") and horror ("Twilight lesbians") areas. Others are grouped around particular genres, such as the award-winning "Bending the Landscape" series edited by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel, in which each of the three volumes focus upon , or ; or the horror-oriented "Queer Fear" anthologies, edited by Michael Rowe. Gay characters became common enough that Diana Wynne Jones' "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland" contains an entry on "gay mages" as a fantasy cliché. Such characters are found in Mercedes Lackey's works, such as the Lambda award-winning "The Last Herald Mage" trilogy (1989), in which the protagonists are gay and have magical powers. Their relationships are an integral part of the story, which takes places in the fictional country of Valdemar. Much of the extended series provides non-heterosexual role-models for younger readers. David Gerrold is an openly gay science fiction writer with a number of LGBT-themed works. "The Man Who Folded Himself" (1973) examines the narcissistic love of a time-traveler who has gay orgies with alternate versions of himself, including female and lesbian versions. Gerrold's multi-award-winning "Jumping Off the Planet" (2000) is the first book in a young adult series, in which a father kidnaps his three sons and goes to the moon; one son is gay, and rejected from college as he is ineligible for a scholarship available to straight people who agree to have their sexual orientation changed to prevent overpopulation. Gerrold received a Nebula Award for a semi-autobiographical short story "The Martian Child" (1994), in which a gay man adopts a child. The story was later expanded to book length, and a feature film was produced in which the protagonist was straight, causing criticism. Geoff Ryman wrote several award-winning novels and short stories that prominently feature LGBT characters: The protagonist of "The Child Garden" (1989), an outsider because of her resistance to genetic manipulation and her lesbianism, enters into a relationship with a similarly outcast lesbian polar bear. "Lust" (2001) follows a gay man who finds that his sexual fantasies are magically coming true. "Was" (1992) includes a gay actor with AIDS and a mentally challenged abused child, linked by their connection to "The Wizard of Oz" books and film. In a "Locus" magazine interview Ryman claimed that the gay and SF genre markets are incompatible:In 1990, if you had asked me which was the worst thing to be labeled as, gay or an SF writer, I'd have said gay: kills you stone-dead in the market. Then "Was" came out... They had it in the gay section of bookstores and they had stuff in gay magazines, but they didn't say SF — at which point I realized that being a science fiction writer is worse than being gay. 21st century. Larissa Lai's novel "Salt Fish Girl" (2002) depicts lesbian relationships in the context of a dystopian corporate future. The novel features Asian-Canadian characters in these lesbian relationships, incorporating racial and ethnic identity into a queer understanding of speculative fiction. "Salt Fish Girl" engages queer ideas in regards to procreation and bodies, as characters are able to give birth without sperm by eating the durian fruit. It was shortlisted for the James Tiptree Jr. award in 2002. Elizabeth Bear's "Carnival" (2006) revisits the trope of the single-gender world, as a pair of gay male ambassador-spies attempt to infiltrate and subvert the predominately lesbian civilization of New Amazonia, whose matriarchal rulers have all but enslaved their men. Sarah Hall's dystopian novel "The Carhullan Army" (2007), published in the US under the title "Daughters of the North", matter of factly features lesbians as primary characters. The novel won the 2007 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and James Tiptree, Jr. Award, and was shortlisted for the 2008 Arthur C. Clarke Award. It is perhaps telling of the evolution of public perception of same sex relationships that the relationships are unmentioned or only peripherally noted in reviews. Rafael Grugman dystopian novel "Nontraditional Love" (2008) describes an inverted world in which mixed-sex marriages are forbidden and conception occurs in test tubes. In lesbian families, one of the women carries the child while gay male couples turn to surrogate mothers to bring their children to term. The Netherlands is the only country where mixed-sex marriages are permitted. In this world intimacy between the opposite sexes is rejected, world history and the classics of world literature have been falsified in order to support the ideology of the homosexual world. The author paints a grotesque situation, but underlying this story is the idea that society should be tolerant and accepting and respect the right of every person to be themselves. Reviewing the field of lesbian romance speculative fiction in 2012, Liz Bourke concluded that it remained a niche subgenre of uneven quality, but mentioned Jane Fletcher, Chris Anne Wolfe, Barbara Ann Wright, Sandra Barret and Ruth Diaz as contributors of note. More recently in Rick Riordan's 2013 teen-fantasy novel "The House of Hades", character Nico di Angelo professes romantic feelings for protagonist Percy Jackson. In terms of gender identity, Kim Stanley Robinson's 2012 novel "2312" depicts a world of fluid gender, where "self-images for gender" include feminine, masculine, androgynous, gyandromorphous, hermaphrodite, ambisexual, bisexual, intersex, neuter, eunuch, nonsexual, undifferentiated, gay, lesbian, queer, invert, homosexual, polymorphous, poly, labile, berdache, hijra, and two-spirit. In 2013, Natasja Hellenthal's lesbian fantasy debut novel "The Queen's Curse" became an Amazon best-seller, and in her The Comyenti Series the main female character is bisexual and falls in love with a lesbian character. The comyentis are a supernatural/paranormal bisexual species. Ellen Kushner's mannerpunk "Swordspoint" series of novels feature homosexual and bisexual protagonists in the 18th century fantasy world of Riverside. It spawned "Swordspoint: Tremontaine", a thirteen part "Fantasy of Manners" written by a variety of authors. The audiobooks of "Swordspoint" won the 2013 Audie Award for Best Audio Drama, the Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine, and the 2013 Communicator Award: Gold Award of Excellence (Audio). The "Swordspoint" sequel "The Fall of the Kings", written with Kushner's wife Delia Sherman, won the 2014 Wilbur Award. Within the realm of tie-in speculative fiction, there was also an increase in LGBT representation. In particular, from 2001 onwards there was a concerted effort to explore this in licensed "Star Trek" literature. In the , the post-series novels following the end of the eponymous television series, a passing line in one series to a certain species, the Andorians, marrying in fours allowed the exploration of a quatri-gendered species, who partnered in broadly two 'male' and two 'female' species. Andrew J. Robinson's Garak novel, "A Stitch in Time", suggested the omnisexuality of his character, which was followed up in subsequent novels, in particular Una McCormack's 2014 novel, "The Crimson Shadow". In the original series "", created by Marco Palmieri and David Alan Mack, two of the main characters were a lesbian Vulcan officer and a lesbian Klingon intelligence agent. Sarah Waters is a Welsh author popular for lesbian romances in historical times, most often the Victorian Era. Popular works of hers include "Tipping the Velvet" (1998) and "Fingersmith" (2002). Comics and manga. For much of the 20th century, gay relationships were discouraged from being shown in comics which were seen mainly as directed towards children. Until 1989, the Comics Code Authority (CCA), which imposed "de facto" censorship on comics sold through news stands in the United States, forbade any suggestion of homosexuality. Artists had to drop subtle hints while not stating directly a character's orientation. Overt gay and lesbian themes were first found in underground and alternative titles which did not carry the CCA's seal of approval. The CCA came into being in response to Fredric Wertham's "Seduction of the Innocent", in which comic book creators were accused of attempting to negatively influence children with images of violence and sexuality, including subliminal homosexuality. Wertham claimed Wonder Woman's strength and independence made her a lesbian, and stated that "The Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies." In recent years the number of LGBT characters has increased greatly in mainstream superhero comics; however, LGBT characters continue to be relegated to supporting roles, and generate criticism for the treatment gay characters receive. Marvel. Alpha Flight's Northstar was the first major gay character in the Marvel universe and remains the most famous gay character in mainstream comics. Created by Marvel Comics in 1979 as a member of the original Alpha Flight superhero team, Northstar's sexual identity was hinted at early in his history, in 1983 in issues 7 and 8 of "Alpha Flight", but not openly stated; his apparent lack of interest in women was chalked up to his obsessive drive to win as a ski champion. The character was finally revealed to be gay in 1992's "Alpha Flight" issue 106 and his outing made national headlines. In 2002, Marvel Comics revived "The Rawhide Kid" in their Marvel MAX imprint, introducing the first openly gay comic book character to star in his own magazine. The first edition of the Rawhide Kid's gay saga was called "Slap Leather". According to a CNN.com article, the character's sexuality is conveyed indirectly, through euphemisms and puns, and the comic's style is campy. Conservative groups quickly protested the gay take on the character and claimed that children would be corrupted by it, and the covers carried an "Adults only" label. Marvel's policy had stated that all series emphasizing solo gay characters must carry an "Adults Only" label, in response to conservative protests. But in 2006, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada claimed that this policy was no longer in force, and Marvel received GLAAD's 2005 Best Comic Book Award for its superhero comic book "Young Avengers", which included gay characters but was published as a mainstream book with no warning label. In 2012, despite protests, Marvel published an issue of "Astonishing X-Men" in which Northstar married his partner, Kyle. DC. DC often still draws criticism for its use of stereotypes for LGBT characters. Firebrand, a superhero debuting in 1941, is thought by some to be an early example, with his pink or transparent costume. Writer Roy Thomas penned thought balloons that suggested Firebrand had been involved in a gay relationship with his sidekick and bodyguard Slugger Dunn, although these hints never moved beyond subtext. A more modern example is the violent vigilante superhero Midnighter. The Batman-like Midnighter was shown as being in a relationship with the Superman-like Apollo during their time as members of the superhero team The Authority. Midnighter and Apollo are now married and have an adopted daughter – Midnighter has gone on to star in his own title. In 2006, DC Comics could still draw widespread media attention by announcing a new, lesbian incarnation of the well-known character Batwoman, even though openly lesbian minor characters such as Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya already existed in the franchise. In addition to true LGBT characters, there has been controversy over various homosexual interpretations of the most famous superhero comic book characters. Batman's relationship with Robin has famously come under scrutiny, in spite of the majority of creators associated with the creator denying that the character is gay. Psychologist Fredric Wertham, who in "Seduction of the Innocent" asserted that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual", claimed to find a "subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend 'Robin'". It has also been claimed that Batman is interesting to gay audiences because "he was one of the first fictional characters to be attacked on the grounds of his presumed homosexuality," and "the 1960s TV series remains a touchstone of camp." Frank Miller has described the relationship between Batman and the Joker as a "homophobic nightmare"; he views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crime fighting. Some continue to play off the homosexual interpretations of Batman. One notable example occurred in 2000, when DC Comics refused to allow permission for the reprinting of four panels (from "Batman" #79, 92, 105 and 139) to illustrate Christopher York's paper "All in the Family: Homophobia and Batman Comics in the 1950s". Another happened in the summer of 2005, when painter Mark Chamberlain displayed a number of watercolors depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive and sexually explicit poses. DC threatened both artist and the Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts gallery with legal action if they did not cease selling the works and demanded all remaining art, as well as any profits derived from them. Many of DC's gay characters, such as Obsidian and Renee Montoya, were changed or essentially erased in The New 52 reboot of 2011. Meanwhile, others, such as Kate Kane, were given far less attention than before the reboot. In 2012 DC announced that an "iconic" character would now be gay in the new DC universe. It was then revealed that Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern was that character. This led to fan outcry because his status as "iconic" is debatable, and he does not actually exist in the mainstream DC universe. This also effectively meant that the already gay character, Obsidian, could not exist as he was Alan Scott's child. Manga. Yaoi and yuri (also known as "Boys' Love" and "Girls' Love," respectively, as well as "Shōnen-ai" and "Shōjo-ai" in the West, although these are not used in Japan due to pedophilic undertones) are Japanese genres which have homosexual romance themes, across a variety of media. Yaoi and yuri have spread beyond Japan: both translated and original yaoi and yuri is now available in many countries and languages. The characters of yaoi and yuri do not tend to self-identify as homosexual or bisexual. As with much manga and anime, SF and fantasy tropes and environments are common: For example, "Ai no Kusabi", a 1980s yaoi light novel series described as a "magnum opus" of the Boys Love genre, involves a science fictional caste system. "Simoun" has been described as being "a wonderful sci fi series" which does not have to rely on its yuri content to appeal to the audience. Yaoi has been criticised for stereotypical and homophobic portrayals of its characters, and failing to address gay issues. Homophobia, when it is presented as an issue at all, is used as a plot device to "heighten the drama", or to show the purity of the leads' love. Matt Thorn has suggested that as BL is a romance narrative, having strong political themes may be a "turn off" to the readers. Critics state that the genre challenges heteronormativity via the "queer" "bishōnen". There is also a style of manga called Bara, which is typically written by gay men for a gay male adult audience. Bara often has more realistic themes than yaoi and is more likely to acknowledge homophobia and the taboo nature of homosexuality in Japan. While western commentators sometimes group bara and yaoi together, writers and fans consider them separate genres. Film and television. In general, speculative fiction on television and film has lagged behind literature in its portrayals of homosexuality. Sexual relationships in major speculative fiction franchises have generally been depicted as heterosexual in nature. Inter-species and inter-ethnic relationships have been commonly depicted, while homosexual relationships and transgender characters are more rare. Film. LGBT characters in films began to appear more regularly only in the 1980s. Films in the late 1920s and early 1930s reflected the liberal attitudes of the day and could include sexual innuendos and references to homosexuality, but from the 1930s until 1968 the film industry in the US followed the Production Code. The code spelled out what was morally acceptable for a public audience; references to sexual "perversions" such as homosexuality were forbidden. Virtually all motion pictures produced in the United States adhered to the code, and similar censorship was common in other countries, for example an early version of the first lesbian vampire film "Dracula's Daughter", a film described in "The Celluloid Closet" as presenting "homosexuality as a predatory weakness", was rejected by the British Board of Film Censors in 1935, who said in part "..."Dracula's Daughter" would require half a dozen ... languages to adequately express its beastliness.". Horror author Anne Rice has named "Dracula's Daughter" as a direct inspiration for her own homoerotic vampire fiction, naming a bar in her novel "Queen of the Damned" "Dracula's Daughter" in honor of the film. Films produced under such censorship could only introduce homosexuality as a disguised undercurrent, and still flirted with controversy in doing so, such as in the cult horror film "White Zombie". The less stringent rules of the post-Hayes film industry allowed sexuality to be more open, and cinema as a whole became more sexually explicit from the 1980s in particular, but aimed to purely to entertain rather than exploring underlying sexual dynamics. Much of the sex in speculative fiction film is merely intended to titillate; a review of fantasy films identified 10–15% as softcore pornography. but it remained rare to see gay characters in speculative fiction films. Horror films, that had sex as one of their major preoccupations, continued to be more leniently censored, due to the perception of being unserious and lightweight. Vampires in particular have been described as obvious erotic metaphors and as a result, numerous vampire films since the 1970s strongly imply or explicitly show lesbianism, following the inspiration of lesbian vampire story "Carmilla". The prototypical Hollywood vampire, Dracula, was shown to be openly gay in the spoof film "Does Dracula Suck?" in 1969. Gay genre films remain rare, and science fiction films' inclusion of gay characters continues to relegate them to supporting roles, such as the "stereotypical, limp-wristed, frantic homosexual" minor character played by Harvey Fierstein in the 1996 blockbuster "Independence Day", a film whose main theme has been described as being the anxiety surrounding male friendships and homosexual panic. It is also interesting to note that the film's director, Roland Emmerich, is openly gay. Still there are some curious cases like "Cthulhu" (2007) a horror/thriller film based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft, in which the main character is gay but his homosexuality is not the main aspect of the character, although it is important in the development of the character's psychology. The film is plagued with monsters and disturbing happenings. Also, in "V for Vendetta" there are two secondary characters – one gay, one lesbian – shown as victims of the totalitarian dystopia. 2012 saw the light of the Wachowskis + Tom Tykwer blockbuster, "Cloud Atlas", featuring in one of the six stories a couple of gay characters. Television. LGBT characters began appearing on television with increasing frequency only in the 1990s. The 1994 television science fiction show "Babylon 5" introduced a bisexual character, Susan Ivanova, whose relationship with a fellow female telepath was revealed in season 2 (1995). "The Advocate" called this relationship out as the closest that the Star Trek franchise or any "Star Trek clone", as he called the show, had come to a "gay creature—much less a gay human being." "Babylon 5" continued to explore the state of same-sex relationships in the future with the introduction of a male-male marriage and subsequent honeymoon as cover for two of the main characters who were on a covert mission to a Mars colony in season 4. The "" fantasy television series introduced its main characters, Xena and Gabrielle, as close companions; fan speculation about lesbian overtones led to them becoming lesbian icons, although the lesbian content remained at the subtext level. The series has been cited as "trail-blazing" and breaking down barriers, allowing the production of subsequent programming such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", which introduced a number of LGBT characters. The most famous is the major character, Willow and her partners Tara and Kennedy. Although praised for their "healthy relationship" and being the first lesbian relationship between major characters on prime-time television, others criticised the use of witchcraft as a metaphor for lesbian sex. Tara's death directly after reconciliatory sex with Willow caused an outcry among the LGBT community, who saw it as a "homophobic cliché". Andrew Wells, a recurring villain and eventual ally, was strongly implied to be gay, although closeted. The series was influential on subsequent television speculative fiction, including "Torchwood". The series won a number of LGBT themed awards, and was regarded as groundbreaking in its portrayal of gay youth. "Torchwood" is a British science fiction drama television programme, part of the long-running "Doctor Who" franchise, which began airing in 2006 on BBC Three. The series explores several themes in its narrative, in particular LGBT themes. Various characters are portrayed as sexually fluid; through those characters, the series examines homosexual and bisexual relationships. Although the nature of their sexual flexibility is not explicitly discussed, the characters offer varying perspectives on orientation, Series creator Russell T Davies said that he hoped to defy audience expectations of monosexual characters: "Without making it political or dull, this is going to be a very bisexual programme. I want to knock down the barriers so we can't define which of the characters is gay. We need to start mixing things up, rather than thinking, 'This is a gay character and he'll only ever go off with men.'" Davies has also described Jack Harkness as omnisexual: "He'll shag anything with a hole. Jack doesn't categorise people: if he fancies you, he'll do it with you." The inclusion of significant LGBT characters in modern speculative fiction television series has not been universal. For example, the "Star Trek" franchise's lack of same-sex relationships has long been a sore spot with LGBT fandom, some of whom have organised boycotts against the franchise to protest its failure to include LGBT characters. They also point out that Gene Roddenberry had made statements in later life favourable to acceptance of homosexuality and the portrayal of same-sex relationships in "Star Trek", but that the franchise's coverage has remained meagre. Within the "Star Trek" canon, there had been little LGBT representation until ' in 2017. "The International Review of Science Fiction" ran a feature entitled "Prisoners of Dogma and Prejudice: Why There Are no G/L/B/T Characters in Star Trek: Deep Space 9". However, gender identity has occasionally been treated as an "issue" within the new "Star Trek" series, to be dealt with as a theme in individual episodes, such as the 1995 ' episode "Rejoined", which was the first episode of the show to feature a same-sex relationship and romantic same-sex kiss between women. Subsequently, the "Star Trek" franchise has portrayed a few same-sex kisses, but always in the context of either the evil "mirror universe" ("The Emperor's New Cloak") or body possession ("Warlord" and others). In a 2000 "Fandom "interview, "Star Trek" screenwriter Ronald D. Moore suggested that the reason why no gay characters existed in the television franchise was because someone wanted it that way, and no amount of support from fans, cast or crew was going to make any difference. In recent years, a few of the "Star Trek" novels and comics, which are officially licensed but not considered canon, have featured serious direct same-sex relationships, including portraying a minor canon character as gay. In 2005 the television series "Dante's Cove" premiered on the here! cable station. The series included both gay and lesbian couples dealing with supernatural situations in the coastal town of the same name. The following year, Syfy premiered the series "Eureka". The series spotlighted a fictional town in Oregon that consisted almost entirely of geniuses. This included the town's café owner Vincent, who also happened to be gay. HBO brought then new series "True Blood" to the forefront of gay genre television, introducing a variety of omnisexual characters to the small screen in 2008 including: Lafayette Reynolds (played by Nelsan Ellis), Jesus Velasquez (played by Kevin Alejandro), Tara Thornton (played by Rutina Wesley), Pam Swynford De Beaufort (played by Kristin Bauer van Straten), Eddie Gauthier (played by Stephen Root), Russell Edgington (played by Denis O'Hare), and Rev. Steve Newlin (played by Michael McMillian). "Stargate Universe" in 2009 became the first space-based science fiction show to feature an openly gay character in its primary cast, which was "Camille Wray" played by Ming-Na. Wray was also the first gay character in the franchise and the first primary lesbian Asian-American character on primetime television. Wray's storyline featured a committed long-term relationship with her Earth-bound partner Sharon (played by Reiko Aylesworth), the lifelike portrayal of which was very positively received by the lesbian community and press. "Stargate Universe" was cancelled after a two-season run. In 2009 the series "Warehouse 13" premiered on the Syfy cable network. The series later introduced a character named Steve Jinks, played by actor Aaron Ashmore, a gay government agent assigned to assist in the containment of bizarre artifacts. In 2010 a cable series prequel to "Battlestar Galactica" was introduced titled "Caprica". The series highlighted a world in which same-sex marriage was common. One of the central characters named Sam Adama, played by Sasha Roiz, had a husband named Larry, played by Julius Chapple. In 2011 the cable station Syfy premiered the series "Being Human", an Americanized version of the previously released British series of the same name. A lesbian character named Emily Levison, played by actress Alison Louder, was introduced as the sister to one of the main characters. That same year the FX cable series "American Horror Story" highlighted gay ghost couple Chad Warwick and Patrick, played by Zachary Quinto and Teddy Sears. The HBO cable station premiered "Game of Thrones", based on the book series of the same name. The series included gay couple Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell, played by actors Gethin Anthony and Finn Jones. MTV also premiered the cable series "Teen Wolf" that same year. One of the characters depicted is an out gay high school lacrosse player named Danny Mahealani, played by Keahu Kahuanui. Slash fiction. The platonic close male relationships in television and film science fiction have been reinterpreted by fans as slash fiction – Kirk/Spock being the earliest example. Slash cannot be commercially distributed due to copyright, and until the 1990s was either undistributed or published in zines. With the advent of the internet, the slash fiction community of fans and writers began to cluster at sites such as FanFiction.Net, and websites and fanzines dedicated to popular speculative fiction franchises such as "X-files" and "Star Trek" have become common. The use of characters from major SF franchises in "gay readings" has caused legal action: LucasFilm has sent cease and desist orders to prevent gay reinterpretations of "Star Wars" characters, and Anne Rice is notorious for attempts to stop production of slash fiction based on her "Vampire Chronicles" characters, although many of the characters are bisexual in canon. Slash fiction has been described as important to the LGBT community and the formation of queer identities, as it represents a resistance to the expectation of compulsory heterosexuality, but has also been noted as being unrepresentative of the gay community, being more a medium to express feminist dissatisfactions with SF. According to polls, most of slash fandom is made up of heterosexual women with a college degree. These demographics are older than the yaoi fans and they tend to be more easily disturbed about slash depicting underage sexuality, but this is becoming less true due to the popularity of Harry Potter-inspired slash fiction. Femslash is a subgenre of slash fiction which focuses on romantic and/or sexual relationships between female fictional characters, Typically, characters featured in femslash are heterosexual in the canon universe; however, similar fan fiction about lesbian characters are commonly labeled as femslash for convenience. There is less femslash than there is slash based on male couples – it has been suggested that heterosexual female slash authors generally do not write femslash, and that it is rare to find a fandom with two sufficiently engaging female characters. Janeway/Seven is the main Star Trek femslash pairing, as only they have "an on-screen relationship fraught with deep emotional connection and conflict". There is debate about whether fanfiction about canon lesbians such as Willow and Tara of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" counts as "slash", their relationship storylines are more coy than heterosexual ones, which entices Willow/Tara femslash authors to fill in the gaps in the known relationship storyline. It is "relatively recently" that male writers have begun writing femslash. Reaction of the speculative fiction community. There has been a long history of tolerance of LGBT people in SF fandom. The presence of gay members was noted by attendees of early conventions, but generally not discussed — the idea that gay or lesbian members would seek recognition within the SF community was "unthinkable," and an accusation in the 1940s by a fanzine editor that the Los Angeles Science Fiction Association was "full of gay members" caused a scandal in fan circles. Prominent SF fan Forrest Ackerman is regarded as one of the first members of fandom to openly support the gay and lesbian movements. He was known for writing early lesbian fiction and aided in the publication of "The Ladder", the journal of the recently formed lesbian group the Daughters of Bilitis. He claims the group named him an honorary lesbian for his support, and to have pseudonymously written the earliest work of "lesbian SF" in 1947 in "Vice Versa", the lesbian fanzine edited by Lisa Ben. As the number of works featuring LGBT characters increased, so did the visibility of LGBT fans. At least as early as the 1980 Worldcon (Noreascon Two), there were gatherings of gay and gay-friendly members of the SF community, including Samuel R. Delany, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Melissa Scott. However, such meetings did not necessarily indicate whole-hearted acceptance within the fan community, and gay and lesbian fans were not regarded as a unified interest group. Informal gatherings at conferences and the attempted creation of a newsletter for LGBT fans drew little notice. Networking between gay fans continued, finally coalescing at the 1986 Worldcon into a plan of action. This led to the first Gaylaxicon science fiction convention being held in 1988 and subsequently to the creation of the Gaylactic Network and the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards by the science fiction community. Gay-themed discussions are now a staple at conventions such as WisCon; for example, WisCon 30 featured a panel discussing "Why Women Write About Gay Men", and the 38th World Science Fiction Convention in Boston had a discussion panel entitled "The Closed Open Mind – Homophobia in Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories". Other SF authors, such as Orson Scott Card, have been criticised by the LGBT community for their works or opinions, which have been described as homophobic. Some lesbian science fiction is targeted specifically to a lesbian audience, rather than science fiction fans, and published by small feminist or lesbian fiction presses such as Bella Books, Bold Strokes Books, Ylva Publishing, Regal Crest Enterprises, Bedazzled Ink, Intaglio Publications, and Spinsters Ink. A notable author writing science fiction published by lesbian presses is Katherine V. Forrest. LGBT speculative fiction awards. A number of awards exist that recognise works at the intersection of LGBT and speculative fiction: Footnotes. SF is used throughout as an abbreviation for speculative fiction, for convenience. Science fiction and slash fiction are written in full when referred to specifically. Collected in "In a Glass Darkly". Collected in "A Saucer of Loneliness". Collected in "Her Smoke Rose Up Forever". Collected in "The Wind's Twelve Quarters".

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Dieselpunk Dieselpunk is a retrofuturistic subgenre of science fiction similar to steampunk or cyberpunk that combines the aesthetics of the diesel-based technology of the interwar period through to the 1950s with retro-futuristic technology and postmodern sensibilities. Coined in 2001 by game designer Lewis Pollak to describe his tabletop role-playing game "Children of the Sun", the term has since been applied to a variety of visual art, music, motion pictures, fiction, and engineering. Origin. The name "dieselpunk" is a derivative of the science fiction subgenre cyberpunk, and represents the time period from World War I until the 1950s, when diesel-based locomotion was the main technological focus of Western culture. The "-‍punk" suffix attached to the name is representative of the counterculture nature of the genre with regard to its opposition to contemporary aesthetics. The term also refers to the tongue-in-cheek name given to a similar cyberpunk derivative, "steampunk," which focuses on science fiction based on industrial steam power and which is often set within the Victorian era. Differences from steampunk. Author Scott Westerfeld addresses the question of where to draw the line between steampunk and dieselpunk, arguing that his novel "Leviathan" (2009) qualifies as steampunk despite the fact that the technology it depicts includes diesel engines: I like the word "dieselpunk" if you are doing something like 'Weird World War II'. I think that makes perfect sense. But to me, World War I is the dividing point where modernity goes from being optimistic to being pessimistic. Because when you put the words "machine" and "gun" together, they both change. At that point, war is no longer about a sense of adventure and chivalry and a way of testing your nation's level of manhood; it's become industrial, and horrible. So playing around with that border between optimistic steampunk and a much more pessimistic dieselpunk, which is more about Nazis, was kind of interesting to me because early in the war we were definitely kind of on the steampunk side of that. Jennifer McStotts, another author, considers the two genres to be close cousins. She defines steampunk as concerned with the Victorian era, and the shift in technology and energy generation that came with industrialization, and dieselpunk as combining the aesthetic and genre influences of the period of both world wars. Science fiction editor and critic Gary K. Wolfe defines steampunk as primarily set in the Victorian era and dieselpunk as set in the interwar period. Iolanda Ramos, an assistant professor of English and Translation studies at NOVA University Lisbon, argues, Dieselpunk draws not on the hiss of steam nor on the Victorian and Edwardian aesthetics and cosplay but on the grease of fuel-powered machinery and the Art Deco movement, marrying rectilinear lines to aerodynamic shapes and questioning the impact of technology on the human psyche. In addition, Ramos gives "noir ambience" as an element of dieselpunk. Dieselpunk inspiration. Dieselpunk draws its inspiration from the diesel era and a characteristic referred to by dieselpunks as "decodence." According to the online magazine "Never Was", decodence (a portmanteau of "[Art] Deco" and "decadence"), "embraces the styles and technologies of the era; it rejoices in a prolonged Jazz Age ambience characterized by great enthusiasm and hopes about the future." The term "diesel era" is a period of time that begins with the start of the interbellum era, which covers the time between the end of World War I and the start of World War II. The interbellum era is central to one school of dieselpunk often labeled "Ottensian." In addition to the interbellum period, World War II also plays a major role in dieselpunk, especially in the school of the genre referred to as "Piecraftian." (See § Common themes below.) The exact ending of the diesel era is in some dispute in the dieselpunk community. Depending on the source it ends either at the conclusion of World War II or continues until the early part of the 1950s with the advent of such cultural icons as the Golden Age of Television and the replacement of Big Band and Swing music with Rock and Roll in popularity. As an art movement. Although the term "dieselpunk" was not coined until 2001, a large body of art significant to the development of the genre was produced before that. Artwork (including visual arts, music, literature, and architecture) created in the dieselpunk style are heavily influenced by elements of the art movements most prevalent in Western culture during the diesel era such as: According to Tome Wilson, creator of "Dieselpunks", the term was retroactively applied to an already existing trend in literature. An alternative term was "low-brow pop surrealism". Writers of this trend blended traditional tropes and genres, such as Pulp Adventure, Film noir, and Weird Horror, with a contemporary aesthetic. In his words: "They were creating a future fueled by the spirit of the Jazz Age." In their works, the reader could see Sam Spade in the era of smartphones and John Dillinger use a hovercar as his getaway vehicle. They were writing cyberpunk stories about the era of "The Great Gatsby" (1925). In discussing punk genres, Ted Stoltz defines dieselpunk as the quasifuture from the Art Deco era. He argues that cyberpunk, steampunk, clockpunk, atompunk, and ribopunk are all defined by their connection to their respective technological element. He found this does not apply to other related genres such as elfpunk, mythpunk, and splatterpunk where technology plays a minor role. Fiction and literature. Alternative history and World War II feature prominently in dieselpunk literature. Len Deighton's "SS-GB", Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle", Alan Glenn's "Amerikan Eagle", Robert Harris' "Fatherland", Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America", Guy Saville's "The Afrika Reich", Harry Turtledove's "The War That Came Early" series and "The Man with the Iron Heart", and Jo Walton's "Farthing" are considered dieselpunk by some. Other examples of dieselpunk novels are Hugh Ashton's "Red Wheels Turning", David Bishop's "Fiends of the Eastern Front", Anders Blixt's "The Ice War", Kevin Cooney's "Tales of the First Occult War", Larry Correia's "Hard Magic: Book 1 of the Grimnoir Chronicles", Richard Kadrey's "The Grand Dark" and J.W. Szczepaniak's "Beyond Aukfontein". Common themes. A feature that was first identified by the online magazine "The Flying Fortress" is that dieselpunk can be divided into two primary themes or styles: Ottensian and Piecraftian. The dividing line between the two themes is commonly acknowledged as the start of World War II. One theme, named "Piecraftian" after its proponent author "Piecraft", focuses on the aesthetics of the world wars and speculates on how human culture could theoretically cease to evolve due to constant, widespread warfare. According to Ottens and Piecraft, this theme continues the aesthetics of the diesel era into later periods of history by describing a world where survival (largely based on a reliance on diesel power) is placed above aesthetical evolution (as seen in such dystopian movies as "Mad Max"). A second theme, named "Ottensian" after its proponent author Nick Ottens, focuses on a setting where the decadent aesthetics and utopian philosophies of the American Roaring Twenties continued to evolve unhindered by war or economic collapse. Ottensian dieselpunk fiction is primarily concerned with a positive vision of technology, where the utopian ideals predicted by the World's Fairs of the times came to light. As a result Ottensian dieselpunk incorporates "an enthusiasm for the predictions about the future," and often shares elements with retro-futurism. Games. Dieselpunk features prominently in the gaming industry, in both tabletop role-playing games and computer and console video games. Dieselpunk video game titles have been prominent in recent years, with the success of popular titles such as "Final Fantasy VII" (1997) and the "Fallout" (1997) and "BioShock" (2007) series of games. Sven Schmalfuss feels that "BioShock" can be defined as both retro-futuristic biopunk and dieselpunk. World War II is also a popular theme in dieselpunk games. One of the more prominent of these was Activision's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein", as well as the sequel game to the 2009 game "Wolfenstein", ', which takes place in an alternate 1960s Europe where the Nazis have won World War II. Other dieselpunk games include ' (1996), "Crimson Skies" (1998 board game, 2000 video game), the "Killzone" series, "Iron Storm" (2002), "You Are Empty" (2006), "Scythe" (2016), "" (2008), "Sine Mora" (2012), "Iron Harvest" (2020). Cinema and television. With regard to moving pictures, dieselpunk combines the tropes, character archetypes, and settings of diesel-era fiction genres such as Serial Adventure, Noir, Pulp, and War with postmodern storytelling techniques and cinematography. Inspirations for dieselpunk cinema include "Metropolis" (1927) and "Things To Come" (1936), thanks to their period visions of utopian culture and technology. Even the popular film "Star Wars" (1977) has been noted as having strong dieselpunk influences, as it drew heavily on pulp and World War II iconography but mixed them with futuristic settings. Some even argued that the steampunk country named Steamland, led by an odd industrialist named Alva Gunderson voiced by Richard Ayoade, in the American fantasy animated sitcom, "Disenchantment", created by Matt Groening for Netflix, was "dieselpunk inspired." Some commonly referenced examples of dieselpunk cinema and television include: Visual art. According to an article titled "Dieselpunk: Love Affair with a Machine", published in the online magazine "Dark Roasted Blend", dieselpunk art "takes an interest in various bizarre machines, full of esoteric levers, cracked-glass meters – all visually intense and pretty sinister-looking, when photographed." The article references Japanese artist Shunya Yamashita's having created one of the definitive examples of dieselpunk art with his work "I Can't Explain." The article also references Kow Yokoyama as a dieselpunk artist with his figurine series titled "Maschinen Krieger." Other prominent artists in the dieselpunk movement include: Alexey Lipatov, Stefan Prohaczka, ixlrlxi, Keith Thompson, Rob Schwager, and Sam Van Olffen. As a subculture. A person defined as a dieselpunk draws inspiration and entertainment from the aesthetics of the diesel era to achieve independence from contemporary aesthetics by blending the literature, artwork, fashion, grooming styles, modes of personal transportation, music, and technology of the diesel era with contemporary sensibilities. The "punk" in "dieselpunk" can be interpreted as a rejection of contemporary society and contemporary styles. Part of dieselpunk's postmodern nature can be seen in the important role that the internet as a tool of international communication plays in its development. In addition to two prominent dieselpunk online communities, "Dieselpunks" and "Never Was Lounge", there are a number of online magazines dedicated to the genre, including "Dieselpunk Encyclopedia", "Dizelpanki", "The Flying Fortress", "Never Was" and "Vintage Future", and several blogs which are simply titled "Dieselpunk". While there are many websites dedicated to the history of the diesel era, a growing number of sites are dedicated to topics that tie directly into dieselpunk. One such website of note is "RetroTimes Production", which is an independent film production company dedicated to creating documentaries about "retro living, retro design, and retro style." A few sites are springing up that have a retro pulp feel as well, including "Captain Spectre and The Lightning Legion", which is an online comic written and drawn in the classic serial pulp fiction style of the diesel era, and "Thrilling Tales of the Downright Unusual", an interactive Choose Your Own Adventure-style pulp serial. In 2012, World Brews, a craft beer manufacturer in Novato, CA, began producing "Dieselpunk Brew", a beer line (IPA, Porter and Stout) inspired and influenced by the subculture of dieselpunk, and displaying art deco-inspired dieselpunk designs on the labels. Fashion. Dieselpunk fashion blends the styles commonly found during the diesel era with contemporary styles to create a fusion of both. The "punk" nature of the subculture comes from expressing a more complete presence in public akin to the fashion styles popular during the diesel era such as waistcoats, covered arms, hosiery, styles of shoes, and head wear. Dieselpunk emphasizes the inclusion of such accoutrements to render one's look "complete," in defiance of modern custom. Music. Dieselpunk music, which has roots in the neo-swing revival, combines elements of blues, jazz, ragtime, cabaret, swing, and bluegrass commonly found during the diesel era with contemporary instrumentation, production, and composition. Some commonly referenced examples of dieselpunk bands are: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cherry Poppin' Daddies (who released a song and music video entitled "Diesel PunX" in 2019), Royal Crown Revue, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Indigo Swing, Wolfgang Parker, The End Times Spasm Band, RPM Orchestra, Big Rude Jake, and Lee Press-on and the Nails. There has been growth of a Dieselpunk music referred to as electro swing, which combines the styles of Swing music with Electronica. Prominent bands within the Electro-Swing include Caravan Palace, Good Co, and . Variants. Decopunk or coalpunk. Decopunk, also known as coalpunk, is a recent subset of Dieselpunk, inspired by the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne art styles of the period between the 1920s and 1950s. In an interview at CoyoteCon, steampunk author Sara M. Harvey made the distinctions "...shinier than DieselPunk, more like DecoPunk", and "DieselPunk is a gritty version of Steampunk set in the 1920s–1950s. The big war eras, specifically. DecoPunk is the sleek, shiny very Art Deco version; same time period, but everything is chrome!" Atompunk. A similar, related pop surrealist art movement, which overlaps with dieselpunk somewhat, is atompunk (sometimes called atomicpunk). Atompunk art relates to the pre-digital period of 1945–1965, including mid-century Modernism, the Atomic Age, Jet Age and Space Age, Communism and paranoia in the United States, along with Soviet styling, underground cinema, Googie architecture, the Sputnik, Mercury and other early space programs, early Cold War espionage, superhero fiction and the rise of the US military/industrial powers.

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National Science Fiction Day National Science Fiction Day is unofficially celebrated by many science fiction fans in the United States on January 2, which corresponds with the official birthdate of famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. While not an official holiday of any sort (in the sense that it is not recognized or declared by any government), National Science Fiction Day is given some degree of credence by its recognition by organizations such as the Hallmark Channel and by the Scholastic Corporation. It is also listed in the National Day Calendar.

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Women in speculative fiction The role of women in speculative fiction has changed a great deal since the early to mid-20th century. There are several aspects to women's roles, including their participation as authors of speculative fiction and their role in science fiction fandom. Regarding authorship, in 1948, 10–15% of science fiction writers were female. Women's role in speculative fiction (including science fiction) has grown since then, and in 1999, women comprised 36% of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's professional members. "Frankenstein" (1818) by Mary Shelley has been called the first science fiction novel, although women wrote utopian novels even before that, with Margaret Cavendish publishing the first ("The Blazing World") in the seventeenth century. Early published fantasy was written by and for both genders. However, speculative fiction, with science fiction in particular, has traditionally been viewed as a male-oriented genre. Women have been active in science fiction fandom for a number of decades. Writers. Science fiction originally had a reputation of being created by men for other men, though the genre had women writers, such as Clare Winger Harris, Miriam Allen deFord, and Gertrude Barrows Bennett, from the beginning. Until the late 1960s, women did not win science fiction awards, such as the Hugos. The 1966 ""Analog Science Fiction and Fact" All-Time Poll" did not list any novels by women and the 1973 "Locus All-Time Favorite Authors Poll" was over 90% male. Of the two women in Locus's poll one, Andre Norton, had been "gender ambiguous" for many of her readers. Other female writers of the era, such as C. L. Moore and Leigh Brackett, also used ambiguous or male names. Women who wrote under their own names, such as Zenna Henderson, initially wrote more "domestic" material concerning teachers and mothers. A partial exception was Katherine MacLean, who wrote sociology- and psychology-oriented fiction and rarely use a male name. Eric Leif Davin argues in "Partners in Wonder" that science fiction's "male-oriented" reputation is unjustified and that it was a "safe haven" for outsiders, including women. Davin reports that only L. Taylor Hansen concealed her sex in early years, and that C. L. Moore wanted to hide her career as a science-fiction author from her job. Women writers were in a minority: during the '50s and '60s, almost 1,000 stories published in science fiction magazines by over 200 female-identified authors between 1926 and 1960 were documented, making women writers 10-15% of contributors. His is a minority view, "at odds with the common perception of science fiction". The advent of second wave feminism in the 1960s, combined with the growing view of science fiction as the literature of ideas, led to an influx of female science fiction writers, and some saw this influx as the first appearance of women into the genre. In the 1960s and 1970s, authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin (who debuted in 1963) and Joanna Russ (who debuted in the 1950s) began to consciously explore feminist themes in works such as "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Female Man", creating a self-consciously feminist science fiction. As of 2013, publisher statistics indicate that men still outnumber women about two to one among English-language speculative fiction writers aiming for professional publication, but that the percentages vary considerably by genre. The following numbers are based on the 503 submissions received by Tor Books, a major science fiction and fantasy publisher, between January and July 2013. Seven women have been named Grand Master of science fiction by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: Doris Lessing, who wrote the five-novel science fiction series Canopus in Argos, received the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. Fans. Women have been active in science fiction fandom for some time, and the Oxford dictionary of science fiction dates the coinage "femfan" (sometimes: "femme fan") to as early as 1944. Leigh Brackett says of the history of women in SF "There always were a certain number of women fans and women readers." Labalestier quotes the editor of "Startling Stories", writing in 1953, as saying A 1958 self-reported "If" survey found that 31% of respondents were women, which the editors said was "surprisingly high (at least to us)". Robert Silverberg said "probably the first appearance of the 'Women in Science Fiction' panel soon to become a fixture of these conventions" was at the 10th World Science Fiction Convention in 1953; which was also the first World Science Fiction Convention chaired by a woman, author Julian May. While science fiction fandom has been an organized phenomenon for decades—presaging the organized fandoms of other genres and media—the study of science fiction fandom within cultural studies and science fiction studies is relatively new. Consequently, assertions about the prevalence of women in fandom are largely anecdotal and personal, and sometimes contradictory. Most prominent among these assertions is the claim that it was the advent of the original "Star Trek" television series which brought large quantities of women into fandom. This claim is critically analyzed by Davin, who finds it poorly founded, and cites a long history of female involvement in fandom decades prior to "Star Trek"; Larbalestier also cites women active in science fiction fandom before the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, females became more visibly present in fandom, and more organized, in the 1970s. The slash movement among fans began, as far as anyone can tell, with Diane Marchant's publication of the first known Star Trek "Kirk/Spock" story in "Grup" #3 in 1974. 1974 also saw the creation of "The Witch and the Chameleon", the first explicitly feminist fanzine. The fanzine "Khatru" published a "Women in Science Fiction" symposium in 1975 (one of the "males" who participated was James Tiptree, Jr.). In 1976, Susan Wood set up a panel on "women and science fiction" at MidAmericon, the 1976 Worldcon; this ultimately led to the founding of "A Women's APA", the first women's amateur press association. Also in 1976, WisCon, the world's leading—and for many years, only—feminist science fiction convention and conference was founded: an annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin. In turn, as a result of discussions at WisCon, institutions such as the Tiptree Awards and Broad Universe arose to address questions of gender in speculative fiction and issues peculiar to women writers of speculative fiction. Some of the same people involved in creating WisCon also founded the feminist fanzine "Janus", which was thrice nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine (1978–1980). However, the perception of speculative fiction as mainly a men's genre continues to be widespread. As the inclusion of women within science fiction and fantasy more broadly has become obvious, the specificity of the perception has evolved. For instance, the still widely held view that "science fiction and fantasy are men's genres" has been refined by some to distinguish between science fiction as a genre mainly appealing to men, and fantasy, which is generally seen as being more accommodating to women (some subgenres, particularly urban fantasy, with female protagonists, and paranormal romance are seen as being more popular with women than with men). Little formal study has supported any of these distinctions, whether based on readers, writers, or characters. This perception has often been upheld and enforced by men, perhaps to protect themselves from what fandom researcher Henry Jenkins called the stereotype that “men are feminized and/or desexualized through their intimate engagement with mass culture”. Women fans of speculative fiction are called pejorative terms like “fake geek girl”, are chastised for their love of “Mary Sue” characters while at the same time male characters with the same qualities are beloved, and can even face harassment for their participation in fandom. However, Jenkins writes, speculative fiction is especially popular with women who identify with feminism because they reject the gender roles that are traditionally seen in other types of fiction. Gender. The highlighting of gender in science fiction has varied widely throughout the genre's history. Some writers and artists have challenged their society's gender norms in producing their work; others have not. Speculative and science fiction fandoms have generally become less proportionately male over time. In step with this, so have the casts of characters portrayed in fiction; similarly, considerations of gender in speculative and science fiction have increased in frequency and nuance over time. Influence of political movements. The study of women within science fiction in the last decades of the twentieth century was driven in part by the feminist and gay liberation movements, and has included strands of the various related and spin-off movements, such as gender studies and queer theory. In the 1970s, a number of events began to focus on women in fandom, professional science fiction, and as characters. In 1974, Pamela Sargent published an influential anthology, "Women of Wonder: Science Fiction Stories by Women, About Women"—the first of many anthologies to come that focused on women or gender rules. Additionally, movement among writers concerned with feminism and gender roles sprang up, leading to a genre of "feminist science fiction including Joanna Russ' 1975 "The Female Man", Samuel R. Delany's 1976 "Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia", and Marge Piercy's 1976 "Woman on the Edge of Time". The 1970s also saw a vibrant gay liberation movement, which made its presence known in science fiction, with gay/lesbian and gay/lesbian-friendly panels at conventions and articles in fanzines; gay/lesbian content increasingly present in the fiction itself; the gay/lesbian bookstore "A Different Light", which took its name from Elizabeth A. Lynn's novel of the same name; and a focus on GLBT issues in the pages of feminist publications. More recently, the 2010s have sparked a rebirth for speculative fiction. This revival of the genre can be attributed to the political chaos that came with the 2016 election in which Donald J. Trump won the U.S. presidency. Margaret Atwood's speculative science fiction novel "The Handmaid's Tale" was adapted into a television series Hulu special and saw such success that it has been renewed for a second season. Many critics made the connection between "The Handmaid's Tale" and US President Trump's America in multiple reviews of the series. The fears that came with such a controversial election have given way to a revival of speculative fiction in the 2010s. Media adaptations. Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" was adapted into a film in 1990, directed by Volker Schlöndorff. The film received a 31% positive review on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 4.8/10. "The Handmaid's Tale" was also adapted into a ten-episode television series Hulu special released on April 26, 2017. The series saw such success that it was renewed for a second season set to release in April 2018. Octavia Butler's speculative science/fantasy fiction novel "Dawn", the first in her trilogy titled Lilith's Brood, is currently being adapted for television by producers Ava DuVernay and Charles D. King's Macro Ventures alongside writer Victoria Mahoney. There is no projected release date for the adaptation yet.

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Steampunk Steampunk is a retrofuturistic subgenre of science fiction that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Although its literary origins are sometimes associated with the cyberpunk genre, steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or the American "Wild West", where steam power remains in mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. Steampunk most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retrofuturistic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them — distinguishing it from Neo-Victorianism — and is likewise rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technologies may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. Other examples of steampunk contain alternative-history-style presentations of such technology as steam cannons, lighter-than-air airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. Steampunk may also incorporate additional elements from the genres of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, alternate history, or other branches of speculative fiction, making it often a hybrid genre. The first known appearance of the term "steampunk" was in 1987, though it now retroactively refers to many works of fiction created as far back as the 1950s or earlier A popular subgenre is Japanese steampunk, consisting of steampunk-themed manga and anime, with steampunk elements having appeared in mainstream manga since the 1940s. Steampunk also refers to any of the artistic styles, clothing fashions, or subcultures that have developed from the aesthetics of steampunk fiction, Victorian-era fiction, art nouveau design, and films from the mid-20th century. Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk. History. Precursors. Steampunk is influenced by and often adopts the style of the 19th-century scientific romances of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Mary Shelley, and Edward S. Ellis's "The Steam Man of the Prairies". Several more modern works of art and fiction significant to the development of the genre were produced before the genre had a name. "Titus Alone" (1959), by Mervyn Peake, is widely regarded by scholars as the first novel in the genre proper, while others point to Michael Moorcock's 1971 novel "The Warlord of the Air", which was heavily influenced by Peake's work. The film "Brazil" (1985) was an early cinematic influence, although it can also be considered a precursor to the steampunk offshoot dieselpunk. "The Adventures of Luther Arkwright" was an early (1970s) comic version of the Moorcock-style mover between timestreams. In fine art, Remedios Varo's paintings combine elements of Victorian dress, fantasy, and technofantasy imagery. In television, one of the earliest manifestations of the steampunk ethos in the mainstream media was the CBS television series "The Wild Wild West" (1965–69), which inspired the later film. Origin of the term. Although many works now considered seminal to the genre were published in the 1960s and 1970s, the term "steampunk" originated in the late 1980s as a tongue-in-cheek variant of "cyberpunk". It was coined by science fiction author K. W. Jeter, who was trying to find a general term for works by Tim Powers ("The Anubis Gates", 1983), James Blaylock ("Homunculus", 1986), and himself ("Morlock Night", 1979, and "Infernal Devices", 1987)—all of which took place in a 19th-century (usually Victorian) setting and imitated conventions of such actual Victorian speculative fiction as H. G. Wells' "The Time Machine". In a letter to science fiction magazine "Locus", printed in the April 1987 issue, Jeter wrote: Modern steampunk. While Jeter's "Morlock Night" and "Infernal Devices", Powers' "The Anubis Gates", and Blaylock's "Lord Kelvin's Machine" were the first novels to which Jeter's neologism would be applied, the three authors gave the term little thought at the time. They were far from the first modern science fiction writers to speculate on the development of steam-based technology or alternative histories. Keith Laumer's "Worlds of the Imperium" (1962) and Ronald W. Clark's "Queen Victoria's Bomb" (1967) apply modern speculation to past-age technology and society. Michael Moorcock's "Warlord of the Air" (1971) is another early example. Harry Harrison's novel "A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!" (1973) portrays Britain in an alternative 1973, full of atomic locomotives, coal-powered flying boats, ornate submarines, and Victorian dialogue. "The Adventures of Luther Arkwright" (mid-1970s) was one of the first steampunk comics. In February 1980, Richard A. Lupoff and Steve Stiles published the first "chapter" of their 10-part comic strip "The Adventures of Professor Thintwhistle and His Incredible Aether Flyer". In 2004, one anonymous author described steampunk as "Colonizing the Past so we can dream the future." The first use of the word "steampunk" in a title was in Paul Di Filippo's 1995 "Steampunk Trilogy", consisting of three short novels: "Victoria", "Hottentots", and "Walt and Emily", which, respectively, imagine the replacement of Queen Victoria by a human/newt clone, an invasion of Massachusetts by Lovecraftian monsters, and a love affair between Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Japanese steampunk. Japanese steampunk consists of steampunk manga comics and anime productions from Japan. Steampunk elements have consistently appeared in mainstream manga since the 1940s, dating back to Osamu Tezuka's epic science-fiction trilogy consisting of "Lost World" (1948), "Metropolis" (1949) and "Nextworld" (1951). The steampunk elements found in manga eventually made their way into mainstream anime productions starting in the 1970s, including television shows such as Leiji Matsumoto's "Space Battleship Yamato" (1974) and the 1979 anime adaptation of Riyoko Ikeda's manga "Rose of Versailles" (1972). Influenced by 19th-century European authors such as Jules Verne, steampunk anime and manga arose from a Japanese fascination with an imaginary fantastical version of old Industrial Europe, linked to a phenomenon called "akogare no Pari" ("the Paris of our dreams"), comparable to the West's fascination with an "exotic" East. The most influential steampunk animator was Hayao Miyazaki, who was creating steampunk anime since the 1970s, starting with the television show "Future Boy Conan" (1978). His manga "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1982) and its 1984 anime film adaptation also contained steampunk elements. Miyazaki's most influential steampunk production was the Studio Ghibli anime film "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" (1986), which became a major milestone in the genre and has been described by "The Steampunk Bible" as "one of the first modern steampunk classics." Archetypal steampunk elements in "Laputa" include airships, air pirates, steam-powered robots, and a view of steam power as a limitless but potentially dangerous source of power. The success of "Laputa" inspired Hideaki Anno and Studio Gainax to create their first hit production, ' (1990), a steampunk anime show which loosely adapts elements from Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", with Captain Nemo making an appearance. Based on a concept by Miyazaki, "Nadia" was influential on later steampunk anime such as Katsuhiro Otomo's anime film "Steamboy" (2004). Disney's animated steampunk film ' (2001) was influenced by anime, particularly Miyazaki's works and possibly "Nadia". Other popular Japanese steampunk works include Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli anime films "Porco Rosso" (1992) and "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004), Sega's video game and anime franchise "Sakura Wars" (1996) which is set in a steampunk version of Meiji/Taishō era Japan, and Square Enix's manga and anime franchise "Fullmetal Alchemist" (2001). Relationships to retrofuturism, DIY craft and making. Superficially, steampunk may resemble retrofuturism. Indeed, both sensibilities recall "the older but still modern eras in which technological change seemed to anticipate a better world, one remembered as relatively innocent of industrial decline." One of steampunk's most significant contributions is the way in which it mixes digital media with traditional handmade art forms. As scholars Rachel Bowser and Brian Croxall put it, "the tinkering and tinker-able technologies within steampunk invite us to roll up our sleeves and get to work re-shaping our contemporary world." In this respect, steampunk bears more in common with DIY craft and making. Art, entertainment, and media. Art and design. Many of the visualisations of steampunk have their origins with, among others, Walt Disney's film "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954), including the design of the story's submarine the "Nautilus", its interiors, and the crew's underwater gear; and George Pal's film "The Time Machine" (1960), especially the design of the time machine itself. This theme is also carried over to Six Flags Magic Mountain and Disney parks, in the themed area the "Screampunk District" at Six Flags Magic Mountain and in the designs of The Mysterious Island section of Tokyo DisneySea theme park and Disneyland Paris' Discoveryland area. Aspects of steampunk design emphasise a balance between form and function. In this it is like the Arts and Crafts Movement. But John Ruskin, William Morris, and the other reformers in the late nineteenth century rejected machines and industrial production. On the other hand, steampunk enthusiasts present a "non-luddite critique of technology". Various modern utilitarian objects have been modified by enthusiasts into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style. Examples include computer keyboards and electric guitars. The goal of such redesigns is to employ appropriate materials (such as polished brass, iron, wood, and leather) with design elements and craftsmanship consistent with the Victorian era, rejecting the aesthetic of industrial design. In 1994, the Paris Metro station at Arts et Métiers was redesigned by Belgian artist Francois Schuiten in steampunk style, to honor the works of Jules Verne. The station is reminiscent of a submarine, sheathed in brass with giant cogs in the ceiling and portholes that look out onto fanciful scenes. The artist group "Kinetic Steam Works" brought a working steam engine to the Burning Man festival in 2006 and 2007. The group's founding member, Sean Orlando, created a Steampunk Tree House (in association with a group of people who would later form the "Five Ton Crane Arts Group") that has been displayed at a number of festivals. The Steampunk Tree House is now permanently installed at the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware. The Neverwas Haul is a three-story, self-propelled mobile art vehicle built to resemble a Victorian house on wheels. Designed by Shannon O’Hare, it was built by volunteers in 2006 and presented at the Burning Man festival from 2006 through 2015. When fully built, the Haul propelled itself at a top speed of 5 miles per hour and required a crew of ten people to operate safely. Currently, the Neverwas Haul makes her home at Obtainium Works, an "art car factory" in Vallejo, CA, owned by O’Hare and home to several other self-styled "contraptionists". In May–June 2008, multimedia artist and sculptor Paul St George exhibited outdoor interactive video installations linking London and Brooklyn, New York, in a Victorian era-styled telectroscope. Utilizing this device, New York promoter Evelyn Kriete organised a transatlantic wave between steampunk enthusiasts from both cities, prior to White Mischief's "Around the World in 80 Days" steampunk-themed event. In 2009, for Questacon, artist Tim Wetherell created a large wall piece that represented the concept of the clockwork universe. This steel artwork contains moving gears, a working clock, and a movie of the moon's terminator in action. The 3D moon movie was created by Antony Williams. Steampunk became a common descriptor for homemade objects sold on the craft network Etsy between 2009 and 2011, though many of the objects and fashions bear little resemblance to earlier established descriptions of steampunk. Thus the craft network may not strike observers as "sufficiently steampunk" to warrant its use of the term. Comedian April Winchell, author of the book "Regretsy: Where DIY meets WTF", cataloged some of the most egregious and humorous examples on her website "Regretsy". The blog was popular among steampunks and even inspired a music video that went viral in the community and was acclaimed by steampunk "notables". From October 2009 through February 2010, the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, hosted the first major exhibition of steampunk art objects, curated and developed by New York artist and designer Art Donovan, who also exhibited his own "electro-futuristic" lighting sculptures, and presented by Dr. Jim Bennett, museum director. From redesigned practical items to fantastical contraptions, this exhibition showcased the work of eighteen steampunk artists from across the globe. The exhibition proved to be the most successful and highly attended in the museum's history and attracted more than eighty thousand visitors. The event was detailed in the official artist's journal "The Art of Steampunk", by curator Donovan. In November 2010, The Libratory Steampunk Art Gallery was opened by Damien McNamara in Oamaru, New Zealand. Created from papier-mâché to resemble a large cave and filled with industrial equipment from yesteryear, rayguns, and general steampunk quirks, its purpose is to provide a place for steampunkers in the region to display artwork for sale all year long. A year later, a more permanent gallery, Steampunk HQ, was opened in the former Meeks Grain Elevator Building across the road from The Woolstore, and has since become a notable tourist attraction for Oamaru. In 2012, the "Mobilis in Mobili: An Exhibition of Steampunk Art and Appliance" made its debut. Originally located at New York City's Wooster Street Social Club (itself the subject of the television series "NY Ink"), the exhibit featured working steampunk tattoo systems designed by Bruce Rosenbaum, of ModVic and owner of the Steampunk House, Joey "Dr. Grymm" Marsocci, and Christopher Conte. with different approaches. "[B]icycles, cell phones, guitars, timepieces and entertainment systems" rounded out the display. The opening night exhibition featured a live performance by steampunk band Frenchy and the Punk. Fashion. Steampunk fashion has no set guidelines but tends to synthesize modern styles with influences from the Victorian era. Such influences may include bustles, corsets, gowns, and petticoats; suits with waistcoats, coats, top hats and bowler hats (themselves originating in 1850 England), tailcoats and spats; or military-inspired garments. Steampunk-influenced outfits are usually accented with several technological and "period" accessories: timepieces, parasols, flying/driving goggles, and ray guns. Modern accessories like cell phones or music players can be found in steampunk outfits, after being modified to give them the appearance of Victorian-era objects. Post-apocalyptic elements, such as gas masks, ragged clothing, and tribal motifs, can also be included. Aspects of steampunk fashion have been anticipated by mainstream high fashion, the Lolita and aristocrat styles, neo-Victorianism, and the romantic goth subculture. In 2005, Kate Lambert, known as "Kato", founded the first steampunk clothing company, "Steampunk Couture", mixing Victorian and post-apocalyptic influences. In 2013, IBM predicted, based on an analysis of more than a half million public posts on message boards, blogs, social media sites, and news sources, "that 'steampunk,' a subgenre inspired by the clothing, technology and social mores of Victorian society, will be a major trend to bubble up and take hold of the retail industry". Indeed, high fashion lines such as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Chanel, and Christian Dior had already been introducing steampunk styles on the fashion runways. And in episode 7 of "Lifetime"'s "Project Runway: Under the Gunn" reality series, contestants were challenged to create "avant-garde" "steampunk chic" looks. America's Next Top Model tackled Steampunk fashion in a 2012 episode where models competed in a Steampunk themed photo shoot, posing in front of a steam train while holding a live owl. Literature. The educational book "Elementary BASIC - Learning to Program Your Computer in BASIC with Sherlock Holmes" (1981), by Henry Singer and Andrew Ledgar, may have been the first fictional work to depict the use of Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine in an adventure story. The instructional book, aimed at young programming students, depicts Holmes using the engine as an aid in his investigations, and lists programs that perform simple data processing tasks required to solve the fictional cases. The book even describes a device that allows the engine to be used remotely, over telegraph lines, as a possible enhancement to Babbage's machine. Companion volumes—"Elementary Pascal - Learning to Program Your Computer in Pascal with Sherlock Holmes" and "From Baker Street to Binary - An Introduction to Computers and Computer Programming with Sherlock Holmes"—were also written. In 1988, the first version of the science fiction tabletop role-playing game "" was published. The game is set in an alternative history in which certain now discredited Victorian scientific theories were probable and led to new technologies. Contributing authors included Frank Chadwick, Loren Wiseman, and Marcus Rowland. William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's novel "The Difference Engine" (1990) is often credited with bringing about widespread awareness of steampunk. This novel applies the principles of Gibson and Sterling's cyberpunk writings to an alternative Victorian era where Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage's proposed steam-powered mechanical computer, which Babbage called a difference engine (a later, more general-purpose version was known as an analytical engine), was actually built, and led to the dawn of the information age more than a century "ahead of schedule". This setting was different from most steampunk settings in that it takes a dim and dark view of this future, rather than the more prevalent utopian versions. Nick Gevers's original anthology "Extraordinary Engines" (2008) features newer steampunk stories by some of the genre's writers, as well as other science fiction and fantasy writers experimenting with neo-Victorian conventions. A retrospective reprint anthology of steampunk fiction was released, also in 2008, by Tachyon Publications. Edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer and appropriately entitled "Steampunk", it is a collection of stories by James Blaylock, whose "Narbondo" trilogy is typically considered steampunk; Jay Lake, author of the novel "Mainspring", sometimes labeled "clockpunk"; the aforementioned Michael Moorcock; as well as Jess Nevins, known for his annotations to "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (first published in 1999). Younger readers have also been targeted by steampunk themes, by authors such as Philip Reeve and Scott Westerfeld. Reeve's quartet "Mortal Engines" is set far in Earth's future where giant moving cities consume each other in a battle for resources, a concept Reeve coined as "Municipal Darwinism". Westerfeld's "Leviathan" trilogy is set during an alternate First World War fought between the "clankers" (Central Powers), who use steam technology, and "darwinists" (Allied Powers), who use genetically engineered creatures instead of machines. "Mash-ups" are also becoming increasingly popular in books aimed at younger readers, mixing steampunk with other genres. Suzanne Lazear's "Aether Chronicles" series mixes steampunk with faeries, and "The Unnaturalists", by Tiffany Trent, combines steampunk with mythological creatures and alternate history. While most of the original steampunk works had a historical setting, later works often place steampunk elements in a fantasy world with little relation to any specific historic era. Historical steampunk tends to be science fiction that presents an alternate history; it also contains real locales and persons from history with alternative fantasy technology. "Fantasy-world steampunk", such as China Miéville's "Perdido Street Station", Alan Campbell's "Scar Night", and Stephen Hunt's Jackelian novels, on the other hand, presents steampunk in a completely imaginary fantasy realm, often populated by legendary creatures coexisting with steam-era and other anachronistic technologies. However, the works of China Miéville and similar authors are sometimes referred to as belonging to the "New Weird" rather than steampunk. Self-described author of "far-fetched fiction" Robert Rankin has incorporated elements of steampunk into narrative worlds that are both Victorian and re-imagined contemporary. In 2009, he was made a Fellow of the Victorian Steampunk Society. The comic book series "Hellboy", created by Mike Mignola, and the two Hellboy films featuring Ron Perlman and directed by Guillermo del Toro, all have steampunk elements. In the comic book and the first (2004) film, Karl Ruprecht Kroenen is a Nazi SS scientist who has an addiction to having himself surgically altered, and who has many mechanical prostheses, including a clockwork heart. The character Johann Krauss is featured in the comic and in the second film, "" (2008), as an ectoplasmic medium (a gaseous form in a partly mechanical suit). This second film also features the Golden Army itself, which is a collection of 4,900 mechanical steampunk warriors. Steampunk settings. Alternative world. Since the 1990s, the application of the steampunk label has expanded beyond works set in recognisable historical periods, to works set in fantasy worlds that rely heavily on steam- or spring-powered technology. One of the earliest short stories relying on steam-powered flying machines is "The Aerial Burglar" of 1844. An example from juvenile fiction is "The Edge Chronicles" by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Fantasy steampunk settings abound in tabletop and computer role-playing games. Notable examples include "Skies of Arcadia", ', and '. One of the first steampunk novels set in a Middle-earth-like world was the "Forest of Boland Light Railway" by BB, about gnomes who build a steam locomotive. 50 years later, Terry Pratchett wrote the Discworld novel "Raising Steam," about the ongoing industrial revolution and railway mania in Ankh-Morpork. The gnomes and goblins in "World of Warcraft" also have technological societies that could be described as steampunk, as they are vastly ahead of the technologies of men, but still run on steam and mechanical power. The Dwarves of the "Elder Scrolls" series, described therein as a race of Elves called the Dwemer, also use steam-powered machinery, with gigantic brass-like gears, throughout their underground cities. However, magical means are used to keep ancient devices in motion despite the Dwemer's ancient disappearance. The 1998 game "", as well as the other sequels including its 2014 reboot, feature heavy steampunk-inspired architecture, setting, and technology. Amidst the historical and fantasy subgenres of steampunk is a type that takes place in a hypothetical future or a fantasy equivalent of our future involving the domination of steampunk-style technology and aesthetics. Examples include Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's "The City of Lost Children" (1995), "Turn A Gundam" (1999–2000), "Trigun", and Disney's film "Treasure Planet" (2002). In 2011, musician Thomas Dolby heralded his return to music after a 20-year hiatus with an online steampunk alternate fantasy world called the Floating City, to promote his album "A Map of the Floating City". American West. Another setting is "Western" steampunk, which overlaps with both the Weird West and Science fiction Western subgenres. One of the earliest steampunk books set in America was "The Steam Man of the Prairies" by Edward S. Ellis. Recent examples include the TV show and the movie adaption "Wild Wild West", the Italian comics about Magico Vento, Devon Monk's "Dead Iron", and the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disneyland-style Disney Parks around the world. Fantasy and horror. Kaja Foglio introduced the term "Gaslight Romance", gaslamp fantasy, which John Clute and John Grant define as "steampunk stories ... most commonly set in a romanticised, smoky, 19th-century London, as are Gaslight Romances. But the latter category focuses nostalgically on icons from the late years of that century and the early years of the 20th century—on Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes and even Tarzan—and can normally be understood as combining supernatural fiction and recursive fantasy, though some gaslight romances can be read as fantasies of history." Author/artist James Richardson-Brown coined the term "steamgoth" to refer to steampunk expressions of fantasy and horror with a "darker" bent. Post-apocalyptic. Mary Shelley's "The Last Man", set near the end of the 21st century after a plague had brought down civilization, was probably the ancestor of post-apocalyptic steampunk literature. Post-apocalyptic steampunk is set in a world where some cataclysm has precipitated the fall of civilization and steam power is once again ascendant, such as in Hayao Miyazaki's post-apocalyptic anime "Future Boy Conan" (1978), where a war fought with superweapons has devastated the planet. Robert Brown's novel, "The Wrath of Fate" (as well as much of Abney Park's music) is set in a Victorianesque world where an apocalypse was set into motion by a time-traveling mishap. Cherie Priest's Boneshaker series is set in a world where a zombie apocalypse happened during the Civil War era. "The Peshawar Lancers" by S.M. Stirling is set in a post-apocalyptic future in which a meteor shower in 1878 caused the collapse of Industrialized civilization. The movie 9 (which might be better classified as "stitchpunk" but was largely influenced by steampunk) is also set in a post-apocalyptic world after a self-aware war machine ran amok. "Steampunk Magazine" even published a book called "A Steampunk's Guide to the Apocalypse", about how steampunks could survive should such a thing actually happen. Victorian. In general, this category includes any recent science fiction that takes place in a recognizable historical period (sometimes an alternate history version of an actual historical period) in which the Industrial Revolution has already begun, but electricity is not yet widespread, "usually Britain of the early to mid-nineteenth century or the fantasized Wild West-era United States", with an emphasis on steam- or spring-propelled gadgets. The most common historical steampunk settings are the Victorian and Edwardian eras, though some in this "Victorian steampunk" category are set as early as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and as late as the end of World War I. Some examples of this type include the novel "The Difference Engine", the comic book series "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", the Disney animated film "", Scott Westerfeld's "Leviathan" trilogy, and the roleplaying game "." The anime film "Steamboy" (2004) is another good example of Victorian steampunk, taking place in an alternate 1866 where steam technology is more advanced than it ever was in real life. Some, such as the comic series "Girl Genius", have their own unique times and places despite partaking heavily of the flavor of historic settings. Other comic series are set in a more familiar London, as in the "Victorian Undead", which has Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson, and others taking on zombies, Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, and Count Dracula, with advanced weapons and devices. Karel Zeman's film "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne" (1958) is a very early example of cinematic steampunk. Based on Jules Verne novels, Zeman's film imagines a past that never was, based on those novels. Other early examples of historical steampunk in cinema include Hayao Miyazaki's anime films such as "" (1986) and "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004), which contain many archetypal anachronisms characteristic of the steampunk genre. "Historical" steampunk usually leans more towards science fiction than fantasy, but a number of historical steampunk stories have incorporated magical elements as well. For example, "Morlock Night", written by K. W. Jeter, revolves around an attempt by the wizard Merlin to raise King Arthur to save the Britain of 1892 from an invasion of Morlocks from the future. Paul Guinan's "Boilerplate", a "biography" of a robot in the late 19th century, began as a website that garnered international press coverage when people began believing that Photoshop images of the robot with historic personages were real. The site was adapted into the illustrated hardbound book "Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel", which was published by Abrams in October 2009. Because the story was not set in an alternative history, and in fact contained accurate information about the Victorian era, some booksellers referred to the tome as "historical steampunk". Asian (silkpunk). Fictional settings inspired by Asian rather than Western history have been called "silkpunk". The term appears to originate with the author Ken Liu, who defined it as "a blend of science fiction and fantasy [that] draws inspiration from classical East Asian antiquity", with a "technology vocabulary (...) based on organic materials historically important to East Asia (bamboo, paper, silk) and seafaring cultures of the Pacific (coconut, feathers, coral)", rather than the brass and leather associated with steampunk. Liu used the term to describe his "Dandelion Dynasty" series, which began in 2015. Other works described as silkpunk include Neon Yang's "Tensorate" series of novellas, which began in 2017. Music. Steampunk music is very broadly defined. Abney Park's lead singer Robert Brown defined it as "mixing Victorian elements and modern elements". There is a broad range of musical influences that make up the Steampunk sound, from industrial dance and world music to folk rock, dark cabaret to straightforward punk, Carnatic to industrial, hip-hop to opera (and even industrial hip-hop opera), darkwave to progressive rock, barbershop to big band. Joshua Pfeiffer (of Vernian Process) is quoted as saying, "As for Paul Roland, if anyone deserves credit for spearheading Steampunk music, it is him. He was one of the inspirations I had in starting my project. He was writing songs about the first attempt at manned flight, and an Edwardian airship raid in the mid-80s long before almost anyone else..." Thomas Dolby is also considered one of the early pioneers of retro-futurist (i.e., Steampunk and Dieselpunk) music. Amanda Palmer was once quoted as saying, "Thomas Dolby is to Steampunk what Iggy Pop was to Punk!" Steampunk has also appeared in the work of musicians who do not specifically identify as Steampunk. For example, the music video of "Turn Me On", by David Guetta and featuring Nicki Minaj, takes place in a Steampunk universe where Guetta creates human droids. Another music video is "The Ballad of Mona Lisa", by Panic! at the Disco, which has a distinct Victorian Steampunk theme. A continuation of this theme has in fact been used throughout the 2011 album "Vices & Virtues", in the music videos, album art, and tour set and costumes. In addition, the album "Clockwork Angels" (2012) and its supporting tour by progressive rock band Rush contain lyrics, themes, and imagery based around Steampunk. Similarly, Abney Park headlined the first "Steamstock" outdoor steampunk music festival in Richmond, California, which also featured Thomas Dolby, Frenchy and the Punk, Lee Presson and the Nails, Vernian Process, and others. The music video for the Lindsey Stirling song "Roundtable Rival", has a Western Steampunk setting. Television and films. "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne" (1958) and "The Fabulous Baron Munchausen" (1962), both directed by Karel Zeman, have steampunk elements. The 1965 television series "The Wild Wild West", as well as the 1999 film of the same name, features many elements of advanced steam-powered technology set in the Wild West time period of the United States. "Two Years' Vacation" (or "The Stolen Airship") (1967) directed by Karel Zeman contains steampunk elements. The BBC series "Doctor Who" also incorporates steampunk elements. During season 14 of the show (in 1976), the formerly futuristic looking interior set was replaced with a Victorian-styled wood-panel and brass affair. In the 1996 American co-production, the TARDIS interior was re-designed to resemble an almost Victorian library with the central control console made up of an eclectic array of anachronistic objects. Modified and streamlined for the 2005 revival of the series, the TARDIS console continued to incorporate steampunk elements, including a Victorian typewriter and gramophone. Several storylines can be classed as steampunk, for example: "The Evil of the Daleks" (1966), wherein Victorian scientists invent a time travel device. "Dinner for Adele" (1977) directed by Oldřich Lipský involves steampunk contraptions. The 1979 film "Time After Time" has Herbert George "H.G." Wells following a surgeon named John Leslie Stevenson into the future, as John is suspected of being Jack the Ripper. Both separately use Wells's time machine to travel. "The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians" (1981) directed by Oldřich Lipský contains steampunk elements. The 1982 American TV series "Q.E.D." is set in Edwardian England, stars Sam Waterston as Professor Quentin Everett Deverill (from whose initials, by which he is primarily known, the series title is derived, initials which also stand for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum", which translates as "which was to be demonstrated"). The Professor is an inventor and scientific detective, in the mold of Sherlock Holmes. The plot of the Soviet film "Kin-dza-dza!" (1986) centers on a desert planet, depleted of its resources, where an impoverished dog-eat-dog society uses steam-punk machines, the movements and functions of which defy earthly logic. In making his 1986 Japanese film "Castle in the Sky", Hayao Miyazaki was heavily influenced by steampunk culture, the film featuring various air ships and steam-powered contraptions as well as a mysterious island that floats through the sky, accomplished not through magic as in most stories, but instead by harnessing the physical properties of a rare crystal—analogous to the lodestone used in the Laputa of Swift's Gulliver's Travels—augmented by massive propellers, as befitting the Victorian motif. The first "Wallace & Gromit" animation "A Grand Day Out" (1989) features a space rocket in the steampunk style. "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.", a 1993 Fox Network TV science fiction-western set in the 1890s, features elements of steampunk as represented by the character Professor Wickwire, whose inventions were described as "the coming thing". The short-lived 1995 TV show "Legend", on UPN, set in 1876 Arizona, features such classic inventions as a steam-driven "quadrovelocipede", trigoggle and night-vision goggles (à la teslapunk), and stars John de Lancie as a thinly disguised Nikola Tesla. Alan Moore's and Kevin O'Neill's 1999 "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" graphic novel series (and the subsequent 2003 film adaption) greatly popularised the steampunk genre. "Steamboy" (2004) is a Japanese animated action film directed and co-written by Katsuhiro Otomo ("Akira"). It is a retro science-fiction epic set in a Steampunk Victorian England. It features steamboats, trains, airships and inventors. The 2004 film "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" contains Steampunk-esque themes, such as the costumery and vehicle interiors. The 2007 Syfy miniseries "Tin Man" incorporates a considerable number of steampunk-inspired themes into a re-imagining of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Despite leaning more towards gothic influences, the "parallel reality" of Meanwhile, City, within the 2009 film "Franklyn", contains many steampunk themes, such as costumery, architecture, minimal use of electricity (with a preference for gaslight), and absence of modern technology (such as there being no motorised vehicles or advanced weaponry, and the manual management of information with no use of computers). The 2009–2014 Syfy television series "Warehouse 13" features many steampunk-inspired objects and artifacts, including computer designs created by steampunk artisan Richard Nagy, a.k.a. "Datamancer". The 2010 episode of the TV series "Castle" entitled "Punked" (which first aired on October 11, 2010) prominently features the steampunk subculture and uses Los Angeles-area steampunks (such as the League of STEAM) as extras. The 2011 film "The Three Musketeers" has many steampunk elements, including gadgets and airships. "The Legend of Korra", a 2012–2014 Nickelodeon animated series, incorporates steampunk elements in an industrialized world with East Asian themes. The "Penny Dreadful" (2014) television series is a Gothic Victorian fantasy series with steampunk props and costumes. The 2015 GSN reality television game show "Steampunk'd" features a competition to create steampunk-inspired art and designs which are judged by notable Steampunks Thomas Willeford, Kato, and Matthew Yang King (as Matt King). Based on the work of cartoonist Jacques Tardi, "April and the Extraordinary World" (2015) is an animated movie set in a steampunk Paris. It features airships, trains, submarines, and various other steam-powered contraptions. Tim Burton's 2016 film "Alice Through the Looking Glass" features steampunk costumes, props, and vehicles. Japanese anime "Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress" (2016) features a steampunk zombie apocalypse. The American fantasy animated sitcom, "Disenchantment", created by Matt Groening for Netflix, features a steampunk country named Steamland, led by an odd industrialist named Alva Gunderson voiced by Richard Ayoade, first appears in the season 1 episode, "The Electric Princess." The country is portrayed as driven by logic and is egalitarian, governed by science, rather than magic, as is the case for Dreamland, where the protagonist, Princess Bean, is from. The country has cars, automatic lights, submarines, and other modern technologies, all of which are steam-powered, and references to Groening's other series, "Futurama". Steamland appears in three episodes of the show's second season, showing an explorers club as part of the country's high society, flying zeppelins, and robots with light bulbs for their heads which chase the protagonists through the streets. Some even argued that Steamland is "dieselpunk inspired." Video games. A variety of styles of video games have used steampunk settings. "Steel Empire" (1992), a shoot 'em up game originally released as "Koutetsu Teikoku" on the Sega Mega Drive console in Japan, is considered to be the first steampunk video game. Designed by Yoshinori Satake and inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's anime film "" (1986), "Steel Empire" is set in an alternate timeline dominated by steam-powered technology. The commercial success of "Steel Empire", both in Japan and the West, helped propel steampunk into the video game market, and had a significant influence on later steampunk games. The most notable steampunk game it influenced is "Final Fantasy VI" (1994), a Japanese role-playing game developed by Squaresoft and designed by Hiroyuki Ito for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. "Final Fantasy VI" was both critically and commercially successful, and had a considerable influence on later steampunk video games. "The Chaos Engine" (1993) is a run and gun video game inspired by the Gibson/Sterling novel "The Difference Engine" (1990), set in a Victorian steampunk age. Developed by the Bitmap Brothers, it was first released on the Amiga in 1993; a sequel was released in 1996. The graphic adventure puzzle video games "Myst" (1993), "Riven" (1997), ' (2001), and ' (all produced by or under the supervision of Cyan Worlds) take place in an alternate steampunk universe, where elaborate infrastructures have been built to run on steam power. "The Elder Scrolls" (since 1994, last release in 2014) is an action role-playing game where one can find an ancient extinct race called dwemers or dwarves, whose steampunk technology is based on steam-powered levers and gears made of copper–bronze material, which are maintained by magical techniques that have kept them in working order over the centuries. "Sakura Wars" (1996), a visual novel and tactical role-playing game developed by Sega for the Saturn console, is set in a steampunk version of Japan during the Meiji and Taishō periods, and features steam-powered mecha robots. ' (1998), its sequels, "Thief II" (2000), ' (2004) and it's reboot "Thief" (2014) are set in a steampunk metropolis. The 2001 computer role-playing game "" mixed fantasy tropes with steampunk. The "Professor Layton" series of games (2007 debut) has several entries showcasing steampunk machinary and vehicles. Notably "Professor Layton and the Unwound Future" features a quasi-steampunk future setting. "Solatorobo" (2010) is a role-playing video game developed by CyberConnect2 set in a floating island archipelago populated by anthropomorphic cats and dogs, who pilot steampunk airships and engage in combat with robots. "Resonance of Fate" (2010) is a role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is set in a steampunk environment with combat involving guns. "Impossible Creatures" (2003) real-time strategy game inspired by the works of H. G. Welles, especially "The Island of Doctor Moreau". Developed by Relic Entertainment, it sees an adventurer building an army of genetically spliced animals to battle against a mad scientist who has abducted his father. The player's headquarters is a steam-powered "Hovertrain" locomotive, which functions as both a science lab and mobile command center. Coal is a key resource in the game, and must be burned to provide power to the players many base buildings. The "SteamWorld" series of games (2010 debut) has the player controlling steam-powered robots. "Minecraft" (2011) has a steampunk-themed texture pack. "Terraria" (2011) is a video game developed by Re-Logic. It is a 2D open world platform game in which the player controls a single character in a generated world. It has a Steampunker non-player character in the game who sells items referencing Steampunk. "LittleBigPlanet 2" (2011) has the world Victoria’s Laboratory, run by Victoria von Bathysphere, this world mixes steampunk themes with confections. "Guns of Icarus Online" (2012) is multiplayer game with steampunk thematic. "Dishonored" (2012) and "Dishonored 2" (2016) are set within a fictional world with heavy steampunk influences, wherein whale oil, as opposed to coal, served as catalyst of their industrial revolution. "Dishonored" is a series (2012 debut) of stealth games with role playing elements developed by Arkane Studios and widely considered to be a spiritual successor of the original Thief trilogy. Set in the Empire of the Isles, a steampunk Victorian metropolis where technology and supernatural magic co-exist. Steam-powered robots and mechanical combat suits are present as enemies, as well as the presence of magic. The major locations in the Isles include Dunwall, the Empire's capital city which uses the burning of whale oil as the city's main fuel source, and Karnaca, which is powered by wind turbines fed by currents generated by a cleft mountain along the city's borders. "BioShock Infinite" (2013) is a first-person shooter FPS game set in 1912, in a fictional city called Columbia, which uses technology to float in the sky and has many historical and religious scenes. "" (2014), a Japanese otome game for the PS Vita is set in a steampunk Victorian London, and features a cast with several historical figures with steampunk aesthetics. "Code Name S.T.E.A.M." (2015), a Japanese tactical RPG game for the 3DS sets in a steampunk fantasy version of London and where you are conscript in the strike force S.T.E.A.M. (short for Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace). "They Are Billions" (2017), is a steampunk strategy game in a post-apocalyptic setting. Players build a colony and attempt to ward off waves of zombies. "Frostpunk" (2018) is a city-building game set in 1888, but where the Earth is in the midst of a great ice age. Players must construct a city around a large steampunk heat generator with many steampunk aesthetics and mechanics, such as a "Steam Core." Toys. Mattel's "Monster High" dolls Robecca Steam and Hexiciah Steam. The "Pullip Dolls" by Japanese manufacturer Dal have a steampunk range. Hornby's world of Bassett-Lowke steampunk models Culture and community. Because of the popularity of steampunk, there is a growing movement of adults that want to establish steampunk as a culture and lifestyle. Some fans of the genre adopt a steampunk aesthetic through fashion, home decor, music, and film. While Steampunk is considered the amalgamation of Victorian aesthetic principles with modern sensibilities and technologies, it can be more broadly categorised as neo-Victorianism, described by scholar Marie-Luise Kohlke as "the afterlife of the nineteenth century in the cultural imaginary". The subculture has its own magazine, blogs, and online shops. In September 2012, a panel, chaired by steampunk entertainer Veronique Chevalier and with panelists including magician Pop Hadyn and members of the steampunk performance group the League of STEAM, was held at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo. The panel suggested that because steampunk was inclusive of and incorporated ideas from various other subcultures such as goth, neo-Victorian, and cyberpunk, as well as a growing number of fandoms, it was fast becoming a "super-culture" rather than a mere subculture. Other steampunk notables such as Professor Elemental have expressed similar views about steampunk's inclusive diversity. Some have proposed a steampunk philosophy that incorporates punk-inspired anti-establishment sentiments typically bolstered by optimism about human potential. A 2004 "Steampunk Manifesto", later republished in "SteamPunk Magazine", lamented that most "so-called" steampunk was nothing more than dressed-up recreationary nostalgia and proposed that "authentic" steampunk would "take the levers of technology from the [technocrats] and powerful." American activist and performer Miriam Rosenberg Rocek impersonated anarcha-feminist Emma Goldman to inspire discussions around gender, society and politics. "SteamPunk Magazine" was edited and published by anarchists. Its founder, Margaret Killjoy, argued "there have always been radical politics at the core of steampunk." Diana M. Pho, a science-fiction editor and author of the multicultural steampunk blog "Beyond Victoriana", similarly argued steampunk's "progressive roots" can be traced to its literary inspirations, including Verne's Captain Nemo. Steampunk authors Phenderson Djèlí Clark, Jaymee Goh, Dru Pagliassotti, and Charlie Stross consider their work political. These views are not universally shared. Killjoy lamented that even some diehard enthusiasts believe steampunk "has nothing to offer but designer clothes." Pho argued many steampunk fans "don't like to acknowledge that their attitudes could be considered ideological." The largest online steampunk community, "Brass Goggles", which is dedicated to what it calls the "lighter side" of steampunk, banned discussion about politics. Cory Gross, who was one of the first to write about the history and theory of steampunk, argued that the "sepia-toned yesteryear more appropriate for Disney and grandparents than a vibrant and viable philosophy or culture" denounced in the "Steampunk Manifesto" was in fact representative of the genre. Author Catherynne M. Valente called the punk in steampunk "nearly meaningless." Kate Franklin and James Schafer, who at the time managed one of the largest steampunk groups on Facebook, admitted in 2011 that steampunk hadn't created the "revolutionary, or even a particularly progressive" community they wanted. Blogger and podcaster Eric Renderking Fisk announced in 2017 that steampunk was no longer punk, since it had "lost the anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment aspects." Others argued explicitly against turning steampunk into a political movement, preferring to see steampunk as "escapism" or a "fandom". In 2018, Nick Ottens, editor of the online alternate-history magazine "Never Was", declared that the "lighter side" of steampunk had won out. To the extent that steampunk is politicized, it appears to be an American and British phenomenon. Continental Europeans and Latin Americans are more likely to consider steampunk a hobby than a cause. Social events. June 19, 2005 marked the grand opening of the world's first steampunk club night, "Malediction Society", in Los Angeles. The event ran for nearly 12 years at The Monte Cristo nightclub, interrupted by a single year residency at Argyle Hollywood, until both the club night and The Monte Cristo closed in April 2017. Though the steampunk aesthetic eventually gave way to a more generic goth and industrial aesthetic, Malediction Society celebrated its roots every year with "The Steampunk Ball". 2006 saw the first "SalonCon", a neo-Victorian/steampunk convention. It ran for three consecutive years and featured artists, musicians (Voltaire and Abney Park), authors (Catherynne M. Valente, Ekaterina Sedia, and G. D. Falksen), salons led by people prominent in their respective fields, workshops and panels on steampunk—as well as a seance, ballroom dance instruction, and the Chrononauts' Parade. The event was covered by MTV and "The New York Times". Since then, a number of popular steampunk conventions have sprung up the world over, with names like Steamcon (Seattle), the Steampunk World's Fair (Piscataway, New Jersey), Up in the Aether: The Steampunk Convention (Dearborn, Michigan), Steampunk NZ (Oamaru, New Zealand), Steampunk Unlimited (Strasburg Railroad, Lancaster, PA). Each year, on Mother's Day weekend, the city of Waltham, MA, turns over its city center and surrounding areas to host the Watch City Steampunk Festival, a US outdoor steampunk festival. During the first weekend of May, the Australian town of Nimmitabel celebrates Steampunk @ Altitude with some 2,000 attendance. In recent years, steampunk has also become a regular feature at San Diego Comic-Con International, with the Saturday of the four-day event being generally known among steampunks as "Steampunk Day", and culminating with a photo-shoot for the local press. In 2010, this was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest steampunk photo shoot. In 2013, Comic-Con announced four official 2013 T-shirts, one of them featuring the official Rick Geary Comic-Con toucan mascot in steampunk attire. The Saturday steampunk "after-party" has also become a major event on the steampunk social calendar: in 2010, the headliners included The Slow Poisoner, Unextraordinary Gentlemen, and Voltaire, with Veronique Chevalier as Mistress of Ceremonies and special appearance by the League of STEAM; in 2011, UXG returned with Abney Park. Steampunk has also sprung up recently at Renaissance Festivals and Renaissance Faires, in the US. Some festivals have organised events or a "Steampunk Day", while others simply support an open environment for donning steampunk attire. The Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on the Wisconsin/Illinois border, featured a Steampunk costume contest during the 2012 season, the previous two seasons having seen increasing participation in the phenomenon. Steampunk also has a growing following in the UK and Europe. The largest European event is "Weekend at the Asylum", held at The Lawn, Lincoln, every September since 2009. Organised as a not-for-profit event by the Victorian Steampunk Society, the Asylum is a dedicated steampunk event which takes over much of the historical quarter of Lincoln, England, along with Lincoln Castle. In 2011, there were over 1000 steampunks in attendance. The event features the Empire Ball, Majors Review, Bazaar Eclectica, and the international Tea Duelling final. The Surrey Steampunk Convivial was originally held in New Malden, but since 2019 has been held in Stoneleigh in southwestern London, within walking distance of H. G. Wells's home. The Surrey Steampunk Convivial started as an annual event in 2012, and now takes place thrice a year, and has spanned three boroughs and five venues. Attendees have been interviewed by BBC Radio 4 for Phill Jupitus and filmed by the BBC World Service. The West Yorkshire village of Haworth has held an annual Steampunk weekend since 2013, on each occasion as a charity event raising funds for Sue Ryder's "Manorlands" hospice in Oxenhope. Other. A 2018 physics Ph.D. dissertation used the phrase "Quantum Steampunk" to describe the author's synthesis of some 19th century and current ideas. The term has not been adopted by others. A 2012 conference paper on human factors in computing systems examines the use of steampunk as a design fiction for human-computer interaction (HCI). It concludes that "the practices of DIY and appropriation that are evident in Steampunk design provide a useful set of design strategies and implications for HCI". External links.

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Cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech" featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cybernetics, juxtaposed with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order. Much of cyberpunk is rooted in the New Wave science fiction movement of the 1960s and 1970s, when writers like Philip K. Dick, Roger Zelazny, John Brunner, J. G. Ballard, Philip José Farmer and Harlan Ellison examined the impact of drug culture, technology, and the sexual revolution while avoiding the utopian tendencies of earlier science fiction. Comics exploring cyberpunk themes began appearing as early as Judge Dredd, first published in 1977. Released in 1984, William Gibson's influential debut novel "Neuromancer" would help solidify cyberpunk as a genre, drawing influence from punk subculture and early hacker culture. Other influential cyberpunk writers included Bruce Sterling and Rudy Rucker. The Japanese cyberpunk subgenre began in 1982 with the debut of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series "Akira", with its 1988 anime film adaptation later popularizing the subgenre. Early films in the genre include Ridley Scott's 1982 film "Blade Runner", one of several of Philip K. Dick's works that have been adapted into films. The films "Johnny Mnemonic" (1995) and "New Rose Hotel" (1998), both based upon short stories by William Gibson, flopped commercially and critically. "The Matrix trilogy" (1999–2003) were some of the most successful cyberpunk films. Newer cyberpunk media includes "Blade Runner 2049" (2017), a sequel to the original 1982 film, as well as "Upgrade" (2018), "" (2019) based on the 1990s Japanese manga "Battle Angel Alita", the 2018 Netflix TV series "Altered Carbon" based on Richard K. Morgan's 2002 novel of the same name, the 2020 remake of 1997 role-playing video game "Final Fantasy VII", and the video game "Cyberpunk 2077" (2020) based on 1988 tabletop role-playing game "Cyberpunk". Background. Lawrence Person has attempted to define the content and ethos of the cyberpunk literary movement stating: Cyberpunk plots often center on conflict among artificial intelligences, hackers, and megacorporations, and tend to be set in a near-future Earth, rather than in the far-future settings or galactic vistas found in novels such as Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" or Frank Herbert's "Dune". The settings are usually post-industrial dystopias but tend to feature extraordinary cultural ferment and the use of technology in ways never anticipated by its original inventors ("the street finds its own uses for things"). Much of the genre's atmosphere echoes film noir, and written works in the genre often use techniques from detective fiction. There are sources who view that cyberpunk has shifted from a literary movement to a mode of science fiction due to the limited number of writers and its transition to a more generalized cultural formation. History and origins. The origins of cyberpunk are rooted in the New Wave science fiction movement of the 1960s and 70s, where "New Worlds", under the editorship of Michael Moorcock, began inviting and encouraging stories that examined new writing styles, techniques, and archetypes. Reacting to conventional storytelling, New Wave authors attempted to present a world where society coped with a constant upheaval of new technology and culture, generally with dystopian outcomes. Writers like Roger Zelazny, J.G. Ballard, Philip Jose Farmer, and Harlan Ellison often examined the impact of drug culture, technology, and the sexual revolution with an avant-garde style influenced by the Beat Generation (especially William S. Burroughs' own SF), Dadaism, and their own ideas. Ballard attacked the idea that stories should follow the "archetypes" popular since the time of Ancient Greece, and the assumption that these would somehow be the same ones that would call to modern readers, as Joseph Campbell argued in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". Instead, Ballard wanted to write a new myth for the modern reader, a style with "more psycho-literary ideas, more meta-biological and meta-chemical concepts, private time systems, synthetic psychologies and space-times, more of the sombre half-worlds one glimpses in the paintings of schizophrenics." This had a profound influence on a new generation of writers, some of whom would come to call their movement "Cyberpunk". One, Bruce Sterling, later said: Ballard, Zelazny, and the rest of New Wave was seen by the subsequent generation as delivering more "realism" to science fiction, and they attempted to build on this. Similarly influential, and generally cited as proto-cyberpunk , is the Philip K. Dick novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", first published in 1968. Presenting precisely the general feeling of dystopian post-economic-apocalyptic future as Gibson and Sterling later deliver, it examines ethical and moral problems with cybernetic, artificial intelligence in a way more "realist" than the Isaac Asimov "Robot" series that laid its philosophical foundation. Dick's protege and friend K. W. Jeter wrote a very dark and imaginative novel called "Dr. Adder" in 1972 that, Dick lamented, might have been more influential in the field had it been able to find a publisher at that time. It was not published until 1984, after which Jeter made it the first book in a trilogy, followed by "The Glass Hammer" (1985) and "Death Arms" (1987). Jeter wrote other standalone cyberpunk novels before going on to write three authorized sequels to "Do Androids Dream of electric sheep", named "Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human" (1995), "Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night" (1996), and "Blade Runner 4: Eye and Talon". "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" was made into the seminal movie "Blade Runner", released in 1982. This was one year after William Gibson's story, "Johnny Mnemonic" helped move proto-cyberpunk concepts into the mainstream. That story, which also became a film years later in 1995, involves another dystopian future, where human couriers deliver computer data, stored cybernetically in their own minds. The term "cyberpunk" first appeared as the title of a short story written by Bruce Bethke, written in 1980 and published in "Amazing Stories" in 1983. It was picked up by Gardner Dozois, editor of "Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine" and popularized in his editorials. Bethke says he made two lists of words, one for technology, one for troublemakers, and experimented with combining them variously into compound words, consciously attempting to coin a term that encompassed both punk attitudes and high technology. He described the idea thus: Afterward, Dozois began using this term in his own writing, most notably in a "Washington Post" article where he said "About the closest thing here to a self-willed esthetic 'school' would be the purveyors of bizarre hard-edged, high-tech stuff, who have on occasion been referred to as 'cyberpunks' — Sterling, Gibson, Shiner, Cadigan, Bear." About that time in 1984, William Gibson's novel "Neuromancer" was published, delivering a glimpse of a future encompassed by what became an archetype of cyberpunk "virtual reality", with the human mind being fed light-based worldscapes through a computer interface. Some, perhaps ironically including Bethke himself, argued at the time that the writers whose style Gibson's books epitomized should be called "Neuromantics", a pun on the name of the novel plus "New Romantics", a term used for a New Wave pop music movement that had just occurred in Britain, but this term did not catch on. Bethke later paraphrased Michael Swanwick's argument for the term: "the movement writers should properly be termed neuromantics, since so much of what they were doing was clearly Imitation "Neuromancer". Sterling was another writer who played a central role, often consciously, in the cyberpunk genre, variously seen as either keeping it on track, or distorting its natural path into a stagnant formula. In 1986 he edited a volume of cyberpunk stories called ", an attempt to establish what cyberpunk was, from Sterling's perspective. In the subsequent decade, the motifs of Gibson's "Neuromancer" became formulaic, climaxing in the satirical extremes of Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" in 1992. Bookending the Cyberpunk era, Bethke himself published a novel in 1995 called "Headcrash", like "Snow Crash" a satirical attack on the genre's excesses. Fittingly, it won an honor named after cyberpunk's spiritual founder, the Philip K. Dick Award. It satirized the genre in this way: The impact of cyberpunk, though, has been long-lasting. Elements of both the setting and storytelling have become normal in science fiction in general, and a slew of sub-genres now have -punk tacked onto their names, most obviously steampunk, but also a host of other cyberpunk derivatives. Style and ethos. Primary figures in the cyberpunk movement include William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, Bruce Bethke, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, and John Shirley. Philip K. Dick (author of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", from which the film "Blade Runner" was adapted) is also seen by some as prefiguring the movement. "Blade Runner" can be seen as a quintessential example of the cyberpunk style and theme. Video games, board games, and tabletop role-playing games, such as "Cyberpunk 2020" and "Shadowrun", often feature storylines that are heavily influenced by cyberpunk writing and movies. Beginning in the early 1990s, some trends in fashion and music were also labeled as cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is also featured prominently in anime and manga (Japanese cyberpunk), with "Akira", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Cowboy Bebop" being among the most notable. Setting. Cyberpunk writers tend to use elements from crime fiction—particularly hardboiled detective fiction and film noir—and postmodernist prose to describe an often nihilistic underground side of an electronic society. The genre's vision of a troubled future is often called the antithesis of the generally utopian visions of the future popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Gibson defined cyberpunk's antipathy towards utopian SF in his 1981 short story "The Gernsback Continuum," which pokes fun at and, to a certain extent, condemns utopian science fiction. In some cyberpunk writing, much of the action takes place online, in cyberspace, blurring the line between actual and virtual reality. A typical trope in such work is a direct connection between the human brain and computer systems. Cyberpunk settings are dystopias with corruption, computers and internet connectivity. Giant, multinational corporations have for the most part replaced governments as centers of political, economic, and even military power. The economic and technological state of Japan is a regular theme in the Cyberpunk literature of the '80s. Of Japan's influence on the genre, William Gibson said, "Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk." Cyberpunk is often set in urbanized, artificial landscapes, and "city lights, receding" was used by Gibson as one of the genre's first metaphors for cyberspace and virtual reality. The cityscapes of Hong Kong has had major influences in the urban backgrounds, ambiance and settings in many cyberpunk works such as "Blade Runner" and "Shadowrun". Ridley Scott envisioned the landscape of cyberpunk Los Angeles in "Blade Runner" to be "Hong Kong on a very bad day". The streetscapes of the "Ghost in the Shell" film were based on Hong Kong. Its director Mamoru Oshii felt that Hong Kong's strange and chaotic streets where "old and new exist in confusing relationships", fit the theme of the film well. Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City is particularly notable for its disorganized hyper-urbanization and breakdown in traditional urban planning to be an inspiration to cyberpunk landscapes. Protagonists. One of the cyberpunk genre's prototype characters is Case, from Gibson's "Neuromancer". Case is a "console cowboy," a brilliant hacker who has betrayed his organized criminal partners. Robbed of his talent through a crippling injury inflicted by the vengeful partners, Case unexpectedly receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be healed by expert medical care but only if he participates in another criminal enterprise with a new crew. Like Case, many cyberpunk protagonists are manipulated, placed in situations where they have little or no choice, and although they might see things through, they do not necessarily come out any further ahead than they previously were. These anti-heroes—"criminals, outcasts, visionaries, dissenters and misfits"—call to mind the private eye of detective fiction. This emphasis on the misfits and the malcontents is the "punk" component of cyberpunk. Society and government. Cyberpunk can be intended to disquiet readers and call them to action. It often expresses a sense of rebellion, suggesting that one could describe it as a type of cultural revolution in science fiction. In the words of author and critic David Brin: ...a closer look [at cyberpunk authors] reveals that they nearly always portray future societies in which governments have become wimpy and pathetic ...Popular science fiction tales by Gibson, Williams, Cadigan and others "do" depict Orwellian accumulations of power in the next century, but nearly always clutched in the secretive hands of a wealthy or corporate elite. Cyberpunk stories have also been seen as fictional forecasts of the evolution of the Internet. The earliest descriptions of a global communications network came long before the World Wide Web entered popular awareness, though not before traditional science-fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke and some social commentators such as James Burke began predicting that such networks would eventually form. Some observers cite that cyberpunk tends to marginalize sectors of society such as women and Africans. For instance, it is claimed that cyberpunk depicts fantasies that ultimately empower masculinity using fragmentary and decentered aesthetic that culminate in a masculine genre populated by male outlaws. Critics also note the absence of any reference to Africa or an African-American character in the quintessential cyberpunk film "Blade Runner" while other films reinforce stereotypes. Media. Literature. Minnesota writer Bruce Bethke coined the term in 1983 for his short story "Cyberpunk," which was published in an issue of "Amazing Science Fiction Stories". The term was quickly appropriated as a label to be applied to the works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan and others. Of these, Sterling became the movement's chief ideologue, thanks to his fanzine "Cheap Truth." John Shirley wrote articles on Sterling and Rucker's significance. John Brunner's 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider" is considered by many to be the first cyberpunk novel with many of the tropes commonly associated with the genre, some five years before the term was popularized by Dozois. William Gibson with his novel "Neuromancer" (1984) is arguably the most famous writer connected with the term cyberpunk. He emphasized style, a fascination with surfaces, and atmosphere over traditional science-fiction tropes. Regarded as ground-breaking and sometimes as "the archetypal cyberpunk work," "Neuromancer" was awarded the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards. "Count Zero" (1986) and "Mona Lisa Overdrive" (1988) followed after Gibson's popular debut novel. According to the Jargon File, "Gibson's near-total ignorance of computers and the present-day hacker culture enabled him to speculate about the role of computers and hackers in the future in ways hackers have since found both irritatingly naïve and tremendously stimulating." Early on, cyberpunk was hailed as a radical departure from science-fiction standards and a new manifestation of vitality. Shortly thereafter, however, some critics arose to challenge its status as a revolutionary movement. These critics said that the SF New Wave of the 1960s was much more innovative as far as narrative techniques and styles were concerned. Furthermore, while "Neuromancer"'s narrator may have had an unusual "voice" for science fiction, much older examples can be found: Gibson's narrative voice, for example, resembles that of an updated Raymond Chandler, as in his novel "The Big Sleep" (1939). Others noted that almost all traits claimed to be uniquely cyberpunk could in fact be found in older writers' works—often citing J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Stanisław Lem, Samuel R. Delany, and even William S. Burroughs. For example, Philip K. Dick's works contain recurring themes of social decay, artificial intelligence, paranoia, and blurred lines between objective and subjective realities. The influential cyberpunk movie "Blade Runner" (1982) is based on his book, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". Humans linked to machines are found in Pohl and Kornbluth's "Wolfbane" (1959) and Roger Zelazny's "Creatures of Light and Darkness" (1968). In 1994, scholar Brian Stonehill suggested that Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel "Gravity's Rainbow" "not only curses but precurses what we now glibly dub cyberspace." Other important predecessors include Alfred Bester's two most celebrated novels, "The Demolished Man" and "The Stars My Destination", as well as Vernor Vinge's novella "True Names". Reception and impact. Science-fiction writer David Brin describes cyberpunk as "the finest free promotion campaign ever waged on behalf of science fiction." It may not have attracted the "real punks," but it did ensnare many new readers, and it provided the sort of movement that postmodern literary critics found alluring. Cyberpunk made science fiction more attractive to academics, argues Brin; in addition, it made science fiction more profitable to Hollywood and to the visual arts generally. Although the "self-important rhetoric and whines of persecution" on the part of cyberpunk fans were irritating at worst and humorous at best, Brin declares that the "rebels did shake things up. We owe them a debt." Fredric Jameson considers cyberpunk the "supreme literary expression if not of postmodernism, then of late capitalism itself". Cyberpunk further inspired many professional writers who were not among the "original" cyberpunks to incorporate cyberpunk ideas into their own works, such as George Alec Effinger's "When Gravity Fails". "Wired" magazine, created by Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe, mixes new technology, art, literature, and current topics in order to interest today's cyberpunk fans, which Paula Yoo claims "proves that hardcore hackers, multimedia junkies, cyberpunks and cellular freaks are poised to take over the world." Film and television. The film "Blade Runner" (1982)—adapted from Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"—is set in 2019 in a dystopian future in which manufactured beings called replicants are slaves used on space colonies and are legal prey on Earth to various bounty hunters who "retire" (kill) them. Although "Blade Runner" was largely unsuccessful in its first theatrical release, it found a viewership in the home video market and became a cult film. Since the movie omits the religious and mythical elements of Dick's original novel (e.g. empathy boxes and Wilbur Mercer), it falls more strictly within the cyberpunk genre than the novel does. William Gibson would later reveal that upon first viewing the film, he was surprised at how the look of this film matched his vision for "Neuromancer", a book he was then working on. The film's tone has since been the staple of many cyberpunk movies, such as "The Matrix trilogy" (1999-2003), which uses a wide variety of cyberpunk elements. The number of films in the genre or at least using a few genre elements has grown steadily since "Blade Runner". Several of Philip K. Dick's works have been adapted to the silver screen. The films "Johnny Mnemonic" and "New Rose Hotel", both based upon short stories by William Gibson, flopped commercially and critically. These box offices misses significantly slowed the development of cyberpunk as a literary or cultural form although a sequel to the 1982 film "Blade Runner" was released in October 2017 with Harrison Ford reprising his role from the original film. In addition, "tech-noir" film as a hybrid genre, means a work of combining neo-noir and science fiction or cyberpunk. It includes many cyberpunk films such as "Blade Runner", "Burst City", "Robocop", "12 Monkeys", "The Lawnmower Man", "Hackers", "Hardware", and "Strange Days." Anime and manga. The Japanese cyberpunk subgenre began in 1982 with the debut of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series "Akira", with its 1988 anime film adaptation, which Otomo directed, later popularizing the subgenre. "Akira" inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk works, including manga and anime series such as "Ghost in the Shell", "Battle Angel Alita", "Cowboy Bebop", and "Serial Experiments Lain". Other early Japanese cyberpunk works include the 1982 film "Burst City", the 1985 original video animation "Megazone 23", and the 1989 film "". In contrast to Western cyberpunk which has roots in New Wave science fiction literature, Japanese cyberpunk has roots in underground music culture, specifically the Japanese punk subculture that arose from the Japanese punk music scene in the 1970s. The filmmaker Sogo Ishii introduced this subculture to Japanese cinema with the punk film "Panic High School" (1978) and the punk biker film "Crazy Thunder Road" (1980), both portraying the rebellion and anarchy associated with punk, and the latter featuring a punk biker gang aesthetic. Ishii's punk films paved the way for Otomo's seminal cyberpunk work "Akira". Cyberpunk themes are widely visible in anime and manga. In Japan, where cosplay is popular and not only teenagers display such fashion styles, cyberpunk has been accepted and its influence is widespread. William Gibson's "Neuromancer," whose influence dominated the early cyberpunk movement, was also set in Chiba, one of Japan's largest industrial areas, although at the time of writing the novel Gibson did not know the location of Chiba and had no idea how perfectly it fit his vision in some ways. The exposure to cyberpunk ideas and fiction in the 1980s has allowed it to seep into the Japanese culture. Cyberpunk anime and manga draw upon a futuristic vision which has elements in common with Western science fiction and therefore have received wide international acceptance outside Japan. "The conceptualization involved in cyberpunk is more of forging ahead, looking at the new global culture. It is a culture that does not exist right now, so the Japanese concept of a cyberpunk future, seems just as valid as a Western one, especially as Western cyberpunk often incorporates many Japanese elements." William Gibson is now a frequent visitor to Japan, and he came to see that many of his visions of Japan have become a reality: Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk. The Japanese themselves knew it and delighted in it. I remember my first glimpse of Shibuya, when one of the young Tokyo journalists who had taken me there, his face drenched with the light of a thousand media-suns—all that towering, animated crawl of commercial information—said, "You see? You see? It is "Blade Runner" town." And it was. It so evidently was. Cyberpunk themes have appeared in many anime and manga, including the ground-breaking "Appleseed", "Ghost in the Shell", "Ergo Proxy", "Megazone 23", "Goku Midnight Eye", "Cyber City Oedo 808", "Bubblegum Crisis", "", "Angel Cop", "Blame!", "Armitage III", "Texhnolyze", "Psycho-Pass" and "No Guns Life". Influence. "Akira" (1982 manga) and its 1988 anime film adaptation have influenced numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television and video games. "Akira" has been cited as a major influence on Hollywood films such as "The Matrix", "Chronicle", "Looper", "Midnight Special", and "Inception", as well as cyberpunk-influenced video games such as Hideo Kojima's "Snatcher" and "Metal Gear Solid", Valve's "Half-Life" series and Dontnod Entertainment's "Remember Me". "Akira" has also influenced the work of musicians such as Kanye West, who paid homage to "Akira" in the "Stronger" music video, and Lupe Fiasco, whose album "Tetsuo & Youth" is named after Tetsuo Shima. The popular bike from the film, Kaneda's Motorbike, appears in "Steven Spielberg"'s film "Ready Player One", and CD Projekt's video game "Cyberpunk 2077". "Ghost in the Shell" (1995) influenced a number of prominent filmmakers, most notably the Wachowskis in "The Matrix" (1999) and its sequels. "The Matrix" series took several concepts from the film, including the Matrix digital rain, which was inspired by the opening credits of "Ghost in the Shell", and the way characters access the Matrix through holes in the back of their necks. Other parallels have been drawn to James Cameron's "Avatar", Steven Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", and Jonathan Mostow's "Surrogates". James Cameron cited "Ghost in the Shell" as a source of inspiration, citing it as an influence on "Avatar". The original video animation "Megazone 23" (1985) has a number of similarities to "The Matrix". "Battle Angel Alita" (1990) has had a notable influence on filmmaker James Cameron, who was planning to adapt it into a film since 2000. It was an influence on his TV series "Dark Angel", and he is the producer of the 2018 film adaptation "". Games. There are cyberpunk video games. Popular series include "Final Fantasy VII" and its spin-offs and remake, the "Megami Tensei" series, Kojima's "Snatcher" and "Metal Gear" series, "Deus Ex" series, "Syndicate" series, and "System Shock" and its sequel. Other games, like "Blade Runner", "Ghost in the Shell", and the "Matrix" series, are based upon genre movies, or role-playing games (for instance the various "Shadowrun" games). Several RPGs called "Cyberpunk" exist: "Cyberpunk", "Cyberpunk 2020", "Cyberpunk 2077", and "Cyberpunk v3", by R. Talsorian Games, and "GURPS Cyberpunk", published by Steve Jackson Games as a module of the GURPS family of RPGs. "Cyberpunk 2020" was designed with the settings of William Gibson's writings in mind, and to some extent with his approval, unlike the approach taken by FASA in producing the transgenre "Shadowrun" game. Both are set in the near future, in a world where cybernetics are prominent. In addition, Iron Crown Enterprises released an RPG named "Cyberspace", which was out of print for several years until recently being re-released in online PDF form. CD Projekt Red released "Cyberpunk 2077," a cyberpunk first-person open world Role-playing video game (RPG) based on the tabletop RPG "Cyberpunk 2020", on December 10, 2020. In 1990, in a convergence of cyberpunk art and reality, the United States Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games's headquarters and confiscated all their computers. Officials denied that the target had been the "GURPS Cyberpunk" sourcebook, but Jackson would later write that he and his colleagues "were never able to secure the return of the complete manuscript; [...] The Secret Service at first flatly refused to return anything – then agreed to let us copy files, but when we got to their office, restricted us to one set of out-of-date files – then agreed to make copies for us, but said "tomorrow" every day from March 4 to March 26. On March 26 we received a set of disks which purported to be our files, but the material was late, incomplete and well-nigh useless." Steve Jackson Games won a lawsuit against the Secret Service, aided by the new Electronic Frontier Foundation. This event has achieved a sort of notoriety, which has extended to the book itself as well. All published editions of "GURPS Cyberpunk" have a tagline on the front cover, which reads "The book that was seized by the U.S. Secret Service!" Inside, the book provides a summary of the raid and its aftermath. Cyberpunk has also inspired several tabletop, miniature and board games such as "Necromunda" by Games Workshop. "Netrunner" is a collectible card game introduced in 1996, based on the "Cyberpunk 2020" role-playing game. "Tokyo NOVA", debuting in 1993, is a cyberpunk role-playing game that uses playing cards instead of dice. "Cyberpunk 2077" set a new record for the largest number of simultaneous players in a single player game, with a record 1,003,262 playing just after the December 10th launch, according to Steam Database. That tops the previous Steam record of 472,962 players set by Fallout 4 back in 2015. Music. Invariably the origin of cyberpunk music lies in the synthesizer-heavy scores of cyberpunk films such as "Escape from New York" (1981) and "Blade Runner" (1982). Some musicians and acts have been classified as cyberpunk due to their aesthetic style and musical content. Often dealing with dystopian visions of the future or biomechanical themes, some fit more squarely in the category than others. Bands whose music has been classified as cyberpunk include Psydoll, Front Line Assembly, Clock DVA, Angelspit and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Some musicians not normally associated with cyberpunk have at times been inspired to create concept albums exploring such themes. Albums such as Gary Numan's "Replicas", "The Pleasure Principle" and "Telekon" were heavily inspired by the works of Philip K. Dick. Kraftwerk's "The Man-Machine" and "Computer World" albums both explored the theme of humanity becoming dependent on technology. Nine Inch Nails' concept album "Year Zero" also fits into this category. Fear Factory concept albums are heavily based upon future dystopia, cybernetics, clash between man and machines, virtual worlds. Billy Idol's "Cyberpunk" drew heavily from cyberpunk literature and the cyberdelic counter culture in its creation. "1. Outside", a cyberpunk narrative fueled concept album by David Bowie, was warmly met by critics upon its release in 1995. Many musicians have also taken inspiration from specific cyberpunk works or authors, including Sonic Youth, whose albums "Sister" and "Daydream Nation" take influence from the works of Philip K. Dick and William Gibson respectively. Madonna's 2001 Drowned World Tour opened with a cyberpunk section, where costumes, asethetics and stage props were used to accentuate the dystopian nature of the theatrical concert. Vaporwave and synthwave are also influenced by cyberpunk. The former has been inspired by one of the messages of cyberpunk and is interpreted as a dystopian critique of capitalism in the vein of cyberpunk and the latter is more surface-level, inspired only by the aesthetic of cyberpunk as a nostalgic retrofuturistic revival of aspects of cyberpunk's origins. Social impact. Art and architecture. Some Neo-Futurism artworks and cityscapes have been influenced by cyberpunk. Writers David Suzuki and Holly Dressel describe the cafes, brand-name stores and video arcades of the Sony Center in the Potsdamer Platz public square of Berlin, Germany, as "a vision of a cyberpunk, corporate urban future". Society and counterculture. Several subcultures have been inspired by cyberpunk fiction. These include the cyberdelic counter culture of the late 1980s and early 90s. Cyberdelic, whose adherents referred to themselves as "cyberpunks", attempted to blend the psychedelic art and drug movement with the technology of cyberculture. Early adherents included Timothy Leary, Mark Frauenfelder and R. U. Sirius. The movement largely faded following the dot-com bubble implosion of 2000. Cybergoth is a fashion and dance subculture which draws its inspiration from cyberpunk fiction, as well as rave and Gothic subcultures. In addition, a distinct cyberpunk fashion of its own has emerged in recent years which rejects the raver and goth influences of cybergoth, and draws inspiration from urban street fashion, "post apocalypse", functional clothing, high tech sports wear, tactical uniform and multifunction. This fashion goes by names like "tech wear", "goth ninja" or "tech ninja". The Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong (demolished in 1994) is often referenced as the model cyberpunk/dystopian slum as, given its poor living conditions at the time coupled with the city's political, physical, and economic isolation has caused many in academia to be fascinated by the ingenuity of its spawning. Related genres. As a wider variety of writers began to work with cyberpunk concepts, new subgenres of science fiction emerged, some of which could be considered as playing off the cyberpunk label, others which could be considered as legitimate explorations into newer territory. These focused on technology and its social effects in different ways. One prominent subgenre is "steampunk," which is set in an alternate history Victorian era that combines anachronistic technology with cyberpunk's bleak film noir world view. The term was originally coined around 1987 as a joke to describe some of the novels of Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, and K.W. Jeter, but by the time Gibson and Sterling entered the subgenre with their collaborative novel "The Difference Engine" the term was being used earnestly as well. Another subgenre is "biopunk" (cyberpunk themes dominated by biotechnology) from the early 1990s, a derivative style building on biotechnology rather than informational technology. In these stories, people are changed in some way not by mechanical means, but by genetic manipulation. Paul Di Filippo is seen as the most prominent biopunk writer, including his half-serious ribofunk. Bruce Sterling's Shaper/Mechanist cycle is also seen as a major influence. In addition, some people consider works such as Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" to be postcyberpunk. Cyberpunk works have been described as well situated within postmodern literature. Registered trademark status. In the United States, the term "Cyberpunk" is a registered trademark by R. Talsorian Games Inc. for its tabletop role-playing game. Within the European Union, the "Cyberpunk" trademark is owned by two parties: CD Projekt SA for "games and online gaming services" (particularly for the video game adaptation of the former) and by Sony Music for use outside games.

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Frak (expletive) Frak or frack is a fictional version of "fuck" first used in the 1978 "Battlestar Galactica" television series. It continues to be used throughout different versions of the "Battlestar Galactica" franchise and, more generally, as a profanity in science fiction. Etymology. "Frak" is a fictional censored version of "fuck" first used in the 1978 "Battlestar Galactica" series (with the spelling "frack"). In the "re-imagined" version, and subsequently in "Caprica", it appears with greater frequency and with the revised spelling "frak", as the producers wanted to make it a four-letter word. It occurs as an expletive and in expressions such as "fraks things up good" and "frakking toasters". Other uses. "Frak!" was the title of a game released on the BBC Micro B and Acorn Electron in 1984, and later the Commodore 64. The game saw the user controlling a caveman called Trogg, who had to navigate maze-like scenarios and dispose of deadly obstacles; when coming into contact with such an obstacle or falling a substantial distance, Trogg would cry "Frak!" "Frak" is used in the same sense as in "Battlestar" by characters in the early 21st century "Ciaphas Cain" series of Games Workshop "Warhammer 40,000" novels by Sandy Mitchell. "Frak" is also used in the same sense as in "Battlestar" several times in the Warner Bros. / DC Comics television series "Arrow." Specifically by the characters Felicity Smoak, Curtis Holt, and Mia Queen. An example can be seen in the season four episode "Lost in the Flood" at 22:05. A campaign in the United Kingdom aimed at banning hydraulic fracturing, the controversial method of shale gas extraction commonly known as fracking, have organised themselves under the name Frack Off.

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Golden Age of Science Fiction The first Golden Age of Science Fiction, often recognized in the United States as the period from 1938 to 1946, was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. In the history of science fiction, the Golden Age follows the "pulp era" of the 1920s and 1930s, and precedes New Wave science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1950s are a transitional period in this scheme; however, Robert Silverberg, who came of age in the 1950s, saw that decade as the true Golden Age. According to historian Adam Roberts, "the phrase "Golden Age" valorises a particular sort of writing: 'Hard SF', linear narratives, heroes solving problems or countering threats in a space-opera or technological-adventure idiom." From Gernsback to Campbell. One leading influence on the creation of the Golden Age was John W. Campbell, who became legendary in the genre as an editor and publisher of science fiction magazines, including "Astounding Science Fiction", to such an extent that Isaac Asimov stated that "...in the 1940s, (Campbell) dominated the field to the point where to many seemed "all" of science fiction." Under Campbell's editorship, science fiction developed more realism and psychological depth to characterization than it exhibited in the Gernsbackian "super science" era. The focus shifted from the gizmo itself to the characters using the gizmo. Most fans agree that the Golden Age began around 1938-39, slightly later than the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, another pulp-based genre. The July 1939 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction" is sometimes cited as the start of the Golden Age. It included "Black Destroyer", the first published story by A. E. van Vogt, and the first appearance of Isaac Asimov ("Trends") in the magazine. Science fiction writer John C. Wright said of Van Vogt's story, "This one started it all." The August issue contained the first published story by Robert A. Heinlein ("Life-Line"). Robert Silverberg in a 2010 essay argued that the true Golden Age was the 1950s, saying that “Golden Age” of the 1940s was a kind of "false dawn". "Until the decade of the fifties", Silverberg wrote, "there was essentially no market for science fiction books at all"; the audience supported only a few special interest small presses. The 1950s saw "a spectacular outpouring of stories and novels that quickly surpassed both in quantity and quality the considerable achievement of the Campbellian golden age", as mainstream companies like Simon & Schuster and Doubleday displaced specialty publishers like Arkham House and Gnome Press. Developments in the genre. Many of the most enduring science fiction tropes were established in Golden Age literature. Space opera came to prominence with the works of E. E. "Doc" Smith; Isaac Asimov established the canonical Three Laws of Robotics beginning with the 1941 short story "Runaround"; the same period saw the writing of genre classics such as the Asimov's "Foundation" and Smith's "Lensman" series. Another frequent characteristic of Golden Age science fiction is the celebration of scientific achievement and the sense of wonder; Asimov's short story "Nightfall" exemplifies this, as in a single night a planet's civilization is overwhelmed by the revelation of the vastness of the universe. Robert A. Heinlein's 1950s novels, such as "The Puppet Masters", "Double Star", and "Starship Troopers", express the libertarian ideology that runs through much of Golden Age science fiction. Algis Budrys in 1965 wrote of the "recurrent strain in 'Golden Age' science fiction of the 1940s—the implication that sheer technological accomplishment would solve all the problems, hooray, and that all the problems were what they seemed to be on the surface". The Golden Age also saw the re-emergence of the religious or spiritual themes—central to so much proto-science fiction before the pulp era—that Hugo Gernsback had tried to eliminate in his vision of "scientifiction". Among the most significant such Golden Age narratives are Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles", Clarke's "Childhood's End", Blish's "A Case of Conscience", and Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz". Cultural significance. As a phenomenon that affected the psyches of a great many adolescents during World War II and the ensuing Cold War, science fiction's Golden Age has left a lasting impression upon society. The beginning of the Golden Age coincided with the first Worldcon in 1939 and, especially for its most involved fans, science fiction was becoming a powerful social force. The genre, particularly during its Golden Age, had significant, if somewhat indirect, effects upon leaders in the military, information technology, Hollywood and science itself, especially biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. Prominent authors. A number of influential science fiction authors emerged in the early Golden Age (1938–1946), including the following: and in the later Golden Age (1947–1959): End of the Golden Age. Asimov said that "The dropping of the atom bomb in 1945 made science fiction respectable" to the general public. He recalled in 1969 "I'll never forget the shock that rumbled through the entire world of science fiction fandom when ... Heinlein broke the 'slicks' barrier by having an undiluted science fiction story of his published in "The Saturday Evening Post"". The large, mainstream companies' entry into the science fiction book market around 1950 was similar to how they published crime fiction during World War II; authors no longer could only publish through magazines. Asimov said, however, that He continued, "In fact, there was the birth of something I called 'tomorrow fiction'; the science fiction story that was no more new than tomorrow's headlines. Believe me, there can be nothing duller than tomorrow's headlines in science fiction", citing Nevil Shute's "On the Beach" as example. It is harder to specify the end of the Golden Age of Science Fiction than its beginning, but several factors changed the market for magazine science fiction in the mid- and late 1950s. Most important was the rapid contraction of the pulp market: "Fantastic Adventures" and "Famous Fantastic Mysteries" folded in 1953, "Planet Stories, Startling Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories" and "Beyond" in 1955, "Other Worlds" and "Science Fiction Quarterly" in 1957, "Imagination", "Imaginative Tales", and "Infinity" in 1958. In October 1957, the successful launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 narrowed the gap between the real world and the world of science fiction, sending the West into a space race with the East. Asimov shifted to writing nonfiction he hoped would attract young minds to science, while Robert A. Heinlein became more dogmatic in expressing political and social views in his fiction. Emerging British writers, such as Brian W. Aldiss and J. G. Ballard, cultivated a more literary style, indicating the direction other writers would soon pursue. Women writers, such as Joanna Russ and Judith Merril, emerged. When the leading Golden Age magazine, "Astounding Stories of Super-Science", changed its title to "Analog Science Fiction and Fact" in 1960, it was clear the Golden Age of Science Fiction was over.

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List of LGBT-themed speculative fiction Many science fiction and fantasy stories involve LGBTQ+ characters, or otherwise represent themes that are relevant to LGBTQ+ issues and the LGBTQ+ community. This is a list of notable stories, and/or stories from notable series or anthologies, and/or by notable authors; it is not intended to be all-inclusive.

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Rocket to the Morgue Rocket to the Morgue is a 1942 American locked room mystery novel by Anthony Boucher (originally published as by "H. H. Holmes", Boucher's frequent pseudonym when writing mysteries or writing about mysteries, and the pseudonym of a 19th-century American serial killer). Plot. Now-dead author Fowler Foulkes and his literary creation "Dr. Derringer" occupy a major position in science fiction: the character has entered popular culture, and is known around the world. The author's son and heir Hilary Foulkes takes a fiercely protective, even predatory, view of the value of this heritage. Hilary has made many enemies due to his inflexibility and greed. His niece Jenny lives in the Foulkes house and works as Hilary's private secretary. Jenny is devoted to Hilary; but her fiancé, Hilary's brother-in-law D. Vance Wimpole (a science fiction writer), wants money (to pay off blackmailers); and he's recently had unpleasant encounters with two other local science fiction authors, Matt Duncan and Joe Henderson. After two suspicious "accidents," Hilary suspects that his life is in danger, and asks for police help. Police Detective Inspector Terry Marshall arrives at the house just as a ticking "box of chocolates" is delivered. The novel features two investigators from Boucher/Holmes' earlier locked room mystery "Nine Times Nine": Sister Ursula of the convent of the fictitious "Sisters of Martha of Bethany," and police detective Terence "Terry" Marshall. Reception. Dave Langford considers "Rocket" to be "weaker" than its predecessor "Nine Times Nine", and observes that it has a "properly science-fictional though strictly prosaic murder by rocket". In 2017, James Nicoll noted that, unlike of much of Boucher's work, "Rocket to the Morgue" was not out of print; he attributed this to "catering to SF fans’ egos." Nicoll also noted that Boucher's afterword "is coy about which particular notoriously litigious estates inspired" Hilary's character; but hypothesized that the character was inspired by the estates of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Arthur Conan Doyle. The Heinlein Society felt that "(a)s a mystery novel, (it) falls a bit short," and it has "too many characters," but conceded that it is "an intriguing look into the beginnings of science fiction as we know it today"; they also noted that Heinlein's "...And He Built a Crooked House" was published at approximately the same time as when Boucher was writing the chapter in which characters discuss four-dimensional space. Portrayal of science fiction culture in the Golden Age. Boucher was the friend and mentor of many science fiction writers of that era, and a member of the Mañana Literary Society. The dedication to the first edition reads, "For The Mañana Literary Society and in particular for Robert Heinlein and Cleve Cartmill." "Rocket to the Morgue" is something of a "roman à clef" about the Southern California science fiction scene of the time. Many characters are thinly-veiled versions of personalities such as Robert A. Heinlein ("Austin Carter"), L. Ron Hubbard ("D. Vance Wimpole"), then-literary agent Julius Schwartz ("M. Halstead Phynn") and rocket scientist/occultist/fan Jack Parsons ("Hugo Chantrelle"); or recognizable composites of two writers ("Matt Duncan" – Cleve Cartmill and Henry Kuttner; "Joe Henderson" – Jack Williamson and Edmond Hamilton). Some writers' actual pseudonyms appear as minor characters, most prominently "Don Stuart, editor of "Surprising"" (John W. Campbell, editor of "Astounding Science Fiction"); but also "Anson Macdonald" and "Lyle Monroe" (both Heinlein pseudonyms), and Boucher himself (under his real name of William Anthony Parker White). The science fiction culture is portrayed in a familiar manner, complete with references to Denvention, the 1941 World Science Fiction Convention in Denver, and the appearance of a quintessential science fiction fan, one Arthur Waring, member of a science fiction society and publisher of a science fiction fanzine, whose sophisticated language and scientific knowledge displayed in a fan letter have impressed Detective Marshall, but who when interviewed turns out to be a pre-adolescent: "[a]n infant with pink and downy cheeks". Publication history. The first edition was published in 1942 (as by "H. H. Holmes") by Duell, Sloan and Pearce. The first paperback edition in 1943 was the first and only book published under the imprint "A Phantom Mystery". It has been repeatedly reprinted (after 1944, as by Anthony Boucher), beginning with a 1952 Dell edition.

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Tuckerization Tuckerization (or tuckerism) is the act of using a person's name (and sometimes other characteristics) in an original story as an in-joke. The term is derived from Wilson Tucker, a pioneering American science fiction writer, fan and fanzine editor, who made a practice of using his friends' names for minor characters in his stories. For example, Tucker named a character after Lee Hoffman in his novel "The Long Loud Silence", and after Walt Willis in "Wild Talent". In most cases, tuckerization is used for "bit parts" (minor characters), an opportunity for the author to create an homage to a friend or respected colleague. But sometimes an author will attach a friend's name, description, or identifiable characteristics to a major character, and in some novels nearly all the characters represent friends, colleagues, or prominent persons the author knows. When this happens, tuckerization can rise to the level of a roman à clef. Notable examples. H. P. Lovecraft's acquaintance Robert Bloch published "The Shambler from the Stars", in the September 1935 "Weird Tales"; its unnamed, doomed protagonist is a weird-fiction author closely resembling Lovecraft. As a genial return, Lovecraft's "The Haunter of the Dark", published in the December 1936 "Weird Tales", introduces Robert Harrison Blake, who shares Bloch's Milwaukee street address and is killed off in an equally horrible fashion. Bloch wrote a third story after Lovecraft's death, "The Shadow from the Steeple" (1950), in which the events of the first two stories are further explored. Evelyn Waugh featured absurd, preposterous or dishonest characters named Cruttwell, after C. R. M. F. Cruttwell, the dean of Hertford College when Waugh was a student and Waugh's tutor, who tried to get Waugh to fulfil the conditions of his scholarship and study. It was only after Cruttwell suffered a mental breakdown in 1939 and his death in 1941 that his name disappeared from Waugh's works. In his novels up to "The Anti-Death League" Kingsley Amis featured characters named Caton, after R.A. Caton, of the Fortune Press who published Amis's first book of poems, "Bright November", but did not promote it properly in Amis's view. More merciful than Waugh, in "The Anti-Death League" Caton dies and his name disappears from Amis's work. Harry Harrison's "To the Stars" character: "Old Lundwall, who commands the "Sverige", should have retired a decade ago, but he is still the best there is." Sam J Lundwall is a well-known Swedish science fiction publisher and writer, as well as the godfather of Harrison's daughter, and "Sverige" is the Swedish word for Sweden. A tuckerization can also be the use of a person's character or personal attributes with a new name as an in-joke, such as Ian Arnstein in S. M. Stirling's "Island in the Sea of Time" trilogy, clearly modeled on his good friend Harry Turtledove, albeit an alternate history Turtledove. Mary Jane, Buster Brown's sweetheart from whom the Mary Jane shoe style was named after, was inspired by Richard Felton Outcault's daughter of the same name. In Outcault's own words—and his daughter's—she was the only character drawn from life in the "Buster Brown" strip, although "Mrs. Brown" did resemble Outcault's wife. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have written works in which nearly all the characters represent people the authors know. In "Inferno", about half the people the main character meets are famous people, and in "Fallen Angels", nearly everybody who assists the effort to return the "angels" (astronauts) to orbit is either a well-known fan (Jenny Trout = filksinger, author, and political activist Leslie Fish), a friend of Niven & Pournelle (Dan Forrester = Dan Alderson), or somebody who paid (through donation to a fan charity) for the privilege of appearing in the book. In this case, the first and second categories are not true tuckerizations, since the individual's real names are not used (however recognizable many of them may be). A similar effect is seen in Niven's collaboration with David Gerrold, "The Flying Sorcerers"; all the gods are well known science fiction or media personalities (Ouells = H. G. Wells, Rotn'bair = Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, etc.). In the early 1930s, before Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created the comic-book superhero "Superman", they wrote and illustrated a fanzine story, "The Reign of the Superman", featuring a super-powered villain. This story includes one of the first tuckerizations: a character named after Forrest J Ackerman. More recent examples include the many science fiction and military novelists whose names are borrowed in the Axis of Time by John Birmingham, and the Lachlan Fox thriller series by James Clancy Phelan. Philip K. Dick employed tuckerization in his short story "Waterspider", in which he sent fellow author Poul Anderson ahead in time to a future where science fiction authors were seen as having precognitive abilities. Fiona Kelleghan, a science fiction critic, has been tuckerized a few times by authors whom she wrote about: in "Corrupting Dr. Nice" by John Kessel, in "Galveston" by Sean Stewart, in "Run" by Douglas E. Winter, twice in the "WWW Trilogy" by Robert J. Sawyer (once as a character under her maiden name, "Feehan", and once as her real-world self), and in "Spondulix" by Paul Di Filippo. British science fiction writer Simon R. Green repeatedly tuckerizes "Ansible" editor David Langford, killing him off in various grisly ways and then gleefully notifying "Ansible" about the latest killing. Similarly, science fiction fan Joe Buckley, who maintains a website dedicated to detailing information about the publications of Baen Books, has been tuckerized in books by a number of Baen authors, including Eric Flint and David Weber, dying a variety of unpleasant deaths. Weber has also tuckerized various other fans and authors, including Flint, Timothy Zahn, and Jordin Kare, even crewing one small spacecraft with a collection of hearts-playing Chattanooga-based science fiction fans. Legacy. Many science fiction authors auction off tuckerizations at science fiction conventions with the proceeds going to charity. Tuckerization "contra" biographical fiction. Tuckerization should not be confused with the inclusion of living or deceased real persons in fiction, either as major or minor characters. This form of story is called [[Biography in literature#Biographical fiction|biographical fiction]]. Some examples: External links. [[Category:In-jokes]] [[Category:Narrative techniques]] [[Category:Science fiction culture]]

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Transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical movement, the proponents of which advocate and predict the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies able to greatly enhance longevity, mood and cognitive abilities. Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations as well as the ethics of using such technologies. Some transhumanists believe that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with abilities so greatly expanded from the current condition as to merit the label of posthuman beings. Another topic of transhumanist research is how to protect humanity against existential risks, such as nuclear war or asteroid collision. The contemporary meaning of the term "transhumanism" was foreshadowed by one of the first professors of futurology, a man who changed his name to FM-2030. In the 1960s, he taught "new concepts of the human" at The New School when he began to identify people who adopt technologies, lifestyles and worldviews "transitional" to posthumanity as "transhuman". The assertion would lay the intellectual groundwork for the British philosopher Max More to begin articulating the principles of transhumanism as a futurist philosophy in 1990, and organizing in California a school of thought that has since grown into the worldwide transhumanist movement. Influenced by seminal works of science fiction, the transhumanist vision of a transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters and detractors from a wide range of perspectives, including philosophy and religion. In 2017, Penn State University Press, in cooperation with philosopher Stefan Lorenz Sorgner and sociologist James Hughes, established the "Journal of Posthuman Studies" as the first academic journal explicitly dedicated to the posthuman, with the goal of clarifying the notions of posthumanism and transhumanism, as well as comparing and contrasting both. History. Precursors of transhumanism. According to Nick Bostrom, transcendentalist impulses have been expressed at least as far back as the quest for immortality in the "Epic of Gilgamesh", as well as in historical quests for the Fountain of Youth, the Elixir of Life, and other efforts to stave off aging and death. One of the early precursors to transhumanist ideas is Discourse on Method (1637) by René Descartes. In the Discourse, Descartes envisioned a new kind of medicine that could grant both physical immortality and stronger minds. In his first edition of "Political Justice" (1793), William Godwin included arguments favoring the possibility of "earthly immortality" (what would now be called physical immortality). Godwin explored the themes of life extension and immortality in his gothic novel "St. Leon", which became popular (and notorious) at the time of its publication in 1799, but is now mostly forgotten. "St. Leon" may have provided inspiration for his daughter Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein". There is debate about whether the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche can be considered an influence on transhumanism, despite its exaltation of the "Übermensch" (overman or superman), due to its emphasis on self-actualization rather than technological transformation. The transhumanist philosophies of Max More and Stefan Lorenz Sorgner have been influenced strongly by Nietzschean thinking. By way of contrast, The Transhumanist Declaration ""...advocates the well-being of all sentience (whether in artificial intellects, humans, posthumans, or non-human animals)". The late 19th to early 20th century movement known as Russian cosmism also incorporated some ideas which later developed into the core of the transhumanist movement in particular by early protagonist Russian philosopher N. F. Fyodorov. Early transhumanist thinking. Fundamental ideas of transhumanism were first advanced in 1923 by the British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane in his essay "Daedalus: Science and the Future", which predicted that great benefits would come from the application of advanced sciences to human biology—and that every such advance would first appear to someone as blasphemy or perversion, "indecent and unnatural". In particular, he was interested in the development of the science of eugenics, ectogenesis (creating and sustaining life in an artificial environment), and the application of genetics to improve human characteristics, such as health and intelligence. His article inspired academic and popular interest. J. D. Bernal, a crystallographer at Cambridge, wrote "The World, the Flesh and the Devil" in 1929, in which he speculated on the prospects of space colonization and radical changes to human bodies and intelligence through bionic implants and cognitive enhancement. These ideas have been common transhumanist themes ever since. The biologist Julian Huxley is generally regarded as the founder of transhumanism after using the term for the title of an influential 1957 article. The term itself, however, derives from an earlier 1940 paper by the Canadian philosopher W. D. Lighthall. Huxley describes transhumanism in these terms: Huxley's definition differs, albeit not substantially, from the one commonly in use since the 1980s. The ideas raised by these thinkers were explored in the science fiction of the 1960s, notably in Arthur C. Clarke's "", in which an alien artifact grants transcendent power to its wielder. Japanese Metabolist architects produced a manifesto in 1960 which outlined goals to "encourage active metabolic development of our society" through design and technology. In the Material and Man section of the manifesto, Noboru Kawazoe suggests that:After several decades, with the rapid progress of communication technology, every one will have a "brain wave receiver" in his ear, which conveys directly and exactly what other people think about him and vice versa. What I think will be known by all the people. There is no more individual consciousness, only the will of mankind as a whole. Artificial intelligence and the technological singularity. The concept of the technological singularity, or the ultra-rapid advent of superhuman intelligence, was first proposed by the British cryptologist I. J. Good in 1965: Computer scientist Marvin Minsky wrote on relationships between human and artificial intelligence beginning in the 1960s. Over the succeeding decades, this field continued to generate influential thinkers such as Hans Moravec and Raymond Kurzweil, who oscillated between the technical arena and futuristic speculations in the transhumanist vein. The coalescence of an identifiable transhumanist movement began in the last decades of the 20th century. In 1966, FM-2030 (formerly F. M. Esfandiary), a futurist who taught "new concepts of the human" at The New School, in New York City, began to identify people who adopt technologies, lifestyles and world views transitional to posthumanity as "transhuman". In 1972, Robert Ettinger, whose 1964 "Prospect of Immortality" founded the cryonics movement, contributed to the conceptualization of "transhumanity" with his 1972 "Man into Superman." FM-2030 published the "Upwingers Manifesto" in 1973. Growth of transhumanism. The first self-described transhumanists met formally in the early 1980s at the University of California, Los Angeles, which became the main center of transhumanist thought. Here, FM-2030 lectured on his "Third Way" futurist ideology. At the EZTV Media venue, frequented by transhumanists and other futurists, Natasha Vita-More presented "Breaking Away", her 1980 experimental film with the theme of humans breaking away from their biological limitations and the Earth's gravity as they head into space. FM-2030 and Vita-More soon began holding gatherings for transhumanists in Los Angeles, which included students from FM-2030's courses and audiences from Vita-More's artistic productions. In 1982, Vita-More authored the "Transhumanist Arts Statement" and, six years later, produced the cable TV show "TransCentury Update "on transhumanity, a program which reached over 100,000 viewers. In 1986, Eric Drexler published "Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology," which discussed the prospects for nanotechnology and molecular assemblers, and founded the Foresight Institute. As the first non-profit organization to research, advocate for, and perform cryonics, the Southern California offices of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation became a center for futurists. In 1988, the first issue of "Extropy Magazine" was published by Max More and Tom Morrow. In 1990, More, a strategic philosopher, created his own particular transhumanist doctrine, which took the form of the "Principles of Extropy," and laid the foundation of modern transhumanism by giving it a new definition: In 1992, More and Morrow founded the Extropy Institute, a catalyst for networking futurists and brainstorming new memeplexes by organizing a series of conferences and, more importantly, providing a mailing list, which exposed many to transhumanist views for the first time during the rise of cyberculture and the cyberdelic counterculture. In 1998, philosophers Nick Bostrom and David Pearce founded the World Transhumanist Association (WTA), an international non-governmental organization working toward the recognition of transhumanism as a legitimate subject of scientific inquiry and public policy. In 2002, the WTA modified and adopted "The Transhumanist Declaration." "The Transhumanist FAQ", prepared by the WTA (later Humanity+), gave two formal definitions for transhumanism: In possible contrast with other transhumanist organizations, WTA officials considered that social forces could undermine their futurist visions and needed to be addressed. A particular concern is the equal access to human enhancement technologies across classes and borders. In 2006, a political struggle within the transhumanist movement between the libertarian right and the liberal left resulted in a more centre-leftward positioning of the WTA under its former executive director James Hughes. In 2006, the board of directors of the Extropy Institute ceased operations of the organization, stating that its mission was "essentially completed". This left the World Transhumanist Association as the leading international transhumanist organization. In 2008, as part of a rebranding effort, the WTA changed its name to "Humanity+". In 2012, the transhumanist Longevity Party had been initiated as an international union of people who promote the development of scientific and technological means to significant life extension, that for now has more than 30 national organisations throughout the world. The Mormon Transhumanist Association was founded in 2006. By 2012, it consisted of hundreds of members. The first transhumanist elected member of a parliament has been Giuseppe Vatinno, in Italy. Theory. It is a matter of debate whether transhumanism is a branch of posthumanism and how this philosophical movement should be conceptualised with regard to transhumanism. The latter is often referred to as a variant or activist form of posthumanism by its conservative, Christian and progressive critics. A common feature of transhumanism and philosophical posthumanism is the future vision of a new intelligent species, into which humanity will evolve and eventually will supplement or supersede it. Transhumanism stresses the evolutionary perspective, including sometimes the creation of a highly intelligent animal species by way of cognitive enhancement (i.e. biological uplift), but clings to a "posthuman future" as the final goal of participant evolution. Nevertheless, the idea of creating intelligent artificial beings (proposed, for example, by roboticist Hans Moravec) has influenced transhumanism. Moravec's ideas and transhumanism have also been characterised as a "complacent" or "apocalyptic" variant of posthumanism and contrasted with "cultural posthumanism" in humanities and the arts. While such a "cultural posthumanism" would offer resources for rethinking the relationships between humans and increasingly sophisticated machines, transhumanism and similar posthumanisms are, in this view, not abandoning obsolete concepts of the "autonomous liberal subject", but are expanding its "prerogatives" into the realm of the posthuman. Transhumanist self-characterisations as a continuation of humanism and Enlightenment thinking correspond with this view. Some secular humanists conceive transhumanism as an offspring of the humanist freethought movement and argue that transhumanists differ from the humanist mainstream by having a specific focus on technological approaches to resolving human concerns (i.e. technocentrism) and on the issue of mortality. However, other progressives have argued that posthumanism, whether it be its philosophical or activist forms, amounts to a shift away from concerns about social justice, from the reform of human institutions and from other Enlightenment preoccupations, toward narcissistic longings for a transcendence of the human body in quest of more exquisite ways of being. As an alternative, humanist philosopher Dwight Gilbert Jones has proposed a renewed Renaissance humanism through DNA and genome repositories, with each individual genotype (DNA) being instantiated as successive phenotypes (bodies or lives via cloning, "Church of Man", 1978). In his view, native molecular DNA "continuity" is required for retaining the "self" and no amount of computing power or memory aggregation can replace the essential "stink" of our true genetic identity, which he terms "genity". Instead, DNA/genome stewardship by an institution analogous to the Jesuits' 400 year vigil is a suggested model for enabling humanism to become our species' common credo, a project he proposed in his speculative novel "The Humanist – 1000 Summers" (2011), wherein humanity dedicates these coming centuries to harmonizing our planet and peoples. The philosophy of transhumanism is closely related to technoself studies, an interdisciplinary domain of scholarly research dealing with all aspects of human identity in a technological society and focusing on the changing nature of relationships between humans and technology. Aims. While many transhumanist theorists and advocates seek to apply reason, science and technology for the purposes of reducing poverty, disease, disability and malnutrition around the globe, transhumanism is distinctive in its particular focus on the applications of technologies to the improvement of human bodies at the individual level. Many transhumanists actively assess the potential for future technologies and innovative social systems to improve the quality of all life, while seeking to make the material reality of the human condition fulfill the promise of legal and political equality by eliminating congenital mental and physical barriers. Transhumanist philosophers argue that there not only exists a perfectionist ethical imperative for humans to strive for progress and improvement of the human condition, but that it is possible and desirable for humanity to enter a transhuman phase of existence in which humans enhance themselves beyond what is naturally human. In such a phase, natural evolution would be replaced with deliberate participatory or directed evolution. Some theorists such as Ray Kurzweil think that the pace of technological innovation is accelerating and that the next 50 years may yield not only radical technological advances, but possibly a technological singularity, which may fundamentally change the nature of human beings. Transhumanists who foresee this massive technological change generally maintain that it is desirable. However, some are also concerned with the possible dangers of extremely rapid technological change and propose options for ensuring that advanced technology is used responsibly. For example, Bostrom has written extensively on existential risks to humanity's future welfare, including ones that could be created by emerging technologies. In contrast, some proponents of transhumanism view it as essential to humanity's survival. For instance, Stephen Hawking points out that the "external transmission" phase of human evolution, where knowledge production and knowledge management is more important than transmission of information via evolution, may be the point at which human civilization becomes unstable and self-destructs, one of Hawking's explanations for the Fermi paradox. To counter this, Hawking emphasizes either self-design of the human genome or mechanical enhancement (e.g., brain-computer interface) to enhance human intelligence and reduce aggression, without which he implies human civilization may be too stupid collectively to survive an increasingly unstable system, resulting in societal collapse. While many people believe that all transhumanists are striving for immortality, it is not necessarily true. Hank Pellissier, managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (2011–2012), surveyed transhumanists. He found that, of the 818 respondents, 23.8% did not want immortality. Some of the reasons argued were boredom, Earth's overpopulation and the desire "to go to an afterlife". Empathic fallibility and conversational consent. Certain transhumanist philosophers hold that since all assumptions about what others experience are fallible, and that therefore all attempts to help or protect beings that are not capable of correcting what others assume about them no matter how well-intentioned are in danger of actually hurting them, all sentient beings deserve to be sapient. These thinkers argue that the ability to discuss in a falsification-based way constitutes a threshold that is not arbitrary at which it becomes possible for an individual to speak for themselves in a way that is not dependent on exterior assumptions. They also argue that all beings capable of experiencing something deserve to be elevated to this threshold if they are not at it, typically stating that the underlying change that leads to the threshold is an increase in the preciseness of the brain's ability to discriminate. This includes increasing the neuron count and connectivity in animals as well as accelerating the development of connectivity in order to shorten or ideally skip non-sapient childhood incapable of independently deciding for oneself. Transhumanists of this description stress that the genetic engineering that they advocate is general insertion into both the somatic cells of living beings and in germ cells, and not purging of individuals without the modifications, deeming the latter not only unethical but also unnecessary due to the possibilities of efficient genetic engineering. Ethics. Transhumanists engage in interdisciplinary approaches to understand and evaluate possibilities for overcoming biological limitations by drawing on futurology and various fields of ethics. Unlike many philosophers, social critics and activists who place a moral value on preservation of natural systems, transhumanists see the very concept of the specifically natural as problematically nebulous at best and an obstacle to progress at worst. In keeping with this, many prominent transhumanist advocates, such as Dan Agin, refer to transhumanism's critics, on the political right and left jointly, as "bioconservatives" or "bioluddites", the latter term alluding to the 19th century anti-industrialisation social movement that opposed the replacement of human manual labourers by machines. A belief of counter-transhumanism is that transhumanism can cause unfair human enhancement in many areas of life, but specifically on the social plane. This can be compared to steroid use, where athletes who use steroids in sports have an advantage over those who do not. The same scenario happens when people have certain neural implants that give them an advantage in the work place and in educational aspects. Additionally, there are many, according to M.J. McNamee and S.D. Edwards, who fear that the improvements afforded by a specific, privileged section of society will lead to a division of the human species into two different and distinct species. The idea of two human species, one being at a great physical and economic advantage in comparison with the other, is a troublesome one at best. One may be incapable of breeding with the other, and may by consequence of lower physical health and ability, be considered of a lower moral standing than the other. Currents. There is a variety of opinions within transhumanist thought. Many of the leading transhumanist thinkers hold views that are under constant revision and development. Some distinctive currents of transhumanism are identified and listed here in alphabetical order: Spirituality. Although many transhumanists are atheists, agnostics, and/or secular humanists, some have religious or spiritual views. Despite the prevailing secular attitude, some transhumanists pursue hopes traditionally espoused by religions, such as immortality, while several controversial new religious movements from the late 20th century have explicitly embraced transhumanist goals of transforming the human condition by applying technology to the alteration of the mind and body, such as Raëlism. However, most thinkers associated with the transhumanist movement focus on the practical goals of using technology to help achieve longer and healthier lives, while speculating that future understanding of neurotheology and the application of neurotechnology will enable humans to gain greater control of altered states of consciousness, which were commonly interpreted as spiritual experiences, and thus achieve more profound self-knowledge. Transhumanist Buddhists have sought to explore areas of agreement between various types of Buddhism and Buddhist-derived meditation and mind-expanding neurotechnologies. However, they have been criticised for appropriating mindfulness as a tool for transcending humanness. Some transhumanists believe in the compatibility between the human mind and computer hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be transferred to alternative media (a speculative technique commonly known as mind uploading). One extreme formulation of this idea, which some transhumanists are interested in, is the proposal of the Omega Point by Christian cosmologist Frank Tipler. Drawing upon ideas in digitalism, Tipler has advanced the notion that the collapse of the Universe billions of years hence could create the conditions for the perpetuation of humanity in a simulated reality within a megacomputer and thus achieve a form of "posthuman godhood". Before Tipler, the term Omega Point was used by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a paleontologist and Jesuit theologian who saw an evolutionary telos in the development of an encompassing noosphere, a global consciousness. Viewed from the perspective of some Christian thinkers, the idea of mind uploading is asserted to represent a denigration of the human body, characteristic of gnostic manichaean belief. Transhumanism and its presumed intellectual progenitors have also been described as neo-gnostic by non-Christian and secular commentators. The first dialogue between transhumanism and faith was a one-day conference held at the University of Toronto in 2004. Religious critics alone faulted the philosophy of transhumanism as offering no eternal truths nor a relationship with the divine. They commented that a philosophy bereft of these beliefs leaves humanity adrift in a foggy sea of postmodern cynicism and anomie. Transhumanists responded that such criticisms reflect a failure to look at the actual content of the transhumanist philosophy, which, far from being cynical, is rooted in optimistic, idealistic attitudes that trace back to the Enlightenment. Following this dialogue, William Sims Bainbridge, a sociologist of religion, conducted a pilot study, published in the Journal of Evolution and Technology, suggesting that religious attitudes were negatively correlated with acceptance of transhumanist ideas and indicating that individuals with highly religious worldviews tended to perceive transhumanism as being a direct, competitive (though ultimately futile) affront to their spiritual beliefs. Since 2006, the Mormon Transhumanist Association sponsors conferences and lectures on the intersection of technology and religion. The Christian Transhumanist Association was established in 2014. Since 2009, the American Academy of Religion holds a "Transhumanism and Religion" consultation during its annual meeting, where scholars in the field of religious studies seek to identify and critically evaluate any implicit religious beliefs that might underlie key transhumanist claims and assumptions; consider how transhumanism challenges religious traditions to develop their own ideas of the human future, in particular the prospect of human transformation, whether by technological or other means; and provide critical and constructive assessments of an envisioned future that place greater confidence in nanotechnology, robotics and information technology to achieve virtual immortality and create a superior posthuman species. The physicist and transhumanist thinker Giulio Prisco states that "cosmist religions based on science, might be our best protection from reckless pursuit of superintelligence and other risky technologies." Prisco also recognizes the importance of spiritual ideas, such as the ones of Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov, to the origins of the transhumanism movement. Practice. While some transhumanists take an abstract and theoretical approach to the perceived benefits of emerging technologies, others have offered specific proposals for modifications to the human body, including heritable ones. Transhumanists are often concerned with methods of enhancing the human nervous system. Though some, such as Kevin Warwick, propose modification of the peripheral nervous system, the brain is considered the common denominator of personhood and is thus a primary focus of transhumanist ambitions. In fact, Warwick has gone a lot further than merely making a proposal. In 2002 he had a 100 electrode array surgically implanted into the median nerves of his left arm in order to link his nervous system directly with a computer and thus to also connect with the internet. As a consequence, he carried out a series of experiments. He was able to directly control a robot hand using his neural signals and to feel the force applied by the hand through feedback from the fingertips. He also experienced a form of ultrasonic sensory input and conducted the first purely electronic communication between his own nervous system and that of his wife who also had electrodes implanted.<ref name="doi10.1001/archneur.60.10.1369|noedit"></ref> As proponents of self-improvement and body modification, transhumanists tend to use existing technologies and techniques that supposedly improve cognitive and physical performance, while engaging in routines and lifestyles designed to improve health and longevity. Depending on their age, some transhumanists express concern that they will not live to reap the benefits of future technologies. However, many have a great interest in life extension strategies and in funding research in cryonics in order to make the latter a viable option of last resort, rather than remaining an unproven method. Regional and global transhumanist networks and communities with a range of objectives exist to provide support and forums for discussion and collaborative projects. While most transhumanist theory focuses on future technologies and the changes they may bring, many today are already involved in the practice on a very basic level. It is not uncommon for many to receive cosmetic changes to their physical form via cosmetic surgery, even if it is not required for health reasons. Human growth hormones attempt to alter the natural development of shorter children or those who have been born with a physical deficiency. Doctors prescribe medicines such as Ritalin and Adderall to improve cognitive focus, and many people take "lifestyle" drugs such as Viagra, Propecia, and Botox to restore aspects of youthfulness that have been lost in maturity. Other transhumanists, such as cyborg artist Neil Harbisson, use technologies and techniques to improve their senses and perception of reality. Harbisson's antenna, which is permanently implanted in his skull, allows him to sense colours beyond human perception such as infrareds and ultraviolets. Technologies of interest. Transhumanists support the emergence and convergence of technologies including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC), as well as hypothetical future technologies like simulated reality, artificial intelligence, superintelligence, 3D bioprinting, mind uploading, chemical brain preservation and cryonics. They believe that humans can and should use these technologies to become more than human. Therefore, they support the recognition and/or protection of cognitive liberty, morphological freedom and procreative liberty as civil liberties, so as to guarantee individuals the choice of using human enhancement technologies on themselves and their children. Some speculate that human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies may facilitate more radical human enhancement no later than at the midpoint of the 21st century. Kurzweil's book "The Singularity is Near" and Michio Kaku's book "Physics of the Future" outline various human enhancement technologies and give insight on how these technologies may impact the human race. Some reports on the converging technologies and NBIC concepts have criticised their transhumanist orientation and alleged science fictional character. At the same time, research on brain and body alteration technologies has been accelerated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Defense, which is interested in the battlefield advantages they would provide to the supersoldiers of the United States and its allies. There has already been a brain research program to "extend the ability to manage information", while military scientists are now looking at stretching the human capacity for combat to a maximum 168 hours without sleep. Neuroscientist Anders Sandberg has been practicing on the method of scanning ultra-thin sections of the brain. This method is being used to help better understand the architecture of the brain. As of now, this method is currently being used on mice. This is the first step towards hypothetically uploading contents of the human brain, including memories and emotions, onto a computer. Debate. The very notion and prospect of human enhancement and related issues arouse public controversy. Criticisms of transhumanism and its proposals take two main forms: those objecting to the likelihood of transhumanist goals being achieved (practical criticisms) and those objecting to the moral principles or worldview sustaining transhumanist proposals or underlying transhumanism itself (ethical criticisms). Critics and opponents often see transhumanists' goals as posing threats to human values. Some of the most widely known critiques of the transhumanist program are novels and fictional films. These works of art, despite presenting imagined worlds rather than philosophical analyses, are used as touchstones for some of the more formal arguments. Various arguments have been made to the effect that a society that adopts human enhancement technologies may come to resemble the dystopia depicted in the 1932 novel "Brave New World, "by Aldous Huxley. On another front, some authors consider that humanity is already transhuman, because medical advances in recent centuries have significantly altered our species. However, it is not in a conscious and therefore transhumanistic way. From such perspective, transhumanism is perpetually aspirational: as new technologies become mainstream, the adoption of new yet-unadopted technologies becomes a new shifting goal. Feasibility. In a 1992 book, sociologist Max Dublin pointed to many past failed predictions of technological progress and argued that modern futurist predictions would prove similarly inaccurate. He also objected to what he saw as scientism, fanaticism and nihilism by a few in advancing transhumanist causes. Dublin also said that historical parallels existed between Millenarian religions and Communist doctrines. Although generally sympathetic to transhumanism, public health professor Gregory Stock is skeptical of the technical feasibility and mass appeal of the cyborgization of humanity predicted by Raymond Kurzweil, Hans Moravec and Kevin Warwick. He said that, throughout the 21st century, many humans would find themselves deeply integrated into systems of machines, but would remain biological. Primary changes to their own form and character would arise not from cyberware, but from the direct manipulation of their genetics, metabolism and biochemistry. In her 1992 book "Science as Salvation", philosopher Mary Midgley traces the notion of achieving immortality by transcendence of the material human body (echoed in the transhumanist tenet of mind uploading) to a group of male scientific thinkers of the early 20th century, including J. B. S. Haldane and members of his circle. She characterizes these ideas as "quasi-scientific dreams and prophesies" involving visions of escape from the body coupled with "self-indulgent, uncontrolled power-fantasies". Her argument focuses on what she perceives as the pseudoscientific speculations and irrational, fear-of-death-driven fantasies of these thinkers, their disregard for laymen and the remoteness of their eschatological visions. Another critique is aimed mainly at "algeny" (a portmanteau of "alchemy" and "genetics"), which Jeremy Rifkin defined as "the upgrading of existing organisms and the design of wholly new ones with the intent of 'perfecting' their performance". It emphasizes the issue of biocomplexity and the unpredictability of attempts to guide the development of products of biological evolution. This argument, elaborated in particular by the biologist Stuart Newman, is based on the recognition that cloning and germline genetic engineering of animals are error-prone and inherently disruptive of embryonic development. Accordingly, so it is argued, it would create unacceptable risks to use such methods on human embryos. Performing experiments, particularly ones with permanent biological consequences, on developing humans would thus be in violation of accepted principles governing research on human subjects (see the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki). Moreover, because improvements in experimental outcomes in one species are not automatically transferable to a new species without further experimentation, it is claimed that there is no ethical route to genetic manipulation of humans at early developmental stages. As a practical matter, however, international protocols on human subject research may not present a legal obstacle to attempts by transhumanists and others to improve their offspring by germinal choice technology. According to legal scholar Kirsten Rabe Smolensky, existing laws would protect parents who choose to enhance their child's genome from future liability arising from adverse outcomes of the procedure. Transhumanists and other supporters of human genetic engineering do not dismiss practical concerns out of hand, insofar as there is a high degree of uncertainty about the timelines and likely outcomes of genetic modification experiments in humans. However, bioethicist James Hughes suggests that one possible ethical route to the genetic manipulation of humans at early developmental stages is the building of computer models of the human genome, the proteins it specifies and the tissue engineering he argues that it also codes for. With the exponential progress in bioinformatics, Hughes believes that a virtual model of genetic expression in the human body will not be far behind and that it will soon be possible to accelerate approval of genetic modifications by simulating their effects on virtual humans. Public health professor Gregory Stock points to artificial chromosomes as an alleged safer alternative to existing genetic engineering techniques. Thinkers who defend the likelihood of accelerating change point to a past pattern of exponential increases in humanity's technological capacities. Kurzweil developed this position in his 2005 book "The Singularity Is Near". Intrinsic immorality. It has been argued that, in transhumanist thought, humans attempt to substitute themselves for God. The 2002 Vatican statement "Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God," stated that "changing the genetic identity of man as a human person through the production of an infrahuman being is radically immoral", implying, that "man has full right of disposal over his own biological nature". The statement also argues that creation of a superhuman or spiritually superior being is "unthinkable", since true improvement can come only through religious experience and "realizing more fully the image of God". Christian theologians and lay activists of several churches and denominations have expressed similar objections to transhumanism and claimed that Christians attain in the afterlife what radical transhumanism promises, such as indefinite life extension or the abolition of suffering. In this view, transhumanism is just another representative of the long line of utopian movements which seek to create "heaven on earth". On the other hand, religious thinkers allied with transhumanist goals such as the theologians Ronald Cole-Turner and Ted Peters hold that the doctrine of "co-creation" provides an obligation to use genetic engineering to improve human biology. Other critics target what they claim to be an instrumental conception of the human body in the writings of Marvin Minsky, Hans Moravec and some other transhumanists. Reflecting a strain of feminist criticism of the transhumanist program, philosopher Susan Bordo points to "contemporary obsessions with slenderness, youth and physical perfection", which she sees as affecting both men and women, but in distinct ways, as "the logical (if extreme) manifestations of anxieties and fantasies fostered by our culture." Some critics question other social implications of the movement's focus on body modification. Political scientist Klaus-Gerd Giesen, in particular, has asserted that transhumanism's concentration on altering the human body represents the logical yet tragic consequence of atomized individualism and body commodification within a consumer culture. Nick Bostrom responds that the desire to regain youth, specifically, and transcend the natural limitations of the human body, in general, is pan-cultural and pan-historical, and is therefore not uniquely tied to the culture of the 20th century. He argues that the transhumanist program is an attempt to channel that desire into a scientific project on par with the Human Genome Project and achieve humanity's oldest hope, rather than a puerile fantasy or social trend. Loss of human identity. In his 2003 book "Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age", environmental ethicist Bill McKibben argued at length against many of the technologies that are postulated or supported by transhumanists, including germinal choice technology, nanomedicine and life extension strategies. He claims that it would be morally wrong for humans to tamper with fundamental aspects of themselves (or their children) in an attempt to overcome universal human limitations, such as vulnerability to aging, maximum life span and biological constraints on physical and cognitive ability. Attempts to "improve" themselves through such manipulation would remove limitations that provide a necessary context for the experience of meaningful human choice. He claims that human lives would no longer seem meaningful in a world where such limitations could be overcome technologically. Even the goal of using germinal choice technology for clearly therapeutic purposes should be relinquished, since it would inevitably produce temptations to tamper with such things as cognitive capacities. He argues that it is possible for societies to benefit from renouncing particular technologies, using as examples Ming China, Tokugawa Japan and the contemporary Amish. Biopolitical activist Jeremy Rifkin and biologist Stuart Newman accept that biotechnology has the power to make profound changes in organismal identity. They argue against the genetic engineering of human beings because they fear the blurring of the boundary between human and artifact. Philosopher Keekok Lee sees such developments as part of an accelerating trend in modernization in which technology has been used to transform the "natural" into the "artefactual". In the extreme, this could lead to the manufacturing and enslavement of "monsters" such as human clones, human-animal chimeras, or bioroids, but even lesser dislocations of humans and non-humans from social and ecological systems are seen as problematic. The film "Blade Runner" (1982) and the novels "The Boys From Brazil" (1976) and "The Island of Doctor Moreau" (1896) depict elements of such scenarios, but Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein" is most often alluded to by critics who suggest that biotechnologies could create objectified and socially unmoored people as well as subhumans. Such critics propose that strict measures be implemented to prevent what they portray as dehumanizing possibilities from ever happening, usually in the form of an international ban on human genetic engineering. Science journalist Ronald Bailey claims that McKibben's historical examples are flawed and support different conclusions when studied more closely. For example, few groups are more cautious than the Amish about embracing new technologies, but, though they shun television and use horses and buggies, some are welcoming the possibilities of gene therapy since inbreeding has afflicted them with a number of rare genetic diseases. Bailey and other supporters of technological alteration of human biology also reject the claim that life would be experienced as meaningless if some human limitations are overcome with enhancement technologies as extremely subjective. Writing in "Reason" magazine, Bailey has accused opponents of research involving the modification of animals as indulging in alarmism when they speculate about the creation of subhuman creatures with human-like intelligence and brains resembling those of "Homo sapiens". Bailey insists that the aim of conducting research on animals is simply to produce human health care benefits. A different response comes from transhumanist personhood theorists who object to what they characterize as the anthropomorphobia fueling some criticisms of this research, which science fiction writer Isaac Asimov termed the "Frankenstein complex". For example, Woody Evans argues that, provided they are self-aware, human clones, human-animal chimeras and uplifted animals would all be unique persons deserving of respect, dignity, rights, responsibilities, and citizenship. They conclude that the coming ethical issue is not the creation of so-called monsters, but what they characterize as the "yuck factor" and "human-racism", that would judge and treat these creations as monstrous. At least one public interest organization, the U.S.-based Center for Genetics and Society, was formed, in 2001, with the specific goal of opposing transhumanist agendas that involve transgenerational modification of human biology, such as full-term human cloning and germinal choice technology. The Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future of the Chicago-Kent College of Law critically scrutinizes proposed applications of genetic and nanotechnologies to human biology in an academic setting. Socioeconomic effects. Some critics of libertarian transhumanism have focused on the likely socioeconomic consequences in societies in which divisions between rich and poor are on the rise. Bill McKibben, for example, suggests that emerging human enhancement technologies would be disproportionately available to those with greater financial resources, thereby exacerbating the gap between rich and poor and creating a "genetic divide". Even Lee M. Silver, the biologist and science writer who coined the term "reprogenetics" and supports its applications, has expressed concern that these methods could create a two-tiered society of genetically engineered "haves" and "have nots" if social democratic reforms lag behind implementation of enhancement technologies. The 1997 film "Gattaca" depicts a dystopian society in which one's social class depends entirely on genetic potential and is often cited by critics in support of these views. These criticisms are also voiced by non-libertarian transhumanist advocates, especially self-described democratic transhumanists, who believe that the majority of current or future social and environmental issues (such as unemployment and resource depletion) need to be addressed by a combination of political and technological solutions (like a guaranteed minimum income and alternative technology). Therefore, on the specific issue of an emerging genetic divide due to unequal access to human enhancement technologies, bioethicist James Hughes, in his 2004 book "Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future", argues that progressives or, more precisely, techno-progressives must articulate and implement public policies (i.e., a universal health care voucher system that covers human enhancement technologies) in order to attenuate this problem as much as possible, rather than trying to ban human enhancement technologies. The latter, he argues, might actually worsen the problem by making these technologies unsafe or available only to the wealthy on the local black market or in countries where such a ban is not enforced. Sometimes, as in the writings of Leon Kass, the fear is that various institutions and practices judged as fundamental to civilized society would be damaged or destroyed. In his 2002 book "Our Posthuman Future" and in a 2004 "Foreign Policy" magazine article, political economist and philosopher Francis Fukuyama designates transhumanism as the world's most dangerous idea because he believes that it may undermine the egalitarian ideals of democracy (in general) and liberal democracy (in particular) through a fundamental alteration of "human nature". Social philosopher Jürgen Habermas makes a similar argument in his 2003 book "The Future of Human Nature", in which he asserts that moral autonomy depends on not being subject to another's unilaterally imposed specifications. Habermas thus suggests that the human "species ethic" would be undermined by embryo-stage genetic alteration. Critics such as Kass, Fukuyama and a variety of authors hold that attempts to significantly alter human biology are not only inherently immoral, but also threaten the social order. Alternatively, they argue that implementation of such technologies would likely lead to the "naturalizing" of social hierarchies or place new means of control in the hands of totalitarian regimes. AI pioneer Joseph Weizenbaum criticizes what he sees as misanthropic tendencies in the language and ideas of some of his colleagues, in particular Marvin Minsky and Hans Moravec, which, by devaluing the human organism per se, promotes a discourse that enables divisive and undemocratic social policies. In a 2004 article in the libertarian monthly "Reason," science journalist Ronald Bailey contested the assertions of Fukuyama by arguing that political equality has never rested on the facts of human biology. He asserts that liberalism was founded not on the proposition of effective equality of human beings, or "de facto" equality, but on the assertion of an equality in political rights and before the law, or "de jure" equality. Bailey asserts that the products of genetic engineering may well ameliorate rather than exacerbate human inequality, giving to the many what were once the privileges of the few. Moreover, he argues, "the crowning achievement of the Enlightenment is the principle of tolerance". In fact, he says, political liberalism is already the solution to the issue of human and posthuman rights since in liberal societies the law is meant to apply equally to all, no matter how rich or poor, powerful or powerless, educated or ignorant, enhanced or unenhanced. Other thinkers who are sympathetic to transhumanist ideas, such as philosopher Russell Blackford, have also objected to the appeal to tradition and what they see as alarmism involved in "Brave New World"-type arguments. Cultural aesthetics. In addition to the socio-economic risks and implications of transhumanism, there are indeed implications and possible consequences in regard to cultural aesthetics. Currently, there are a number of ways in which people choose to represent themselves in society. The way in which a person dresses, hair styles, and body alteration all serve to identify the way a person presents themselves and is perceived by society. According to Foucault, society already governs and controls bodies by making them feel watched. This "surveillance" of society dictates how the majority of individuals choose to express themselves aesthetically. One of the risks outlined in a 2004 article by Jerold Abrams is the elimination of differences in favor of universality. This, he argues, will eliminate the ability of individuals to subvert the possibly oppressive, dominant structure of society by way of uniquely expressing themselves externally. Such control over a population would have dangerous implications of tyranny. Yet another consequence of enhancing the human form not only cognitively, but physically, will be the reinforcement of "desirable" traits which are perpetuated by the dominant social structure. Physical traits which are seen as "ugly" or "undesirable" and thus deemed less-than, will be summarily cut out by those who can afford to do it, while those who cannot will be forced into a relative caste of undesirable people. Even if these physical "improvements" are made completely universal, they will indeed eliminate what makes each individual uniquely human in their own way. Specter of coercive eugenicism. Some critics of transhumanism see the old eugenics, social Darwinist, and master race ideologies and programs of the past as warnings of what the promotion of eugenic enhancement technologies might unintentionally encourage. Some fear future "eugenics wars" as the worst-case scenario: the return of coercive state-sponsored genetic discrimination and human rights violations such as compulsory sterilization of persons with genetic defects, the killing of the institutionalized and, specifically, segregation and genocide of "races"" "perceived as inferior. Health law professor George Annas and technology law professor Lori Andrews are prominent advocates of the position that the use of these technologies could lead to such human-posthuman caste warfare. The major transhumanist organizations strongly condemn the coercion involved in such policies and reject the racist and classist assumptions on which they were based, along with the pseudoscientific notions that eugenic improvements could be accomplished in a practically meaningful time frame through selective human breeding. Instead, most transhumanist thinkers advocate a "new eugenics", a form of egalitarian liberal eugenics. In their 2000 book "From Chance to Choice: Genetics and Justice", non-transhumanist bioethicists Allen Buchanan, Dan Brock, Norman Daniels and Daniel Wikler have argued that liberal societies have an obligation to encourage as wide an adoption of eugenic enhancement technologies as possible (so long as such policies do not infringe on individuals' reproductive rights or exert undue pressures on prospective parents to use these technologies) in order to maximize public health and minimize the inequalities that may result from both natural genetic endowments and unequal access to genetic enhancements. Most transhumanists holding similar views nonetheless distance themselves from the term "eugenics" (preferring "germinal choice" or "reprogenetics") to avoid having their position confused with the discredited theories and practices of early-20th-century eugenic movements. Existential risks. In his 2003 book "Our Final Hour", British Astronomer Royal Martin Rees argues that advanced science and technology bring as much risk of disaster as opportunity for progress. However, Rees does not advocate a halt to scientific activity. Instead, he calls for tighter security and perhaps an end to traditional scientific openness. Advocates of the precautionary principle, such as many in the environmental movement, also favor slow, careful progress or a halt in potentially dangerous areas. Some precautionists believe that artificial intelligence and robotics present possibilities of alternative forms of cognition that may threaten human life. Transhumanists do not necessarily rule out specific restrictions on emerging technologies so as to lessen the prospect of existential risk. Generally, however, they counter that proposals based on the precautionary principle are often unrealistic and sometimes even counter-productive as opposed to the technogaian current of transhumanism, which they claim is both realistic and productive. In his television series "Connections", science historian James Burke dissects several views on technological change, including precautionism and the restriction of open inquiry. Burke questions the practicality of some of these views, but concludes that maintaining the "status quo" of inquiry and development poses hazards of its own, such as a disorienting rate of change and the depletion of our planet's resources. The common transhumanist position is a pragmatic one where society takes deliberate action to ensure the early arrival of the benefits of safe, clean, alternative technology, rather than fostering what it considers to be anti-scientific views and technophobia. Nick Bostrom argues that even barring the occurrence of a singular global catastrophic event, basic Malthusian and evolutionary forces facilitated by technological progress threaten to eliminate the positive aspects of human society. One transhumanist solution proposed by Bostrom to counter existential risks is control of differential technological development, a series of attempts to influence the sequence in which technologies are developed. In this approach, planners would strive to retard the development of possibly harmful technologies and their applications, while accelerating the development of likely beneficial technologies, especially those that offer protection against the harmful effects of others.

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Borderlands Books Borderlands Books is a San Francisco independent bookstore specializing exclusively in science fiction, fantasy and horror. History. In 1997 Alan Beatts opened Borderlands in Hayes Valley as a used-only bookstore consisting of his personal collection and a selection of books from Know Knew Books in Palo Alto. In 2001 the store moved to 866 Valencia in the heart of the Mission District where it is currently located. Shortly after opening in the new location, Borderlands Books was awarded the "Best Sign Of De-Gentrification in the Mission" from the SF Bay Guardian. On February 2, 2015, in an open letter posted on the store's website, the owners Alan Beatts and Jude Feldman, announced they would close the store on March 31, 2015, explaining they could not afford to pay San Francisco's recently enacted $15 minimum wage (a minimum wage that they support). The store later announced a plan to remain open by relying on 300 private sponsors at $100 apiece, and this goal was soon surpassed. In November 2017, Borderlands Books purchased 1377 Haight St. in San Francisco from Recycled Records, which is slated to become its new permanent home. Events. The store makes appearances at horror and science-fiction conventions, and has hosted numerous events with authors and other genre visitors including Lou Anders, Chris Roberson, John Varley, Jacqueline Carey, John Picacio, Graham Joyce, Patricia McKillip, Paolo Bacigalupi David Drake, Randall Munroe, Steven Erikson, and Cory Doctorow. Borderlands also hosted Tachyon Publications' anniversary party between 2001 and 2011 with the associated Emperor Norton Awards, given for “extraordinary invention and creativity unhindered by the constraints of paltry reason”. The first award was given to a single work of science fiction, fantasy, or horror, or to an author in these genres, and the second to any creation, creator, or service relating to those genres. Other Information. In 2008, Borderlands' owner Alan Beatts and general manager Jude Feldman were jointly nominated for a World Fantasy Award under the category. In late 2009, Beatts opened Borderlands Cafe adjacent to the bookstore. Borderlands currently has three Sphynx cat mascots named Frost, Hudson, and Newt. The original Sphynx mascot, named Ripley, died in May 2010. In June 2020, allegations that Beatts had committed physical and sexual assault, made violent threats, and engaged in an abusive "pattern of behavior" were publicized on social media and became the subject of genre and local reporting. As a result, a number of authors announced they would no longer support the bookstore or use it as a venue for events.

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Science fiction libraries and museums With the growth of science fiction studies as an academic discipline as well as a popular media genre, a number of libraries, museums, archives, and special collections have been established to collect and organize works of scholarly and historical value in the field. Key collections. The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculation is a leading collection of science fiction. It was founded in Toronto in 1970 by Judith Merril. This public library collection contains over 63,000 items, including books, magazines, audiovisual works, original manuscripts, and other items of interest to both casual users and academic researchers. Paul Allen and Jody Patton founded the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in 2004, located at the base of Space Needle in Seattle. Prominent authors such as Greg Bear serve as advisers to the museum. An important museum of the genre is Maison d’Ailleurs ("House of Elsewhere") in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, housing a large collection of literature relating to science fiction, utopias, and extraordinary journeys. It was founded by the French encyclopedist Pierre Versins in 1976 and now owns over 70,000 books, as well as many other items (60,000) related to science fiction and its imagery.

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Voyages extraordinaires The Voyages extraordinaires (; ) is a collection or sequence of fifty-four novels by the French writer Jules Verne, originally published between 1863 and 1905. According to Verne's editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel, the goal of the "Voyages" was "to outline all the geographical, geological, physical, historical and astronomical knowledge amassed by modern science and to recount, in an entertaining and picturesque format ... the history of the universe." Verne's meticulous attention to detail and scientific trivia, coupled with his sense of wonder and exploration, form the backbone of the "Voyages". Part of the reason for the broad appeal of his work was the sense that the reader could really learn knowledge of geology, biology, astronomy, paleontology, oceanography, history and the exotic locations and cultures of the world through the adventures of Verne's protagonists. This great wealth of information distinguished his works as "encyclopedic novels". The first of Verne's novels to carry the title "Voyages Extraordinaires" was "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras", which was the third of all his novels. The works in this series included both fiction and non-fiction, some with overt science fiction elements (e.g., "Journey to the Center of the Earth") or elements of scientific romance (e.g., "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"). Theme. In a late interview, Verne affirmed that Hetzel's ambitious commission had become the running literary theme of his novel sequence: However, Verne made clear that his own object was more literary than scientific, saying "I do not in any way pose as a scientist" and explaining in another interview: Publication. In the system developed by Hetzel for the "Voyages Extraordinaires", each of Verne's novels was published successively in several different formats. This resulted in as many as four distinct editions of each text (labeled here according to current practice for Verne bibliographies): Continued appeal. Jules Verne remains to this day the most translated science fiction author in the world as well as one of the most continually reprinted and widely read French authors. Though often scientifically outdated, his "Voyages" still retain their sense of wonder that appealed to readers of his time, and still provoke an interest in the sciences among the young. The "Voyages" are frequently adapted into film, from Georges Méliès' fanciful 1902 film "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (aka "A Trip to the Moon"), to Walt Disney's 1954 adaptation of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", to the 2004 version of "Around the World in 80 Days" starring Jackie Chan. Their spirit has also continued to influence fiction to this day, including James Gurney's Dinotopia series and "softening" Steampunk's dystopianism with utopian wonder and curiosity. List of novels. Most of the novels in the "Voyages" series (except for "Five Weeks in a Balloon", "Journey to the Center of the Earth", and "The Purchase of the North Pole") were first serialized in periodicals, usually in Hetzel's "Magasin d'Éducation et de récréation" ("Magazine of Education and Recreation"). Almost all of the original book editions were published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel in octodecimo format, often in several volumes. (The one exception is "Claudius Bombarnac", which was first published in a grand-in-8º edition.) What follows are the fifty-four novels published in Verne's lifetime, with the most common English-language title for each novel. The dates given are those of the first publication in book form. The posthumous additions to the series, extensively altered and in some cases entirely written by Verne's son Michel, are as follows.

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Time slip A time slip is a plot device in fantasy and science fiction in which a person, or group of people, seem to travel through time by unknown means. The idea of a time slip was used in 19th century fantasy, an early example being Irving Washington's 1819 "Rip Van Winkle", where the mechanism of time travel is an extraordinarily long sleep. Time-slip stories were popularized at the end of the century by Mark Twain's 1889 historical novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", which had considerable influence on later writers. Time slip is one of the main plot devices of time travel stories, another being a time machine. The difference is that in time slip stories, the protagonist typically has no control and no understanding of the process (which is often never explained at all) and is either left marooned in a past or future time and must make the best of it, or is eventually returned by a process as unpredictable and uncontrolled as the journey out. In realistic fiction and memoir, the research and archival processes are often built into the story, as part of the protagonist's, and reader's, journey of discovery. The plot device is also popular in children's literature.

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Pantropy Pantropy is a hypothetical process of space colonization in which rather than terraforming other planets or building space habitats suitable for human habitation, humans are modified (for example via genetic engineering) to be able to thrive in the existing environment. The term was coined by science fiction author James Blish, who wrote a series of short stories based on the idea (collected in the anthology "The Seedling Stars").

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Hyperspace Hyperspace is a concept from science fiction and cutting-edge science relating to higher dimensions and a superluminal method of interstellar travel. It is typically described as an alternative "sub-region" of space co-existing with our own universe. In much of science fiction, hyperspace is described as a physical place that can be entered and exited using a rubber science energy field or similar phenomena generated by a shipboard device often known as a "hyperdrive". The superluminal function of the concept is therefore facilitated by the fact that, once in hyperspace, the laws of general and special relativity do not necessarily behave in the same way when compared to normal spacetime, allowing travelers through hyperspace to go astronomical distances in periods of time far shorter than what an analogous object traveling at the speed of light would take traveling said distance in normal spacetime. This allows for apparent faster-than-light travel, which is necessary to have practical, human-timescale travel across outer space. "Through hyper-space, that unimaginable region that was neither space nor time, matter nor energy, something nor nothing, one could traverse the length of the Galaxy in the interval between two neighboring instants of time." Astronomical distances and the impossibility of faster-than-light travel pose a challenge to most science-fiction authors. They can be dealt with in several ways: accept them as such (hibernation, slow boats, generation ships, time dilation the crew will perceive the distance as much shorter and thus flight time will be short from their perspective), find a way to move faster than light (warp drive), "fold" space to achieve instantaneous translation (e.g. the Dune universe's Holtzman effect), access some sort of shortcut (wormholes), utilize a closed timelike curve (e.g. Stross' "Singularity Sky"), or sidestep the problem in an alternate space: hyperspace. Detailed descriptions of the mechanisms of hyperspace travel are often provided in stories using the plot device, sometimes incorporating some actual physics such as relativity or string theory. Early depictions. Though the concept of hyperspace did not emerge until the 20th century, along with space travel as a whole, stories of an unseen realm outside our normal world are part of earliest oral tradition. Some stories, before the development of the science fiction genre, feature space travel using a fictional existence outside what humans normally observe. In "Somnium" (published 1634), Johannes Kepler tells of travel to the moon with the help of demons. From the 1930s through to the 1950s, many stories in the science fiction magazines, "Amazing Stories" and "Astounding Science Fiction" introduced readers to hyperspace as a fourth spatial dimension. Kirk Meadowcroft's "The Invisible Bubble" (1928) and John Campbell's "Islands of Space" (1931) features an early reference to hyperspace. In John Buchan's Ruritanian romance novel "The House of the Four Winds" (1935), the young Scotsman John "Jaikie" Galt is said to know "...less about women than he knew about the physics of hyperspace." Writers of stories in magazines used the hyperspace concept in various ways. In "The Mystery of Element 117" (1949) by Milton Smith, a window is opened into a new "hyperplane of hyperspace" containing those who have already died on Earth. In Arthur C. Clarke's "Technical Error" (1950), a man is laterally reversed by a brief accidental encounter with "hyperspace". Hyperspace travel became widespread in science fiction, because of the perceived limitations of FTL travel in ordinary space. In E.E. Smith's "Gray Lensman" (1939), a "5th order drive" allows travel to anywhere in the universe while hyperspace weapons are used to attack spaceships. In Nelson Bond's "The Scientific Pioneer Returns" (1940), the hyperspace concept is described. Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, first published between 1942 and 1944 in "Astounding", featured a Galactic Empire traversed through hyperspace. Asimov's short story "Little Lost Robot" (1947) features a "Hyperatomic Drive" shortened to "Hyperdrive" and observes that "fooling around with hyper-space isn't fun". In the 1955 classic "Forbidden Planet", the crew is in a hyperspace suspended state during interstellar travel. Later depictions. By the 1950s, hyperspace travel had become established as a typical means for traveling in science fiction. Stanley Kubrick's epic 1968 science fiction film ' features interstellar travel through a mysterious "star gate". This lengthy sequence, noted for its psychedelic special effects conceived by Douglas Trumbull, influenced a number of later cinematic depictions of superluminal and hyperspatial travel, such as ' (1979). In the 1974 film "Dark Star", special effects designer Dan O'Bannon created a visual effect to depict the eponymous "Dark Star" spaceship accelerating into hyperspace by tracking the camera while leaving the shutter open. In this shot, the stars in space turn into streaks of light while the spaceship appears to be motionless. This is considered to be the first depiction in cinema history of a ship making the jump into hyperspace. The streaking hyperspace effect was later employed in "Star Wars" (1977). Hyperspace is often depicted as blue, pulsing with Cherenkov radiation. Many stories feature hyperspace as a dangerous place, and others require a ship to follow set hyperspatial "highways". Hyperspace is often described as being an unnavigable dimension where straying from a preset course can be disastrous. In some science fiction, the danger of hyperspace travel is due to the chance that the route through hyperspace may take a ship too close to a celestial body with a large gravitational field, such as a star. In such scenarios, if a starship passes too close to a large gravitational field while in hyperspace, the ship is forcibly pulled out of hyperspace and reverts to normal space. Therefore, certain hyperspace "routes" may be mapped out that are safe, not passing too close to stars or other dangers. Starships in hyperspace are sometimes depicted isolated from the normal universe; they cannot communicate with nor perceive things in real space until they emerge. Often there can be no interaction between two ships even when both are in hyperspace. This effect can be used as a plot device; because they are invisible to each other while in hyperspace, ships will encounter each other most often around contested planets or space stations. Hyperdrive may also allow for dramatic escapes as the pilot "jumps" to hyperspace in the midst of battle to avoid destruction. In many stories, for various reasons, a starship cannot enter or leave hyperspace too close to a large concentration of mass, such as a planet or star; this means that hyperspace can only be used after a starship gets to the outside edge of a solar system, so the starship must use other means of propulsion to get to and from planets. The reasons given for such restrictions are usually technobabble, but their existence is just a plot device allowing for interstellar policies to actually form and exist. Science fiction author Larry Niven published his opinions to that effect in "N-Space". According to him, such an unrestricted technology would give no limits to what heroes and villains could do. In fact, every criminal would have the ability to destroy colonies, settlements and indeed whole worlds without any chance of stopping him. Other writers have limited access to hyperspace by requiring a very large expenditure of energy in order to open a link (sometimes called a "jump point") between hyperspace and normal space; this effectively limits access to hyperspace to very large starships, or to large stationary "jump gates" that can open jump points for smaller vessels. These restrictions are often plot devices to prevent starships from easily escaping by slipping into hyperspace, thus ensuring epic space battles. An example of this is the "jump" technology as seen in "Babylon 5".

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Galactic empire Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of such an empire. The capital of a galactic empire is frequently a core world, such as a planet relatively close to a galaxy's supermassive black hole, which has advanced considerably in science and technology compared to current human civilization. Characterizations can vary wildly from malevolent forces attacking sympathetic victims to apathetic bureaucracies to more reasonable entities focused on social progress and anywhere in between. Details and notable examples. The best known such organization to the general public today is probably the Galactic Empire from "Star Wars", which was formed in turn from the Galactic Republic. A military dictatorship based upon fear and terror, said Empire is an explicitly villainous force with linguistic and visual traits directly reminiscent of Nazi Germany. For example, their armored forces known as "stormtroopers" are named analogously to the "Sturmabteilung" (often known as the "SA"), a paramilitary entity created by the Nazis in 1920. Their best-known weapon is the iconic "Death Star, a" moon-sized space platform that possesses the ability to destroy entire planets. Most of these galaxy-spanning domains depend on some form of transportation capable of quickly or instantly crossing vast cosmic distances, usually measured in light-years, many times faster than regular particles such as photons traveling at light speed. These, instantaneous or faster-than-light (FTL) technologies invariably require some type of propulsion or displacement technology forbidden by Albert Einstein's theories on relativity. Described methods often rely on theories that circumvent or supersede relativity. Examples include the hypothesis of a warp drive (such as, more specifically, an Alcubierre drive) that bends the fabric of space-time. The term "galactic empire" has, no doubt because of association with the Empire from "Star Wars", gained an unfavorable reputation. However, the galactic empires from the "Foundation" universe and the "CoDominium" universe are relatively benign organizations. Much of the plot of the "Foundation" series, authored by Isaac Asimov, revolves around the issue of who can best and most quickly revive the fallen galactic empire, it being taken for granted that this is a positive and worthy aim. In writer Jerry Pournelle's "CoDominium" series, members of the empire often work to maintain the best interests of humanity despite efforts by violent political extremists to pursue their own ends. In many cases, the term "galactic empire" is misleading as it suggests an organization encompassing far more star systems than is actually described. This may come about as a result of propaganda exaggerating the spread of an imperial entity in order to appear stronger than is actually the case. The situation is similar to how historical nation-states such as the 'Holy Roman Empire' presented themselves; being roughly twice the size of modern Germany. While some of the noted fictional empires tend to encompass a large portion of the galaxy, many other empires may be classified as interplanetary or interstellar empires since they encompass only a local group of star systems. Writer Poul Anderson makes the point that the declining empire depicted in his "Dominic Flandry" series does not span the entire galaxy but only a fraction of one of its spiral arms. Still, however, the institution is vast beyond a regular human‘s ability to truly comprehend, and it is in the process of collapsing under its own weight. Galactic empires are many cases consciously modeled on historical Earth-bound empires. Asimov stated explicitly that the Galactic Empire whose fall is depicted in his "Foundation" books is modeled on the Roman Empire, with the author taking direct inspiration from the historical writings of Edward Gibbon, even to the point of basing some individual characters on historical figures. Specifically, "Pebble in the Sky", taking place on Earth – a poor and backward province of the Galactic Empire – is clearly modeled on Roman-ruled Judea in the First Century AD. Asimov's Earth – like the historical Judea – is sharply polarized between those who accept the Imperial authority and the fanatic "Zealots" who hatch violent plots of bloody rebellion and are the book's clear villains. Similarly, Anderson's "Dominic Flandry" series consciously compares the imperial organization for which the protagonist serves with the Roman Empire to the point of tracing out the space equivalents of the Roman 'Principate' and 'Dominate' phases. In the "Star Wars" universe, the fall of the Galactic Republic and its replacement by the Galactic Empire – as depicted in "" – recall the historic fall of the Roman Republic and its replacement by the Roman Empire headed by Augustus. The universe established in Frank Herbert's "Dune" recalls the aforementioned Holy Roman Empire as well as the Byzantine and Islamic empires, especially given the role of hitherto disregarded desert-dwellers who, due to a powerful new religion, expand to topple an old empire and build a new one. For example, the Egyptian-Canadian commentator Khalid M. Baheyeldin has enumerated the obviously Islamic concepts and references appearing in "Dune" to the level of finding multiple similarities between the career of Herbert's Paul Atreides and that of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Another notable example of a galactic empire would be the Imperium of Man from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, which is a feudal theocratic industrial and militaristic totalitarian regime (nominally absolute monarchy) that does in fact span almost the entirety of the Milky Way Galaxy. Despite massive strength, the institution's territories are constantly at risk due to unending conflicts with various alien races and rebel factions. In the final arc of the "Sailor Moon" manga series by Naoko Takeuchi, a fictional organization called Shadow Galactica has established an empire all over the Milky Way. Shadow Galactica is stealing "starseeds", the essence of sentient life in the galaxy. Its members come from different Star Systems and Sailor Galaxia, the self-proclaimed "Golden Queen of Shadow Galactica", has built her palace around the Galaxy Cauldron, the birthplace of all life in the Milky Way located in Galactic Center. Bertram Chandler wrote two interstellar series – one featuring a Galactic Empire ruled by a series of non-hereditary Empresses while the other has a Republican Galactic Federation. Chandler's Empire and Federation, both relatively benign, have much in common – both covering the same volume of space, having much the same kind of Space Navy and both having the same commercial spaceflight company called "The Dog Star Line", suggesting that these are two alternate history timelines which branched off from the same original space travelling culture. A Galactic Empire need not be officially called that. For example, Asimov's "Foundation" is depicted as having started life as a Foundation of scholars, taking up just one city on one faraway planet and setting up a modest municipal government headed, naturally, by a Mayor. Through a centuries-long series of developments which are the main subject matter of the Foundation Series, the Foundation gains enormous power and territory and comes to rule virtually as many stellar systems as the earlier fallen Empire - but continues to call itself "Foundation" rather than "Empire", and its ruler - though wielding as much power as any Emperor - retains the title of "Mayor". In Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle, the interstellar entity known as "The League of All Worlds" and later as "The Ekumen" is in possession of the 'ansible'. Technology makes possible instantaneous interstellar communications, and the ability to send instantaneous unmanned ships carrying bombs to another planet is exploited as well. However, living beings can't survive such travel, and thus humans are limited to space exploration done at relativistic speeds. Correspondingly, this organization, despite on occasion waging war across interstellar distances, ends up being more loose than a true empire. Author Orson Scott Card's "Starways Congress", an organization featured in the work "Speaker for the Dead" (the follow-up to "Ender's Game"), similarly relies on the ansible. Yet it is more authoritarian and less benevolent than Le Guin's creation. Much of the story-line of the book and its sequels involve attempts to avoid interstellar bloodshed despite difficult circumstances. Structure. In the novel "Dune", the empire's power is held within three organizations, these being the Imperial family; the Landsraad, representing the nobility; and the Guild, an interstellar travel monopoly. "Star Wars" depicts an empire dictated by Darth Sidious, supported by a powerful space navy. It is stated in the original "Star Wars" film that there was an Imperial Senate that was later disbanded by the Emperor. In "Warhammer 40000", the Imperium of Man is managed by a vast bureaucracy, ranging from the High Lords of Terra to various mostly-autonomous planetary governors, all of which govern the Imperium's territories on behalf of the comatose God-Emperor. It is supported by several organisations, such as the Ecclesiarchy, its state church; and the Adeptus Mechanicus, which produces most of its military equipment, which also operate independently from each other and the central Terran government.

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List of fictional computers Computers have often been used as fictional objects in literature, movies and in other forms of media. Fictional computers tend to be considerably more sophisticated than anything yet devised in the real world. This is a list of computers that have appeared in notable works of fiction. The work may be about the computer, or the computer may be an important element of the story. Only static computers are included. Robots and other fictional computers that are described as existing in a mobile or humanlike form are discussed in a separate list of fictional robots and androids. Computers as robots. Also see the List of fictional robots and androids for all fictional computers which are described as existing in a mobile or humanlike form.

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Sex in science fiction

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Biorobotics Bio robotics is an interdisciplinary science that combines the fields of biomedical engineering, cybernetics, and robotics to develop new technologies that integrate biology with mechanical systems to develop more efficient communication, alter genetic information, and create machines that imitate biological systems. Cybernetics. Cybernetics focuses on the communication and system of living organisms and machines that can be applied and combined with multiple fields of study such as biology, mathematics, computer science, engineering, and much more. This discipline falls under the branch of biorobotics because of its combined field of study between biological bodies and mechanical systems. Studying these two systems allow for advanced analysis on the functions and processes of each system as well as the interactions between them. History. Cybernetic theory is a concept that has existed for centuries, dating back to the era of Plato where he applied the term to refer to the “governance of people”. The term ‘cybernetique’ is seen in the mid 1800s used by physicist André-Marie Ampère. The term “cybernetics” was popularized in the late 1940s to refer to a discipline that touched on, but was separate, from established disciplines, such as electrical engineering, mathematics, and biology. Science. Cybernetics is often misunderstood because of the breadth of disciplines it covers. In the early 20th century, it was coined as an interdisciplinary field of study that combines biology, science, network theory, and engineering. Today, it covers all scientific fields with system related processes. The goal of cybernetics is to analyze systems and processes of any system or systems in an attempt to make them more efficient and effective. Applications. Cybernetics is used as an umbrella term so applications extend to all systems related scientific fields such as biology, mathematics, computer science, engineering, management, psychology, sociology, art, and more. Cybernetics is used amongst several fields to discover principles of systems, adaptation of organisms, information analysis and much more. Genetic Engineering. Genetic engineering is a field that uses advances in technology to modify biological organisms. Through different methods, scientists are able to alter the genetic material of microorganisms, plants and animals to provide them with desirable traits. Genetic engineering is included in biorobotics because it uses new technologies to alter biology and change an organism's DNA for their and society's benefit. History. Although humans have been modifying genetic material of animals and plants through artificial selection for millennia (such as the genetic mutations that developed teosinte into corn and wolves into dogs), genetic engineering refers to the deliberate alteration or insertion of specific genes to an organism's DNA. The first successful case of genetic engineering occurred in 1973 when Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen were able to transfer a gene with antibiotic resistance to a bacteria. Science. There are three main techniques used in genetic engineering: The plasmid method, the vector method and the biolistic method. Plasmid Method. This technique is used mainly for microorganisms such as bacteria. Through this method, DNA molecules called plasmids are extracted from bacteria and placed in a lab where restriction enzymes break them down. As the enzymes break the molecules down, some develop a rough edge that resembles that of a staircase which is considered ‘sticky’ and capable of reconnecting. These ‘sticky’ molecules are inserted into another bacteria where they will connect to the DNA rings with the altered genetic material. Vector Method. The vector method is considered a more precise technique than the plasmid method as it involves the transfer of a specific gene instead of a whole sequence. In the vector method, a specific gene from a DNA strand is isolated through restriction enzymes in a laboratory and is inserted into a vector. Once the vector accepts the genetic code, it is inserted into the host cell where the DNA will be transferred. Biolistic Method. The biolistic method is typically used to alter the genetic material of plants. This method embeds the desired DNA with a metallic particle such as gold or tungsten in a high speed gun. The particle is then bombarded into the plant. Due to the high velocities and the vacuum generated during bombardment, the particle is able to penetrate the cell wall and inserts the new DNA into the cell. Applications. Genetic engineering has many uses in the fields of medicine, research and agriculture. In the medical field, genetically modified bacteria are used to produce drugs such as insulin, human growth hormones and vaccines. In research, scientists genetically modify organisms to observe physical and behavioral changes to understand the function of specific genes. In agriculture, genetic engineering is extremely important as it is used by farmers to grow crops that are resistant to herbicides and to insects such as BTCorn. Bionics. Bionics is a medical engineering field and a branch of biorobotics consisting of electrical and mechanical systems that imitate biological systems, such as prosthetics and hearing aids. It's a portmanteau that combines biology and electronics. History. The history of bionics goes as far back in time as ancient Egypt. A prosthetic toe made out of wood and leather was found on the foot of a mummy. The time period of the mummy corpse was estimated to be from around the fifteenth century B.C. Bionics can also be witnessed in ancient Greece and Rome. Prosthetic legs and arms were made for amputee soldiers. In the early 16th century, a French military surgeon by the name of Ambroise Pare became a pioneer in the field of bionics. He was known for making various types of upper and lower prosthetics. One of his most famous prosthetics, Le Petit Lorrain, was a mechanical hand operated by catches and springs. During the early 19th century, Alessandro Volta further progressed bionics. He set the foundation for the creation of hearing aids with his experiments. He found that electrical stimulation could restore hearing by inserting an electrical implant to the saccular nerve of a patient's ear. In 1945, the National Academy of Sciences created the Artificial Limb Program, which focused on improving prosthetics since there were a large number of World War II amputee soldiers. Since this creation, prosthetic materials, computer design methods, and surgical procedures have improved, creating modern-day bionics. Science. Prosthetics. The important components that make up modern-day prosthetics are the pylon, the socket, and the suspension system. The pylon is the internal frame of the prosthetic that is made up of metal rods or carbon-fiber composites. The socket is the part of the prosthetic that connects the prosthetic to the person's missing limb. The socket consists of a soft liner that makes the fit comfortable, but also snug enough to stay on the limb. The suspension system is important in keeping the prosthetic on the limb. The suspension system is usually a harness system made up of straps, belts or sleeves that are used to keep the limb attached. The operation of a prosthetic could be designed in various ways. The prosthetic could be body-powered, externally-powered, or myoelectrically-powered. Body-powered prosthetics consist of cables attached to a strap or harness, which is placed on the person's functional shoulder, allowing the person to manipulate and control the prosthetic as he or she deems fit. Externally-powered prosthetics consist of motors to power the prosthetic and buttons and switches to control the prosthetic. Myoelectrically-powered prosthetics are new, advanced forms of prosthetics where electrodes are placed on the muscles above the limb. The electrodes will detect the muscle contractions and send electrical signals to the prosthetic to move the prosthetic. Hearing Aids. Four major components make up the hearing aid: the microphone, the amplifier, the receiver, and the battery. The microphone takes in outside sound, turns that sound to electrical signals, and sends those signals to the amplifier. The amplifier increases the sound and sends that sound to the receiver. The receiver changes the electrical signal back into sound and sends the sound into the ear. Hair cells in the ear will sense the vibrations from the sound, convert the vibrations into nerve signals, and send it to the brain so the sounds can become coherent to the person. The battery simply powers the hearing aid. Applications. Cochlear Implant. Cochlear implants are a type of hearing aid for those who are deaf. Cochlear implants send electrical signals straight to the auditory nerve, the nerve responsible for sound signals, instead of just sending the signals to the ear canal like normal hearing aids. New Bone-Anchored (Baha) Hearing Aids. These hearing aids are also used for people with severe hearing loss. Baha hearing aids attach to the bones of the middle ear to create the sound vibrations in the skull and send those vibrations to the cochlea. Artificial Sensing Skin. This artificial sensing skin detects any pressure put on it and is meant for people who have lost any sense of feeling on parts of their bodies, such as diabetics with peripheral neuropathy. Bionic Eye. The bionic eye is a bioelectronic implant that restores vision for people with blindness. Orthopedic Bionics. Orthopedic bionics consist of advanced bionic limbs that use a person's neuromuscular system to control the bionic limb. Endoscopic Robotics. These robotics can remove a polyp during a colonoscopy.

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Human possession in science fiction Human possession in science fiction is an extension within science-fiction literature and film of the mythology of human possession found in many cultures throughout human history. Typically, possession in science fiction involves extraterrestrial parasitic organisms that can take control of a human host. During the Cold War era in the western world, this was often a metaphor for the threat of communism. Print. "The Puppet Masters" (1951). In Robert Heinlein's novel "The Puppet Masters", slugs from Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, can take over human bodies and know everything their hosts know. "Animorphs". In the "Animorphs" universe created by author K.A. Applegate, the Yeerks are a parasitic species capable of controlling human beings and compatible other species. Individuals controlled (infested) by Yeerks are known as "Controllers." Yeerks have access to the memories and personalities of their hosts, and can exist undetected by friends and family. The Yeerks are conquerors, and use infestation as a means of infiltration on still-unconquered worlds (such as Terra). Yeerks can relatively easily move from one host to another, and in fact have to leave their hosts regularly (every three days) in order to feed on Kandrona rays. Film and television. "Invaders from Mars" (1953). In "Invaders from Mars", mind-control crystals at the base of the skull enable the Martians to turn their victims into saboteurs. "Star Trek". In the "Star Trek" universe, the Trill are a symbiotic pair of species consisting of parasites and hosts. The Trill Dax is a main character in "", first joined with Jadzia Dax, then after she is killed, with Ezri Dax. The parasitic species can also control human beings, but not for extended periods of time (see episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation"). "Stargate". In the "Stargate" universe, the Goa'uld are a parasitic species which can control human beings and other compatible species. The Goa'uld forcibly take hosts, whereas the Tok'ra, though the same species, exist consensually as symbiotic beings with their hosts. Goa'uld have access to the memories and personalities of their hosts, and can exist undetected by friends and family. Goa'uld are often power-hungry and take on the roles of gods from the mythologies of the humans that they infest. Infestation is also used as a means of infiltration or access to information. Goa'uld can move from one host to another, but with some difficulty. Goa'uld also have the ability to kill or torture their hosts.

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Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction Sexual themes are frequently used in science fiction or related genres. Such elements may include depictions of realistic sexual interactions in a science fictional setting, a protagonist with an alternative sexuality, a sexual encounter between a human and a fictional extraterrestrial, or exploration of the varieties of sexual experience that deviate from the conventional. Science fiction and fantasy have sometimes been more constrained than non-genre narrative forms in their depictions of sexuality and gender. However, speculative fiction (SF) and soft science fiction also offers the freedom to imagine alien or galactic societies different from real-life cultures, making it a tool to examine sexual bias, heteronormativity, and gender bias and enabling the reader to reconsider his or her cultural assumptions. Prior to the 1960s, explicit sexuality of any kind was not characteristic of genre speculative fiction due to the relatively high number of minors in the target audience. In the 1960s, science fiction and fantasy began to reflect the changes prompted by the civil rights movement and the emergence of a counterculture. New Wave and feminist science fiction authors imagined cultures in which a variety of gender models and atypical sexual relationships are the norm, and depictions of sex acts and alternative sexualities became commonplace. There is also , which explores more explicit sexuality and the presentation of themes aimed at inducing arousal. Critical analysis. As genres of popular literature, science fiction and fantasy often seem even more constrained than non-genre literature by their conventions of characterization and the effects that these conventions have on depictions of sexuality and gender. Sex is often linked to disgust in science fiction and horror, and plots based on sexual relationships have mainly been avoided in genre fantasy narratives. On the other hand, science fiction and fantasy can also offer more freedom than do non-genre literatures to imagine alternatives to the default assumptions of heterosexuality and masculine superiority that permeate some cultures. In speculative fiction, extrapolation allows writers to focus not on the way things are (or were), as non-genre literature does, but on the way things could be different. It provides science fiction with a quality that Darko Suvin has called "cognitive estrangement": the recognition that what we are reading is not the world as we know it, but a world whose difference forces us to reconsider our own world with an outsider's perspective. When the extrapolation involves sexuality or gender, it can force the reader to reconsider their heteronormative cultural assumptions; the freedom to imagine societies different from real-life cultures makes science fiction an incisive tool to examine sexual bias. In science fiction, such estranging features include technologies that significantly alter sex or reproduction. In fantasy, such features include figures (for example, mythological deities and heroic archetypes) who are not limited by preconceptions of human sexuality and gender, allowing them to be reinterpreted. Science fiction has also depicted a plethora of alien methods of reproduction and sex. "Uranian Worlds", by Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo, is an authoritative guide to science fiction literature featuring gay, lesbian, transgender, and related themes. The book covers science fiction literature published before 1990 (2nd edition), providing a short review and commentary on each piece. Themes explored. Some of the themes explored in speculative fiction include: SF literature. Proto SF. "True History," a Greek-language tale by Assyrian writer Lucian (120-185 CE), has been called the first ever science fiction story. The narrator is suddenly enveloped by a typhoon and swept up to the Moon, which is inhabited by a society of men who are at war with the Sun. After the hero distinguishes himself in combat, the king gives him his son, the prince, in marriage. The all-male society reproduces (male children only) by giving birth from the thigh or by growing a child from a plant produced by planting the left testicle in the Moon's soil. In other proto-SF works, sex itself, of any type, was equated with base desires or "beastliness," as in "Gulliver's Travels" (1726), which contrasts the animalistic and overtly sexual Yahoos with the reserved and intelligent Houyhnhnms. Early works that showed sexually open characters to be morally impure include the first lesbian vampire story "Carmilla" (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu (collected in "In a Glass Darkly"). The 1915 utopian novel "Herland" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman depicts the visit by three men to an all-female society in which women reproduce by parthenogenesis. Pulp era (1920–30s). During the pulp era, explicit sexuality of any kind was not characteristic of genre science fiction and fantasy. The frank treatment of sexual topics of earlier literature was abandoned. For many years, the editors who controlled what was published, such as Kay Tarrant, assistant editor of "Astounding Science Fiction", felt that they had to protect the adolescent male readership that they identified as their principal market. Although the covers of some 1930s pulp magazines showed scantily clad women menaced by tentacled aliens, the covers were often more lurid than the magazines' contents. Implied or disguised sexuality was as important as that which was openly revealed. In this sense, genre science fiction reflected the social mores of the day, paralleling common prejudices. This was particularly true of pulp fiction, more so than literary works of the time. H. P. Lovecraft seminal short story, "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in the pulp magazine "Weird Tales" in 1928, launched what developed into the "Cthulhu Mythos", a shared fictional universe taken up by various other writers and considerably affecting the entire field of Fantasy. Bobby Derie's 2014 book "Sex and The Cthulhu Mythos" treats extensively the various sexual aspects of this "Mythos": "H. P. Lovecraft was one of the most asexual beings in history - at least by his own admission. Whether we accept this view of his own sexual instincts or not, there is no denying that sexuality - normal and aberrant - underlies a number of significant tales in the Lovecraft oeuvre. The impregnation of a human woman by Yog-Sothoth in "The Dunwich Horror" and the mating of humans with strange creatures from the sea in "The Shadow over Innsmouth" are only two such examples. "Sex and The Cthulhu Mythos" examines the significant uses of love, gender, and sex in the work of H. P. Lovecraft, moving on to some of his leading disciples and noting that "The work of such significant writers of the Lovecraft tradition as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Ramsey Campbell, W. H. Pugmire, and Caitlín R. Kiernan, features far more explicit sexuality than anything Lovecraft could have imagined". Finally, Derie goes on to study sexual themes in other venues, such as Lovecraftian occultism, Japanese manga and anime, and even Lovecraftian fan fiction. In Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel "Brave New World" (1932), natural reproduction has been abolished, with human embryos being raised artificially in "hatcheries and conditioning centres." Recreational sex is promoted, often as a group activity, and marriage, pregnancy, natural birth, and parenthood are considered too vulgar to be mentioned in polite conversation. An important part of the plot concerns the "Savage Reservation" in New Mexico, where marriage, pregnancy and motherhood are still practiced by the local Native Americans. Linda, a woman from 'civilized' London who was marooned there and sticking to her accustomed sexual mores, is persecuted as "a whore" by the local women whose husbands she seduced. John, Linda's son who grew up on the Reservation but was always alienated from its society, comes to London and there falls deeply in love with a girl - seeking a happy loving consummation with her and then violently assaulting her from jealousy when she behaves according to her society's sexual mores. One of the earliest examples of genre science fiction that involves a challenging amount of unconventional sexual activity is "Odd John" (1935) by Olaf Stapledon. John is a mutant with extraordinary mental abilities who will not allow himself to be bound by many of the rules imposed by the ordinary British society of his time. The novel strongly implies that he has consensual intercourse with his mother and that he seduces an older boy who becomes devoted to him but also suffers from the affront that the relationship creates to his own morals. John eventually concludes that any sexual interaction with "normal" humans is akin to bestiality. "War with the Newts", a 1936 satirical science fiction novel by Czech author Karel Čapek, concerns the discovery in the Pacific of a sea-dwelling race, an intelligent breed of newts – who are initially enslaved and exploited by humans and later rebel and go war against them. The book includes a detailed appendix entitled 'The Sex Life of the Newts', which examines the Newts' sexuality and reproductive processes in a pastiche of academese. This is one of the first attempts to speculate on what form sex might have among non-human intelligent beings. C.L. Moore's 1934 story "Shambleau" begins in what seems a classical damsel in distress situation: the protagonist, space adventurer Northwest Smith, sees a "sweetly-made girl" pursued by a lynch mob intent on killing her and intervenes to save her. But once he takes her to his room, she turns to be a disguised alien creature who spreads her inhuman long tendrils of hair, trapping Smith in a kind of psychic bondage and drawing out his life, and but for his partner arriving and killing her, it would have ended with his death. The story has little explicit sex, and no other physical contact than that of the hair of the "girl" with Smith's body; yet the story clearly explores sexual themes in a way highly daring for its time. In C.S. Lewis's "That Hideous Strength", a prominent place is given among the cast of villains to a monstrous lesbian – Miss Hardcastle, Security Chief of the satanic "Institute" which quite literally intends to take over the world. Hardcastle is presented as an inveterate sadist who takes pleasure in torturing "fluffy" young women and inflicting on them burns with a lighted cigarette. Golden Age (1940–50s). As the readership for science fiction and fantasy began to age in the 1950s, writers were able to introduce more explicit sexuality into their work. William Tenn wrote in 1949 "Venus and the Seven Sexes" – featuring the Plookhs, natives of the planet Venus, who require the participation of seven different sexes in order to reproduce and who get corrupted by human film director Hogan Shlestertrap. The rather satirical story might be the first case of an author speculating of creatures having more than two sexes, an idea later taken up by various others. Philip José Farmer wrote "The Lovers" (1952), arguably the first science fiction story to feature sex as a major theme, and "Strange Relations" (1960), a collection of five stories about human/alien sexual relations. In his novel "Flesh" (1960), a hypermasculine antlered man ritually impregnates legions of virgins in order to counter declining male fertility. Theodore Sturgeon wrote many stories that emphasised the importance of love regardless of the current social norms, such as "The World Well Lost" (1953), a classic tale involving alien homosexuality, and the novel "Venus Plus X" (1960), in which a contemporary man awakens in a futuristic place where the people are hermaphrodites. Robert A. Heinlein's time-travel short story "All You Zombies" (1959) chronicles a young man (later revealed to be intersex) taken back in time and tricked into impregnating his younger, female self before he underwent a sex change. He then turns out to be the offspring of that union, with the paradoxical result that he is both his own mother and father. When Heinlein's "The Puppet Masters" was originally published, it was censored by the publisher to remove various references to sex. The opening scene, where the protagonist is called urgently to HQ on an early morning hour, was re-written to remove all mention of his being in bed with a girl he had casually picked up. The published version did mention that the book's alien invaders cause human beings whose bodies they take over to lose sexual feeling – but removed a later section mentioning that after some time on Earth the invaders "discovered sex" and started engaging in wild orgies and even broadcasting them on TV in areas under their control. Thirty years later, with changing mores, Heinlein published the book's full, unexpurgated text. In "Time Enough for Love" (1973), Heinlein's recurring protagonist Lazarus Long – who never grows old and has an extremely long and eventful life – travels backward in time to the period of his own childhood. As an unintentional result, he falls in love with his own mother. He has no guilt feeling about pursuing and eventually consummating that relationship – considering her simply as an extremely attractive young woman named Maureen who just happens to have given birth to him thousands of years ago (as far as his personal timeline is concerned). The sequel, "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" takes place after Maureen had discovered the true identity of her lover – and shows that for her part, she was more amused than shocked or angry. Poul Anderson's 1958 novel "War of the Wing-Men", centers on a species of winged intelligent creatures and sexual differences are central to its plot. Of the two mutually-hostile societies featured in the book, one practices monogamous marriage, while in the other there are every spring several days of a wild indiscriminate orgy – and a complete celibacy for the rest of the year. Ironically, both societies alike consider themselves chaste and the other depraved: "We keep faithful to our mates while they fuck around indiscriminately – disgusting!"; "We keep sex where it belongs, to one week per year where you are not really yourself. They do it all over the year- disgusting!". Humans who land on the planet intervene in the centuries-long war, by showing members of the two societies that they are not all that different from each other. Another Poul Anderson novel of the same period, "Virgin Planet" (1959), deals in a straightforward manner with homosexuality and polyamory on an exclusively female world. The plot twist is that the protagonist is the only male on a world of women, and though quite a few of them are interested in sex with him, it is never consummated during his sojourn on the planet. A mirror image was presented by A. Bertram Chandler in "Spartan Planet" (1969), featuring an exclusively male world, where by definition homosexual relations are the normal (and only) sexual relations. The plot revolves around the explosive social upheaval resulting when the planet is discovered by a spaceship from the wider galaxy, whose crew includes both men and women. Until the late 1960s, few other writers depicted alternative sexuality or revised gender roles, nor openly investigated sexual questions. More conventionally, A. Bertram Chandler's books include numerous episodes of free fall sex, his characters (male and female alike) strongly prone to extramarital relations and tending to while away the boring months-long Deep Space voyages by forming complicated love triangles. Plots and themes. New Wave era (1960–70s). By the late 1960s, science fiction and fantasy began to reflect the changes prompted by the civil rights movement and the emergence of a counterculture. Within the genres, these changes were incorporated into a movement called "the New Wave," a movement more skeptical of technology, more liberated socially, and more interested in stylistic experimentation. New Wave writers were more likely to claim an interest in "inner space" instead of outer space. They were less shy about explicit sexuality and more sympathetic to reconsiderations of gender roles and the social status of sexual minorities. Notable authors who often wrote on sexual themes included Joanna Russ, Thomas M. Disch, John Varley, James Tiptree, Jr., and Samuel R. Delany. Under the influence of New Wave editors and authors such as Michael Moorcock (editor of the influential "New Worlds" magazine) and Ursula K. Le Guin, sympathetic depictions of alternative sexuality and gender multiplied in science fiction and fantasy, becoming commonplace. In Brian Aldiss's 1960 novel "The Interpreter" (in the US published as "Bow Down to Nul"), Earth is a backwater colony planet in the galactic empire of the Nuls, a giant, three-limbed, civilised alien race. The plot, dealing with complicated relations between humans and their Nul rulers, touches among other things on Nul sex. The Nul wear no clothes, but their equivalent of hands and arms are wide membranes which are normally held in a fixed position before the body, not moving even when the "fingers" are manipulating a tool. Only in a sexual context are the hands moved aside, to reveal the genital organs behind – the equivalent of humans undressing. In one scene, the human protagonist is able to tune to an erotic (or pornographic) Nul sensory device, made for internal Nul consumption and not intended for humans, which replicates the wild ecstasy felt by Nuls when daring to move aside their membrane hands and reveal their bodies to each other – similar in some ways to human sexual arousal but also very different. Robert A. Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961) and "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" (1966) both depict heterosexual group marriages and public nudity as desirable social norms, while in Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love" (1973), the main character argues strongly for the future liberty of homosexual sex. Heinlein's character Lazarus Long, travelling back in time to the period of his own childhood, discovers, to his surprise and (initial) shame, a sexual desire of his own mother – but overcoming this initial shame, he comes to think of her simply as "Maureen", an attractive young woman who is far from indifferent to him. Samuel R. Delany's Nebula Award-winning short story "Aye, and Gomorrah" (1967) posits the development of neutered human astronauts, and then depicts the people who become sexually oriented toward them. By imagining a new gender and resultant sexual orientation, the story allows readers to reflect on the real world while maintaining an estranging distance. In his 1975 science fiction novel entitled "Dhalgren", Delany colors his large canvas with characters of a wide variety of sexualities. Once again, sex is not the focus of the novel, although it does contain some of the first explicitly described scenes of gay sex in science fiction. Delany depicts, mostly with affection, characters with a wide variety of motivations and behaviours, with the effect of revealing to the reader the fact that these kinds of people exist in the real world. In later works, Delany blurs the line between science fiction and gay pornography. Delany faced resistance from book distribution companies for his treatment of these topics. In 1968, Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonflight" launched the "Dragonriders of Pern" series, depicting the lives of humans living in close partnership with dragons. In a key scene the young golden Dragon Queen takes off on her mating flight, pursued by the male dragons – until finally one of them catches up with her and they engage in passionate mating high up in the air, their necks and wings curled around each other. On the ground the woman and man who are these dragons' riders share their passion telepathically – and inevitably wildly embrace and kiss, embarking in parallel human mating. Ursula K. Le Guin explores radically alternative forms of sexuality in "The Left Hand of Darkness" (1969) and again in "Coming of Age in Karhide" (1995), which imagine the sexuality of an alien "human" species in which individuals are neither "male" nor "female," but undergo a monthly sexual cycle in which they randomly experience the activation of either male or female sexual organs and reproductive abilities; this makes them in a sense bisexual, and in other senses androgynous or hermaphroditic. It is common for an individual of that species to undergo at some moment of life pregnancy and birth-giving, while at another time having the male role and impregnating somebody else. In the novel, the Genthian political leader, who appears externally male, becomes pregnant. Le Guin has written considerations of her own work in two essays, "Is Gender Necessary?" (1976) and "Is Gender Necessary? Redux" (1986), which respond to feminist and other criticism of "The Left Hand of Darkness". In these essays, she makes it clear that the novel's assumption that Gethenians would automatically find a mate of the gender opposite to the gender they were becoming produced an unintended heteronormativity. Le Guin has subsequently written many stories that examine the possibilities science fiction allows for non-traditional sexuality, such as the sexual bonding between clones in "Nine Lives" (1968) and the four-way marriages in "Mountain Ways" (1996). In his 1972 novel "The Gods Themselves", Isaac Asimov describes an alien race with three sexes, all of them necessary for sexual reproduction. One sex produces a form of sperm, another sex provides the energy needed for reproduction, and members of the third sex bear and raise the offspring. All three genders are included in sexual and social norms of expected and acceptable behavior. In this same novel, the hazards and problems of sex in microgravity are described, and while people born on the Moon are proficient at it, people from Earth are not. Similarly, Poul Anderson's "Three Worlds to Conquer" depicts centaur-like beings living on Jupiter who have three genders: female, male and "demi-male". In order to conceive, a female must have sex with both a male and a demi-male within a short time of each other. In the society of the protagonist, there are stable, harmonious three-way families, in effect a formalized Menage a Trois, with the three partners on equal terms with each other. An individual in that society feels a strong attachment to all three parents – mother, father and demi-father – who all take part in bringing up the young. Conversely, among the harsh invaders who threaten to destroy the protagonist's homeland and culture, males are totally dominant over both females and demi-males; the latter are either killed at birth or preserved in subjugation for reproduction – which the protagonist regards as a barbaric aberration. In Anderson's satirical story "A Feast for the Gods", the Greek god Hermes visits modern America and has casual sex with an American woman, who tells him that she is "on the pill" and does not take seriously Hermes telling her that "The Embrace of a God is always fertile". She ends up pregnant and destined to give birth to a modern demi god. Feminist science fiction authors imagined cultures in which homo- and bisexuality and a variety of gender models are the norm. Joanna Russ's award-winning short story "When It Changed" (1972), portraying a female-only lesbian society that flourished without men, and her novel "The Female Man" (1975), were enormously influential. Russ was largely responsible for introducing radical lesbian feminism into science fiction. The bisexual female writer Alice Bradley Sheldon, who used James Tiptree, Jr. as her pen name, explored the sexual impulse as her main theme. Some stories by Tiptree portray humans becoming sexually obsessed with aliens, such as "And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side" (1972), or aliens being sexually abused. "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (1973) is an early precursor of cyberpunk that depicts a relationship via a cybernetically controlled body. In her award-winning novella "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" (1976), Tiptree presents a female-only society after the extinction of men from disease. The society lacks stereotypically "male" problems such as war, but is stagnant. The women reproduce via cloning, and consider men to be comical. In Robert Silverberg's novelette "The Way to Spook City" the protagonist meets and has an affair with a woman named Jill, who seems completely human – and convincingly, passionately female human. Increasingly in love with her, he still has a nagging suspicion that she is in fact a disguised member of the mysterious extraterrestrial species known as "Spooks", who had invaded and taken over a large part of the United States. Until the end, he repeatedly grapples with two questions: Is she human or a Spook? And if she is a Spook, could the two of them nevertheless build a life together? In the centuries-long, futile space war described in Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War", the protagonist's increasing feeling of alienation is manifested, among other things, when he is appointed as the commanding officer of a "strike force" whose soldiers are exclusively homosexual, and who resent being commanded by a heterosexual. Later in the book, he finds that while he was fighting in space, humanity has begun to clone itself, resulting in a new, collective species calling itself simply "Man". Luckily for the protagonist, "Man" has established several colonies of old-style, heterosexual humans, just in case the evolutionary change proves to be a mistake. In one of these colonies, the protagonist is happily reunited with his long-lost beloved and they embark upon monogamous marriage and on having children through sexual reproduction and female pregnancy – an incredibly archaic and old-fashioned way of life for most of that time's humanity. Elizabeth A. Lynn's science fiction novel "A Different Light" (1978) features a same-sex relationship between two men, and inspired the name of the LGBT bookstore chain A Different Light. Lynn's The Chronicles of Tornor (1979–80) series of novels, the first of which won the World Fantasy Award, were among the first fantasy novels to include gay relationships as an unremarkable part of the cultural background. Lynn also wrote novels depicting sadomasochism. John Varley, who also came to prominence in the 1970s, is another writer who examined sexual themes in his work. In his "Eight Worlds" suite of stories and novels, humanity has achieved the ability to change sex quickly, easily and completely reversibly – leading to a casual attitude with people changing their sex back and forth as the sudden whim takes them. Homophobia is shown as initially inhibiting the uptake of this technology, as it engenders drastic changes in relationships, with bisexuality becoming the default mode for society. Sexual themes are central to the story "Options": a married woman, Cleo, living in King City, undergoes a change to male despite her husband's objections. As "Leo" she finds out what it means to be a man in her society and even becomes her husband's best friend. She also learns that people are adopting new names that are historically neither male nor female. She eventually returns to female as "Nile". Varley's Gaea trilogy (1979-1984) features lesbian protagonists. Female characters in science fiction films, such as "Barbarella" (1968), continued to be often portrayed as simple sex kittens. Modern SF (post-New Wave). After the pushing back of boundaries in the 1960s and 70s, sex in genre science fiction gained wider acceptance, and was often incorporated into otherwise conventional science fiction stories with little comment. In 1968 Jack Vance introduced the Planet of Adventure, inhabited by four different alien races, each with its own distinct society and culture. One of these – the predatory, part feline, part bird-like Dirdir – are described as having a very complex sexuality, with many different genders that leads to many different combinations of gender-compatibility when it comes to sex and breeding, though each breeding still seems to involve only two individuals. Jack L. Chalker's Well World series, launched in 1977, depicts a world – designed by the super science of a vanished extraterrestrial race, the Markovians – which is divided into numerous "hexes", each inhabited by different sentient race. Anyone entering one of these hexes is transformed into a member of the local race. This plot device gives a wide scope for exploring the divergent biology and cultures of the various species – including their sex life. For example, a human entering a hex inhabited by an insectoid intelligent race is transformed into a female of that species, feels sexual desire for a male and mates with him. Too late does she discover that in this species, pregnancy is fatal – the mother being devoured from the inside by her larvae. In a later part, a very macho villain gains control of a supercomputer whose power includes the ability to "redesign" people's bodies to almost any specification. He uses the computer to give himself a "super-virile" body, capable of a virtually unlimited number of erections and ejaculations – and then proceeds to transform his male enemies into beautiful women and induce in them a strong sexual desire towards himself. However, a computer breakdown restores to these captives their normal minds. Though they are still in women's bodies, these bodies were designed with great strength and stamina, so as to enable them to undergo repeated sexual encounters. Thus, they are well-equipped to chase, catch and suitably punish their abuser. In Frederik Pohl's "Jem", humans exploring the eponymous planet Jem discover by experience that local beings emit a milt which has a strong aphrodisiac effect on humans. Characters who were hitherto not at all drawn to each other find themselves suddenly involved in wild, uncontrollable sex. At the ironic ending, their descendants who colonize the planet and build up a distinctive society and culture develop the custom of celebrating Christmas by deliberately stimulating the local beings into emitting the milt, and then taking off their clothes and engaging in a wild indiscriminate orgy – their copulations accompanied by a chorus of the planet's enslaved indigenous beings who were taught to sing "Good King Wenceslas", with the song's Christian significance long forgotten. Also set on an alien planet, Octavia E. Butler's acclaimed short story "Bloodchild" (1984) depicts the complex relationship between human refugees and the insect-like aliens who keep them in a preserve to protect them, but also to use them as hosts for breeding their young. Sometimes called Butler's "pregnant man story," "Bloodchild" won the Nebula Award, Hugo Award, and Locus Award. Other of Butler's works explore miscegenation, non-consensual sex, and hybridity. In Robert Silverberg's 1982 novella "Homefaring", the protagonist enters the mind of an intelligent lobster of the very far future and experiences all aspects of lobster life, including sex: "He approached a female, knowing precisely which one was the appropriate one, and sang to her, and she acknowledged his song with a song of her own, and raised her third pair of legs for him, and let him plant his gametes beside her oviducts. There was no apparent pleasure in it, as he remembered pleasure from his time as a human. Yet it brought him a subtle but unmistakable sense of fulfillment, of the completion of biological destiny, that had a kind of orgasmic finality about it, and left him calm and anchored at the absolute dead center of his soul". When finally returning to his human body and his human lover, he keeps longing for the lobster life, to "his mate and her millions of larvae". Quentin and Alice, the extremely shy and insecure protagonists of Lev Grossman's fantasy novel "The Magicians", spend years as fellow students at a School of Magic without admitting to being deeply in love with each other. Only the experience of being magically turned into foxes enables them at last to break through their reserve: "Increasingly, Quentin noticed one scent more than the others. It was a sharp, acrid, skunky musk that probably would have smelled like cat piss to a human being, but to a fox it was like a drug. He tackled the source of the smell, buried his snuffling muzzle in her fur, because he had known all along, with what was left of his consciousness, that what he was smelling was Alice. Vulpine hormones and instincts were powering up, taking over, manhandling what was left of his rational human mind." The next sequence depicts animal sex: "He locked his teeth in the thick fur of her neck. It didn't seem to hurt her any, or at least not in a way that was easily distinguishable from pleasure. He caught a glimpse of Alice's wild, dark fox eyes rolling with terror and then half shutting with pleasure. Their tiny quick breathes puffed white in the air and mingled and disappeared. Her white fox fur was coarse and smooth at the same time, and she made little yipping sounds every time he pushed himself deeper inside her. He never wanted to stop". When resuming their human bodies, Quentin and Alice are initially even more shy and awkward with each other, and only after going through some harrowing magical experiences are they finally able to have human sex. Lois McMaster Bujold explores many areas of sexuality in the multiple award-winning novels and stories of her Vorkosigan Saga (1986-ongoing), which are set in a fictional universe influenced by the availability of uterine replicators and significant genetic engineering. These areas include an all-male society, promiscuity, monastic celibacy, hermaphroditism, and bisexuality. In the Mythopoeic Award-winning novel "Unicorn Mountain" (1988), Michael Bishop includes a gay male AIDS patient among the carefully drawn central characters who must respond to an irruption of dying unicorns at their Colorado ranch. The death of the hedonistic gay culture, and the safe sex campaign resulting from the AIDS epidemic, are explored, both literally and metaphorically. Sex has a major role in Harry Turtledove's 1990 novel "A World of Difference", taking place on the planet Minerva (a more habitable analogue of Mars). Minervan animals (including the sentient Minervans) are hexameristically radially symmetrical. This means that they have six eyes spaced equally all around, see in all directions and have no "back" where somebody could sneak on them unnoticed. Females (referred to as "mates" by the Minervans) give birth to litters that consist of one male and five females, and the "mates" always die after reproducing because of torrential bleeding from the places where the six fetuses were attached; this gives a population multiplication of 5 per generation if all females live to adolescence and reproduce. Females reach puberty while still hardly out of childhood, and typically experience sex only once in the lifetime – leading to pregnancy and death at birth-giving. Thus, in Minervan society male dominance seems truly determined by a biological imperative – though it takes different forms in various Minervan societies: in some females are considered expendable and traded as property, in other they are cherished and their tragic fate mourned – but still their dependent status is taken for granted. The American women arriving on Minerva and discovering this situation consider it intolerable; a major plot element is their efforts, using the resources of Earth medical science, to find a way of saving the Minervan females and let them survive birth-giving. At the end, they do manage to save a particularly sympathetic Minervan female – potentially opening the way for a complete upheaval in Minervan society. Sex is also an important ingredient in another of Harry Turtledove's works, the Worldwar Series of Alternative History, based on the premise of reptile extraterrestrials, nicknamed "The Lizards", invading Earth in 1942, forcing humans to terminate the Second World War and unite against this common enemy. As depicted by Turtledove, the "Lizards" have no concept whatever that sex ought to be private, and they engage in it in public as in any other activity. This leads to human beings in areas occupied by them feeling shocked and outraged by the "immorality" of their new masters - especially that the invaders, preferring hot climates, prioritize conquest of the Arab and Islamic countries. For their part, the invaders are genuinely puzzled by the Humans' insistence oh having privacy for sex and their outrage when reptile warriors walk in on them when engaged in it. As gradually becomes clear, on their home planet, the "Lizards" have a clearly defined mating season, when normal activity ceases and they engage in a days-long, indiscriminate orgy; as their young can fend for themselves from the moment of hatching from the egg, there is no of parental care and they have no marriages or families, and thus there is no reason to establish paternity. Outside the mating season, sex does not occur among them and does not concern them. However, when arriving on Earth they soon discover that ginger, an innocuous spice to humans, acts as a powerful narcotic on the invaders' physiology - and that it causes their females to become sexually active and emit pheremones, out of the normal season. This causes an unaccustomed disruption of their daily activity, with females who had taken ginger suddenly becoming sexual, males and females then feeling compelled to immediately engage in mating before they could resume their daily work. These also arises the phenomenon of females deliberately taking ginger in return for payment - prostitution having been completely unknown in their society before their arrival on Earth. In the far future human colony of Frederik Pohl's "The World at the End of Time", the common way to produce new humans is for a geneticist to take DNA samples from two or more "parents" – regardless of their being male or female. The DNA is then combined in a laboratory, and the parents arrive to pick up the baby nine months later. The few couples who prefer to do it in the old fashioned way, a man sexually impregnating a woman, are considered strange but harmless eccentrics. "Glory Season" (1993) by David Brin is set on the planet Stratos, inhabited by a strain of human beings designed to conceive clones in winter, and normal children in summer. All clones are female, because males cannot reproduce themselves individually. Further, males and females have opposed seasons of sexual receptivity; women are sexually receptive in winter, and men in summer. (This unusual heterogamous reproductive cycle is known to be evolutionarily advantageous for some species of aphids.) The novel treats themes of separatist feminism and biological determinism. Elizabeth Bear's novel "Carnival" (2006) revisits the trope of the single-gender world, as a pair of gay male ambassador-spies attempt to infiltrate and subvert the predominately lesbian civilization of New Amazonia, whose matriarchal rulers have all but enslaved their men. The fantasy world of Scott Lynch's 2007 "Red Seas Under Red Skies" offers a new variation on the long-established genre of pirate literature – depicting a pirate ship which is run on the basis of complete gender equality. The pirate crew is composed of a roughly equal number of men and women, and crew members may freely engage in sex – homosexual or heterosexual, as they choose – when off duty. Since shipboard life offers little chance of privacy, the sound of people having a noisy orgasm is a normal part of night time routine on board the "Poison Orchid". However, any attempt at a sexual act without the other person's sexual consent is punished immediately and severely. The formidable Captain Zamira Drakasha is raising her two children aboard, and is well able to combine being a deadly fighter and strict disciplinarian with her role as a loving and doting mother – but having children aboard is a privilege reserved to the Captain alone; other female pirates who get pregnant must leave their children on shore. The plot of "The Tamír Triad" by Lynn Flewelling has a major transsexual element. To begin with the protagonist, Prince Tobin, is to all appearances a male – both in his own perception and in that of others. Boys who swim naked together with Tobin have no reason to doubt his male anatomy. Yet, due to the magical reasons which are an important part of the plot, in the underlying, essential identity Tobin had always been a disguised girl. In the series' cataclysmic scene of magical change this becomes an evident physical fact, and Prince Tobin becomes Queen Tamír, shedding the male body and gaining a fully functioning female one. Yet, it takes Tamír a considerable time and effort to come to terms with her female sexuality. In "Lateral Magazine", "The freedom of a genre: Sexuality in speculative fiction": 'In another twist of today's society, "Nontraditional Love" by Rafael Grugman (2008) puts together an upside-down society where heterosexuality is outlawed, and homosexuality is the norm. A ‘traditional’ family unit consists of two dads with a surrogate mother. Alternatively, two mothers, one of whom bares a child. In a nod to the always-progressive Netherlands, this country is the only country progressive enough to allow opposite sex marriage. This is perhaps the most obvious example of cognitive estrangement. It puts the reader in the shoes of the oppressed by modelling an entire world of opposites around a fairly “normal” everyday heterosexual protagonist. A heterosexual reader would not only be able to identify with the main character, but be immersed in a world as oppressive and bigoted as the real world has been for homosexuals and the queer community throughout history. The 2018 Fantasy novel "Stone Unturned", set in Lawrence Watt-Evans' magical world of Ethshar, begins with the young wizard Morvash of the Shadows discovering that some of the statues in his uncle's house were real people turned to stone, and sets out to do the right thing. What Morvash considered the most disturbing of these statues "was hidden away in a sort of marble grotto in the garden behind the house, and depicted a young man and a young woman in what might politely be called an intimate embrace, or a compromising position. They were not in the sort of elegant pose that artists use for erotica, with graceful lines displaying the female's curves and the male's muscles. They were in an earthier position. The woman — a girl, really — was on her back, with her knees drawn up to her chest and her head raised as her blank stone eyes stared perpetually at the man's belly. Her mouth was open as if panting. Her partner was kneeling between her legs, leaning forward over her, one hand grabbing her shoulder, the other occupied elsewhere. His eyes were closed, but his mouth was also open; Morvash thought it was more of a moan than a pant. He could almost smell the sweat. Neither wore any clothing whatsoever, nor were there any artfully-placed draperies or fig leaves to obscure the details. Had the wizard responsible for this petrifaction timed it deliberately, or had he caught them in this position by accident?" Eventually, it turns out that the couple were Prince Marek of Melitha and Darissa the Witch's Apprentice, who had fallen deeply in love with each other during a war that threatened their kingdom and who sought to celebrate victory with a bout of intensive love-making in the privacy of the Prince's bedchamber – but were surprised and turned into stone by a wizard in the employ of the Prince's envious sister, who sought to seize the throne. Afterwards, the couple spent forty petrified years, dimly conscious, perpetually caught in their sexual act and forming a prized item in Lord Landessin's sculpture collection. When the wizard Morvash finally manages to bring them back to life, they find themselves lying on the floor in a big hall, surrounded by various other people who were also revived from petrifaction, and hasten to disengage and look for something to cover their nakedness. After various other adventures, they finally get married, and fully clothed mount the throne of Melitha as King and Queen.

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List of fictional spacecraft This is a list of fictional spacecraft, starships and exo-atmospheric vessels that have been identified by name in notable published works of fiction. The term "spacecraft" is mainly used to refer to spacecraft that are real or conceived using present technology. The terms "spaceship" and "starship" are generally applied only to fictional space vehicles, usually those capable of transporting people. Spaceships are often one of the key plot devices in science fiction. Numerous short stories and novels are built up around various ideas for spacecraft, and spacecraft have featured in many films and television series. Some hard science fiction books focus on the technical details of the craft. Some fictional spaceships have been referenced in the real world, notably Starship "Enterprise" from "Star Trek" which gave its name to Space Shuttle "Enterprise" and to the VSS "Enterprise". For other ships from "Star Wars", "Star Trek", "Robotech", and other major franchises, see the separate lists linked below. Interstellar. Space fighters. "Space fighters" are fictional spacecraft analogous to fighter aircraft. They are popular as the subjects of flight simulators, movies and books. The following are some examples of notable space fighters from various media franchises: "Babylon 5". The Earth Alliance (Starfury fighters) The Minbari Federation The Narn Regime The Centauri Republic The Shadows The Vorlons "Battlestar Galactica". The Twelve Colonies The Cylons "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". The Earth Defense Directorate The Draconian Empire "The Last Starfighter". The United States Marine Corps The Chigs ". Terrestrial Extraterrestrial "Stargate". Tau'ri/Earth (USAF fighters) The Goa'uld The Wraith The Ori "Star Wars". In the "Star Wars" universe, a "starfighter" is a blanket term for all small combat space craft, regardless of shields, hyperspace capability, weaponry (unless it carries none), armor, maneuverability and crew. "Snubfighter" (a term first used in "Star Wars"), though no concise definition has been given, often refers to a fighter carrying shielding, secondary weapons systems such as proton torpedoes or concussion missiles, and being hyperspace capable. Starfighters sometimes bear mission designations similar to modern fighter aircraft, such as "strike fighter" and "space superiority fighter". Galactic Republic Rebel Alliance and New Republic Galactic Empire and First Order Confederacy of Independent Systems Other properties. Andromeda Halo Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Mole people Mole people (also called tunnel people or tunnel dwellers) are homeless people living under large cities in abandoned subway, railroad, flood, sewage tunnels, and heating shafts. The term may also refer to the speculative fiction trope of an entirely subterranean society. In documentary film and non-fiction. "Dark Days", a 2000 documentary feature film by British filmmaker Marc Singer follows a group of people living in an abandoned section of the New York City Subway, in the area called Freedom Tunnel. Teun Voeten's book "Tunnel People" is also about the inhabitants of the Freedom Tunnel, where Voeten lived for five months. Jennifer Toth's 1993 book "The Mole People: Life In The Tunnels Beneath New York City", written while she was an intern at the "Los Angeles Times", was promoted as a true account of travels in the tunnels and interviews with tunnel dwellers. The book helped canonize the image of the mole people as an ordered society living literally under people's feet. However, few claims in her book have been verified, and it includes inaccurate geographical information, numerous factual errors, and an apparent reliance on largely unprovable statements. The strongest criticism came from New York City Subway historian Joseph Brennan, who declared, "Every fact in this book that I can verify independently is wrong." Cecil Adams's "The Straight Dope" contacted Toth in 2004, and noted the large amount of unverifiability in her stories, while declaring that the book's accounts seemed to be truthful. A later article, after contact with Brennan, was more skeptical of Toth's truthfulness. Cities. Other journalists have focused on the underground homeless in New York City as well. Photographer Margaret Morton made the photo book "The Tunnel". Film maker Marc Singer made the documentary "Dark Days" in the year 2000, and a similar documentary, "Voices in the Tunnels", was released in 2008. In 2010, anthropologist Teun Voeten published "Tunnel People". Media accounts have reported "mole people" living underneath other cities as well. In the Las Vegas Valley, it is estimated about 1,000 homeless people find shelter in the storm drains underneath the city for protection from extreme temperatures that exceed while dropping below in winter. According to media reports, the "mole people" living in the tunnels underneath Las Vegas have managed to furnish their "rooms." In one ABC News report from 2009, a couple, who had been living in the tunnels for five years, had managed to furnish their home with a bed, bookcase and even a makeshift shower. The tunnels are prone to flooding, which can be extremely dangerous for the tunnel's residents. Most lose their belongings regularly, and there have even been some reported deaths. Most of the inhabitants are turned away from the limited charities in Las Vegas and find shelter in the industrial infrastructure of the Las Vegas Strip, similar to most cities. The Las Vegas Channel 8 News sent their Eyewitness News I-Team with Matt O'Brien, the local author who spent nearly five years exploring life beneath the city to write the book "Beneath the Neon." O'Brien also founded the Shine A Light Foundation to help the homeless people taking refuge in the tunnels. The charity helps tunnel residents by providing supplies, such as underwear, bottled water and food. According to the Clark County Regional Flood Control District, the valley has about of flood control channels and tunnels, and about of those are underground.

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Outline of science fiction The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to science fiction: Science fiction – a genre of fiction dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology, often in a futuristic setting. or depicting space exploration. Exploring the consequences of such innovations is the traditional purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas". What is science fiction? Science fiction is a type of: Genres of science fiction. Science fiction genre – while science fiction is a genre of fiction, a science fiction genre is a subgenre within science fiction. Science fiction may be divided along any number of overlapping axes. Gary K. Wolfe's "Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy" identifies over 30 subdivisions of science fiction, not including science fantasy (which is a mixed genre). Science. Genres concerning the emphasis, accuracy, and type of science described include: Characteristics. Themes related to science, technology, space and the future, as well as characteristic plots or settings include: Movements. Genres concerning politics, philosophy, and identity movements include: Eras. Genres concerning the historical era of creation and publication include: Combinations. Genres that combine two different fiction genres or use a different fiction genre's mood or style include: Elements of science fiction. Setting elements in science fiction. The setting is the environment in which the story takes place. Elements of setting may include culture (and its technologies), period (including the future), place (geography/astronomy), nature (physical laws, etc.), and hour. Setting elements characteristic of science fiction include: Science-fiction awards. The science fiction genre has a number of recognition awards for authors, editors, and illustrators. Awards are usually granted annually. International awards. Major awards given in chronological order: Franchises. There are a number of science fiction media franchises of this type, typically encompassing media such as cinema films, TV shows, toys, and even theme parks related to the content. The highest-grossing science fiction franchise is "Star Wars". Space science fiction franchises:

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Discrimination against superheroes The Registration Acts—the Mutant Registration Act (MRA), the Keene Act, the Superhuman Registration Act (SRA, or SHRA), the Sokovia Accords, the Vigilante Registration Act (VRA), and the Underage Superhuman Welfare Act (Kamala's Law)— are fictional legislative bills that have been plot points used in various comic books and superhero films which, when passed into law, enforce the regulation of extra legal vigilante activity vs. criminal activity or the mandatory registration of superpowered individuals with the government. The issue that the government might seek to regulate the activities and civil rights of superheroes, who are either criminalized or deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, who may be denied habeas corpus or detained indefinitely without trial, or viewed as valuable national security resource subject to forced conscription without notice in times of crisis, has also been explored in other comics, such as those featuring DC's Justice Society of America team, series like "Watchmen", "Astro City," and "Powers;" the films "The Return of Captain Invincible" (1983) and "The Incredibles" (2004); and in role-playing games "Brave New World" (1999), and "Dawn of Legends" for "Savage Worlds". This kind of plot point is especially rich and extensively explored in the fictional universes of various comic book stories that are published by Marvel Comics. The first mention of the broad concept was in "Uncanny X-Men" #141 (January 1981). The actual term "Registration Act" was first used in "Uncanny X-Men" #181 (May 1984). As their names suggest, "Mutant Registration Act" and "Superhuman Registration Act" deal with the registration of mutants and superhumans respectively. The Mutant Registration Act has also been featured in both the original "X-Men" animated series and the "X-Men" films. Numerous versions of each bill have been proposed at different times and in different jurisdictions in the Marvel Universe. The "Superhuman Registration Act" is a major plot point in Marvel's 2006 crossover limited series "Civil War", which was loosely adapted for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in "" (2016). This version was called the Sokovia Accords. The Accords were mentioned in (2017). The Accords would have a lasting impact in the films (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and the series WandaVision (2021). The Registration Acts as a concept. Publication history. The idea that enhanced individuals might need to be "regulated" or "registered" by the government was first raised in specific relation to Marvel Comics' mutants. In "Uncanny X-Men" #141, (written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne) the concept is briefly suggested. In that issue the term "Registration Act" is not used, but one character (Moira MacTaggert) brings up the notion of "registration". In reference to a politician whom she suspects of anti-mutant bigotry she says: The same issue features mention of the "Mutant Control Act", however it is left unclear exactly what that legislation involves and whether some form of registration is a part of it. However, in "New Mutants" #1, it was implied that involved the operation of concentration camps. The term "Mutant Registration Act" was first fully used in "Uncanny X-Men" #181, by writer Chris Claremont. As the MRA (as it became known) was passed into law in the Marvel Universe it became widely used as a subplot, plot device or background element across Marvel's entire line of titles, especially those featuring mutants (such as "Uncanny X-Men", "X-Factor" and "New Mutants") during the late 1980s. In the early 1990s Chris Claremont left the X-titles and the topic of the MRA began to appear much more rarely in stories. It was still occasionally mentioned, though usually in the past tense, suggesting that it was repealed at some point (though this was never clearly shown) or that it simply ceased to be actively enforced. However, in an interview regarding the "" limited series its writer David Hine suggested that it is still law in the Marvel Universe, stating that in the series the idea of bringing "the Mutant Registration Act in line with the SRA" will be discussed. The idea of an equivalent piece of legislation for non-mutant super-powered individuals—a Superhuman Registration Act—was first raised in comics that were published during the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover in 1989–1990. The issue was most fully explored in "Fantastic Four" #335-336 by writer Walter Simonson. In the course of the story, the issue was apparently resolved with the proposed Act being shelved. The concept was then revived in 1993 in "Alpha Flight" (vol. 1) #120 (May 1993) by writer Simon Furman. In that issue a "Superpowers Registration Act" becomes law in Canada and went on to be a major plot point in the remainder of the series. However, later "Alpha Flight" series did not make use of the concept. In 2006 the concept was again revived by writer Mark Millar as the main plot point in Marvel's 2006 "Civil War" crossover. In preparation for that storyline a new version of the Superhuman Registration Act has been widely mentioned across various Marvel titles, with the issue being most widely discussed and explored in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #529 - 531 (April - June 2006) by writer J. Michael Straczynski. Issues, allegories and metaphors. When the topic of the original Superhuman Registration Act is debated in "Fantastic Four" #335-336 the issue is explored in a national security context, with the utility of such a law being challenged. In the comics the Fantastic Four argue that super-heroes are already a hugely benevolent force for society and such an act would be unnecessary and possibly counter-productive. When the issue of an SRA was raised again in "Amazing Spider-Man" #529 - 531 the prospect of a new SRA is explored once more from a security perspective, with reference being made to the fact that super-powered individuals often wield abilities which have massively destructive potential for use, making some mechanism to regulate their activities necessary. The writer of "Civil War", Mark Millar, has stated that that storyline explores the civil rights implications of the SHR as previous stories have done, but also explores the other side of the argument in more depth, in particular how Marvel super-heroes are, absent an SRA, illegal vigilantes, lacking proper legal authority or oversight. Terms of the registration acts. In a June 2006 interview "Civil War" editor Tom Brevoort confirmed that registrants to the act were required to reveal their identities to the government (but not the public) and they have to undergo some basic testing or training and satisfy certain (as yet unspecified) standards before they gain legal authorization to continue to use their abilities to fight crime. Government employment is not mandatory, though it is available to those who wish to take it. This has not remained consistent, though, and characters have made reference to all superpowered individuals being forced to register and enlist in S.H.I.E.L.D. It was revealed in "Amazing Spider-Man" #535 that unregistered individuals are sent to a prison in the otherdimensional Negative Zone indefinitely until they agree to register. Iron Man claims that as this is off United States soil, they have almost no civil rights unless the United States Supreme Court explicitly rules otherwise—and he knows they won't. This leads Spider-Man to re-evaluate his support of the act. After the major conflict of "Civil War" ends, all the superhero inmates are transferred to real prisons in the state while the facility is transformed into a Maximum Security Prison for high-threat-level villains such as the Taskmaster and Lady Deathstrike. Marvel Universe. Marvel Comics. Mutant Control Act. The first direct mention of a piece of legislation specifically aimed at super-humans in the Marvel Universe comes in "Uncanny X-Men" #141 (January 1981) in which the "Mutant Control Act", a law from the future, is mentioned. In the course of the story, the first part of the two-part "Days of Future Past" storyline, Kate Pryde travels back in time from a dystopian future to the present and possesses the body of her younger self, X-Men member Kitty Pryde. On revealing herself to Kitty's teammates she recounts to them the series of events which led to her dark future, in the hopes that the X-Men might be able to prevent those events from coming to pass. One of those pivotal events was the passing of a "Mutant Control Act" by the government of the United States. When the Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional the government responded by reactivating their robot Sentinel program so that they might police the mutant race. The Sentinels interpreted their mandate in such a way that they decided to forcibly take over the government of the country and instituted a harsh regime where mutants were severely persecuted. The reference to the Mutant Control Act is brief, and it is unclear exactly what its provisions would entail, though it would appear that registration forms at least one part of it. In the course of the story the X-Men are successful in preventing one of the pivotal events which Pryde had described to them (the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly) from occurring, though the story's end is intentionally ambiguous as to whether Pryde's dystopian future was fully avoided. Although no Mutant Control Act has been introduced in the comics, the Mutant Registration Act may be its equivalent and the events of "Days of Future Past" continue to be alluded to in X-Men comics as a possible future. 1982 British Super Hero Legislation. During the events of the "Jaspers' Warp" story arc, an insane reality warper, Jim Jaspers, became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and turned the UK into a fascist state. As PM, he enforced "Super Hero Legislation"; using armored agents of S.T.R.I.K.E., the UK division of S.H.I.E.L.D., to hunt down and detain superhumans within the UK. However, the legislation is abandoned after Captain Britain defeated Jaspers. Mutant Registration Act. Registration as a concept is first mentioned in "Uncanny X-Men #141" in which Moira MacTaggert suggests that Robert Kelly deems the registration of mutants by the government as necessary. Her suggestion eventually turns out to be accurate, and in the "Uncanny X-Men #181" (May 1984) the first mention of a Mutant Control Act is made when Kelly is seen discussing his introduction of the Mutant Affairs Control Act with a senatorial colleague. It is then mentioned in #183 (1984) to have "stirred up the hornets' nest" (12) by Valerie Cooper. By #184 (July 1984) the Act is mentioned as introduced in Congress by Senator Kelly, and in #188 Nightcrawler remarks the chance of it to become accepted as law is as high as never before, suggesting that, unlike the Mutant Control Act in the "Days of Future Past" timeline, it would not be struck down by the Supreme Court. The passage of the MRA did not have an immediate impact on the plots of any Marvel series, but the legislation continued to be referenced intermittently in various titles. In at least one instance ("X-Factor" #1; February 1986), the Act is referred to as a "possible new law". In that story, the prospect of the MRA is one of the things which motivate Jean Grey and Cyclops to form X-Factor. The legislation becomes a plot point later when government agent Val Cooper and the mutant terrorist Mystique form Freedom Force, a government-sanctioned superhero team (mostly comprising former members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) in "Uncanny X-Men" #199 (November 1985). Freedom Force went on to make many appearances where they sought to enforce the MRA by arresting unregistered mutants such as members of the X-Men (e.g. "Uncanny X-Men" #206, June 1986), X-Factor (e.g. "X-Factor" #30; July 1988) and the New Mutants (e.g. "New Mutants" #86, February 1990). They also appeared enforcing the MRA in non-X-Men-related titles such as "Daredevil" #269 (August 1989). Captain America (who at this point is John Walker, the character who would later be known as U.S. Agent) and Battlestar – two other officially sanctioned super-heroes – also briefly enforce the Act by capturing the unregistered mutant Meteorite for the government in "Captain America" (vol. 2) #343 (July 1988). During this period of active enforcement of the MRA, the only mutants who are shown publicly protesting the Act were those who were not aligned with the X-Men or its affiliated teams. For example, in "X-Factor" #33 the Alliance of Evil demonstrates against the MRA in Manhattan and after fighting X-Factor are arrested by Freedom Force and in "Captain America" #368 (March 1990) a mutant group called the Resistants are shown protesting the Act in Washington D.C. Indeed, far from publicly agitating against the act, one X-team (X-Factor, in its original form) actually pretend in public to be supporters of the MRA who are actively enforcing it, though in actuality they act to subvert it. With Freedom Force (the characters most involved in the enforcement of the Act) no longer existing (they disband following a disastrous mission in Iraq in "X-Factor Annual" #6, 1991) and Chris Claremont (the writer who developed the MRA as a sub-plot) no longer writing "X-Men" stories after 1992, the Mutant Registration Act stopped appearing prominently in Marvel Universe stories. Proposition X. In an attempt to further subjugate the remaining mutant population, Simon Trask leads the Humanity Now! coalition in support of federal legislation called Proposition X. Proposition X if passed would have force mandatory chemical birth control on all mutants. While marching to San Francisco's city hall in support of Proposition X, Simon Trask and his followers met opposition by Hank McCoy, young mutants and mutant right activist. Hank McCoy's peaceful resistance against Proposition X eventually led to a fight between the opposing sides. In response Norman Osborn will declare martial law in San Francisco, which causes the riot that will plague the city the next few nights. These events will lead to Cyclops creating a new mutant sanctuary called Utopia, where mutants can be free from bigoted legislation. 1990 Metahuman Registration Act. A variation on the concept of the Mutant Registration Act the Superhuman Registration Act concept is originally proposed in comic books published circa the "Acts of Vengeance" storyline, such as "Punisher" (vol. 2) #29 and "Avengers" (vol. 1) #313 (both January 1990). During that period, in "Fantastic Four" #335 and 336 (December 1989, January 1990) the Fantastic Four go to Congress where a committee is investigating whether an SRA, similar in its provisions to the already in effect Mutant Registration Act, is required for Superheroes (the MRA only covers individuals who have their powers inherently at birth, not those who acquire their abilities artificially in later life). In his testimony and in evidence he presents to Congress, Reed Richards argues that a Super-human registration Act is unnecessary as Super-humans have been largely effective and trustworthy in their actions and government regulation would only stifle their ability to protect the world. He argues that those individuals who were likely to act irresponsibly with their powers are also likely to be supervillains and thus would not be candidates for registration anyway. As the topic is debated, he and his teammates are continually attacked by random supervillains whom they easily subdue, though it is unclear if this helps or hinders his arguments. In his final point concerning the lack of any workable definition of superhuman Richards demonstrates a device that scans a human for physical and mental capabilities and compares those to the national average, marking 'significant outliers' as "superhuman". The device identifies several regular humans, including some committee members, as "superhuman" according to those criteria. The proposed legislation is abandoned and registration of superhumans in the United States is not recommended by the committee. 1993 Canadian Super-powers Registration Act. A similarly titled "Super-powers Registration Act" is passed by the Canadian government in "Alpha Flight" #120 (May 1993). Introduced by a minister of the Canadian government named Robert Hagon, the Super-powers Registration Act is part of a complex plot engineered by the Master, who is using the alias "Joshua Lord". The terms of the act entail the government employment of all super-powered individuals, including mutants, who are then enlisted in one of the government Department H "Flight" programs such as "Alpha Flight" and "Gamma Flight". Although the Act was shown to be controversial and the first series ended with the disbandment of the Canadian government's superteams (the various "Flights") in "Alpha Flight" (vol. 1) #130 (March 1994), the Canadian SRA is never explicitly repealed or overturned within the comics. Later "Alpha Flight" series did not acknowledge the law. As of 2006, rumors began to circulate (encouraged by some Marvel creators such as Mark Millar) that a new "Alpha Flight" series of some form is in the planning stages. The rumors suggest that the premise of this series would involve American superheroes fleeing the United States to Canada to escape a newly enacted U.S. Superhuman Registration Act. This suggests that registration is no longer mandatory in the Marvel Universe version of Canada. In July 2006 "Civil War" editor Tom Brevoort concurred with this sentiment saying "we've seen no evidence of it in ten-plus years of Canadian appearances. So if such legislation did exist, it was evidently repealed at some point." Other sources, however, such as Michael Avon Oeming's post-"Civil War" title "Omega Flight", contradict this statement, which several characters mentioning having a Registration Act for years, without the negative effects of the American Superhuman Registration act. 2006 Superhuman Registration Act. Interest in the concept of the act was revived in various Marvel comic books in 2006. In "New Avengers Special: the Illuminati" (May 2006), following the events of "Decimation" and the sudden dramatic fall in the Mutant population, the U.S. government again considers a Superhuman Registration Act and Iron Man attempts to persuade his Illuminati colleagues to support the SRA, in order to diffuse it. Iron Man predicts that some superhuman or group of superhumans will eventually make a mistake that will cost hundreds of lives (he specifically mentions the Young Avengers and the Runaways as candidates for causing such a catastrophe). After such an event, he went on to predict, the government would inevitably rush to make an example of someone, or everyone, in the superhuman community by passing legislation that would be even more restrictive or persecutory towards them than the proposed SRA. By supporting the Act before it is passed, he suggests, he and his fellow Illuminati might be able to help avert such possible future tragedies and also, by becoming a part of the process, help moderate the legislation so that it would have the minimum possible negative effect on the superhuman community. However, most of the Illuminati members (except for Reed Richards, who had spoken against the similar proposition made 16 years before "(see above)") flatly reject Stark's proposal, leading to the disbandment of the group. In "Amazing Spider-Man" #529-531 (April–June 2006), Spider-Man and Iron Man travel to Washington D.C. to discuss the issue. In those issues Iron Man is shown to be initially opposed to the idea, while Spider-Man is unsure of his opinion. In #531, the first part of Iron Man's prediction are shown to be accurate when a conflict between the New Warriors and a group of supervillains ends with a massive explosion which kills hundreds of people, including children attending a nearby school. As depicted in the "Civil War" crossover and series, the public outcry that follows this event leads the government (with the support of Iron Man and fellow Illuminati member Reed Richards) to quickly enact the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), 6 U.S.C. § 558, which required those with naturally occurring superhuman abilities, super abilities acquired through science or magic (including extraterrestrials and gods), and even non-super powered humans using exotic technology, such as Iron Man, to register as "living weapons of mass destruction." Enactment of the law on the federal level led to various revisions to state criminal codes (such as Chapter 40, Article 120, Section 120 of the New York Penal Code and Section 245(d) of the California Penal Code) in order to allow state and federal coordination in enforcing the law. This leads to a major schism and conflict among the superheroes, with the anti-SHRA side- regarding the Act as a violation of civil liberties- led by Captain America and the pro-SHRA side- seeing the Act as a natural evolution of the superhuman's role in the modern world to regain public trust- led by Iron Man. Eventually, Iron Man's side wins the conflict and the "Fifty State Initiative" is established. Other countries followed America's lead and introduced their own Superhuman Registration laws. Following the Skrull invasion and the subsequent fall from grace of Iron Man, Norman Osborn seizes control of the Initiative and SHIELD, but is prevented from getting his hand on the register (and thus the identities of most of the superhuman community) by Tony Stark when he infects the US government database with a computer virus. There is only one copy of the SHRA database, in Stark's brain, where he deleted it, piece by piece, before Osborn could get his hands on it, destroying the very information that was the focus of "Civil War" in the first place. At the conclusion of "Siege", Steve Rogers is named the new head of security of the United States and as a condition of joining, he convinces the government to repeal the Act, allowing superheroes to return to their prior activities. MI-13 Registration Act. First raised in #1 and further detailed in #5 of "Captain Britain and MI-13" (2008), the British version of registration was started during the Skrull invasion: all superheroes in the UK were drafted with immediate effect into the intelligence agency MI-13. After the invasion, the terms were stated that MI-13 would monitor and support superheroes and call on them for reasons of national defence, but would allow them semi-autonomy so they would not feel morally compromised. Underage Superhuman Welfare Act. Being first hinted at by Senator Geoffrey Patrick on television about problems caused by young vigilantes, in Outlawed (April 2020), the destruction of Coles Academic High School due to Viv's malfunction and the simultaneous/resulting nearby public's near death experience had the U.S. government draft the Underage Superhuman Welfare Act. The Act, which they nicknamed Kamala's Law due to Kamala's courageous actions during the event, outlawed superheroes below twenty-one years of age. The Act also leads to the creation of the Child-Hero Reconnaissance and Disruption Law Enforcement (C.R.A.D.L.E.), whose commanders would prevent young people from being superheroes. The Act was supported by many superheroes such as Spider-Man (Peter Parker), as well as parents of young superheroes. Marvel Media. Ultimate Universe. Although no Registration Act exists in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, there are several laws in place that prohibit superhuman activity. Genetic modification of a human being is illegal, and the Superhuman Test Ban Treaty makes it illegal for nations to employ superhumans. This makes the Test Ban Treaty the polar opposite of the SHRA. In "Ultimate Six" #1, it was stated that the law on deliberately created superhumans is still unclear, allowing Nick Fury to hold supervillains indefinitely without any trial and in hidden locations (#5 showed that the President of the United States was unaware of this, and was furious when he learned of it). Exiles #12. In "Exiles" #12 a parallel world is shown, similar to the "Days of Future Past" timeline, in which the passing of a Mutant Registration Act led to the Sentinels taking over the world and herding mutants, superhumans and eventually even humans into concentration camps. The "Age of Apocalypse" version of Sabretooth, who at that point was a member of the Exiles, stays on this planet in order to raise the infant David Richards (the son of the Rachel Summers and Franklin Richards of that reality). Marvel Knights: 2099. In an alternate world (Earth-2992) shown in the "Marvel Knights: 2099" series of one-shots published in November 2004, a Mutant Registration Act is in effect which mandates that mutants undergo a process which robs them of their abilities. The "Marvel Knights: Mutant 2099" one-shot explained that after the passage of this act the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four opposed the government's enforcement of it and were eventually defeated in a major battle that was fought in front of the Baxter Building. This led all the remaining superheroes to go underground. The 1992 X-Men animated series. The first episode of the 1992 "X-Men" Animated Series ("Night of the Sentinels (part 1)"; original airdate: 31 October 1992) mentions that some form of registration is in effect already. In the episode, Jubilee's foster parents worry that they may have to "register her with the Mutant Control Agency" after she manifests her powers for the first time. But following the attack on Jubilee at a mall, it was revealed that the hidden agenda of Henry Peter Gyrich, the founder of the agency is to deceive the mutants into revealing their identities so the Sentinels could track down and eliminate them due to Gyrich's beliefs that mutants pose a threat to society. After the destruction of their files, following the X-Men's raid on the agency, the President decides to cancel the registration act. The government's persecution of mutants is a consistent theme throughout the fifth season of the series. The "X-Men" movies. The events of the first "X-Men" film are precipitated when Senator Robert Kelly introduces a Mutant Registration Act to the Senate. This motivates Magneto, who sees such legislation as persecutory towards mutants, to kidnap Kelly and replace him with Mystique, who while impersonating Kelly, withdraws his advocacy for the Act. In the sequel, "X2", the Mutant Registration Act is briefly mentioned when Storm speculates that Nightcrawler's attack on the White House might lead the government to reintroduce the legislation. Marvel Cinematic Universe. In ' (2016), which is loosely based on the 2006-2007 comics storyline "Civil War", public opinion of the Avengers and all superpowered beings worsens following the events of "The Avengers", "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", and "Avengers: Age of Ultron", causing great destruction and casualties to New York City, Washington D.C., and Sokovia respectively. After a catastrophe in Lagos, involving Wanda Maximoff using her powers to try and divert an explosion from Brock Rumlow, causing the accidental destruction of a building and the deaths of several humanitarian workers (several of them Wakandan), the United Nations begins trying to pass a set of internationally ratified legal documents: these documents provide regulation and frame-working for the military/law enforcement deployment of enhanced individuals, particularly the Avengers, and are called the Sokovia Accords. The Accords divide the Avengers, leading Steve Rogers to come into conflict with Tony Stark, with Stark believing the Avengers need to be held responsible for their actions, especially after he created Ultron and was responsible for the destruction in Sokovia, and Rogers believing the Accords will restrict the Avengers' freedom and therefore opposes it. In the meantime, Bucky Barnes gets framed for a bombing at the UN by Colonel Helmut Zemo, who is using the Accords to his advantage against the Avengers, seeking vengeance for the deaths of his family in Sokovia. This leads to Rogers and Stark each forming their own sides as they battle over the Accords, ultimately resulting in a large-scale battle at the Leipzig/Halle Airport, with Stark, James Rhodes, Peter Parker, Romanoff, T'Challa and Vision against Rogers, Barnes, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, Maximoff, and Scott Lang. The battle concludes with Rogers and Barnes escaping to a secret Hydra base in Siberia where Barnes had been kept and from where they suspect Zemo will unleash five other Winter Soldiers. In the aftermath of the battle, Wilson, Maximoff, Barton and Lang are imprisoned at the Raft, while Romanoff goes into hiding for helping Rogers and Barnes escape. Later, Rogers breaks his allies out of the Raft, with Stark – who was appalled at how his former comrades were being treated – willingly letting the breakout occur without interference from his side. When Thaddeus Ross calls Stark to stop the breakout, he ignores it, pretending to be busy. In "" (2018), Ross intends to prosecute Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, and Maximoff for violating the Accords, despite being made aware of Zemo's actions and the threat that Thanos poses to Earth. This alienates Rhodes, who now sees that the Accords will only end up causing more harm than good, and he proceeds to hang up on Ross instead of arresting them as ordered. Clint Barton and Scott Lang are unavailable for the battle against Thanos because they are on house arrest for violating the accords. In "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018), Lang is under house arrest as part of his plea deal, while Hope van Dyne and her father Hank Pym were forced into hiding for violation of the Accords due to their technology being involved in the conflict. In "WandaVision" (2021), FBI agent Jimmy Woo suggests that Maximoff violated the Accords when she reactivated Vision. However, it is eventually revealed that the surveillance footage showing this was doctored by S.W.O.R.D. acting director Tyler Hayward. This indicates that the Accords are still active after "", and that Hayward and his agents have violated the Accords by taking action against Maximoff. "Avengers Assemble". In "Avengers: Ultron Revolution", two registration acts are enacted: "the New Powers Act" which puts all super powered beings under government jurisdiction and a variation of the Mutant Registration Act known as Inhumans Registration Act which puts all Inhumans under government control with Registration Disks on their necks. Both the "New Powers Act" and the Inhuman Registration Act, however, are revealed to be just a plot by Ultron (who was disguised as the Avengers' government liaison Truman Marsh) to accomplish his goals against both humans and Inhumans, also revealing that the Registration Disks are mind control devices. "Marvel Future Avengers". In a three-part story during the first season of the anime series "Marvel Future Avengers", Norman Osborn uses a mind-altering gas as the Green Goblin to cause the Hulk to go on a rampage in New York City, stoking anti-superhero sentiment. Osborn uses this to gain support for a new superhero regulation bill, hoping to eliminate superheroes from society and allow him to sow chaos. The law passes, but several councilmen begin seeking its repeal, leading the Green Goblin to stage violent attacks on the bill's opponents. Ultimately, Spider-Man and the Future Avengers expose Osborn as the Green Goblin, and he is defeated and imprisoned, restoring the people's faith in heroes and leading to the law's repeal. DC Universe. DC Comics. In DC Comics, DC Universe the Justice Society of America chose to disband in 1951 rather than appear in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which demanded that they unmask themselves. This was first shown in a back-up story in "Adventure Comics" (vol. 1) #466 ("The Defeat of the Justice Society!"; December 1979) by writer Paul Levitz and subsequently further explored in the "America vs. The Justice Society" 4 issue limited series (January–April 1985) by writers Roy and Dann Thomas. There is also a piece of legislation called the "Keene Act" (an apparent reference to "Watchmen", see below) in the DC Universe. First mentioned in "Suicide Squad" (vol. 1) #1 (May 1987) in a story written by John Ostrander, the "Act" is referred to as a piece of legislation from 1961 which gives prisons greater leeway in imprisoning superhumans than ordinary prisoners. It was more fully explored in "Secret Origins" (vol. 3) #14 (May 1987), again written by Ostrander, where it is revealed that the Act was passed in 1961 and it reaffirmed the right (that had been cast into doubt by HUAC in 1951) of superheroes to operate with secret identities. That story also reveals that the later "Ingersoll Amendment" (a reference to lawyer and comics writer Bob Ingersoll) to the Keene Act, which delineates governmental authority over superhuman activity in times of crisis, was passed into law in 1972. "Watchmen". In Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' 12 issue "Watchmen" series (September 1986 – October 1987), extensive reference is made to a law called the Keene Act. The series reveals that the actions of superheroes or "costumed vigilantes" in the world of "Watchmen" caused a New York City police strike in 1977, which led to rioting (shown in "Watchmen" #2; October 1986) and the passing of the Keene Act which outlaws non-government affiliated acts of "costumed adventuring" (mentioned in "Watchmen" #4; December 1986). The passing of the act led to the retirement of most of the US superheroes, the sole exceptions being government-sponsored heroes such as The Comedian and Doctor Manhattan (who are used to fight wars, allowing the US to win the Vietnam War) and Rorschach, who refuses to abide by the law. The series depicts them coming out of retirement when The Comedian is murdered at the beginning of the comic. DC Media. "Smallville". In the television series "Smallville" The Vigilante Registrations Act (VRA) is proposed legislation that would require vigilantes to register themselves. Led by General Slade Wilson, the VRA forces registered heroes to unmask and officially work for the government or be branded as terrorists. Despite the efforts of Darkseid and his minions to encourage anti-hero propaganda, the actions of the Justice League, Oliver Queen, and the pro-vigilante Senator Martha Kent – ironically aided by an assassination attempt arranged against Martha by a clone of Lex Luthor, which was based around his personal grudges against her son rather than the VRA – result in the Act being repealed and the heroes being permitted to return to their daily lives. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". In the film "", the character of Superman becomes controversial due to his unintentional hand in the destruction wreaked in Metropolis as a result of General Zod's invasion during "Man of Steel". The government subsequently decides to have a court hearing that will decide if Superman should be held accountable via a registration act. A conflicted Superman tries to avoid it, and instead focus on trying to locate Batman, who agrees with the government and desires to obtain kryptonite to use on him if necessary. Superman ultimately attends the hearing, but before a resolution can be made, Lex Luthor bombs the court. Other equivalents. In many other super-hero universes the government has intervened to regulate or control the activities of super-heroes. Some examples of this include: "The Return of Captain Invincible". In the 1983 comedy film "The Return of Captain Invincible" starring Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee, Captain Invincible (Arkin) is a super-hero who was forced into retirement in the 1950s following the government's persecution of him. In a similar scenario as that faced by the Justice Society, Captain Invincible faced a McCarthy-ish congressional investigation which accused him of being a communist (because of his red cape) and charged him for violating U.S. airspace by flying without a proper license. As the title suggests a crisis forces Captain Invincible out of retirement in the 1980s which leads to him redeeming his reputation. "City of Heroes". Following World War II, in the City of Heroes universe, the United States intelligence community feared the Soviet bloc would gain an advantage in meta-human assets. To address this issue, the government passed the Might for Right Act. This law proclaimed any U.S. citizen with meta-human powers or paranormal abilities, super-powered individuals and vigilante heroes a valuable national resource subject to draft without notice into the service of the United States government. The law was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court after numerous protests and complaints regarding the law's civil rights abuses. Currently in effect in the setting is the Citizen Crime Fighting Act, which provides vigilantes who choose to register (whether technically superhuman or not) with police powers. Unlike the Might for Right act or the Marvel act the CCFA does not require heroes to work for the government, although through various "forms" in the game it is shown the government (or at least the one in Paragon City) keeps track of all heroes and any supergroups they may form. Similar to Marvel's 2006 Act, in the alternate dimension Praetoria all superhumans are required to work under the "Powers Division" of the government. "Astro City". In writer Kurt Busiek's "Astro City" Vol. 2 #6-9 (February - May 1996) the registration of super-humans is mandated by the city's Mayor Stevenson. In those comic book issues, a super-human serial killer is thought to be active in the city and the Mayor proposes that registration will help apprehend the killer. Stevenson brings in federal E.A.G.L.E. agents to enforce the new requirement, which is opposed by many active super-heroes. The prominent hero Winged Victory makes outspoken statements opposing registration and several super-humans flout the law and illegally continue their activities without registration. In "Astro City" #8 the Mayor is revealed as an alien infiltrator whose actions are part of a planned extraterrestrial invasion. The mayor's policy discredited, Astro City's super-human population unite to defeat the invasion in "Astro City" #9. Registration is abandoned at the storyline's conclusion and has not been mentioned again in the series. The issues involved were later collected in the trade paperback "Astro City: Confession" (). "Brave New World". In the "Brave New World" superhero role-playing game originally released by Pinnacle Entertainment Group in 1999 the setting of a dystopian alternate timeline includes a fascist United States government which passed the "Delta Registration Act" after a group of supervillains attempted to assassinate President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. In the game the law requires that anybody with super-human abilities must register themselves to the United States Government. Its restrictive provisions include requirements that registrants surrender certain civil rights and notify the police of their whereabouts regularly. The law also mandates that super-powered individuals register within 7 days of first manifesting their abilities, with the penalty for failing to do so being an automatic sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The Act also legislates for the mandatory military conscription of individual super-powered individuals at any time should their abilities be judged necessary by the government. In the world of the game most other nations have similar laws, though they are far less draconian in their restrictions and enforcement. "Powers". In Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming's "Powers" series, superheroes had to register with the government in order to be able to operate. This was changed following the events of "Powers" (vol. 1) #30 (March 2003) in which Super Shock, the world's most trusted superhero, goes on a massive worldwide killing spree. At that point, the US government prohibited super-beings from using their powers and operating as superheroes. This leads all the world's heroes to retire and attempt to live normal lives, though after "Powers" (vol. 2) #6 (November 2004) some begin to re-emerge. "The Incredibles" and "Incredibles 2". In the world depicted in the 2004 Pixar animated feature film "The Incredibles", superheroes (known as "supers") are shown in flashbacks as originally having been required to register with the National Supers Agency (or "NSA"; a joke reference to the real-life National Security Agency) in order to legally fight the crime that mostly (and at many times constantly) occurred in their home city of Municiberg during the late 1940s and into the 50s. However, this all changed when the "Sansweet v. Incredible" court case at the start of the film revealed superheroes are legally liable for personal injury claims of people injured during their activities, eventually revealing they are also liable for costs to infrastructure and property damaged during their activities. Despite any and all of the important live-saving and crime-stopping those same activities had and would provide for everyone, the superheroes ended up facing potentially overwhelming legal liabilities for those injuries and damages, and public pressure from those who hated superheroes for causing any and/or all of them: this forced all superheroes into retirement before the end of the 1950s. To assist them with these retirement processes, the United States government set up a "Superhero Relocation Program" (similar in many ways to the non-fictional Witness Protection Program) which granted superheroes amnesty from the legal claims provided they permanently retire from hero work and live anonymously. By the end of the movie, in the Early 1960s (1962 according to a newspaper), the main protagonists have returned to their roles as superheroes (among the very few left as the result of the villainous Syndrome's actions), hinting the program itself has been nullified. In the 2018 sequel, "Incredibles 2", the shutdown of the relocation program is confirmed, after the main protagonists' first attempt at resuming their hero work unfortunately reveals that much of the public and government still does not want them back, thus leading to said shutdown. A wealthy industrialist, Winston Deavor, recruits Helen Parr (Elastigirl and wife of Robert Parr, Mr. Incredible) to help him get supers legalized again. Although the effort is sabotaged by Deavor's own sister Evelyn, who blames supers for the cause of their father's death, near the end of the film, a judge is shown striking down the legislation outlawing superheroes. "Absolution". In the world depicted in "Absolution", Christopher Gage's creator-owned limited series by Avatar Press, super heroes are part of the police force. While the government is aware of their real identities, superheroes are not obligated to reveal their identities to the public.

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m2d2_wiki

Future history A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, while other times the reader can reconstruct the order of the stories from information provided therein. Background. The term appears to have been coined by John W. Campbell, Jr., the editor of "Astounding Science Fiction", in the February 1941 issue of that magazine, in reference to Robert A. Heinlein's "Future History". Neil R. Jones is generally credited as the first author to create a future history. A set of stories which share a backdrop but are not really concerned with the sequence of history in their universe are rarely considered future histories. For example, neither Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan Saga" nor George R. R. Martin's 1970s short stories which share a backdrop are generally considered future histories. Standalone stories which trace an arc of history are rarely considered future histories. For example, Walter M. Miller Jr.'s "A Canticle for Leibowitz" is not generally considered a future history. Earlier, some works were published which constituted "future history" in a more literal sense—i.e., stories or whole books purporting to be excerpts of a history book from the future and which are written in the form of a history book—i.e., having no personal protagonists but rather describing the development of nations and societies over decades and centuries. Such works include: Alternate history. Unlike alternate history, where alternative outcomes are ascribed to past events, future history postulates certain outcomes to events in the writer's present and future. The essential difference is that the writer of alternate history is in possession of knowledge of the actual outcome of a certain event, and that knowledge influences also the description of the event's alternate outcome. The writer of future history does not have such knowledge, such works being based on speculations and predictions current at the time of writing—which often turn out to be wildly inaccurate. For example, in 1933 H. G. Wells postulated in "The Shape of Things to Come" a Second World War in which Nazi Germany and Poland are evenly matched militarily, fighting an indecisive war over ten years; and Poul Anderson's early 1950s Psychotechnic League depicted a world undergoing a devastating nuclear war in 1958, yet by the early 21st century managing not only to rebuild the ruins on Earth but also engage in extensive space colonization of the Moon and several planets. A writer possessing knowledge of the actual swift collapse of Poland in World War II and the enormous actual costs of far less ambitious space programs in a far less devastated world would have been unlikely to postulate such outcomes. "" was set in the future and featured developments in space travel and habitation which have not occurred on the timescale postulated. A problem with future history science fiction is that it will date and be overtaken by real historical events, for instance H. Beam Piper's future history, which included a nuclear war in 1973, and much of the future history of "Star Trek". Jerry Pournelle's "CoDominium" future history assumed that the Cold War would end with the United States and Soviet Union establishing a co-rule of the world, the CoDominium of the title, which would last into the 22nd Century—rather than the Soviet Union collapsing in 1991. There are several ways this is dealt with. One solution to the problem is when some authors set their stories in an indefinite future, often in a society where the current calendar has been disrupted due to a societal collapse or undergone some form of distortion due to the impact of technology. Related to the first, some stories are set in the very remote future and only deal with the author's contemporary history in a sketchy fashion, if at all (e.g. the original "Foundation" Trilogy by Asimov). Another related case is where stories are set in the near future, but with an explicitly allohistorical past, as in Ken MacLeod's "Engines of Light" series. In other cases, the merging of the fictional history and the known history is done through extensive use of retroactive continuity. In yet other cases, such as the "Doctor Who" television series and the fiction based on it, much use is made of secret history, in which the events that take place are largely secret and not known to the general public. As with Heinlein, some authors simply write a detailed future history and accept the fact that events will overtake it, making the sequence into a "de facto" alternate history. Lastly, some writers formally transform their future histories into alternate history, once they had been overtaken by events. For example, Poul Anderson started The Psychotechnic League history in the early 1950s, assuming a nuclear war in 1958—then a future date. When it was republished in the 1980s, a new foreword was added explaining how that history's timeline diverged from ours and led to war.

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Genetic discrimination Genetic discrimination occurs when people treat others (or are treated) differently because they have or are perceived to have a gene mutation(s) that causes or increases the risk of an inherited disorder. It may also refer to any and all discrimination based on the genotype of a person rather than their individual merits, including that related to race. Some legal scholars have argued for a more precise and broader definition of genetic discrimination: "Genetic discrimination should be defined as when an individual is subjected to negative treatment, not as a result of the individual's physical manifestation of disease or disability, but solely because of the individual's genetic composition." Genetic Discrimination is considered to have its foundations in genetic determinism and genetic essentialism, and is based on the concept of genism, i.e. distinctive human characteristics and capacities are determined by genes. Genetic discrimination takes different forms depending on the country and the protections that have been taken to limit genetic discrimination, such as GINA in the United States that protects people from being barred from working or from receiving healthcare as a result of their genetic makeup. The umbrella of genetic discrimination includes the notion of informed consent, which refers to an individual's right to make a decision about their participation in research with complete comprehension of the research study. Within the United States, genetic discrimination is an ever-evolving concept that remains prominent across different domains. Emerging technology such as direct-to-consumer genetic tests have allowed for broad genetic health information to be more accessible to the public, but raises concerns about privacy. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated difficulties of those with genetic conditions as they have faced discrimination within the U.S. healthcare system. The idea of genetic discrimination has been combated since the 1947 Nuremberg Code that was created shortly after WWII, during which thousands of racialized and disabled victims died in tests conducted in Germany. Since then, new issues of racialized genetic discrimination have come to light involving sharing of genetic information to genomic biobanks and subsequent novel treatments. Many countries are still developing policies to combat genetic discrimination in science, law, and everyday life. Legal status. United States. There are multiple legal protections in place in the United States, such as Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which all help to prevent genetic discrimination in the workplace, public services, and provide some insurance protection. Therefore, by law, those with genetic conditions are protected from possible discrimination and have a right to receive equitable care. Genetic discrimination is illegal in the U.S. after passage of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) on May 21, 2008. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush, and passed in the US Senate by a vote of 95–0 and in the House of Representatives by 414–1. The legislation bars employers from using individuals' genetic information when making hiring, firing, job placement, or promotion decisions. GINA also protects individuals from genetic discrimination in healthcare; however, GINA itself does not define what genetic information is, leaving it up for debate. Prior to the 2008 GINA Act, individuals could be denied insurance, either partially or fully, based on genetic tests they had received. Although it was passed in 2008 there were 201 cases that cited GINA in 2010 and 333 in 2014. It wasn't until 2013 that a company actually faced penalties under GINA. Health insurance discrimination. In 2008, "The New York Times" reported that some individuals avoid genetic testing out of fear that it will would impede their ability to purchase insurance or find a job. They also reported that evidence of actual discrimination was rare. In November 2016 insurance company GWG Life was found to be collecting saliva samples in order to offer lower rates to people who are epigenetically healthier than others of their age. While this is positive discrimination, this does suggest future potential classification of clients by genetic data. While the 2008 GINA Act does protect against genetic discrimination pertaining to health insurance, it does not protect against genetic discrimination under other forms of insurance, such as life, disability or long-term care insurance. Therefore, patients are enjoying less protection against genetic discrimination in comparison with other peer countries, such as France, Switzerland, Australia and the United Kingdom. Additionally, 2008 GINA offers no protection for home/mortgage insurance or when an employer has 15 or less employees. Excluded from the Act are also parties who are covered under Veterans Health Administration or Indian Health Services. Because a variety of medical tests serve as proxies for genetic information, proponents of insurer access to genetic information argue that it does not require specific limiting legislation. However, this represents an important problem for recruiting participants to medical research according to other scholars stressing that protecting American against discrimination may only happen with the advent of a voluntary moratorium by the insurance industry. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Background. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing was first offered in 1997 by GeneTree, a now defunct family history website. A genetic test is considered a direct-to-consumer test if it is presented to the consumer separate from a health care provider. These tests are easily accessible on the market and popularized by companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com. These genetic kits are expensive and disproportionately serve wealthy individuals. As a result, when the data collected from testing is sold to research companies, it represents a biased sample of the population. The Food and Drug Administration additionally halted all 23andMe marketing in 2013 over unsubstantiated claims 23andMe made regarding disease diagnosis and prevention. After an investigation, the FDA approved 23andMe to begin carrier screening in 2015 and to resume genetic health risk screening in 2017. This has led the way for an expansion of the market of direct-to-consumer genetic tests. Controversy. The shortage of knowledge about and awareness of direct-to-consumer genetic testing is one of the contributors to the previously limited purchasing of this kind of service. As technology has progressed, genetic testing has become a more wide scale practice, potentially affecting the privacy of consumers as a result. While some providers of DTC testing destroy the samples after giving the consumer their data, others keep the samples for future data use. The way in which samples that are sent to DTC genetic testing companies are used after analysis is an important point of ethical controversy, as many worry that the creation of biobanks form DTC data creates increased possibility for genetic discrimination. Genomic information is playing an increasingly important role in medical practice and progress. As DTC companies continue to grow, a large obstacle they face is creating a sense of trust with the public in promising to uphold nondiscrimination standards as consumer health data is not currently regulated. Some argue that the clinical utility of results from DTC tests is extremely limited and thus the risk of genetic discrimination is not worth the utility of DTC tests. However, DTC companies argue that the lack of regulation for these companies equip them for a unique position to provide important health related data for contributions to personalized medicine. One current example of this ethical controversy was demonstrated in the 2018 announcement of 23andMe's partnership with the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. In this deal, GlaxoSmithKline purchased a $300 million stake in 23andMe and in return 23andMe would allow the pharmaceutical company access to its biobank of genomic data for their pharmaceutical research. While these companies made this announcement in celebration of the opportunity for progress in pharmacogenomics and drug development, others were wary of the possible breaches of privacy that selling customer's personal genomic data may entail. Privacy concerns include incidental data sharing to third party companies, such as insurance companies or employers. Privacy concerns with genetic information also extend to family members of DTC customers, having similar genetic make-up to their family member who did consent to data sharing, although these individuals did not consent themselves. GINA protects against genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment; however, there are circumstances of exception. For example, GINA does not protect individuals from genetic discrimination in life insurance, disability insurance, and long term care or employees in companies with fewer than 15 individuals or in the military. DTC companies are not regulated in the same way as physician genetic testing and the disclaimers of data sharing in DTC companies is not as clear as medical biobanks, such as the All of Us project sponsored by the NIH. However, this does not necessarily mean that the intentions of DTC companies are nefarious. According to a qualitative study published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine, these companies can prevent the feared genetic discrimination from privacy breaches by advocating for updated policy to regulate data privacy and being intentional about only sharing genetic information to sources who intend to contribute to medical discovery with the appropriate ethical standards. Genetic Discrimination During COVID-19. COVID-19, or a coronavirus labeled SARS-CoV-2, is a highly-transmittable, respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and the virus has since spread globally and reached a pandemic status. Individuals with co-morbidities, such as pre-existing conditions and disabilities like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, immunocompromised conditions, obesity, etc, are more likely to experience severe COVID-19 symptoms and have greater risk of worse outcomes, such as death. Genetic conditions are among some of the causes of these co-morbid conditions. While the body of knowledge surrounding COVID-19 and genetic susceptibilities to the virus is continually growing with new research, there is a preliminary understanding that genetic conditions or inherited mutations can increase one's likelihood of experiencing severe symptoms. Due to this increased potential of contraction and subsequent severe symptoms, individuals with genetic conditions are among those with co-morbidities that have received cautionary advisories from the CDC and preferential designation for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. During the beginning months of the pandemic, existing legal protections, like GINA and the ADA, were put to the test. With scarce resources, including PPE, ventilators, and other crucial equipment, doctors and heath care systems were put under incredible stress to treat an ever-increasing number of patients and in some places still continue to battle high numbers of cases. Due to the overwhelming surge in COVID-19 cases, hospital systems needed to enact triage protocols, or a system of guidelines meant to help direct resources and help health care professionals make choices about limited supplies. There were instances across the country early in the pandemic, where hospitals were accused of enacting discriminatory triage protocols which excluded those with genetic conditions, such as in Tennessee, where those with spinal muscular atrophy, a autosomal recessive disease, or other disabilities were prevented from receiving ventilators or other scarce resources. In other states for example, like Washington and Alabama, hospitals were accused of more broad discriminatory allocation policies which prevented larger groups of individuals with genetic conditions under categorizations of "chronic conditions" or "intellectual disabilities," from receiving life saving treatments, such as ventilators. Many advocacy groups raised complaints about these triage protocols to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, and after the complaints the guidelines have been swiftly removed. These examples of triage protocols which had complaints raised against them are just a few of many across the country. These instances may now call into question the efficacy of current legal protections and their ability to prohibit genetic discrimination, opening up discussions of whether they might need to reformed in order to continue to protect individuals' genetic privacy and autonomy, but also to account for instances like a pandemic, where individuals with genetic conditions might be at greater risk. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic may have uncovered possible gaps among existent legal protections, like GINA, which may leave room for discrimination in longterm care and disability insurance, or the ADA, which more so covers ongoing disabilities, rather than susceptibility to conditions. Additionally conversations have turned to how to protect DNA and genetic privacy during a pandemic like COVID-19. According to Hollenstein et al., in a preprint of their research on preserving genetic privacy, they address the possible issue of mass-scale detections and numerous samples being collected through COVID-19 tests and contact-tracing and what that means in terms of who then has access or owns this genetic information. While the exact solutions or changes to be made remain unknown, some solutions could possibly arise from research into equity-first preemption frameworks, which could help eliminate inequities in access to proper healthcare. Canada. The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act received Royal Assent and became law in Canada on May 4, 2017. Introduced as a private member's bill S-201 by Nova Scotia senator Jim Cowan, the bill was passed in the Senate and, despite opposition from the Liberal government's Cabinet in the House of Commons, it was also passed in the lower house with the support of backbench Liberals and the totality of the Conservative, New Democratic and Green Party caucuses. The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act introduced amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act and Canada Labour Code, and introduced national penalties for entities requiring an individual to undergo genetic testing as a condition for the provision of goods or services, or as a condition for entering or continuing a contract. The Act also forbids anyone from refusing to enter into a goods or services agreement with another person on the grounds that that person has refused to disclose the results of an already completed genetic test. Violations are punishable by fines of up 1 million and/or imprisonment of up to five years. Accordingly, one effect of this legislation will be to prohibit insurance providers from demanding that a prospective client undergo a genetic test—or to disclose an existing test—as a prerequisite to the provision of insurance coverage. The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act was opposed by the insurance industry and, upon its passage, then-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould stated she believed the law may be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the law's constitutionality in a 5–4 split ruling on July 10, 2020. United Kingdom. The Equality Act of 2010 prohibits the use of genetic information for employment decisions such as hiring and promotions. While no formal law exists banning the use of genetic information for insurance policy decisions, the Government of the United Kingdom and the Association of British Insurers voluntarily entered a moratorium from 2014 to 2019 to refrain from using genetic information with regards to insurance. Malawi. Malawi is the only country in Africa that has enacted any laws regarding genetic discrimination. Malawi's National Health Sciences Research Committee adopted the policy requirements of the Science and Technology Act No.16 of 2003. Australia. In Australia, genetic information is less likely to influence health insurance coverage decisions as health insurance is "community rated", meaning that all individuals pay the same amount regardless of their history or genetic makeup. Since 2008, the amount of insurance applications with attached genetic test results has increased by 90%. Although the community rating allows for a more even distribution of risk and cost to consumers, life insurance companies are legally allowed to “underwrite” when evaluating the genetic risks of applicants; essentially, those with higher risk could potentially be charged higher premiums. Life insurance companies can require individuals to report genetic testing results if they have already been tested, but cannot force individuals to take genetic tests. These companies are able to require individuals to disclose genetic testing results from research and direct-to-consumer tests. Argentina. Genetic discrimination is a rising issue in Argentina. Health plans discriminate against those who have disabilities or who have genetic conditions. In the past decade, however, National Law 26689 was passed providing patients with the right to not experience discrimination as a result of genetic conditions. Genetic testing in the workplace. Some people have genes that make them more susceptible to developing a disease as a result of an occupational exposure. For example, workers with beryllium sensitivity and chronic beryllium disease are more likely to carry the gene HLA-DPB1 than workers without these conditions. By offering optional genetic testing to workers and allowing only the workers to see their own results, employers could protect genetically susceptible individuals from certain occupational diseases. A beryllium manufacturing company initiated a pilot program to test prospective workers for the HLA-DPB1 gene at a university-based laboratory. The company paid for the testing and counseling but received results that did not identify which workers had the gene. In 1991, the American Medical Association Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs suggested that the following five conditions must be satisfied in order for genetic screening by an employer to be appropriate: Several occupational health screening measures similar to genetic testing are already taking place. For example, in 1978, DuPont reported testing African American applicants for sickle cell trait and restricted these workers from exposure to nitro and amino compounds. However, research indicates that workers or applicants would not take advantage of genetic testing due to fear of discrimination. A 1995 poll of the general public found that over 85% are concerned about access to use of genetic information by insurers and employers. Likewise, in the case of the beryllium manufacturer described above, so few workers participated in the genetic testing that the company decided instead to pursue an "enhanced preventive model of workplace controls." Race. Researchers emphasize that race is not a scientifically valid concept and cannot accurately describe biological variation. Attempts to do using genetics may lead down a slippery slope toward scientific racism, the pseudoscientific practice of justifying racism using empirical evidence. Though the human genome is extremely complex, humans share 99.9% of their DNA and differences among people cannot be attributed to social categories of race. Some cases, however, have found statistical evidence of genetic differences between human populations, such as mutations within the Duffy blood group. Yet research looking at 109 genetic markers across 16 populations by Guido Barbujani "does not suggest that the racial subdivision of our species reflects any major discontinuity in our genome". As genomic research continues to investigate human genetic variation on a large scale, racial genetic discrimination remains a concern for many. Linking genetic conditions and treatments to race. State governments in the United States have attempted to combat racial discrimination by barring instances of discrimination by insurers that involve linking specific genetic conditions to race, such as the sickle cell trait in African Americans. Further, therapeutic interventions or treatments based on genetic variants associated with race can sometimes be inaccurate and lead to negative health outcomes. An example of this has been doctors prescribing an improper dosage of a drug called warfarin prescribed to African American populations, despite research disproving they require a higher dose than white populations. The medical community recognizes that genetic variants—such as predisposition to drug metabolism among others—make up only one facet of a person’s health, which is also impacted by their environment and lifestyle. Genetic privacy. In addition, many non-white individuals are concerned with their genetic privacy and worry that they will face discrimination based on their genetic information. These worries may include loss of confidentiality, risk of information being shared with insurance providers, risk of genetic samples being used without their consent, and health-based discrimination more broadly. Genomic biobanks. Contributing to genomic biobanks can be an additional source of concern for minority populations. Biobanks are collections of biological samples which can include blood, tissue, or DNA from many people. Despite the utility of biobanks to furthering genomic research, minority groups fear that their samples may be used improperly or even be used to strike down an entire culture. Such was the case when genetic samples were taken from the Havasupai people, a Native American tribe in Arizona. They consented for their samples to provide insight into the prevalence of diabetes in their community, but did not consent to them to investigate links to schizophrenia or provide evolutionary genetic analysis to discredit the tribe’s origin beliefs. Misuse of genetic data may create long-lasting distrust towards the medical community. Diversity in genomics. Some efforts have been made to use genetic testing for reconciliation projects involving people of African descent, which attempt to make social reparations based upon genetic genealogy. Though genetic ancestry testing can be a valuable source of information for those seeking connections to their heritage or recognize a new identity, African Americans may feel coerced into genetic testing or unknowingly face discrimination. Participants also have very little control over how their data will be used, including within the medical sphere or the criminal justice system. As such, increased circulation of genetic genealogical data may be harmful for African Americans. As minority populations are hesitant to contribute their DNA to genomic research, there continues to be a lack of inclusive health information being disseminated and incorporated in medical treatments. Genomic research has been predominantly based upon DNA samples with European heritage, which fails to holistically and accurately describe the complexity of all people’s genetics. Other confounding factors related to diversity such as age, gender, or socioeconomic status may also influence genetic discrimination in addition to race. Popular culture. According to Jonathan Roberts and his colleagues, the media evokes irrational fear among the public about advances in genetic techniques. In a recent study, participants who were prompted to convey their attitudes about unfamiliar scientific concepts relating to genetics ultimately drew conclusions based on examples from popular culture. "Genoism" is a neologism coined by Andrew Niccol, director and writer of the 1997 film "Gattaca", used to describe unethical and illegal genetic discrimination. Predictions of physical and mental performance are computed via genetics from DNA collected from hair, fingernails, skin flakes, spit swabs, eyelashes, etc. Upon birth, a number of genetically-induced characteristics are calculated: physical and intellectual capacity, life expectancy, probable successful diseases, and likely causes of death, all determined via blood samples and genetic testing. Job interviews, health insurance purchasing, and even potential dates can be sized up according to the perceived quality of the person's DNA due to advancements in genome sequencing. This put an ironic twist to Darwin's sexual selection for good genes. According to the movie, "We now have discrimination down to a science."

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Posthuman Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept addresses questions of ethics and justice, language and trans-species communication, social systems, and the intellectual aspirations of interdisciplinarity. Posthumanism is not to be confused with transhumanism (the biotechnological enhancement of human beings) and narrow definitions of the posthuman as the hoped-for transcendence of materiality. The notion of the posthuman comes up both in posthumanism as well as transhumanism, but it has a special meaning in each tradition. In 2017, Penn State University Press in cooperation with Stefan Lorenz Sorgner and James Hughes established the "Journal of Posthuman Studies", in which all aspects of the concept "posthuman" can be analysed. Posthumanism. In critical theory, the posthuman is a speculative being that represents or seeks to re-conceive the human. It is the object of posthumanist criticism, which critically questions humanism, a branch of humanist philosophy which claims that human nature is a universal state from which the human being emerges; human nature is autonomous, rational, capable of free will, and unified in itself as the apex of existence. Thus, the posthuman position recognizes imperfectability and disunity within oneself, and understands the world through heterogeneous perspectives while seeking to maintain intellectual rigor and dedication to objective observations. Key to this posthuman practice is the ability to fluidly change perspectives and manifest oneself through different identities. The posthuman, for critical theorists of the subject, has an emergent ontology rather than a stable one; in other words, the posthuman is not a singular, defined individual, but rather one who can "become" or embody different identities and understand the world from multiple, heterogeneous perspectives. Critical discourses surrounding posthumanism are not homogeneous, but in fact present a series of often contradictory ideas, and the term itself is contested, with one of the foremost authors associated with posthumanism, Manuel de Landa, decrying the term as "very silly." Covering the ideas of, for example, Robert Pepperell's "The Posthuman Condition", and Hayles's "How We Became Posthuman" under a single term is distinctly problematic due to these contradictions. The posthuman is roughly synonymous with the "cyborg" of "A Cyborg Manifesto" by Donna Haraway. Haraway's conception of the cyborg is an ironic take on traditional conceptions of the cyborg that inverts the traditional trope of the cyborg whose presence questions the salient line between humans and robots. Haraway's cyborg is in many ways the "beta" version of the posthuman, as her cyborg theory prompted the issue to be taken up in critical theory. Following Haraway, Hayles, whose work grounds much of the critical posthuman discourse, asserts that liberal humanism—which separates the mind from the body and thus portrays the body as a "shell" or vehicle for the mind—becomes increasingly complicated in the late 20th and 21st centuries because information technology puts the human body in question. Hayles maintains that we must be conscious of information technology advancements while understanding information as "disembodied," that is, something which cannot fundamentally replace the human body but can only be incorporated into it and human life practices. Post-posthumanism and post-cyborg ethics. The idea of post-posthumanism (post-cyborgism) has recently been introduced. This body of work outlines the after-effects of long-term adaptation to cyborg technologies and their subsequent removal, e.g., what happens after 20 years of constantly wearing computer-mediating eyeglass technologies and subsequently removing them, and of long-term adaptation to virtual worlds followed by return to "reality." and the associated post-cyborg ethics (e.g. the ethics of forced removal of cyborg technologies by authorities, etc.). Posthuman political and natural rights have been framed on a spectrum with animal rights and human rights. Posthumanism broadens the scope of what it means to be a valued life form and to be treated as such (in contrast to certain life forms being seen as less-than and being taken advantage of or killed off); it “calls for a more inclusive definition of life, and a greater moral-ethical response, and responsibility, to non-human life forms in the age of species blurring and species mixing. … [I]t interrogates the hierarchic ordering – and subsequently exploitation and even eradication – of life forms.” Transhumanism. Definition. According to transhumanist thinkers, a posthuman is a hypothetical future being "whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards." Posthumans primarily focus on cybernetics, the posthuman consequent and the relationship to digital technology. The emphasis is on systems. Transhumanism does not focus on either of these. Instead, transhumanism focuses on the modification of the human species via any kind of emerging science, including genetic engineering, digital technology, and bioengineering. Methods. Posthumans could be completely synthetic artificial intelligences, or a symbiosis of human and artificial intelligence, or uploaded consciousnesses, or the result of making many smaller but cumulatively profound technological augmentations to a biological human, i.e. a cyborg. Some examples of the latter are redesigning the human organism using advanced nanotechnology or radical enhancement using some combination of technologies such as genetic engineering, psychopharmacology, life extension therapies, neural interfaces, advanced information management tools, memory enhancing drugs, wearable or implanted computers, and cognitive techniques. Posthuman future. As used in this article, "posthuman" does not necessarily refer to a conjectured future where humans are extinct or otherwise absent from the Earth. As with other species who speciate from one another, both humans and posthumans could continue to exist. However, the apocalyptic scenario appears to be a viewpoint shared among a minority of transhumanists such as Marvin Minsky and Hans Moravec, who could be considered misanthropes, at least in regard to humanity in its current state. Alternatively, others such as Kevin Warwick argue for the likelihood that both humans and posthumans will continue to exist but the latter will predominate in society over the former because of their abilities. Recently, scholars have begun to speculate that posthumanism provides an alternative analysis of apocalyptic cinema and fiction, often casting vampires, werewolves and even zombies as potential evolutions of the human form and being. Many science fiction authors, such as Greg Egan, H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Bruce Sterling, Frederik Pohl, Greg Bear, Charles Stross, Neal Asher, Ken MacLeod, Peter F. Hamilton and authors of the Orion's Arm Universe, have written works set in posthuman futures. Posthuman god. A variation on the posthuman theme is the notion of a "posthuman god"; the idea that posthumans, being no longer confined to the parameters of human nature, might grow physically and mentally so powerful as to appear possibly god-like by present-day human standards. This notion should not be interpreted as being related to the idea portrayed in some science fiction that a sufficiently advanced species may "ascend" to a higher plane of existence—rather, it merely means that some posthuman beings may become so exceedingly intelligent and technologically sophisticated that their behaviour would not possibly be comprehensible to modern humans, purely by reason of their limited intelligence and imagination.

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Elder race An elder race in science fiction, fantasy, or horror fiction is a fictional alien race that preceded humanity. Occasionally they are a more advanced version of humanity instead of aliens (e.g., the Stargate Ancients). Elder races generally have abilities and technologies (or magics, in some cases) that generally far surpass that of humanity. In works of science fiction, their technologies are often so advanced as to seem magical or even godlike both to the human protagonists and to the present-day reader. In some works, the elder race has long since departed the scene, leaving nothing but artifacts and other evidence of their activities. In others, the elder race remains in existence, but is in decline or has deliberately withdrawn to the periphery in order to avoid interfering with the development of humanity and any other younger races. A few elder races are portrayed as still being very much active in the story-current scene, and members of them may function as advisers or as antagonists. Some elder races are portrayed as wise benefactors, bringing culture and knowledge to humanity and other younger races. Other elder races are callous exploiters, and regard younger races as so much raw material to be used and even used up. A few are portrayed ambiguously, with their well-intended actions having unexpected consequences. For instance, a client race may use their new-found technology for self-destruction, or a policy of non-interference may turn out to be a way of abdicating responsibility for using one's power wisely (power corrupts the best of intentions).