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CHON CHON is a mnemonic acronym for the four most common elements in living organisms: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. The acronym CHNOPS, which stands for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, represents the six most important chemical elements whose covalent combinations make up most biological molecules on Earth. All of these elements are nonmetals. In the human body, these four elements compose about 96% of the weight, and major minerals (macrominerals) and minor minerals (also called trace elements) compose the remainder. Sulfur is contained in the amino acids cysteine and methionine. Phosphorus is contained in phospholipids, a class of lipids that are a major component of all cell membranes, as they can form lipid bilayers, which keep ions, proteins, and other molecules where they are needed for cell function, and prevent them from diffusing into areas where they should not be. Phosphate groups are also an essential component of the backbone of nucleic acids (general name for DNA & RNA) and are required to form ATP – the main molecule used as energy powering the cell in all living creatures. Carbonaceous asteroids are rich in CHON elements. These asteroids are the most common type, and frequently collide with Earth as meteorites. Such collisions were especially common early in Earth's history, and these impactors may have been crucial in the formation of the planet's oceans. The simplest compounds to contain all of the CHON elements are fulminic acid and isocyanic acid (the latter of which is much more stable), having one of each atom.

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Dream world (plot device) Dream worlds (also called dream realms or illusory realms) are a commonly used plot device in fictional works, most notably in science fiction and fantasy fiction. The use of a dream world creates a situation whereby a character (or group of characters) is placed in a marvellous and unpredictable environment and must overcome several personal problems to leave it. The dream world also commonly serves to teach some moral or religious lessons to the character experiencing it – a lesson that the other characters will be unaware of, but one that will influence decisions made regarding them. When the character is reintroduced into the real world (usually when they wake up), the question arises as to what exactly constitutes reality due to the vivid recollection and experiences of the dream world. According to J. R. R. Tolkien, dream worlds contrast with fantasy worlds, in which the world has existence independent of the characters in it. However, other authors have used the dreaming process as a way of accessing a world which, within the context of the fiction, holds as much consistency and continuity as physical reality. The use of "dream frames" to contain a fantasy world, and so explain away its marvels, has been criticized and has become much less prevalent. Fictional dream worlds. Literature. A similar motif, Locus amoenus, is popular in medieval literature (esp. allegory and romance). A dream world is sometimes invoked in dream visions such as "The Book of the Duchess" and "Piers Plowman". One of the best-known dream worlds is Wonderland from Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", as well as Looking-Glass Land from its sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass". Unlike many dream worlds, Carroll's logic is like that of actual dreams, with transitions and causality flexible. James Branch Cabell's "Smirt" and its two sequels taken together form an extended dream and most of their action takes place in a dream world. The action of "The Bridge" by Iain M. Banks takes place in a dream world. Other fictional dream worlds include the Dreamlands of H. P. Lovecraft's "Dream Cycle" and "The Neverending Story"s world of Fantasia, which includes places like the Desert of Lost Dreams, the Sea of Possibilities and the Swamps of Sadness. Dreamworlds, shared hallucinations and other alternate realities feature in a number of works by Philip K. Dick, such as "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" and "Ubik". Similar themes were explored by Jorge Luis Borges, for instance in "The Circular Ruins". In "The Wheel of Time" book series, Tel'aran'rhiod is a dream world that exists in close proximity to the real world. Objects and physical locations that do not frequently change in the real world have parallels in Tel'aran'rhiod. Ordinary people can occasionally slip into Tel'aran'rhiod, and events that occur within this dream world have physical consequences. A person that dies in Tel'aran'rhiod will never wake up again, and in several cases it is shown that physical injuries gained there persist to the waking world. Tel'aran'rhiod can be controlled similar to a lucid dream, and several characters in the series can enter and manipulate Tel'aran'rhiod at will. "Paprika" (1993) by Yasutaka Tsutsui is a science fiction novel that involves entering dream worlds using technology. In the book, dream monitoring and intervention as a means of treating mental disorders is a developing new form of psychotherapy in the near future. Unrest ensues when a new psychotherapy dream-analysis device is stolen, allowing the assailant to enter and manipulate people's dreams. In the feminist science fiction novel "The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You", the Kin of Ata maintain the real world through their dreaming, making the real world a form of dream. Film. In the 1939 movie, Oz from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was altered from a fantasy world (in the novel) to a dream world of Dorothy's; characters who were independent inhabitants of Oz were transformed into dream parallels of introduced Kansas characters. In "The Matrix", Neo and the rest of the humans live inside a dream world. Their brains are hooked up to a computer network that creates this dream world. However, some may argue that this is not a dream world, as it seems completely normal and indistinguishable from reality (aside from time differences). In the 1980s, the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series of horror films introduced a dark dream realm inhabited by the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger. In the movie "Sharkboy and Lavagirl" the main characters enter a world dreamt up by a small boy in order to save the real world. Down Town is the land of nightmares where all people who are in comas go in the movie "Monkeybone". Dreamworlds also appear in "Total Recall" and "Vanilla Sky". "Paprika" (2006) is an anime film adaptation of the 1993 novel of the same name, which involves entering and manipulating dream worlds using dream-analysis devices. The film "Waking Life" takes place almost entirely in a dream realm. In the 2010 film "Inception", main characters create artificial, vivid dream worlds and bring others into the dream worlds and perform various things with their brains, without them knowing. This may involve 'Extraction' (stealing memories and secrets), 'Inception' (planting an idea into the mind) and others. Comic books, graphic novels and animation. One of the earliest newspaper comic strips, recounting Little Nemo's adventures in , had a dream world theme. Writer Neil Gaiman was tasked with re-imagining a Golden Age character, "The Sandman". In his version, the Sandman becomes Dream, the Lord of Dreams (also known, to various characters throughout the series, as Morpheus, Oneiros, the Shaper, the Shaper of Form, Lord of the Dreaming, the Dream King, Dream-Sneak, Dream Cat, Murphy, Kai'ckul, and Lord L'Zoril), who is essentially the anthropomorphic personification of dreams. At the start of the series, Morpheus is captured by an occult ritual and held prisoner for 70 years. Morpheus escapes in the modern day and, after avenging himself upon his captors, sets about rebuilding his kingdom, which has fallen into disrepair in his absence. Dream worlds also appear in "Rozen Maiden", in the Outback(s) of "The Maxx"; in Dream Land, the main setting of many "Kirby" games, in the webcomic "The Dreamland Chronicles", and the movie "Sailor Moon Super S the Movie: Black Dream Hole" also have dream realms in their universes. The "American Dragon Jake Long" episode "Dreamscape" takes place mainly in a dream realm. Similarly, the "Xiaolin Showdown" episode of the same title also uses the dream world in its plotline. In "Clamp" manga series such as "X/1999", "" and "xxxHolic", the dream world is very important to the events that occur within each story. It is later revealed in "xxxHolic" that the dream world itself is its own world, as part of the Clamp multiverse. Similarly, in the "Bone" graphic novel series by Jeff Smith, the primary plot device is a dream world called "The Dreaming." It exists independently from the real world, and it is described similarly to a river, being said to "flow" through people in "currents." In "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" part 3 "Stardust Crusaders," Jotaro and his friends and grandpa are put in a dream world which takes the form of an amusement park by Mannish Boy and his Death 13 stand. In the "Jay Jay the Jet Plane" cartoon series, adventures where air-breathing jet planes cannot go (underwater and in space) happen as dreams. In "Gravity Falls" episode "Dreamscaperers" also takes place in a dream realms which characters put into a person's mindscape. In this episode, Gideon summons a dream demon, Bill Cipher to invade Stan's mind and steal the combination to the safe, which is vincindoria. Dipper Pines with his sister Mabel and friend Soos also go into Stan's mind to stop Bill from finding out the combination. TV. The "" episode "Waking Moments" uses several dream realms and false awakenings. In the "UFO" episode "Ordeal," Foster's abduction and rescue is explained away as a dream. The whole of season 8 of "Dallas" was retroactively explained, at the start of Season 9, as a dream had by Bobby Ewing. In the episode, "Dreamworker", Morpheus, god of dreams, abducts Gabrielle to take as his bride. But Xena follows them into his realm, the DreamScape, where she battles to stop the impending forced marriage. The "Doctor Who" episode, "Amy's Choice" also depicts multiple dream worlds, which were found out to have been induced by a parasitic seed. Dreamworlds are revisited in the "Doctor Who" Christmas special, "Last Christmas," which depicts dreams within dreams caused by mind-leeching aliens. Video games. The video games "Link's Awakening" and "Super Mario Bros. 2" take place in a dream of the Wind Fish's (whom Link must wake up) and Mario's respectively. "Alundra" revolves around a dreamwalker who can enter people's dreams. It takes place on an island, where a village has locals suffering from recurring nightmares that sometimes cause death. With his dreamwalking ability, the titular protagonist Alundra attempts to help the locals by entering their dreams. In the first two games of the "EarthBound" series, the protagonist (Ninten in "EarthBound Zero" and Ness in "EarthBound") must travel to a dream world named Magicant. However, the two Magicants are different from each other. Ninten visits his Magicant, which is light pink and has seashell spires and clouds, multiple times during the story, until it is revealed to not be his own Magicant but instead just a collection of the memories of his great-grandmother, Maria. Ness's Magicant is a surreal, spacelike land in a purple sea that Ness only gains access to once he records the eight melodies into his Sound Stone, which he then must travel to the center of in order to overcome his weaknesses, characterized by a boss battle against his 'Nightmare' (with an appearance similar to the 'Mani-Mani Statue', a mysterious object encountered in another dreamworld called Moonside), and absorb the power of the Earth into his heart. About a half of " takes place in the Dream World, home to the Staff of Dreams, which was later split by Pins and Needles, where Tak has a half of the staff and Pins and Needles have the Staff of Nightmares half. By the end of the game, Tak restored the staff. In ", the game is split between two worlds initially known as the Real World and the Phantom World, named such because any being from the Real World is rendered unseen by the inhabitants of the Phantom World, like a phantom, and are only capable of becoming visible after drinking a special elixir. After a time, it is revealed that the Phantom World is in fact the true Real World, while the former Real World is called the Dream World, created from the dreams of the people of the Real World, in which each inhabitant has a Dream World counterpart. In addition, the main antagonist of the game, Deathtamoor, plots to try to merge both the Real World and Dream World with his own "Dark World" in an attempt for world domination. In "" and "Dreamfall Chapters" the protagonist Zoë Castillo can travel to Marcuria by dreaming. There's a third world called 'Storytime' inspired by the Australian "Dreamtime" myths which is the place of the creation and where every story begins and ends. Also, the protagonist must stop a corporation called WATI-Corp which want to steal dreams and memories from people through their new entertainment device: the Dreamachine which allows people to make lucid dreams. In "Final Fantasy VIII", the main group of protagonists sometimes experience the lives of three soldiers, Laguna, Kiros, and Ward in what they call "the dream world" (which is actually the past) through a mysterious and gifted woman who is acquainted with both parties. The whole of Zanarkand in "Final Fantasy X" and its HD remake was a dream, along with the main character, Tidus. In the video game "", there is a short quest which takes place in a dream world. In the video game, "Fallout 3", a main storyline quest involves the main character going into a virtual reality simulator, referred to as "Tranquility Lane," a dream world simulation of a 1950s suburban neighborhood. Other dreamworlds are the Maginaryworld from "Sonic Shuffle", Dream Depot from "Mario Party 5", and in Nightopia and Nightmare (collectively known in a place called the "Night Dimension") from "Nights into Dreams..." and its sequel for the Wii, ". In the video game ", main character John Tanner suffers a car accident that leaves him in a coma. The game take places in his dream, but the character himself doesn't realize he's dreaming. Instead, he thinks he had a lucky escape and with this, thinks that he got an ability to possess other people. During the game, many billboards will turn black and show "wake up" messages. The "dream world" of for the Nintendo 3DS is rather complicated. in the game, there are stone pillows that Luigi can use to summon a portal to this "dream world" so that Mario can jump in and rescue the Pi'Illo creature trapped within the pillow. Mario is accompanied by a Dreamy version of Luigi named, what else, Dreamy Luigi, who possesses vast powers, notably cloning, as seen in the game's unlockable "luiginary attacks". In "Pokémon Black" and "White" and its following sequel, players can tuck in one of their Pokémon via a system known as Game Sync. As the tucked in Pokémon falls asleep, it will then be sent to special website, where the player can play with his/her Pokémon in an alternate world called the "Dream World". In "", the seventh installment in the game series "Kingdom Hearts", the two main protagonists are sent to worlds that are in slumber and that are dreaming in order to pass the Mark of mastery exam. The Dream World is the main focus of " where Mario and Luigi travel through a world full of Luigi's dreams. " takes place in Lunatea, a dream world. "Bloodborne" takes place in, or partially in, a dream realm, with areas such as the Nightmare of Mensis and the Hunter's Dream. The entire city the game takes place in is implied to be a collective, self-sustaining dream that all its inhabitants, human, mutant, and Cosmic Entity, contribute to. The game "Tales of Maj'Eyal" features a class called the Solipist, who believes the world is their own dream (although this is closer to the Dream argument than solipsism), granting them psychic powers based on Lucid Dreaming.

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Android (robot) An android is a robot or other artificial being designed to resemble a human, and often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but recent advances in robot technology now allow the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots. Etymology. The word was coined from the Greek root ἀνδρ- "andr"- "man, male" (as opposed to ἀνθρωπ- "anthrōp"- "human being") and the suffix "" "having the form or likeness of". In Greek, however, ανδροειδής is an adjective. While the term "android" is used in reference to human-looking robots in general, a robot with a female appearance can also be referred to as a "gynoid". The "Oxford English Dictionary" traces the earliest use (as "Androides") to Ephraim Chambers' 1728 "Cyclopaedia," in reference to an automaton that St. Albertus Magnus allegedly created. By the late 1700s "androides", elaborate mechanical devices resembling humans performing human activities, were displayed in exhibit halls. The term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature human-like toy automatons. The term "android" was used in a more modern sense by the French author Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam in his work "Tomorrow's Eve" (1886). This story features an artificial humanlike robot named Hadaly. As said by the officer in the story, "In this age of Realien advancement, who knows what goes on in the mind of those responsible for these mechanical dolls." The term made an impact into English pulp science fiction starting from Jack Williamson's "The Cometeers" (1936) and the distinction between mechanical robots and fleshy androids was popularized by Edmond Hamilton's Captain Future (1940–1944). Although Karel Čapek's robots in "R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)" (1921)—the play that introduced the word "robot" to the world—were organic artificial humans, the word "robot" has come to primarily refer to mechanical humans, animals, and other beings. The term "android" can mean either one of these, while a cyborg ("cybernetic organism" or "bionic man") would be a creature that is a combination of organic and mechanical parts. The term "droid", popularized by George Lucas in the original "Star Wars" film and now used widely within science fiction, originated as an abridgment of "android", but has been used by Lucas and others to mean any robot, including distinctly non-human form machines like R2-D2. The word "android" was used in "" episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" The abbreviation "andy", coined as a pejorative by writer Philip K. Dick in his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", has seen some further usage, such as within the TV series "Total Recall 2070". Authors have used the term "android" in more diverse ways than "robot" or "cyborg". In some fictional works, the difference between a robot and android is only superficial, with androids being made to look like humans on the outside but with robot-like internal mechanics. In other stories, authors have used the word "android" to mean a wholly organic, yet artificial, creation. Other fictional depictions of androids fall somewhere in between. Eric G. Wilson, who defines an android as a "synthetic human being", distinguishes between three types of android, based on their body's composition: Although human morphology is not necessarily the ideal form for working robots, the fascination in developing robots that can mimic it can be found historically in the assimilation of two concepts: "simulacra" (devices that exhibit likeness) and "automata" (devices that have independence). Projects. Several projects aiming to create androids that look, and, to a certain degree, speak or act like a human being have been launched or are underway. Japan. Japanese robotics have been leading the field since the 1970s. Waseda University initiated the WABOT project in 1967, and in 1972 completed the WABOT-1, the first android, a full-scale humanoid intelligent robot. Its limb control system allowed it to walk with the lower limbs, and to grip and transport objects with hands, using tactile sensors. Its vision system allowed it to measure distances and directions to objects using external receptors, artificial eyes and ears. And its conversation system allowed it to communicate with a person in Japanese, with an artificial mouth. In 1984, WABOT-2 was revealed, and made a number of improvements. It was capable of playing the organ. Wabot-2 had ten fingers and two feet, and was able to read a score of music. It was also able to accompany a person. In 1986, Honda began its humanoid research and development program, to create humanoid robots capable of interacting successfully with humans. The Intelligent Robotics Lab, directed by Hiroshi Ishiguro at Osaka University, and the Kokoro company demonstrated the Actroid at Expo 2005 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan and released the Telenoid R1 in 2010. In 2006, Kokoro developed a new "DER 2" android. The height of the human body part of DER2 is 165 cm. There are 47 mobile points. DER2 can not only change its expression but also move its hands and feet and twist its body. The "air servosystem" which Kokoro developed originally is used for the actuator. As a result of having an actuator controlled precisely with air pressure via a servosystem, the movement is very fluid and there is very little noise. DER2 realized a slimmer body than that of the former version by using a smaller cylinder. Outwardly DER2 has a more beautiful proportion. Compared to the previous model, DER2 has thinner arms and a wider repertoire of expressions. Once programmed, it is able to choreograph its motions and gestures with its voice. The Intelligent Mechatronics Lab, directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science, has developed an android head called "Saya", which was exhibited at Robodex 2002 in Yokohama, Japan. There are several other initiatives around the world involving humanoid research and development at this time, which will hopefully introduce a broader spectrum of realized technology in the near future. Now Saya is "working" at the Science University of Tokyo as a guide. The Waseda University (Japan) and NTT Docomo's manufacturers have succeeded in creating a shape-shifting robot "WD-2". It is capable of changing its face. At first, the creators decided the positions of the necessary points to express the outline, eyes, nose, and so on of a certain person. The robot expresses its face by moving all points to the decided positions, they say. The first version of the robot was first developed back in 2003. After that, a year later, they made a couple of major improvements to the design. The robot features an elastic mask made from the average head dummy. It uses a driving system with a 3DOF unit. The WD-2 robot can change its facial features by activating specific facial points on a mask, with each point possessing three degrees of freedom. This one has 17 facial points, for a total of 56 degrees of freedom. As for the materials they used, the WD-2's mask is fabricated with a highly elastic material called Septom, with bits of steel wool mixed in for added strength. Other technical features reveal a shaft driven behind the mask at the desired facial point, driven by a DC motor with a simple pulley and a slide screw. Apparently, the researchers can also modify the shape of the mask based on actual human faces. To "copy" a face, they need only a 3D scanner to determine the locations of an individual's 17 facial points. After that, they are then driven into position using a laptop and 56 motor control boards. In addition, the researchers also mention that the shifting robot can even display an individual's hair style and skin color if a photo of their face is projected onto the 3D Mask. Singapore. Prof Nadia Thalmann, a Nanyang Technological University scientist, directed efforts of the Institute for Media Innovation along with the School of Computer Engineering in the development of a social robot, Nadine. Nadine is powered by software similar to Apple's Siri or Microsoft's Cortana. Nadine may become a personal assistant in offices and homes in future, or she may become a companion for the young and the elderly. Assoc Prof Gerald Seet from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the BeingThere Centre led a three-year R&D development in tele-presence robotics, creating EDGAR. A remote user can control EDGAR with the user's face and expressions displayed on the robot's face in real time. The robot also mimics their upper body movements. South Korea. KITECH researched and developed EveR-1, an android interpersonal communications model capable of emulating human emotional expression via facial "musculature" and capable of rudimentary conversation, having a vocabulary of around 400 words. She is tall and weighs , matching the average figure of a Korean woman in her twenties. EveR-1's name derives from the Biblical Eve, plus the letter "r" for "robot". EveR-1's advanced computing processing power enables speech recognition and vocal synthesis, at the same time processing lip synchronization and visual recognition by 90-degree micro-CCD cameras with face recognition technology. An independent microchip inside her artificial brain handles gesture expression, body coordination, and emotion expression. Her whole body is made of highly advanced synthetic jelly silicon and with 60 artificial joints in her face, neck, and lower body; she is able to demonstrate realistic facial expressions and sing while simultaneously dancing. In South Korea, the Ministry of Information and Communication has an ambitious plan to put a robot in every household by 2020. Several robot cities have been planned for the country: the first will be built in 2016 at a cost of 500 billion won (US$440 million), of which 50 billion is direct government investment. The new robot city will feature research and development centers for manufacturers and part suppliers, as well as exhibition halls and a stadium for robot competitions. The country's new Robotics Ethics Charter will establish ground rules and laws for human interaction with robots in the future, setting standards for robotics users and manufacturers, as well as guidelines on ethical standards to be programmed into robots to prevent human abuse of robots and vice versa. United States. Walt Disney and a staff of Imagineers created Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln that debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Dr. William Barry, an Education Futurist and former visiting West Point Professor of Philosophy and Ethical Reasoning at the United States Military Academy, created an AI android character named "Maria Bot". This Interface AI android was named after the infamous fictional robot Maria in the 1927 film "Metropolis", as a well-behaved distant relative. Maria Bot is the first AI Android Teaching Assistant at the University level. Maria Bot has appeared as a keynote speaker as a duo with Barry for a TEDx talk in Everett, Washington in February 2020 . Resembling a human from the shoulders up, Maria Bot is a virtual being android that has complex facial expressions and head movement and engages in conversation about a variety of subjects. She uses AI to process and synthesize information to make her own decisions on how to talk and engage. She collects data through conversations, direct data inputs such as books or articles, and through internet sources. Maria Bot was built by an international high-tech company for Barry to help improve education quality and eliminate education poverty. Maria Bot is designed to create new ways for students to engage and discuss ethical issues raised by the increasing presence of robots and artificial intelligence. Barry also uses Maria Bot to demonstrate that programming a robot with life-affirming, ethical framework makes them more likely to help humans to do the same. Maria Bot is an ambassador robot for good and ethical AI technology. Hanson Robotics, Inc., of Texas and KAIST produced an android portrait of Albert Einstein, using Hanson's facial android technology mounted on KAIST's life-size walking bipedal robot body. This Einstein android, also called "Albert Hubo", thus represents the first full-body walking android in history (see video at). Hanson Robotics, the FedEx Institute of Technology, and the University of Texas at Arlington also developed the android portrait of sci-fi author Philip K. Dick (creator of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", the basis for the film "Blade Runner"), with full conversational capabilities that incorporated thousands of pages of the author's works. In 2005, the PKD android won a first-place artificial intelligence award from AAAI. Use in fiction. Androids are a staple of science fiction. Isaac Asimov pioneered the fictionalization of the science of robotics and artificial intelligence, notably in his 1950s series "I, Robot". One thing common to most fictional androids is that the real-life technological challenges associated with creating thoroughly human-like robots—such as the creation of strong artificial intelligence—are assumed to have been solved. Fictional androids are often depicted as mentally and physically equal or superior to humans—moving, thinking and speaking as fluidly as them. The tension between the nonhuman substance and the human appearance—or even human ambitions—of androids is the dramatic impetus behind most of their fictional depictions. Some android heroes seek, like Pinocchio, to become human, as in the film "Bicentennial Man", or Data in "". Others, as in the film "Westworld", rebel against abuse by careless humans. Android hunter Deckard in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and its film adaptation "Blade Runner" discovers that his targets appear to be, in some ways, more "human" than he is. Android stories, therefore, are not essentially stories "about" androids; they are stories about the human condition and what it means to be human. One aspect of writing about the meaning of humanity is to use discrimination against androids as a mechanism for exploring racism in society, as in "Blade Runner". Perhaps the clearest example of this is John Brunner's 1968 novel "Into the Slave Nebula", where the blue-skinned android slaves are explicitly shown to be fully human. More recently, the androids Bishop and Annalee Call in the films "Aliens" and "Alien Resurrection" are used as vehicles for exploring how humans deal with the presence of an "Other". The 2018 video game "" also explores how androids are treated as second class citizens in a near future society. Female androids, or "gynoids", are often seen in science fiction, and can be viewed as a continuation of the long tradition of men attempting to create the stereotypical "perfect woman". Examples include the Greek myth of "Pygmalion" and the female robot Maria in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". Some gynoids, like Pris in "Blade Runner", are designed as sex-objects, with the intent of "pleasing men's violent sexual desires", or as submissive, servile companions, such as in "The Stepford Wives". Fiction about gynoids has therefore been described as reinforcing "essentialist ideas of femininity", although others have suggested that the treatment of androids is a way of exploring racism and misogyny in society. The 2015 Japanese film "Sayonara", starring Geminoid F, was promoted as "the first movie to feature an android performing opposite a human actor".

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Torchship Torchship (or torch ship) is a term used by Robert A. Heinlein in several of his science fiction novels and short stories to describe fictional rocket ships that can maintain high accelerations indefinitely, thus approaching the speed of light. The term has subsequently been used by other authors to describe similar kinds of fictional spaceships. Heinlein's use of the term. In his 1950 novel "Farmer in the Sky", Heinlein describes a "mass-conversion ship" that derives its motive power from the complete conversion of mass to energy. The narrator of the novel, who is traveling to Jupiter in a mass-conversion ship called the "Mayflower", describes it as follows: The "Mayflower" was shaped like a ball with a cone on one side — top-shaped. The point of the cone was her jet — although Chief Engineer Ortega, who showed us around, called it her "torch." Later in the novel, Ortega is quoted as saying: "The latest development is the mass-conversion ship, such as the "Mayflower", and it may be the final development — a mass-conversion ship is theoretically capable of approaching the speed of light." The scientific advance that permits this efficient conversion of mass to energy is called the "Kilgore equations." In later novels and stories, including "Sky Lift" (1953), "Time for the Stars" (1956), and "Double Star" (1957), Heinlein refers to mass-conversion ships as "torchships" and to their pilots as "torchship pilots." Exposition in "Tunnel in the Sky" (1955), states "Ortega's torch ships could reach the stars," but explains the need for Gates to move surplus population off-planet, as it would be impossible to build/crew enough ships to carry a significant fraction of the human race. In "Have Space Suit - Will Travel" (1958), the protagonists are kidnapped by hostile aliens and taken to Pluto aboard a space ship that accelerates at more than one gravity for days at a time, although the ship is never explicitly referred to as a "torchship." The "torch" is said to work with any matter as fuel; in "Time for the Stars", the ship refuels by landing in water, or in one case liquid ammonia. Use of the term by other authors. The term "torchship" was adopted by a number of other science fiction authors, including

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Universal translator A universal translator is a device common to many science fiction works, especially on television. First described in Murray Leinster's 1945 novella "First Contact", the translator's purpose is to offer an instant translation of any language. As a convention, it is used to remove the problem of translating between alien languages, unless that problem is essential to the plot. To translate a new language in every episode when a new species or culture is encountered would consume time (especially when most of these shows have a half-hour or one-hour format) normally allotted for plot development and would potentially, across many episodes, become repetitive to the point of annoyance. Occasionally, alien races are portrayed as being able to extrapolate the rules of English from little speech and then immediately be fluent in it, making the translator unnecessary. While a "universal" translator seems unlikely, due to the apparent need for telepathy, scientists continue to work towards similar real-world technologies involving small numbers of known languages. General. As a rule, a universal translator is instantaneous, but if that language has never been recorded, there is sometimes a time delay until the translator can properly work out a translation, as is true of "Star Trek". The operation of these translators is often explained as using some form of telepathy by reading the brain patterns of the speaker(s) to determine what they are saying; some writers seek greater plausibility by instead having computer translation that requires collecting a database of the new language, often by listening to radio transmissions. The existence of a universal translator tends to raise questions from a logical perspective, such as: Nonetheless, it removes the need for cumbersome and potentially extensive subtitles, and it eliminates the rather unlikely supposition that every other race in the galaxy has gone to the trouble of learning English. Fictional depictions. "Doctor Who". Using a telepathic field, the TARDIS automatically translates most comprehensible languages (written and spoken) into a language understood by its pilot and each of the crew members. The field also translates what they say into a language appropriate for that time and location (e.g., speaking the appropriate dialect of Latin when in ancient Rome). This system has frequently been featured as a main part of the show. The TARDIS, and by extension a number of its major systems, including the translator, are telepathically linked to its pilot, the Doctor. None of these systems appear able to function reliably when the Doctor is incapacitated. In "The Fires of Pompeii", when companion Donna Noble attempts to speak the local language directly, her words are humorously rendered into what sounds to a local like Welsh. One flaw of this translation process is that if the language that a word is being translated into does not have a concept for it, e.g, the Romans don't have a word or a general understanding of "volcano" as Mt. Vesuvius has not erupted yet. "Farscape". On the TV show "Farscape", John Crichton is injected with bacteria called translator microbes which function as a sort of universal translator. The microbes colonize the host's brainstem and translate anything spoken to the host, passing along the translated information to the host's brain. This does not enable the injected person to speak other languages; they continue to speak their own language and are only understood by others as long as the listeners possess the microbes. The microbes sometimes fail to properly translate slang, translating it literally. Also, the translator microbes cannot translate the natural language of the alien Pilots or Diagnosans because every word in their language can contain thousands of meanings, far too many for the microbes to translate; thus Pilots must learn to speak in "simple sentences", while Diagnosans require interpreters. The implanted can learn to speak new languages if they want or to make communicating with non-injected individuals possible. The crew of Moya learned English from Crichton, thereby being able to communicate with the non-implanted populace when the crew visited Earth. Some species, such as the Kalish, cannot use translator microbes because their body rejects them, so they must learn a new language through their own efforts. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". In the universe of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", universal translation is made possible by a small fish called a "babel fish". The fish is inserted into the auditory canal where it feeds off the mental frequencies of those speaking to its host. In turn it excretes a translation into the brain of its host. The book remarks that, by allowing everyone to understand each other, the babel fish has caused more wars than anything else in the universe. The book also explains that the babel fish could not possibly have developed naturally and therefore proves the existence of God as its creator, which in turn proves the non-existence of God. Since God needs faith to exist, and this proof dispels the need for faith, this therefore causes God to vanish "in a puff of logic". "Men in Black". The "Men in Black" franchise possess a universal translator, which, as Agent K explains in the first film, "Men in Black", they are not allowed to have because "human thought is so primitive, it's looked upon as an infectious disease in some of the better galaxies." remarking “That kinda makes you proud, doesn’t it?” "Neuromancer". In William Gibson's novel "Neuromancer", along with the other novels in his Sprawl trilogy, "Count Zero" and "Mona Lisa Overdrive", devices known as "microsofts" are small chips plugged into "wetware" sockets installed behind the user's ear, giving them certain knowledge and/or skills as long as they are plugged in, such as the ability to speak another language. (The name is a combination of the words "micro" and "soft", and is not named after the software firm Microsoft.) "Star Control". In the "Star Control" computer game series, almost all races are implied to have universal translators; however, discrepancies between the ways aliens choose to translate themselves sometimes crop up and complicate communications. The VUX, for instance, are cited as having uniquely advanced skills in linguistics and can translate human language long before humans are capable of doing the same to the VUX. This created a problem during the first contact between Vux and humans, in a starship commanded by Captain Rand. According to "Star Control: Great Battles of the Ur-Quan Conflict", Captain Rand is referred to as saying "That is one ugly sucker" when the image of a VUX first came onto his viewscreen. However, in "Star Control II", Captain Rand is referred to as saying "That is the ugliest freak-face I've ever seen" to his first officer, along with joking that the VUX name stands for Very Ugly Xenoform. It is debatable which source is canon. Whichever the remark, it is implied that the VUX's advanced Universal Translator technologies conveyed the exact meaning of Captain Rand's words. The effete VUX used the insult as an excuse for hostility toward humans. Also, a new race called the Orz was introduced in "Star Control II". They presumably come from another dimension, and at first contact, the ship's computer says that there are many vocal anomalies in their language resulting from their referring to concepts or phenomena for which there are no equivalents in human language. The result is dialogue that is a patchwork of ordinary words and phrases marked with *asterisk pairs* indicating that they are loose translations of unique Orz concepts into human language, a full translation of which would probably require paragraph-long definitions. (For instance, the Orz refer to the human dimension as *heavy space* and their own as *Pretty Space*, to various categories of races as *happy campers* or *silly cows*, and so on.) In the other direction, the Supox are a race portrayed as attempting to mimic as many aspects of other races' language and culture as possible when speaking to them, to the point of referring to their own planet as “Earth,” also leading to confusion. In "Star Control III", the K’tang are portrayed as an intellectually inferior species using advanced technology they do not fully understand to intimidate people, perhaps explaining why their translators’ output is littered with misspellings and nonstandard usages of words, like threatening to “crushify” the player. Along the same lines, the Daktaklakpak dialogue is highly stilted and contains many numbers and mathematical expressions, implying that, as a mechanical race, their thought processes are inherently too different from humans’ to be directly translated into human language. "Stargate". In the television shows "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis", there are no personal translation devices used, and most alien and Human cultures on other planets speak English. The makers of the show have themselves admitted this on the main "SG-1" site, stating that this is to save spending ten minutes an episode on characters learning a new language (early episodes of "SG-1" revealed the difficulties of attempting to write such processes into the plot). In the season 8 finale of "SG-1", “Moebius (Part II),” the characters go back in time to 3000 B.C. and one of them teaches English to the people there. A notable exception to this rule are the Goa’uld, who occasionally speak their own language amongst themselves or when giving orders to their Jaffa. This is never subtitled, but occasionally a translation is given by a third character (usually Teal’c or Daniel Jackson), ostensibly for the benefit of the human characters nearby who do not speak Goa’uld. The Asgard are also shown having their own language (apparently related to the Norse languages), although it is English played backwards. (See Hermiod). In contrast a major plot element of the original "Stargate" film was that Daniel Jackson had to learn the language of the people of Abydos in the common way, which turned out to be derived from ancient Egyptian. The language had been extinct on Earth for many millennia, but Jackson eventually realized that it was merely errors in pronunciation that prevented effective communication. "Star Trek". In "Star Trek", the universal translator was used by Ensign Hoshi Sato, the communications officer on the "Enterprise" in "", to invent the linguacode matrix. It was supposedly first used in the late 22nd century on Earth for the instant translation of well-known Earth languages. Gradually, with the removal of language barriers, Earth's disparate cultures came to terms of universal peace. Translations of previously unknown languages, such as those of aliens, required more difficulties to be overcome. Like most other common forms of "Star Trek" technology (warp drive, transporters, etc.), the universal translator was probably developed independently on several worlds as an inevitable requirement of space travel; certainly the Vulcans had no difficulty communicating with humans upon making " (although the Vulcans could have learned Standard English from monitoring Earth radio transmissions). The Vulcan ship that landed during First Contact was a survey vessel. The Vulcans had been surveying the humans for over a hundred years, when first contact actually occurred to T'Pol's great-grandmother, T'mir, in the episode "; however, in "Star Trek First Contact" it is implied that they learned English by surveying the planets in the Solar System. Deanna Troi mentions the Vulcans have no interest in Earth as it is "too primitive", but the Prime Directive states not to interfere with pre-Warp species. The Vulcans only noticed the warp trail and came to investigate. Improbably, the universal translator has been successfully used to interpret non-biological lifeform communication (in the "Original Series" episode "). In the " ("TNG") episode "The Ensigns of Command", the translator proved ineffective with the language of the Sheliaks, so the Federation had to depend on the aliens' interpretation of Earth languages. It is speculated that the Sheliak communicate amongst themselves in extremely complex legalese. The "TNG" episode "Darmok" also illustrates another instance where the universal translator proves ineffective and unintelligible, because the Tamarian language is too deeply rooted in local metaphor. Unlike virtually every other form of Federation technology, universal translators almost never break down. A notable exception is in the "" episode "An Obol for Charon", where alien interference causes the translator to malfunction and translate crew speech and computer text into multiple languages at random, requiring Commander Saru's fluency in nearly one hundred languages to repair the problem. Although universal translators were clearly in widespread use during this era and Captain Kirk's time (inasmuch as the crew regularly communicated with species who could not conceivably have knowledge of Standard English), it is unclear where they were carried on personnel of that era. The episode " was the only time in which the device was actually seen. In the episode " the Metrons supply Captain Kirk and the Gorn commander with a Translator-Communicator, allowing conversation between them to be possible. During Kirk's era, they were also apparently less perfect in their translations into Klingon. In the , the characters are seen relying on print books in order to communicate with a Klingon military ship, since Chekov said that the Klingons would recognize the use of a Translator. Actress Nichelle Nichols reportedly protested this scene, as she felt that Uhura, as communications officer during what was effectively a cold war, would be trained in fluent Klingon to aid in such situations. In that same movie during the trial scene of Kirk and McCoy before a Klingon judiciary, the Captain and the Doctor are holding communication devices while a Klingon (played by Todd Bryant) translates for them. The novelization of that movie provided a different reason for the use of books: sabotage by somebody working on the Starfleet side of the conspiracy uncovered by the crew in the story, but the novelization is not part of the "Star Trek" canon. By the 24th century, universal translators are built into the communicator pins worn by Starfleet personnel, although there were instances when crew members (such as Riker in the ' episode ") spoke to newly encountered aliens even when deprived of their communicators. In the ' episode " the device apparently works among intra-species languages as well; after the "Voyager" crew discovers and revives eight humans abducted in 1937 (including Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan) and held in stasis since then, a Japanese Army officer expresses surprise that an Ohio farmer is apparently speaking Japanese, while the farmer is equally surprised to hear the soldier speaking English (the audience hears them all speaking English only, however). Certain Starfleet programs, such as the Emergency Medical Hologram, have universal translators encoded into the programming. The "" says that the universal translator is an "extremely sophisticated computer program" which functions by "analyzing the patterns" of an unknown foreign language, starting from a speech sample of two or more speakers in conversation. The more extensive the conversational sample, the more accurate and reliable is the "translation matrix", enabling instantaneous conversion of verbal utterances or written text between the alien language and American English / Federation Standard. In some episodes of ", we see a Cardassian universal translator at work. It takes some time to process an alien language, whose speakers are initially not understandable but as they continue speaking, the computer gradually learns their language and renders it into Standard English (also known as Federation Standard). Ferengi customarily wear their universal translators as an implant in their ears. In the " ("DS9") episode "", in which the show's regular Ferengi accidentally become the three aliens in Roswell, the humans without translators are unable to understand the Ferengi (who likewise can not understand the English spoken by the human observers) until the Ferengi get their own translators working. Similarly, throughout all "Trek" series, a universal translator possessed by only one party can audibly broadcast the results within a limited range, enabling communication between two or more parties, all speaking different languages. The devices appear to be standard equipment on starships and space stations, where a communicator pin would therefore presumably not be strictly necessary. Since the Universal Translator presumably does not physically affect the process by which the user's vocal cords (or alien equivalent) forms audible speech (i.e. the user is nonetheless speaking in his/her/its own language regardless of the listener's language), the listener apparently hears only the speaker's translated words and not the alien language that the speaker is actually, physically articulating; the unfamiliar oratory is therefore not only translated but somehow replaced. The universal translator is often used in cases of contact with pre-warp societies such as in the "" episode "Who Watches the Watchers", and its detection could conceivably lead to a violation of the Prime Directive. Therefore, logically there must be some mechanism by which the lips of the speaker are perceived to be in sync with the words spoken. No explanation of the mechanics of this function appears to have been provided; the viewer is required to suspend disbelief enough to overcome the apparent limitation. Non-fictional translators. Microsoft is developing its own translation technology, for incorporation into many of their software products and services. Most notably this includes real-time translation of video calls with Skype Translator. As of July 2019, Microsoft Translator supports over 65 languages and can translate video calls between English, French, German, Chinese (Mandarin), Italian, and Spanish. In 2010, Google announced that it was developing a translator. Using a voice recognition system and a database, a robotic voice will recite the translation in the desired language. Google's stated aim is to translate the entire world's information. Roya Soleimani, a spokesperson for Google, said during a 2013 interview demonstrating the translation app on a smartphone, "You can have access to the world's languages right in your pocket... The goal is to become that ultimate Star Trek computer." The United States Army has also developed a two-way translator for use in Iraq. TRANSTAC (Spoken Language Communication and Translation System for Tactical Use), though, only focuses on Arabic-English translation. The United States Army has scrapped the TRANSTAC Program and is developing in conjunction with DARPA, the BOLT (Broad Operational Language Translation) in its place. In February 2010, a communications software called VoxOx launched a two-way translator service for instant messaging, SMS, email and social media titled the VoxOx Universal Translator. It enables two people to communicate instantly with each other while both typing in their native languages.

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Metaverse The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet. The word "metaverse" is made up of the prefix "meta" (meaning beyond) and the stem "verse" (a backformation from "universe"); the term is typically used to describe the concept of a future iteration of the internet, made up of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe. Development. The term was coined in Neal Stephenson's 1992 science fiction novel "Snow Crash", where humans, as avatars, interact with each other and software agents, in a three-dimensional space that uses the metaphor of the real world. Stephenson used the term to describe a virtual reality-based successor to the Internet. Concepts similar to the Metaverse have appeared under a variety of names in the cyberpunk genre of fiction as far back as 1981 in the novella "True Names". Stephenson stated in the afterword to "Snow Crash" that after finishing the novel he learned about "Habitat", an early MMORPG which resembled the Metaverse. The concept was made famous under another term, cyberspace, which first appeared in the short story 'Burning Chrome' by William Gibson ("Omni", July 1982) and was a central theme in his 1984 groundbreaking novel, "Neuromancer." Since cyberspace has now, through common use, become a term that simply means the Internet, "Metaverse" is the preferred term for the concept of a virtual shared space that converges with actual reality. Unlike, for instance, in the fictional concept introduced in "Neuromancer", which was typified by a Cartesian separation of body and mind, the Metaverse allows its users to access its environs but still aware of their mundane world surroundings. This is demonstrated in a technology called "invisible to visible" (I2V) that Nissan is developing, which overlays a car's windshield with virtual information as well as features that include an ability to summon an in-car 3D avatar. Since many massively multiplayer online games connecting millions of players share features with the Metaverse but only provide access to non-persistent instances of virtual worlds that are shared only by up to several dozen players, the concept of multiverse virtual worlds has been used to distinguish them from the Metaverse. Developing technical standards. Conceptually, the Metaverse describes a future internet of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe, but common standards, interfaces, and communication protocols between and among virtual environment systems are still in development. Several collaborations and working groups have been established in an attempt to create the types of standards and protocols that would be needed to support interoperability between virtual environments, including: Many of these working groups are still in the process of publishing drafts and determining open standards for interoperability. Timeline of virtual environments inspired by the concept. Since Stephenson's novel appeared, improvements in internet technology, bandwidth, and computational power permitted real-life implementations inspired by the concept of the Metaverse to develop. A brief timeline of notable platforms and developments include: Various massively multiplayer online games bear a resemblance to elements of the Metaverse, although they typically focus on specific gaming purposes rather than socializing. Fiction. Stephenson's Metaverse in "Snow Crash". Stephenson's Metaverse appears to its users as an urban environment, developed along a single hundred-meter-wide road, the Street, that runs the entire 65536 km (216 km) circumference of a featureless, black, perfectly spherical planet. The virtual real estate is owned by the Global Multimedia Protocol Group, a fictional part of the real Association for Computing Machinery, and is available to be bought and buildings developed thereupon. Users of the Metaverse gain access to it through personal terminals that project a high-quality virtual reality display onto goggles worn by the user, or from low-quality public terminals in booths (with the penalty of presenting a grainy black and white appearance). Stephenson also describes a sub-culture of people choosing to remain continuously connected to the Metaverse by wearing portable terminals, goggles and other equipment; they are given the sobriquet "gargoyles" due to their grotesque appearance. The users of the Metaverse experience it from a first person perspective. Within the Metaverse, individual users appear as avatars of any form, with the sole restriction of height, "to prevent people from walking around a mile high". Transport within the Metaverse is limited to analogs of reality by foot or vehicle, such as the monorail that runs the entire length of the Street, stopping at 256 "Express Ports", located evenly at 256 km intervals, and "Local Ports", one kilometer apart. DC Comics. As of 2019, writers at DC Comics have begun to use the term "Metaverse" to refer to a central version of reality which influences other versions and alternate timelines. During the events of "Doomsday Clock", the existence of the Metaverse was uncovered by Doctor Manhattan ("Watchmen"), who arrived in the DC Universe and was curious about why history constantly changed around one person: Superman. Realizing that this was a Metaverse and all changes within this universe affected and influenced other versions and alternate timelines (particularly the Multiverse), Manhattan tested what would happen if the Metaverse was changed by an outside source: himself, and by moving the Green Lantern a few inches away from Alan Scott, this resulted in Alan's death and the Justice Society of America never being formed, thus creating The New 52 universe after the events of "Flashpoint". The Metaverse reacted to these changes in the form of the Pre-Flashpoint Wally West, who briefly escapes the Speed Force and warns Manhattan that he knows what the latter did and the heroes of the DC Universe will stop him, before being dragged back in. In their final confrontation, Superman convinces Manhattan to regain his humanity and the latter restores the timeline, causing the Metaverse to expand itself.

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List of predictions There have been various notable predictions made throughout history, including those by scientists based on the scientific method, predictions of social and technological change of futurologists, economic forecasts, religious prophecies and the fictional imaginings of authors and science fiction. Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke wrote three laws of prediction.

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Alcubierre drive The Alcubierre drive, Alcubierre warp drive, or Alcubierre metric (referring to metric tensor) is a speculative warp drive idea based on a solution of Einstein's field equations in general relativity as proposed by theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre during his PhD study at the University of Wales, Cardiff, by which a spacecraft could achieve apparent faster-than-light travel if a configurable energy-density field lower than that of the vacuum (that is, negative mass) could be created. Rather than exceeding the speed of light within a local reference frame, a spacecraft would traverse distances by contracting space in front of it and expanding space behind it, resulting in effective faster-than-light travel. Objects cannot accelerate to the speed of light within normal spacetime; instead, the Alcubierre drive shifts space around an object so that the object would arrive at its destination more quickly than light would in normal space without breaking any physical laws. Although the metric proposed by Alcubierre is consistent with the Einstein field equations, construction of such a drive is not necessarily possible. The proposed mechanism of the Alcubierre drive implies a negative energy density and therefore requires exotic matter or manipulation of dark energy. If exotic matter with the correct properties cannot exist, then the drive cannot be constructed. At the close of his original article, however, Alcubierre argued (following an argument developed by physicists analyzing traversable wormholes) that the Casimir vacuum between parallel plates could fulfill the negative-energy requirement for the Alcubierre drive. Another possible issue is that, although the Alcubierre metric is consistent with Einstein's equations, general relativity does not incorporate quantum mechanics. Some physicists have presented arguments to suggest that a theory of quantum gravity (which would incorporate both theories) would eliminate those solutions in general relativity that allow for backwards time travel ("see" the chronology protection conjecture) and thus make the Alcubierre drive invalid. History. In 1994, Miguel Alcubierre proposed a method for changing the geometry of space by creating a wave that would cause the fabric of space ahead of a spacecraft to contract and the space behind it to expand. The ship would then ride this wave inside a region of flat space, known as a "warp bubble", and would not move within this bubble but instead be carried along as the region itself moves due to the actions of the drive. Alcubierre metric. The Alcubierre metric defines the warp-drive spacetime. It is a Lorentzian manifold that, if interpreted in the context of general relativity, allows a warp bubble to appear in previously flat spacetime and move away at effectively faster-than-light speed. The interior of the bubble is an inertial reference frame and inhabitants experience no proper acceleration. This method of transport does not involve objects in motion at faster-than-light speeds with respect to the contents of the warp bubble; that is, a light beam within the warp bubble would still always move more quickly than the ship. Because objects within the bubble are not moving (locally) more quickly than light, the mathematical formulation of the Alcubierre metric is consistent with the conventional claims of the laws of relativity (namely, that an object with mass cannot attain or exceed the speed of light) and conventional relativistic effects such as time dilation would not apply as they would with conventional motion at near-light speeds. The Alcubierre drive, however, remains a hypothetical concept with seemingly difficult problems, though the amount of energy required is no longer thought to be unobtainably large. Mathematics. Using the ADM formalism of general relativity, the spacetime is described by a foliation of space-like hypersurfaces of constant coordinate time , with the metric taking the following general form: where The particular form that Alcubierre studied is defined by: where with arbitrary parameters and . Alcubierre's specific form of the metric can thus be written With this particular form of the metric, it can be shown that the energy density measured by observers whose 4-velocity is normal to the hypersurfaces is given by where is the determinant of the metric tensor. Thus, because the energy density is negative, one needs exotic matter to travel more quickly than the speed of light. The existence of exotic matter is not theoretically ruled out; however, generating and sustaining enough exotic matter to perform feats such as faster-than-light travel (and to keep open the "throat" of a wormhole) is thought to be impractical. According to writer Robert Low, within the context of general relativity it is impossible to construct a warp drive in the absence of exotic matter. Connection to dark energy and dark matter. The astrophysicist Jamie Farnes from the University of Oxford has proposed a theory, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, that unifies dark energy and dark matter into a single dark fluid, and which can be tested by new scientific instruments in circa 2030. Farnes found that Albert Einstein had explored the idea of gravitationally repulsive negative masses while developing the equations of general relativity, an idea which leads to a "beautiful" hypothesis where the cosmos has equal amounts of positive and negative qualities. Farnes' theory relies on negative masses that behave identically to the physics of the Alcubierre drive, providing a natural solution for the current "crisis in cosmology" due to a time-variable Hubble parameter. As Farnes' theory allows a positive mass (i.e. a ship) to reach a speed equal to the speed of light, it has been dubbed "controversial". If the theory is correct, which has been highly debated in the scientific literature, it would explain dark energy, dark matter, allow closed timelike curves (see time travel), and suggest that an Alcubierre drive is physically possible with exotic matter. Physics. With regard to certain specific effects of special relativity, such as Lorentz contraction and time dilation, the Alcubierre metric has some apparently peculiar aspects. In particular, Alcubierre has shown that a ship using an Alcubierre drive travels on a free-fall geodesic even while the warp bubble is accelerating: its crew would be in free fall while accelerating without experiencing accelerational g-forces. Enormous tidal forces, however, would be present near the edges of the flat-space volume because of the large space curvature there, but suitable specification of the metric would keep the tidal forces very small within the volume occupied by the ship. The original warp-drive metric and simple variants of it happen to have the ADM form, which is often used in discussing the initial-value formulation of general relativity. This might explain the widespread misconception that this spacetime is a "solution" of the field equation of general relativity. Metrics in ADM form are "adapted" to a certain family of inertial observers, but these observers are not really physically distinguished from other such families. Alcubierre interpreted his "warp bubble" in terms of a contraction of space ahead of the bubble and an expansion behind, but this interpretation could be misleading, since the contraction and expansion actually refer to the relative motion of nearby members of the family of ADM observers. In general relativity, one often first specifies a plausible distribution of matter and energy, and then finds the geometry of the spacetime associated with it; but it is also possible to run the Einstein field equations in the other direction, first specifying a metric and then finding the energy–momentum tensor associated with it, and this is what Alcubierre did in building his metric. This practice means that the solution can violate various energy conditions and require exotic matter. The need for exotic matter raises questions about whether one can distribute the matter in an initial spacetime that lacks a warp bubble in such a way that the bubble is created at a later time, although some physicists have proposed models of dynamical warp-drive spacetimes in which a warp bubble is formed in a previously flat space. Moreover, according to Serguei Krasnikov, generating a bubble in a previously flat space for a "one-way" FTL trip requires forcing the exotic matter to move at local faster-than-light speeds, something that would require the existence of tachyons, although Krasnikov also notes that when the spacetime is not flat from the outset, a similar result could be achieved without tachyons by placing in advance some devices along the travel path and programming them to come into operation at preassigned moments and to operate in a preassigned manner. Some suggested methods avoid the problem of tachyonic motion, but would probably generate a naked singularity at the front of the bubble. Allen Everett and Thomas Roman comment on Krasnikov's finding (Krasnikov tube): [The finding] does not mean that Alcubierre bubbles, if it were possible to create them, could not be used as a means of superluminal travel. It only means that the actions required to change the metric and create the bubble must be taken beforehand by some observer whose forward light cone contains the entire trajectory of the bubble. For example, if one wanted to travel to Deneb (2,600 light years away) and arrive less than 2,600 years in the future according to external clocks, it would be required that someone had already begun work on warping the space from Earth to Deneb at least 2,600 years ago: A spaceship appropriately located with respect to the bubble trajectory could then choose to enter the bubble, rather like a passenger catching a passing trolley car, and thus make the superluminal journey ... as Krasnikov points out, causality considerations do not prevent the crew of a spaceship from arranging, by their own actions, to complete a "round trip" from Earth to a distant star and back in an arbitrarily short time, as measured by clocks on Earth, by altering the metric along the path of their outbound trip. Difficulties. The metric of this form has significant difficulties because all known warp-drive spacetime theories violate various energy conditions. Nevertheless, an Alcubierre-type warp drive might be realized by exploiting certain experimentally verified quantum phenomena, such as the Casimir effect, that lead to stress–energy tensors that also violate the energy conditions, such as negative mass–energy, when described in the context of the quantum field theories. Mass–energy requirement. If certain quantum inequalities conjectured by Ford and Roman hold, the energy requirements for some warp drives may be unfeasibly large as well as negative. For example, the energy equivalent of −1064 kg might be required to transport a small spaceship across the Milky Way—an amount orders of magnitude greater than the estimated mass of the observable universe. Counterarguments to these apparent problems have also been offered. Chris Van den Broeck of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, in 1999, tried to address the potential issues. By contracting the 3+1-dimensional surface area of the bubble being transported by the drive, while at the same time expanding the three-dimensional volume contained inside, Van den Broeck was able to reduce the total energy needed to transport small atoms to less than three solar masses. Later in 2003, by slightly modifying the Van den Broeck metric, Serguei Krasnikov reduced the necessary total amount of negative mass to a few milligrams. Van den Broeck detailed this by saying that the total energy can be reduced dramatically by keeping the surface area of the warp bubble itself microscopically small, while at the same time expanding the spatial volume inside the bubble. However, Van den Broeck concludes that the energy densities required are still unachievable, as are the small size (a few orders of magnitude above the Planck scale) of the spacetime structures needed. In 2012, physicist Harold White and collaborators announced that modifying the geometry of exotic matter could reduce the mass–energy requirements for a macroscopic space ship from the equivalent of the planet Jupiter to that of the Voyager 1 spacecraft (c. 700 kg) or less, and stated their intent to perform small-scale experiments in constructing warp fields. White proposed to thicken the extremely thin wall of the warp bubble, so the energy is focused in a larger volume, but the overall peak energy density is actually smaller. In a flat 2D representation, the ring of positive and negative energy, initially very thin, becomes a larger, fuzzy donut shape. However, as this less energetic warp bubble also thickens toward the interior region, it leaves less flat space to house the spacecraft, which has to be smaller. Furthermore, if the intensity of the space warp can be oscillated over time, the energy required is reduced even more. According to White, a modified Michelson–Morley interferometer could test the idea: one of the legs of the interferometer would appear to have a slightly different length when the test devices were energised. Alcubierre has expressed skepticism about the experiment, saying: "from my understanding there is no way it can be done, probably not for centuries if at all". Placement of matter. Krasnikov proposed that if tachyonic matter cannot be found or used, then a solution might be to arrange for masses along the path of the vessel to be set in motion in such a way that the required field was produced. But in this case, the Alcubierre drive vessel can only travel routes that, like a railroad, have first been equipped with the necessary infrastructure. The pilot inside the bubble is causally disconnected with its walls and cannot carry out any action outside the bubble: the bubble cannot be used for the first trip to a distant star because the pilot cannot place infrastructure ahead of the bubble while "in transit". For example, travelling to Vega (which is 25 light-years from Earth) requires arranging everything so that the bubble moving toward Vega with a superluminal velocity would appear; such arrangements will always take more than 25 years. Coule has argued that schemes, such as the one proposed by Alcubierre, are infeasible because matter placed "en route" of the intended path of a craft must be placed at superluminal speed—that constructing an Alcubierre drive requires an Alcubierre drive even if the metric that allows it is physically meaningful. Coule further argues that an analogous objection will apply to "any" proposed method of constructing an Alcubierre drive. Survivability inside the bubble. An article by José Natário (2002) argues that crew members could not control, steer or stop the ship in its warp bubble because the ship could not send signals to the front of the bubble. A 2009 article by Carlos Barceló, Stefano Finazzi, and Stefano Liberati uses quantum theory to argue that the Alcubierre drive at faster-than-light velocities is impossible mostly because extremely high temperatures caused by Hawking radiation would destroy anything inside the bubble at superluminal velocities and destabilize the bubble itself; the article also argues that these problems are absent if the bubble velocity is subluminal, although the drive still requires exotic matter. Damaging effect on destination. Brendan McMonigal, Geraint F. Lewis, and Philip O'Byrne have argued that were an Alcubierre-driven ship to decelerate from superluminal speed, the particles that its bubble had gathered in transit would be released in energetic outbursts akin to the infinitely-blueshifted radiation hypothesized to occur at the inner event horizon of a Kerr black hole; forward-facing particles would thereby be energetic enough to destroy anything at the destination directly in front of the ship. Wall thickness. The amount of negative energy required for such a propulsion is not yet known. Pfenning and Allen Everett of Tufts hold that a warp bubble traveling at 10-times the speed of light must have a wall thickness of no more than 10−32 meters—close to the limiting Planck length, 1.6 × 10−35 meters. In Alcubierre's original calculations, a bubble macroscopically large enough to enclose a ship of 200 meters would require a total amount of exotic matter greater than the mass of the observable universe, and straining the exotic matter to an extremely thin band of 10−32 meters is considered impractical. Similar constraints apply to Krasnikov's superluminal subway. Chris Van den Broeck constructed a modification of Alcubierre's model that requires much less exotic matter but places the ship in a curved space-time "bottle" whose neck is about 10−32 meters. Causality violation and semiclassical instability. Calculations by physicist Allen Everett show that warp bubbles could be used to create closed timelike curves in general relativity, meaning that the theory predicts that they could be used for backwards time travel. While it is possible that the fundamental laws of physics might allow closed timelike curves, the chronology protection conjecture hypothesizes that in all cases where the classical theory of general relativity allows them, quantum effects would intervene to eliminate the possibility, making these spacetimes impossible to realize. A possible type of effect that would accomplish this is a buildup of vacuum fluctuations on the border of the region of spacetime where time travel would first become possible, causing the energy density to become high enough to destroy the system that would otherwise become a time machine. Some results in semiclassical gravity appear to support the conjecture, including a calculation dealing specifically with quantum effects in warp-drive spacetimes that suggested that warp bubbles would be semiclassically unstable, but ultimately the conjecture can only be decided by a full theory of quantum gravity. Alcubierre briefly discusses some of these issues in a series of lecture slides posted online, where he writes: "beware: in relativity, any method to travel faster than light can in principle be used to travel back in time (a time machine)". In the next slide he brings up the chronology protection conjecture and writes: "The conjecture has not been proven (it wouldn’t be a conjecture if it had), but there are good arguments in its favor based on quantum field theory. The conjecture does not prohibit faster-than-light travel. It just states that if a method to travel faster than light exists, and one tries to use it to build a time machine, something will go wrong: the energy accumulated will explode, or it will create a black hole." Relation to "Star Trek" warp drive. The "Star Trek" television series and films use the term "warp drive" to describe their method of faster-than-light travel. Neither the Alcubierre theory, nor anything similar, existed when the series was conceived—the term "warp drive" and general concept originated with John W. Campbell's 1931 science fiction novel "Islands of Space". Alcubierre stated in an email to William Shatner that his theory was directly inspired by the term used in the show and cites the "'warp drive' of science fiction" in his 1994 article. A "USS Alcubierre" appears in the Star Trek RPG Star Trek Adventures (2017).

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Organ transplantation in fiction Organ transplantation is a common theme in science fiction and horror fiction. Numerous horror movies feature the theme of transplanted body parts that are evil or give supernatural powers, with examples including "Body Parts", "Hands of a Stranger", and "The Eye". Organ transplants from donors who are unwilling, or incapable of objecting, to having their organs removed are a recurring theme in dystopian fiction. In contrast to unwilling organ donors, there is the theme of individuals who want to donate their own life-critical organs, such as a brain or heart, at the cost of their own life. Organ theft. The term "organlegging" was coined by Larry Niven in a series of short stories set in his "Known Space" future universe originally published in a 1976 collection called "The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton", later expanded and re-released as "Flatlander". The story "The Patchwork Girl" was also published alone as a novel in 1986. In Robin Cook's 1978 novel "Coma", set in the present day, the organ thieves operate in a hospital, removing the organs from patients in a facility for the long-term care of patients in a vegetative state. The story was also made into a film, "Coma" in 1978, and later into a two-part television miniseries aired in 2012 on the A&E television network. Organ theft is a theme in a number of horror movies, including "Turistas", and also (in a less overtly horrific manner) as a theme in realistic dramas such as "Dirty Pretty Things" and "Inhale". In the TV series, Trigun, the protagonist's severed left arm had been transplanted without his knowledge onto an antagonist's left shoulder. State-sanctioned organ transplants from criminals. The same series of Larry Niven stories also contains the theme of organ donation from criminals becoming institutionalized within society to the point where even minor crimes are punished by death, in order to ensure the supply of new organs to an aging population. Niven originally developed this theme in his novel "A Gift From Earth", first published in 1968 and also set in his Known Space universe. In "A Gift From Earth", the descendants of colonists from an interstellar colonization mission are preyed upon by the descendants of the crew, who enact laws that make even the most minor offences carry the death penalty to allow their organs to be "harvested" and stored in "organ banks" for later use. The theme had previously been explored by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson in their 1964 novel "The Reefs of Space", the first novel of their Starchild Trilogy, in which mankind labours under the "Plan of Man", enforced by computers within a surveillance state. Unlike in Niven's novels, donors are kept alive for as long as possible to enable more organs to be removed for transplant until they eventually succumb from their injuries. The novel also features a "Frankenstein"-like theme of a man assembled entirely from the body parts of others. In Sui Ishida's 2014 dark fantasy manga series, Tokyo Ghoul, a state sanctioned organ transplant is performed between an unwilling donor and the main character of the series. It was the subject of much controversy in the series itself. Unbeknown to the surgeons however, the unwilling donor was a ghoul, a monster who eats human flesh, causing the main character to have ghoul-like characteristics. Organ transplants from victims raised to be organ donors. The idea of state-sanctioned involuntary organ transplants is taken one step further by the concept of creating people solely for the purpose of acting as organ donors. Generally, these donors are clones of their eventual organ recipients. This idea has been explored by several writers. The 1979 science fiction horror film "", written by Bob Sullivan and Ron Smith, is set in an isolated community in a remote desert area, where clones are bred to serve as a source of replacement organs for the wealthy and powerful. The clones are kept in a seemingly idyllic environment of apparent leisure and luxury, right up to the point where they are killed for their organs. Michael Marshall Smith's novel "Spares" has a similar premise. Unlike the clones in "Parts: The Clonus Horror", the clones are kept in conditions resembling those of farm animals or a concentration camp. The central character of Alfred Slote's 1982 children's book "Clone Catcher" pursues clones who seek to escape their fate of being harvested for their organs. The 2005 American science fiction action thriller film "The Island" continues the theme, where clones live in a highly structured environment isolated in a compound. After the movie's hero learns that the compound inhabitants are clones who are used for organ harvesting and surrogate motherhood for wealthy people in the outside world, he escapes. Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 dystopian novel "Never Let Me Go" also has a similar theme to its predecessors, but lacks the action-adventure theme of the previous works, concentrating on the characters' feelings and personal stories and the development of psychological horror at their plight. It was later made into a 2010 British drama film of the same name. Recently, a commission for Radio 7, (now called BBC radio 4 Extra), called Jefferson 37 by Jenny Stephens also explores the same theme in a four-part radio play. The whole plot takes place within Abbotsville, a free range laboratory, where the clones are deliberately dehumanised. The story culminates with their humanity resisting the desire to quash it. The plot of "Unwind", a 2007 science fiction novel by young adult literature author Neal Shusterman, takes place in the United States, after a civil war somewhere in the near future. After a civil war is fought over abortion, a compromise was reached, allowing parents to sign an order for their children between the ages of 13 and 18 years old to be "unwound"—taken to "harvest camps" and having their body parts harvested for later use. The reasoning was that, since all their organs were required to be used, unwinds did not technically die, because their individual body parts lived on. Organ repossession. The idea of the repossession of transplanted organs has also been used in fiction, in the films "Repo Men", and "Repo! The Genetic Opera". Self-sacrificial organ donation. In the film John Q., the character played by Denzel Washington takes a hospital hostage in hopes to force the surgical staff to transplant his heart into his dying son. In the TV series Psycho Pass, the antagonist is given the opportunity to donate his brain to help power a system that determines if an someone is likely to perform a crime. Comedy. Organ transplantation has also been used as a major plot element in a number of comedies, including "Przekładaniec" (1968, Poland), "The Thing with Two Heads" (1972) and "The Man With Two Brains" (1983).

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Reproduction and pregnancy in speculative fiction Because speculative genres explore variants of reproduction, as well as possible futures, SF writers have often explored the social, political, technological, and biological consequences of pregnancy and reproduction. Themes. As real-world reproductive technology has advanced, SF works have become increasingly interested in representing alternative modes of reproduction. Among the uses of pregnancy and reproduction themes regularly encountered in science fiction are: The phenomenon of pregnancy itself has been the subject of numerous works, both directly and metaphorically. These works may relate pregnancy to parasitism or slavery, or simply use pregnancy as a strong contrast with horror. For example, in the film, "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) (based on the 1967 novel by Ira Levin) a woman is tricked into a satanic pregnancy by her husband. Alien–human hybrids. Inter-species reproduction and alien-human hybrids frequently occur in science fiction, and women being impregnated by aliens is a common theme in SF horror films, including "I Married a Monster from Outer Space", "Village of the Damned", "Xtro", and "Inseminoid". The theme has even been parodied, such as in the soft porn "Wham Bang! Thanks You Mister Spaceman". They are sometimes used as metaphors for social anxieties about miscegenation or hybridization, and other times used to explore the boundaries of humanity. In the film "Alien Resurrection" (1997), Ellen Ripley has been cloned to facilitate study of the alien queen embryo with which she was implanted In Octavia E. Butler's "Lilith's Brood" trilogy (1987, 1988, 1989) alien and human females impregnated with the DNA of males by alien intermediary-sex individuals, in "fivesomes". Reproduction and technology. Speculative fiction in technology of reproduction may involve cloning and ectogenesis, i.e., artificial reproduction). The latter part of the 2000s decade has also seen an upswing of films and other fiction depicting emotional struggles of assisted reproductive technology in contemporary reality rather than being speculation. Large-scale infertility or population growth. Fertility and reproduction have been frequent sites for examination of concerns about the impact of the environment and reproduction on the future of humanity or civilization. For example, "The Children of Men" by P.D. James is just one of many works which have considered the implications of global infertility; "Make Room! Make Room!" by Harry Harrison is one of many works which have examined the converse, the implications of massive human population surges. Numerous other works, such as "Implosion", "The First Century after Beatrice", "Venus Plus X" and "More Than Human" by Theodore Sturgeon examine the future of humanity as it evolves, or particular breeding programs. Politics and gender politics. Pregnancy and control of human reproduction have often been used as proxies for treating gender issues or broader themes of social control; works dealing with pregnancy and human reproduction have also been used to closely explore gender politics. For instance, "male pregnancy" has been used to comedic effect in mainstream literature and films such as "Junior" (1994 film, dir. Ivan Reitman), and has developed a following in fan fiction—the "m-preg" genre. The genre of feminist science fiction has explored single-sex reproduction in depth, particularly parthenogenesis, as well as gendered control over the ability and right to reproduce. See also numerous dystopian stories about state-controlled reproduction, abortion, and birth control, such as Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale", or her short story, "Freeforall". These works have often been analyzed as explorations of contemporary political debates about reproduction and pregnancy.

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SpnKiX SpnKiX is a pair of motorised shoes with wheels and wireless handheld remote control developed by a small firm, 'Action Inc' to assist pedestrians reach their destinations faster. It's the brainchild of Peter Treadway, who is also the product designer, inventor and co-founder. In his own words, Flying cars and Jet packs inspired this concept; also, the trouble he had in finding parking in Los Angeles, California led him to conceive the basic idea. Each shoe consists of a frame made out of reinforced nylon. All hardware and electronics including motor, motor controller and battery pack are integrated into the frame. A wireless handheld remote control adjusts the speed to go up to 10 miles per hour. Rechargeable lithium batteries charged for 2 to 3 hours are good for 2 to 3 miles of commuting. Works this way. SpnKiX are battery powered and electric roller skates to be strapped on to each shoe. Each pack on the foot has a built-in motor and battery pack, remote-controlled by a wireless device in the hand that controls both skates at once.

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Space Ranger (device) The Space Ranger was a propane-fueled vertical take off personal transporter, similar to a platform jet pack, developed by Richard Timewell, a Seattle sheet metal worker based in a small office at Boeing Field. The transporter was advertised in several issues of Popular Science magazine during 1977-1978. United Press International's Seattle bureau on April 10th 1978 issued an article including an interview with Timewell, who stated that only one completed Space Ranger had been sold, and that he was "working out a few bugs" after hitting trees and starting fires.

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Dream argument The dream argument is the postulation that the act of dreaming provides preliminary evidence that the senses we trust to distinguish reality from illusion should not be fully trusted, and therefore, any state that is dependent on our senses should at the very least be carefully examined and rigorously tested to determine whether it is in fact reality. Synopsis. While one dreams, one does not normally realize one is dreaming. On more rare occasions, the dream may be contained inside another dream with the very act of realizing that one is dreaming, itself, being only a dream that one is not aware of having. This has led philosophers to wonder whether it is possible for one ever to be certain, at any given point in time, that one is not in fact dreaming, or whether indeed it could be possible for one to remain in a perpetual dream state and never experience the reality of wakefulness at all. In Western philosophy this philosophical puzzle was referred to by Plato ("Theaetetus" 158b-d), Aristotle ("Metaphysics" 1011a6), and the Academic Skeptics. It is now best known from René Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy". The dream argument has become one of the most prominent skeptical hypotheses. In Eastern philosophy this type of argument is sometimes referred to as the "Zhuangzi paradox": He who dreams of drinking wine may weep when morning comes; he who dreams of weeping may in the morning go off to hunt. While he is dreaming he does not know it is a dream, and in his dream he may even try to interpret a dream. Only after he wakes does he know it was a dream. And someday there will be a great awakening when we know that this is all a great dream. Yet the stupid believe they are awake, busily and brightly assuming they understand things, calling this man ruler, that one herdsman—how dense! Confucius and you are both dreaming! And when I say you are dreaming, I am dreaming, too. Words like these will be labeled the Supreme Swindle. Yet, after ten thousand generations, a great sage may appear who will know their meaning, and it will still be as though he appeared with astonishing speed. The Yogachara philosopher Vasubandhu (4th to 5th century C.E.) referenced the argument in his "Twenty verses on appearance only." The dream argument came to feature prominently in Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Some schools of thought ("e.g.", Dzogchen) consider "perceived reality" to be literally unreal. As Chögyal Namkhai Norbu puts it: "In a real sense, all the visions that we see in our lifetime are like a big dream . . . ." In this context, the term 'visions' denotes not only visual perceptions, but also appearances perceived through all senses, including sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations, and operations on perceived mental objects. Simulated reality. Dreaming provides a springboard for those who question whether our own reality may be an illusion. The ability of the mind to be tricked into believing a mentally generated world is the "real world" means at least one variety of simulated reality is a common, even nightly event. Those who argue that the world is not simulated must concede that the mind—at least the sleeping mind—is not itself an entirely reliable mechanism for attempting to differentiate reality from illusion. Critical discussion. In the past, philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes have separately attempted to refute Descartes's account of the dream argument. Locke claimed that you cannot experience pain in dreams. Various scientific studies conducted within the last few decades provided evidence against Locke's claim by concluding that pain in dreams can occur, but on very rare occasions. Philosopher Ben Springett has said that Locke might respond to this by stating that the agonizing pain of stepping in to a fire is non-comparable to stepping in to a fire in a dream. Hobbes claimed that dreams are susceptible to absurdity while the waking life is not. Many contemporary philosophers have attempted to refute dream skepticism in detail (see, e.g., Stone (1984)). Ernest Sosa (2007) devoted a chapter of a monograph to the topic, in which he presented a new theory of dreaming and argued that his theory raises a new argument for skepticism, which he attempted to refute. In "A Virtue Epistemology: Apt Belief and Reflective Knowledge", he states: "in dreaming we do not really believe; we only make-believe." Jonathan Ichikawa (2008) and Nathan Ballantyne & Ian Evans (2010) have offered critiques of Sosa's proposed solution. Ichikawa argued that as we cannot tell whether our beliefs in waking life are truly beliefs and not imaginings, like in a dream, we are still not able to tell whether we are awake or dreaming. Norman Malcolm in his monograph "Dreaming" (published in 1959) elaborated on Wittgenstein's question as to whether it really mattered if people who tell dreams "really had these images while they slept, or whether it merely seems so to them on waking". He argues that the sentence "I am asleep" is a senseless form of words; that dreams cannot exist independently of the waking impression; and that scepticism based on dreaming "comes from confusing the historical and dream telling senses...[of]...the past tense" (page 120). In the chapter: "Do I Know I Am Awake ?" he argues that we do not have to say: "I know that I am awake" simply because it would be absurd to deny that one is awake. The dream hypothesis is also used to develop other philosophical concepts, such as Valberg's personal horizon: what this world would be internal to if "this" were all a dream. References. Malcolm, N. (1959) Dreaming London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2nd Impression 1962.

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Solar eclipses in fiction This is a list of fictional stories in which solar eclipses feature as an important plot element. Mere passing mentions are not listed. Films. There is a body of films featuring solar eclipses. Compared to other astronomical events featured in films, such as full moons and asteroid strikes, solar eclipses are less commonly seen. When they have featured in films, they often drive the plot and have a portentous presence. NPR's Glen Weldon said that films use eclipses "to signal to audiences that the normal rules have temporarily lifted, and things are about to get weird." The first film to feature a solar eclipse was the 1907 silent film "The Eclipse, or the Courtship of the Sun and Moon", which featured a solar eclipse as a fantastical consummation between the sun and the moon. Eclipses have been seen as bad omens throughout history and filmmakers leverage that belief "as visual cues or key plot points", according to "The Oregonian"s Amy Wang. The most accurate depiction of a solar eclipse in film is seen in the 1961 religious epic film "Barabbas", which included film of an actual solar eclipse during a crucifixion scene.

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Secret history A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. "Secret history" is also used to describe an alternative interpretation of documented facts which portrays a drastically different motivation or history from established historical events. Secret histories of the real world. Originally, secret histories were designed as non-fictional, revealing or claiming to reveal the truth behind the "spin": one such example is "The Secret History of the Mongols". Secret histories can range from standard historical revisionism with proper critical reexamination of historical facts to negative historical revisionism wherein facts are deliberately omitted, suppressed or distorted. The quintessential example secret history is the "Anecdota" of Procopius of Caesarea (known for centuries as the "Secret History"). It was discovered, centuries after it was written, in the Vatican Library and published in 1623, although its existence was already known from the "Suda", which referred to it as the "Anekdota" ("the unpublished composition"). The "Secret History" covers roughly the same years as the first seven books of the "History of Justinian's Wars" and appears to have been written after they were published. Current consensus generally dates it to 550 or 558, possibly as late as 562. It portrays the reign of the Roman Emperor Justinian I to the great disadvantage of the Emperor, the Emperor's wife, and some of his imperial court. Fictional secret histories. Secret history is sometimes used in a long-running science fiction or fantasy universe to preserve continuity with the present by reconciling paranormal, anachronistic, or otherwise notable but unrecorded events with what actually happened in known history; for instance, in the "Star Trek" universe, Greg Cox's novels "" cast the devastating Eugenics Wars of the 1990s (still well into the future when first mentioned in an episode from 1967) as shadow wars most people never knew about, in which such real-life events from that era as the Smiling Buddha nuclear test, the Yugoslav Wars during the 1990s, and the 1992 Los Angeles riots were all part of one wider conflict. Secret history thrillers. A certain type of thriller can be defined as secret history. In such novels, a daring spy, assassin or commando "nearly" carries out a coup which would have drastically changed history as we know it. Since this is not alternate history but a secret event in our own history, the reader knows in advance that this attempt would be foiled, that all persons in the know would be sworn to secrecy and all evidence be consigned to a top secret archive, where supposedly it still is. Nevertheless, the plot fascinates many readers who want to see how close history comes to being changed (usually very, very close) and exactly how the attempt would be foiled. Two highly successful novels are considered to have started this subgenre: These two novels set the framework for many later books: following step by step both the fiendishly clever, competent and ruthless perpetrator in carrying out his design and the equally clever and competent hunter, hot on his heels throughout the book, but who would catch up with him only at the very end. Typically, historical figures – including very famous ones – appear in some key scenes, but are not major actors. Many other novels of this type followed, most of them with World War II backgrounds. Follet himself published at least two others: Works of other writers fitting within this type include: Different types of secret history thriller include: Fictional "secret" versions of historical events. Donna Tartt used the phrase for the title of her debut novel (The Secret History), which recounts the story of a group of Classics students at an elite college in New England who engage in ritual murder — and subsequently bury the story. The plot is told via unreliable narration and an inverted detective format. Secret histories of fictional worlds. "Retcon", alteration of the canonical account of past events in serial fiction, often employs aspects of secret history. A seeming continuity breach might be "revealed" to alter the truth of what readers were previously led to believe was a definitive story. A retcon might equally well convert an established history into a secret history. Such transformations occur with particular frequency in long-running superhero comic books. Time travel secret histories. The plots of some time travel books and stories make it possible to count them as secret histories as well – since they posit that the truth about various historical figures and events is quite different from what history books recount. For example, Poul Anderson's story "Brave to be a King" asserts that King Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, was, in fact, a twentieth-century American time traveler stranded in the past who became a king by strange circumstances. (However, this is "cancelled out" at the end of the story, when the real Cyrus is restored to the timeline, and the American goes home to his own century.) Another Anderson story, "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth", asserts that also the Nordic god Odin/Wodan was a twentieth-century American time traveler, who sought to study the culture of the ancient Goths and ended up being regarded as a god and starting an enduring myth. Paul Levinson's "The Plot to Save Socrates" claims (as its title suggests), that the philosopher Socrates did not drink hemlock, as history tells. Rather, a clone died in his place and the true Socrates lived some more years in twenty-first century America. Also according to the same book, the politician and general Alcibiades had a long life and many adventures after the moment when history records his death; Alcibiades' mistress Timandra and the famous fourth-century mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria were one and the same person, a time-traveling American woman; the inventor Hero of Alexandria was also an American time traveler; and finally, according to the same book, the nineteenth-century publisher William Henry Appleton had an extensive secret life as a time traveler, had visited Classical Greece and met some of the famous ancient Greek writers and philosophers whose works he published, and also several times visited the twenty-first century – but always found his own nineteenth-century milieu to be the most congenial. According to David Drake's novel "Birds of Prey", the Roman Empire's Third Century Crisis was far more severe than modern historians realize, and the Empire was on the verge of final collapse and disintegration already then. The situation was saved by a time traveler from the very far future, endowed with telepathic and other superhuman powers. That traveler encountered a young junior Roman officer named Diocletian, realized his enormous potential and gave him the final push to eventually become a strong Emperor, revive and restructure the Roman Empire and give it another two hundred years of life (and much longer for its eastern portion). Diocletian himself was completely unaware of this crucial help to his career. Ray Nelson's novel "Blake's Progress" assumes that the poet William Blake and his wife Kate were accomplished time travelers who had many adventures in past and future times and in various alternate timelines, their actions profoundly effecting the course of human history. They had a child never known to recorded history, since the child - also a time traveler - was born in the distant past and lived out his life in the distant future. While it is well-known that Blake revered the poetry of John Milton, the book discloses that the two of them often met personally - the century separating them being no hindrance since Milton, too, was a time traveler and both could travel freely over millions of years. William Blake's mythology is not fictional but features actual people - or beings - whom Blake met on his wanderings through time. The character Urizen was in fact Blake's own son, born of a relationship with a woman of the far future. In addition to all the above, the book makes the more mundane assertion that many of the engravings attributed to Blake were in fact made by Kate and that in fact she was the better engraver of the two. According to Michael Moorcock's "Behold the Man", also Jesus Christ was a modern time traveler. His real name was Karl Glogauer, and he had a troubled life in 20th Century London, being obsessed with the character of Jesus and finally getting and taking a chance to board a time machine to Jesus' time. Finding the Virgin Mary to be a nymphomaniac and having sex with her, he discovers that her child Jesus is a profoundly intellectually disabled hunchback who incessantly repeats the only word he knows: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" and could never have done any of the things attributed to the New Testament's Jesus Christ. Thereupon, he decides to take up the role himself, gathers disciples and enacts many of the acts attributed to Jesus, and finally ends up on the cross. In the pain of his last moments he cries out in English "It's a lie ... it's a lie ... it's a lie ..." which Aramaic-speaking listeners understand as the famous "Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani".

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Cryotank A cryotank or cryogenic tank is a tank that is used to store material at very low temperatures. The term "cryotank" refers to storage of super-cold fuels, such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Cryotanks and cryogenics can be seen in many sci-fi movies, but they are still currently undeveloped. All that needs to be done is for a human to be loaded into the tank and then they can be frozen until a time comes when any diseases they have can be cured and they can live an even longer life. This could also be used in space travel and just preserving human life in general. The problem with this is when the human body is frozen, ice crystals form in the cells. The ice crystals then continue to expand rupturing the cell wall and destroying the integrity of the cell, or killing it. This means in order for humans to undergo the cryogenic process a way to significantly raise the levels of glucose produced in the human body is needed. Material Uses. Cryogenic tanks are used to store natural gases such as oxygen, argon, nitrogen, helium, hydrogen and other materials. Tanks can store the materials at the correct temperature and pressure for transportation. In science fiction. In science fiction, cryogenic tanks are used to freeze people. "cry-" is a Greek prefix which means "cold or freezing", hence humans are stored in the tank frozen until a future date. Cryotanks are found in some science fiction films such as "Prometheus" (2012) and "The Host" (2013).

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List of films featuring extraterrestrials Note:This is a list of films that feature extraterrestrial life.

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Earth in science fiction An overwhelming majority of fiction is set on or features the Earth. However, authors of speculative fiction novels and writers and directors of science fiction film deal with Earth quite differently from authors of conventional fiction. Unbound from the same ties that bind authors of traditional fiction to the Earth, they can either completely ignore the Earth or use it as but one of many settings in a more complicated universe, exploring a number of common themes through examining outsiders' perceptions of and interactions with Earth. Common themes. Center of the Universe, or the Seat of Power in an Intergalactic community. Earth is often depicted as a major power-broker in the community due to anthropocentrism. Perhaps the most notable example of this is "Star Trek" (where Earth is the capital of the United Federation of Planets). It can also be depicted as the head of an empire as in Poul Anderson's "Dominic Flandry" series where "The barbarians in the long ships waited at the edge of the Galaxy for the ancient Terran Empire to fall … The brilliant Starship Commander Flandry fought to save the empire even as he scorned it" (from the preface to "The Rebel Worlds"). Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Darkover" series, too, has a brooding Terran Empire maintaining a colonial enclave on the planet Darkover where the plot takes place, and on countless others. "" also features an empire controlled from Earth with other major planets, such as Eden IV. It is a common theme across British science fiction to have Earth near the core, or center of the fictional universe, common examples could be the works of Peter F. Hamilton where earth is the main terminus of the wormhole and the capital of the inner worlds (in later works he turns the idea that people seek an inner migration (as opposed to an external expansion) to frontier type worlds). In the BBC science fiction show "Doctor Who", many episodes set in the future depict Earth as being the head of an empire that stretches across many galaxies. In the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, Earth is referred to as "Holy Terra" and is the capital of the Imperium of Man Invasion by Aliens. While reasons vary, in most stories, it is because extraterrestrials are looking for a new world to colonize or otherwise dominate. The aliens are often used to portray nearly all-powerful beings, placing the strongest forces on Earth at the receiving end of attacks that they can barely understand. This theme is one of the earliest in science fiction, demonstrated by H. G. Wells in "The War of the Worlds" and Doctor Who, where the invasions in the 1960s, 70s and the 80s are small scale, and the invasions from the 1990s and later are more-large scale, in works such as "Independence Day". In such scenarios, the author often uses deus ex machina to allow the invasion to be repulsed. In others, like "Footfall" and "Worldwar", the author depicts aliens only slightly more advanced than the inhabitants of Earth, and are fought to a stand-still or defeated in battle. The opposite has also been depicted, with Earth becoming a refuge to aliens as seen in the "Men in Black" series of movies, and "Alien Nation" series. Forgotten or mythical. The memory of Earth, and its location may be lost to the sands of time or shrouded in myth as mankind abandons the Earth. Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" and "Empire" series depict a common theme of a destroyed Earth. In other works, such as "Battlestar Galactica", it is largely forgotten except by the religious. In the numerous books of the "Dumarest" saga by E.C. Tubb, the adventurer protagonist was born on a "galactic backwater" Earth and at a young age had stowed away on a rare spaceship touching down on the planet; having seen more than enough of the galaxy he wants to go back, but no one else had ever heard of the planet. The first Terran inhabitants of the Koprulu Sector are Earth-born criminals in sleeper ships in "StarCraft". The expansion also mentions about Earth: upon hearing of the United Earth Directorate's forces' arrival, Zeratul remarks "Raynor [a Terran captain] spoke to me of the distant Terran homeworld of Earth." This implies that the Terrans still know about Earth but its location is lost ("StarCraft" manual mentions that the sleeper ships have become lost in hyperspace when an error erased the intended destination's coordinates, as well as those of Earth's, resulting in the ships going at full speed for several decades until the engines broke down). Also, the Terran Confederacy uses the same flag as the Confederacy in the American Civil War. Also, in the Zodiac series by Romina Russell, it states that "history tells us the original human colonizers came from a distant and long-gone planet called Earth, and they traveled through a portal in Helios to get here—but the portal is just another myth." Destruction. Earth could have been completely destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, but its location (or at least its former location) is well known. This last scenario is also popular, and was featured in the movie "Titan A.E.", as well as in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". There is an example of a devastated uninhabitable Earth in Roger Zelazny's 1973 novel "To Die in Italbar". Not mentioned. Some works, such as "Star Wars" series and many fantasy works, never mention the Earth at all (although a proposed novel, Robert J. Sawyer's "Alien Exodus", would have linked Earth to the "Star Wars" universe). This allows the author to operate in a realm unfamiliar and otherworldly to the reader or to explore contentious issues and historical themes in an otherwise entirely alien environment, giving the work a radically different perspective. In the "Homeworld" games for example, Earth's existence is unknown – and indeed entirely immaterial – as the games take place in a different galaxy altogether (specifically the Whirlpool Galaxy). However, judging by the appearance of members of the Kushan/Hiigaran people, most notably Karan S'jet, Hiigaran biology is at least outwardly similar, if not identical, to human biology. Earth as presented in various works. "Battlestar Galactica". The overarching plot in both the original and re-imagined "Battlestar Galactica" is the quest to find Earth, which is thought to be the location of the lost thirteenth colony of Kobol. Colonial history dictates that Kobol is the homeworld of all humanity, and that the Thirteen Tribes of Kobol fled that world thousands of years earlier, with twelve tribes founding the Twelve Colonies and the thirteenth heading to Earth. Both shows are similar in that the location of Earth is initially unknown, but clues to its location are gradually discovered by the refugee fleet from the Twelve Colonies. In both series, the exodus of the Thirteen Tribes took place so far in the past that most modern Colonials have come to assume that the stories of Earth are simply religious myths. Original series. In the original series, several clues indicate that the existence of Earth is real. On the prison planet of Proteus, Starbuck encounters drawings of star systems on the wall of a cell once occupied by a mysterious prisoner. The star charts turn out to be that of the Solar System. Additionally, when the "Galactica" later reaches a planet called Terra, it is inhabited by humans who use Earth units of measurement (hours, minutes, etc.) rather than Colonial units of measurement, suggesting that it was settled by members of the lost Thirteenth Tribe thousands of years earlier on their way to Earth. In "Galactica 1980", a continuation of the original series, the fleet did eventually discover Earth as it was in 1980. Re-imagined series. In the Season Three finale of the re-imagined series, Kara Thrace returns to "Galactica" after her apparent death, claiming to have been to Earth, and intending to lead the fleet there. The camera then pans out from the fleet to view the Milky Way galaxy, and then zooms back in to show Earth, confirming the existence of the planet. In the Season Four mid-season finale episode "Revelations," the fleet finally reaches Earth, only to discover that it is a lifeless, radioactive wasteland. In "Sometimes a Great Notion", it is revealed that the Thirteenth Tribe consisted of humanoid and mechanical Cylons of a type previously unknown. It is also revealed that the final five Cylons had previously lived on Earth 2,000 years in the past, when a nuclear war devastated the planet. In the final episode, a twist ending shows "Galactica" reaching our Earth, 150,000 years ago. The Colonials and the Cylons they've made peace with decide to call their new world "Earth" due to the hope associated with the name of the now devastated planet the Thirteenth Tribe once inhabited. They then abandon their technology, and live amongst the new Earth's native Hominini. 150,000 years later, in the present day, the remains of Mitochondrial Eve – a Colonial human/Cylon hybrid (named Hera Agathon), whose birth and destiny had been a major plot element of the series – are discovered. "Buck Rogers". In most variations on the "Buck Rogers" mythos (comic strip, TV series, feature film), Earth of the 25th century (where the action takes place) is recovering from various atomic wars, usually variations on World War III. In the original comic, Mongols have taken over the Earth; in the TV series, the Draconian Empire fills this role (although the Draconians are obviously based on Mongols). Most of Earth's cities lie in ruins, although rebuilding is in progress (Earth's capital is New Chicago; other cities include New Paris, New London etc.). The second season of the TV series revealed that much of Earth's population fled the planet in the wake of the atomic war and founded colonies in deep space; the Earth ship "Searcher" is dispatched to investigate. "Buffyverse". In Joss Whedon's Buffyverse, established by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel", Earth is one of several dimensions; the term "Earth" is used both to refer to the specific planet and to the dimension the planet exists in as a whole. Born from the Seed of Wonder, the source of all magic, Earth originated as a world of Demons, and was ruled over by the Old Ones during a time known as the Primordium Age. Eventually, however, the human race rose up and fought back against the Old Ones, banishing them to other dimensions. "CoDominium". In Jerry Pournelle's "CoDominium" series (now largely alternate history) the Earth comes under the control of the CoDominium, an alliance between the United States and Soviet Union, in the year 1990. The CoDominium imposes its control over all other nations of the Earth, halting scientific development and warfare. The CoDominium is ruled by a Grand Senate located on the Moon, and eventually constructs interstellar colonies for the joint goal of economic gain and a means of exiling troublesome elements of society. Eventually in 2103, the CoDominium dissolves, with the US and USSR engaging in the nuclear "Great Patriotic Wars" which destroy almost all of Earth (it is mentioned that Jamaica and the Tyrolean Alps are untouched). The CD Space Navy escapes to the planet Sparta, which eventually becomes the nucleus of the "Empire of Man". During the Empire's Formation Wars the Earth is once more hit hard, but is eventually incorporated into the Imperium as the "honorary capital." When the Empire dissolves in the Secession Wars in the 27th century, Earth is once more subjected to nuclear attacks, but by the early 31st century has been reclaimed by the Second Empire. By that time, the Earth city of "New Annapolis" is a training center for the Imperial Space Navy. To inhabitants of planets newly contacted, such as Prince Samual's World in "King David's Spaceship", the condition of the still largely desolate Earth is presented as an object lesson for the prohibitive price of war and a justification for Empire's claim to universal rule. "Dragon Ball". In Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" series, Earth is the primary setting and one of many planets in the North Galaxy. The planet is inhabited by humans, anthropomorphic animals, and demons, among others. "Dragon Ball"s Earth features heavy science fiction themes, such as humanoid robots and flying cars, as well as heavy magical influence. "Dune". In Frank Herbert's "Dune" series of novels, Earth is referred to as "Old Earth / Old Terra" by the time of the original novel "Dune" (at least 21,500 years in the future). The Sun is called Al-Lat, and humanity had populated many planets (among them Caladan, Giedi Prime and Salusa Secundus). In the time of Paul Atreides, the Earth is an uninhabited and largely forgotten land, shrouded in legend. In "Dune Messiah", Paul refers to Hitler and Genghis Khan, in comparing the destructiveness of his Jihad to their wars. It is a wilderness and recovering an ecosystem of its own as humans have abandoned it. The artifacts of "Homo sapiens" have for the most part crumbled back into the planet, though a more than casual observer can find many traces of the old civilizations. Paul's son, the God Emperor Leto II, refers to the Earth many times in his journals. The God Emperor seemed particularly fond of the ancestors he had from the Western sections of Eurasia. He makes references to Israel, Urartu, (also called Armenia), Edom, Damascus, Media, Babylon, Arpad, Umlias, the plains of Central Asia, and the Greeks; the family name refers to their descent from Atreus. He seems to have had ancestors among the Turks or the Mongols as he says that one of his memories involves a horse plain with felt yurts. Leto also has the memories of a famous politician from the United States whose name was Jacob Broom. In the book Children of Dune, Leto II mentions an ancestor named Agamemnon, and makes reference to Geoffrey Chaucer and the "Canterbury Tales". In "Heretics of Dune", it is noted that the Bene Gesserit Mother Superior Taraza has the preserved Vincent van Gogh painting "Cottages at Cordeville" hanging in her room. In the "Legends of Dune" series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the "Dune" universe, it is revealed that at the beginning of mankind's war with the Machines, called the Butlerian Jihad, Earth had been devastated by humans themselves using atomics in an attack on the Machines. In the "Prelude to Dune" prequel series, also by Herbert and Anderson, it is mentioned that certain Monet and Gauguin paintings are owned by House Vernius, and hang in the Grand Palais at Ix. "Firefly". In the Joss Whedon series "Firefly", Earth is long since abandoned. It is referred to with awe as "Earth-that-Was", having been abandoned centuries ago due to overpopulation and depletion of the planet's natural resources. After fleeing the planet, the remnants of humanity traveled in generation ships for decades (many humans lived their entire lives within a spaceship's walls) until finding a new star system. Collection of Earth-that-Was artifacts is a hobby for the rich, and ancient Earth artifacts are known to be very valuable. It is unknown whether Earth has actually been destroyed, or if the planet still physically exists; in the feature film "Serenity", ancient starships are shown leaving a sickly brown Earth with gray oceans, but the fate of the planet is never fully revealed. A puppet show in the episode "Heart of Gold" implies that Earth has in fact been obliterated, but this was never actually confirmed on screen. "Asimov's future histories". In much of Isaac Asimov's fiction, the future Earth is an underprivileged planet — impoverished, overcrowded and disease-ridden — which is regarded with disdain by the arrogant Spacers of the "Outer Planets" (at this stage, there are about fifty of them). In the "Robot" series, the inhabitants of these planets are still aware that their ancestors came from Earth, but this does not make them fond of the place. Rather, they develop a racist theory by which "the best strains" had left Earth to colonize the other planets and left "the inferior strains" behind. However, they have no choice but to ask the help of the protagonist, a detective from the despised Earth, to solve murder mysteries which baffle their own police. Afterwards, Earth embarks on a major new campaign of space colonization, with the hope that the new colonists will prove more faithful to the Mother Planet than the earlier ones. However, in the end of the series, the Earth is doomed to a slow radioactive process that will leave the planet uninhabitable, causing a more rapid expansion of colonization from Earth. In the "Galactic Empire" series, taking place thousands of years later (originally conceived as completely separate but made by Asimov in his later career into the direct sequel of the Robot Period), Earth and settlements from it are still clearly remembered in "The Stars, Like Dust". By the time of "The Currents of Space", Earth is ruled by Trantor, not yet a Galactic Empire. Its status as the original homeworld of humanity is now disputed. In "Pebble in the Sky", we see Earth in the early days of the Empire of Trantor. Earth has a largely radioactive crust with only patches of habitable land in between, and its people have to undergo compulsory euthanasia at the age of 60. It is a backwater province, and among inhabitants of other planets there is a prevalent prejudice known as "Anti-Terrestrialism", (obviously modeled on antisemitism), with the main negative stereotype having to do with the radiation-induced diseases prevalent on Earth. By this time, Earth people still believe themselves to be the original home of Humanity, but hardly anyone else shares this belief. Fanatical priests, based in a mysterious Temple erected on the ruins of Washington, D.C., cultivate the mystique of Earth's ancient glories and conceive a plot to spread a Terrestrial disease throughout the Galaxy and in this way take over the Empire (and incidentally, act out the stereotype). The plot is foiled by a middle-aged tailor from the Twentieth Century, who possess powerful psychic abilities as a result of experiments performed upon him when he arrived in the future. Schwartz, the tailor, is often described as being Jewish, though this is never stated within the novel. By the time of the Galactic Empire's decline, Earth is vaguely remembered as 'Sol' in "Foundation", and only one candidate for being the Original World. In "Foundation and Earth", records of Earth are missing, so two citizens of the mature Foundation go looking for it, and eventually find that it is desolated by nuclear radiation. The only sentient being remaining in the Solar system is robot Daneel Olivaw, who resides in a small station on the moon, overseeing the progress of a humanity now spread throughout the galaxy. "Hainish Cycle". In Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle our Earth is referred to as Terra. Like all human worlds of the Hainish Cycle, Terra was populated by the humans of Hain in Earth's prehistory, but forgot our common ancestry after millennia of no contact from extraterrestrial humans after the collapse of the first Hainish interplanetary civilization. The second period of contact with the interstellar Hainish community, now organized as "The League Of All Worlds" is described in "The Word for World Is Forest", "The Dispossessed", and "Rocannon's World". In "The Dispossessed", Terra's population is said to have fallen from 9 billion to only half a billion people due to a collapse of the Terran ecology, and that life has only survived there because of strict rationing of resources and help from the Hainish. In "The Word for World Is Forest", the people from Terra appear as reckless exploiters of other planets. Some time later, "City of Illusions" provides a detailed description of Terra in the depths of a second era of isolation, called "The Age Of The Enemy". The post-apocalyptic Earth seen in "City of Illusions" shows signs of an advanced, abandoned civilization under a rewilded landscape. A small number of humans live in tiny, isolated settlements where they retain some technologies from the past but are completely cut off from any communication with neighboring regions or with other worlds. There is only one city with high technology and energy-intensive construction, and it is controlled by the alien conquerors of the League. The events of "City of Illusions" lead to the third period of Terran contact with other worlds, this time as the Ekumen, during which "The Left Hand of Darkness" takes place. In the short story "Dancing To Ganam," which takes place in the far future of the Hainish universe, it is said that an extreme religious movement called the Unists developed on Terra and engaged in mass slaughter of non-believers and then of rival Unists sects. It is described as "the worst resurgence of theocratic violence since the Time of Pollution". It unclear if this time of pollution refers to the ecological collapse described in "The Dispossessed," the collapse seen in "City Of Illusions", or is another unexplored dark period on Terra. In any case, the inclusion of this story is meant to show that even after so many millennia in the League and the Ekumen, Terra is still in many ways culturally primitive and prone to violent self-destruction. Various individuals from Terra play a part in other stories. In "The Telling", Terra's incorporation into the Ekumen is briefly explained. Also, the main character in "The Left Hand of Darkness" is from Terra. "Hitchhiker's Guide". In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series by Douglas Adams, the Earth is destroyed by a Vogon Constructor Fleet to make room for a hyperspace bypass. One of two surviving Earthmen, Arthur Dent, is affronted and dismayed to find that his planet's entry in the Guide consists of one word: "Harmless". Ford Prefect, a researcher for the Guide attempts (and fails) to placate him by informing him that he has written a more extensive article for the next edition, although the result of merciless editing of his original draft has reduced his version considerably, now reading "Mostly harmless". Dent also learns that the Earth was originally constructed by the inhabitants of the planet Magrathea, as a giant supercomputer built to find the Question to the Ultimate Answer of Life, The Universe and Everything. The computer was so large that it was often mistaken for a planet, and that it was destroyed five minutes before the program was due to complete (after ten million years of running). It also mentions that humans are descended from the passengers of an ark full of unwanted middlemen (hairdressers, telephone sanitizers, advertising executives and the like), tricked into leaving their own planet behind by spurious tales of impending destruction invented by the rest of the planet's civilization (it is mentioned that the population was then wiped out by a disease contracted from a dirty telephone). The Earth was located in Galactic sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha. An alternate version of Earth is the planet NowWhat, which occupies the same space as Earth, but not the same probability. In the 2005 film adaptation, a new Earth replaces the old one, and everything is restored to the moments leading up to its destruction, except for one thing: Arthur Dent is not part of the planet anymore, at his own request. "Red Dwarf". In the series "Red Dwarf", Earth is seen mainly as the goal of the crew's trip; Dave Lister is personally obsessed with revisiting it as his home world, especially since he is the only character to be from there as Arnold Rimmer was born on Io. The novel "Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" mentions the Earth, despite Lister's regard for it, as suffering from massive littering and environmental damage; with a giant toupee being installed to in order to cover up ozone depletion. The novel "Better Than Life", however, mentions Earth being voted out of inhabitability to be the solar system's chosen planet of refuse known as Garbage World. A methane build up "farts" the planet out of the system and sends it out into deep space where it becomes an ice planet; later moved and thawed by the actions of the crew of "Red Dwarf". The Earth is inhabited by giant cockroaches and the descendants of GELFs sent there as punishment for their rebellion and bred into the polymorph. Lister spends half a lifetime trapped there attempting to correct his species past actions before "Red Dwarf" can rescue him due to black hole time dilation. In "Last Human" a parallel Earth is doomed by the initiatives of Earth President John Milhous Nixon and humanity breeds GELFs and simulants to terraform a new home across the multi-dimensional omni-zone. "Stargate". In the "Stargate" television series, Earth (designation: "P2X-3YZ") is described as one of countless inhabited worlds, and is revealed to be the original home world of humans all over the galaxy. In ancient history many groups of humans were kidnapped and enslaved by powerful alien races, primarily the Goa'uld. Others remained to form present day Earth societies, which interact covertly with other extraterrestrial races and civilizations, many of them human. Earth first became important in the scene after the Alterans occupied it as their new capital (its name was Terra at that point). When they were forced to relocate to Lantea in the Pegasus galaxy (several million years ago), they "seeded" the planet with a less advanced form of themselves. Eventually, the Goa'uld found the planet and determined that the human body is the ultimate host body for their parasitic race. Many humans were kidnapped through the Stargate the Supreme System Lord Ra brought to Earth (Earth already had its own Stargate in Antarctica but it was inoperable) but the leftover population wasn't touched; they eventually rebelled and drove the Goa'uld off the planet in 3000 BC. About 8000 BC, the Lantean remnants returned to the planet but the primitive civilization extinguished their last hope of rebuilding their once great civilization due to the presence of the Goa'uld; as such, the Ancients slowly died out or Ascended since their numbers were too small to survive, even by crossbreeding with regular humans. With Earth largely left alone for millennia, its human population continued to advance until the rediscovery of the Stargate in 1928 and its subsequent reactivation in 1994 (since its DHD activation device was missing, they had been unable to determine its purpose until they were able to create a computer interface). Unlike an enormous majority of planets, the Stargate on Earth was kept secret from the general populace to prevent widespread panic because "we are not alone". Humans who are from Earth are referred to as the Tau'ri by most other life forms in the galaxy, including the Goa'uld. Earth is a relatively important player on account of the radical change it unwittingly brought about when troops under the command of Colonel Jack O'Neill killed Goa'uld Supreme System Lord Ra and started a guerrilla war against the Goa'uld. However, its importance pales in comparison to the power of the System Lords or the Free Jaffa Nation, even though after the extinction of the Asgard and the defeat of the Ori, the Tau'ri became the dominant race of known space — although they were initially at a huge technological disadvantage, they later managed to reverse-engineer Goa'uld technology to the point where they started building their own ships, though much of it was rendered obsolete when the Asgard granted a significant amount of non-weapon technology. The Tau'ri also created remarkable technological feats, such as fighters equipped with hyperdrives powered by an unstable isotope. Their power increased further when they discovered that, due to crossbreeding with Ancients before their extinction, some Earth-born humans actually possessed a unique gene required to operate some of the more advanced Ancient technology. The peak of their power occurred when the Asgard donated their entire technological knowledge to Earth prior to their extinction. With this and some Ancient technology, the Tau'ri actually surpassed their precursors and defeated the Ori. The main interaction between Earth and the rest of the universe is via three organizations: "Star Trek". In the "Star Trek" universe, the unified human state based on Earth, was one of the founding members of the United Federation of Planets. Several major federal organizations are headquartered on Earth, such as the Federation Council which meets in Paris. The Federation President also keeps offices in Paris, and Starfleet Headquarters is located in San Francisco. Major events on Earth included first contact with the Vulcans ('), barely averted attacks by the Borg (in "" and "Star Trek: First Contact"), Founder infiltration (""), A successful attack by the Breen during the Dominion War, and numerous attempted coups. Like most other major Federation worlds, Earth is a near-utopia where poverty and war have been eradicated and environmental damage has been reversed. Earth was also the planet of origin for at least one other sentient species, the Voth, according to the ' episode "Distant Origin". Descendants of the hadrosauridæ, they are theorized to have fled Earth for the Delta Quadrant after an extinction event. In the " episode ", we learn that the name of the planet's actual government is named United Earth. Much of its early history is unknown, although recent Trek novels have revealed that Earth's governments founded United Earth by signing the historic "Traite d'Unification" in 2123. The episodes "" and "Terra Prime" imply that United Earth is a parliamentary system of government: we meet various government officials who are referred to as Ministers (such as Minister Nathan Samuels, played by Harry Groener). United Earth's leader is most likely a Prime Minister – possibly, but not necessarily, Samuels himself. In the novels, Earth's governmental structure is further developed. Earth is a parliamentary republic, with a separate head of state (the President) and head of government (the Prime Minister). In the Mirror Universe, Earth is the capital of the despotic Terran Empire which rules over large portions of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and is generally seen as the most powerful interstellar empire. "" revealed that the Empire had collapsed and fallen to a Klingon–Cardassian Alliance. "Star Trek" novels reveal that Earth was later liberated thanks to the efforts of anti-Alliance rebels and Memory Omega. "Starcraft". Earth is the "lost" homeland of the terrans of the Koprulu Sector, often referred to as "Old Earth". Earth history is well known to us until the 21st century. However, by the time the 23rd century was reached, genetic engineering and cybernetics were in common use, and Earth's population had reached 23 billion. Consequently, a resource and overpopulation crisis was developing. Earth's corporate factions who supported the capitalization of genetic engineering and cybernetics were opposed by those who saw this as a degeneration of the human race. These groups included humanist factions as well as religious conservatives who resorted to terrorism in these turbulent times. The conflict was resolved by the creation of the United Powers League, which generally supported the humanist philosophy and controlled all nations except for a few volatile Latin American states. The UPL banned many religions and made English the worldwide language. The UPL proceeded to arrest and kill many people who opposed its "divinity of mankind" philosophy (which included "purity" from cybernetics, mutations, and so forth). It was during this time that Doran Routhe set up the colonization of the Koprulu Sector. Contact between the colonists and Earth was seemingly lost, and the Koprulu Sector terrans could not have found their way back to Earth. With the discovery of the protoss and zerg, the United Powers League reformed to become the United Earth Directorate and launched an invasion of the Koprulu Sector, ostensibly in an effort to protect itself from the distant aliens. The invasion was repelled by a tenuous alliance of the Sector's powers. "Babylon 5". In the universe of the "Babylon 5" television series, Earth was located in a relatively uncontested and non-valuable portion of the Galaxy. As a result, the people of Earth were allowed to develop with relatively little outside interference or threat of invasion from alien races. Unified under the worldwide government of the Earth Alliance, first contact with the Centauri was made in the mid-22nd century, which led to trade with a number of different species. Earth remained a relatively minor power until the 2230s, when it intervened on behalf of a number of other races (which later became the League of Non-Aligned Worlds) during the Dilgar invasion. Following the Dilgar War, Earth began to expand its influence and was seen as a rising power in the galaxy. A disastrous first contact with the Minbari in the 2240s precipitated the Earth–Minbari War, in which Earth was nearly conquered: the military (EarthForce) was devastated and the planet's population was nearly annihilated. However, the Minbari mysteriously surrendered just prior to the final invasion of Earth. Following the war, Earth's major contribution on the galactic stage was the creation of the Babylon Stations, that are neutral trading posts and diplomatic havens. Earth turned inward and suffered from xenophobic tendencies in the late 2250s, early 2260s under the despotic regime of President Morgan Clark, until a military and civilian civil war, started by General William Hague and later concluded by Captain John Sheridan, overthrew the Clark regime and helped establish Earth as one of the major players in the Interstellar Alliance. "Robotech / Macross". In the "Robotech" canon, based on "Macross", Earth is the homeworld of humanity and notable as one of the few places that "The flower of life" (the source of the powerful energy source Protoculture) can grow. In 1999 during a global war the (future) SDF-1 an alien warship crashed to Earth on Macross island. Discovering they were not alone in the universe (and in secret the fact that the SDF-1 was a warship for a giant sized alien race) the human race united and rebuilt the ship as well as using the technology to advance their own and to create a small defence fleet for earth. Ten years later the ship was ready but as preparation for launch on a mission of exploration continued Zentradi warships arrived in orbit to search for the ship. Though humanity tried peaceful contact a booby trap in the SDF-1 fired the huge main gun at the Zentradi committing Earth to a devastating interstellar war. To lure the Zentradi away from Earth the SDF-1 attempted a space fold FTL jump. This went wrong transporting not only the SDF-1 but part of Macross Island, 70,000 civilians and two navy warships to an area near Pluto. Pressure held in sub-surface shelters long enough to evacuate the civilians while the ships were grafted on to the SDF-1 as flight decks. However the jump also caused the FTL drive to vanish (for unknown reasons) as such the SDF-1 had to return home under normal thrust fighting Zentradi all the way and unable to talk to earth due to jamming. During the conflict many Zentradi became fascinated by Earth culture and over a million ships eventually defected. The ship finally returned to Earth but was driven back into space to draw off the Zentradi again. However the Zentradi bought over four million ships to Earth and bombarded the planet. The SDF-1 took out most ships with an overload of its shield system but in the process the ship was left incapable of flight and most of the Earth's population was killed. Over the next two years the survivors tried to rebuild and at last the Earth began to green again. Twenty years later the Earth had recovered during the war with the Robotech masters, but even after Earth's victory the planet was then attacked and occupied by another set of aliens The Invid in 2031. The Invid collected what they could of the Protoculture on Earth but seem to have left the population (now millions once more) largely alone. In 2042 the Robotech Mars expedition returned from deep space but was wiped out by the Invid during the battle to liberate the planet. The survivors were forced down to Earth where they hooked up with the local resistance groups. Two years later a massive fleet arrived with more advanced technology given to them by the alien Hydenites. The Invid quickly left Earth rather than risk Earth's destruction by deadly weapons the Neutron_S missiles which were far more dangerous than man believed. As Humanity celebrated however the Hydenites were revealed as the Children of Shadow who had destroyed the Invid homeworld eons before. They launched a sneak attack on the human space station liberty. Another war then began. "Sonic the Hedgehog". In the various continuities of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise, Earth is mentioned in one way or another: "Uplift". At least a billion years ago in the Uplift Universe by David Brin, there was a semi-mythical species known as the Progenitors that started the Uplift cycle—adopting a pre-sentient race and over a period of a hundred thousand years of selective breeding and genetic engineering, raising them to full sentience. As a result, most sentient species in the universe are members of various clans and factions, often quite powerful, with varying beliefs. Earth was overlooked and humans evolved, evidently without a patron race. However, by the time of first contact with galactic civilization, humans had themselves raised chimpanzees and dolphins to sentience, giving the human race a claim to patron status. This claim is provisionally accepted by the major institutions of galactic civilization even as it is hotly contested by a number of senior patron races. Galactic civilization holds humanity's claim of having evolved to sentience independently to be highly controversial at best, and an offensive heresy at worst. Some clans holding the latter view have actively conspired to have humanity's patron status officially vacated and to adopt the "wolfling" race themselves, thus gaining three sentient races and control of "fallow" genetic material: Earth's wealth of species with uplift potential. Only the conservative and ponderous nature of galactic institutions and the rivalry of other clans reluctant to see the Earth's races claimed by another have prevented this. "Worldwar". In the Worldwar novels by Harry Turtledove, Earth is the human homeworld and is attacked by the aliens known as The Race in 1942. All sides in the Second World War are forced to unify to fight this threat, and despite superior technology the Lizards (a human racial epithet for the aliens) are fought to a draw by 1944. In 1962 another Race fleet arrives carrying a civilian colony force of nearly 100 million, in 1965 the Race and the German Reich fight a major war which Germany loses. In 1994 humanity has caught up to the Race enough to send a slower-than-light starship to the Race's home world, where it arrives in 2031. Soon after another ship arrives, an FTL-capable ship, indicating that humanity has now surpassed the Race in technology. "Shannara". In the Shannara series of books by Terry Brooks, the setting is a post-apocalyptic earth that was destroyed after a nuclear holocaust wiped out most of humanity and mutated the survivors into Men, Gnomes, Dwarves, and Trolls. Elves are also there, but according to Allanon's recounting of history, the Elves always existed in our current world. Before the Great Wars, as the nuclear holocaust is referred to, humans had advanced to a utopian society. "The Death Gate Cycle". In the Death gate cycle series of books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, a nuclear holocaust led to the creation of a two mutant strains of humans who developed fantastic magical powers. Other races, such as Dwarves and Elves were also present, even in pre-holocaust Earth, but were hidden from humanity. In this universe, the Earth was destroyed by the Sartan, one of the magical races that evolved from humans. "The Expanse". In The Expanse, humans in the Solar System live principally in four areas : on Earth, on Luna, on Mars, and in the Belt and beyond. Humans began to conquer space from Earth generations ago, which makes individuals living in other areas completely disconnected with the identity of Earth, having their own culture and lingo. Earth and Mars are the two major powers in the system, usually deciding matters about the Belt, who is pretty poor - its resources going to the two other planets. While Mars is a military republic where everything must be useful (including people), Earth must deal with most of its population living jobless and penniless, resources being scarce and jobs even more. Over half of Earth's population lives off of the welfare system known as Basic Assistance and very few can access education in a governmental educational institution. Nevertheless, Earth is technically still the capital planet and the dominant superpower, and keeps its standing thanks to its politics and history. "Earth Inhabitants". An incomplete list of what Earth natives have been referred to in various Sci-Fi worlds:

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Imagination age The Imagination Age is a theoretical period beyond the Information Age where creativity and imagination will become the primary creators of economic value. In contrast, the main activities of the Information Age are analysis and thinking. The concept holds that technologies like virtual reality, user created content and YouTube will change the way humans interact with each other and create economic and social structures. A key concept is that the rise of an immersive virtual reality—the cyberspace or the metaverse—will raise the value of "imagination work" done by designers, artists, etc. over rational thinking as a foundation of culture and economics. Some argue that the Imagination Age has already started, given that imagination is the most valued skill in our modern society. Origins of the term. The term "Imagination Age" (as well as "Age of Imagination") were first introduced in an essay by designer and writer Charlie Magee in 1993. His essay, "The Age of Imagination: Coming Soon to a Civilization Near You" proposes the idea that the best way to assess the evolution of human civilization is through the lens of communication. The most successful groups throughout human history have had one thing in common: when compared to their competition they had the best system of communication. The fittest communicators—whether tribe, citystate, kingdom, corporation, or nation—had (1) a larger percentage of people with (2) access to (3) higher quality information, (4) a greater ability to transform that information into knowledge and action, (5) and more freedom to communicate that new knowledge to the other members of their group. "Imagination Age", as a philosophical tenet heralding a new wave of cultural and economic innovation, appears to have been first introduced by artist, writer and cultural philosopher Rita J. King in November 2007 essay for the British Council entitled, "The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age", where she began using the phrase, "Toward a New Global Culture and Economy in the Imagination Age": Rather than exist as an unwitting victim of circumstance, all too often unaware of the impact of having been born in a certain place at a certain time, to parents firmly nestled within particular values and socioeconomic brackets, millions of people are creating new virtual identities and meaningful relationships with others who would have remained strangers, each isolated within their respective realities. King further refined the development of her thinking in a 2008 Paris essay entitled, "Our Vision for Sustainable Culture in the Imagination Age" in which she states, Active participants in the Imagination Age are becoming cultural ambassadors by introducing virtual strangers to unfamiliar customs, costumes, traditions, rituals and beliefs, which humanizes foreign cultures, contributes to a sense of belonging to one's own culture and fosters an interdependent perspective on sharing the riches of all systems. Cultural transformation is a constant process, and the challenges of modernization can threaten identity, which leads to unrest and eventually, if left unchecked, to violent conflict. Under such conditions it is tempting to impose homogeneity, which undermines the highly specific systems that encompass the myriad luminosity of the human experience. King has expanded her interpretation of the Imagination Age concept through speeches at the O'Reilly Media, TED, Cusp, and Business Innovation Factory conferences. King also edits "The Imagination Age" blog. The term "Imagination Age" was subsequently popularized in techno-cultural discourse by other writers, futurists and technologists, who attributed the term to King, including Jason Silva and Tish Shute a technology entrepreneur and publisher of Augmented Reality and emerging technology blog "UgoTrade". Earlier, one-time, references to the Imagination Age can be found attributed to Carl W. Olson in his 2001 book "The Boss is Dead...: Leadership Breakthroughs for the Imagination Age, virtual worlds developer Howard Stearns in 2005, and Cathilea Robinett in 2007. Previous ages. The ideas of the Imagination Age depend in large part upon an idea of "progress" through history because of "technology", notably outlined by Marx. That cultural progress has been categorized into a number of major stages of development. According to this idea civilization has progressed through the following ages, or epochs: Following this is a new paradigm created by virtual technology, high speed internet, massive data storage, and other technologies. This new paradigm, the argument goes, will create a new kind of global culture and economy called the "Imagination Age". Economic rise of imagination. The Imagination Age would be a society and culture dominated by an "imagination economy". The idea relies on a key Marxist concept that culture is a superstructure fully conditioned by the economic substructure. According to Marxist thinking certain kinds of culture and art were made possible by the adoption of farming technology. Then with the rise of industry new forms of political organization (democracy, militarism, fascism, communism) were made possible along with new forms of culture (mass media, news papers, films). These resulted in people changing. In the case of industrialization people were trained to become more literate, to follow time routines, to live in urban communities. The concept of the Imagination Age extends this to a new order emerging presently. An imagination economy is defined by some thinkers as an economy where intuitive and creative thinking create economic value, after logical and rational thinking has been outsourced to other economies. Michael Cox Chief Economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas argues that economic trends show a shift away from information sector employment and job growth towards creative jobs. Jobs in publishing, he has pointed out are declining while jobs for designers, architects, actors & directors, software engineers and photographers are all growing. This shift in job creation is a sign the beginning of the Imagination Age. The 21st century has seen a growth in games and interactive media jobs. Cox argues that the skills can be viewed as a "hierarchy of human talents", with raw physical effort as the lowest form of value creation, above this skilled labor and information entry to creative reasoning and emotional intelligence. Each layer provides more value creation than the skills below it, and the outcome of globalization and automation is that labor is made available for higher level skills that create more value. Presently these skills tend to be around imagination, social and emotional intelligence. Technology. Key to the idea that imagination is becoming the key commodity of our time is a confidence that virtual reality technology like Oculus Rift and HoloLens will emerge to take much of the place of the current text-and-graphic dominated internet. This will provide a 3D internet where imagination and creativity (over information and search) will be key to creating user experience and value. The concept is not limited to just virtual reality. Charlie Magee states that the technology that will develop during the Imagination Age would include: The best bet is on a hybrid breakthrough created by the meshing of nanotechnology, computer science (including artificial intelligence), biotechnology (including biochemistry, biopsychology, etc.), and virtual reality. In "The Singularity is Near", Raymond Kurzweil states that future combination of AI, nano-technology, and biotechnology will create a world where anything that can be imagined will be possible, raising the importance of imagination as the key mode of human thinking. Global implications. Rita J. King has been the single major advocate of the Imagination Age concept and its implications on cultural relations, identity and the transformation of the global economy and culture. King has expounded on the concept through speeches at the O'Reilly Media and TED conferences and has argued that virtual world technology and changes in people's ability to imagine other lives could promote world understanding and reduce cultural conflict. Some public policy experts have argued the emergence of the Imagination Age out of the Information Age will have a major impact on overall public policy.

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List of fictional space stations

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Prehistoric fiction Prehistoric fiction is a literary genre in which the story is set in the period of time prior to the existence of written record, known as prehistory. As a fictional genre, the realistic description of the subject varies, without necessarily a commitment to develop an objective anthropological account. Because of this, it is possible that the author of prehistoric fiction deals with his subject with much more freedom than the author of a historical fiction, and the genre also has connections with speculative fiction. In many narratives, humans and dinosaurs live together, despite the extinction of the dinosaurs and the evolution of humans being separated by millions of years.

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Post-scarcity economy Post-scarcity is a theoretical economic situation in which most goods can be produced in great abundance with minimal human labor needed, so that they become available to all very cheaply or even freely. Post-scarcity does not mean that scarcity has been eliminated for "all" goods and services, but that all people can easily have their basic survival needs met along with some significant proportion of their desires for goods and services. Writers on the topic often emphasize that some commodities will remain scarce in a post-scarcity society. In the paper "The Post-Scarcity World of 2050–2075" the authors assert that the current age is one of scarcity resulting from negligent behavior (as regards the future) of the 19th and 20th centuries. The period between 1975 and 2005 was characterized by relative abundance of resources (oil, water, energy, food, credit, among others) which boosted industrialization and development in the Western economies. An increased demand of resources combined with a rising population led to resource exhaustion. In part, the ideas developed about post-scarcity are motivated by analyses that posit that capitalism leverages scarcity. One of the main traces of the scarcity periods is the increase and fluctuation of prices. To deal with that situation, advances in technology come into play, driving an efficient use of resources to a certain extent that costs will be considerably reduced (almost everything will be free). Consequently, the authors claim that the period between 2050 and 2075 will be a post-scarcity age in which scarcity will no longer exist. Models. Speculative technology. Today, futurists who speak of "post-scarcity" suggest economies based on advances in automated manufacturing technologies, often including the idea of self-replicating machines, the adoption of division of labour which in theory could produce nearly all goods in abundance, given adequate raw materials and energy. More speculative forms of nanotechnology such as molecular assemblers or nanofactories, which do not currently exist, raise the possibility of devices that can automatically manufacture any specified goods given the correct instructions and the necessary raw materials and energy, and many nanotechnology enthusiasts have suggested it will usher in a post-scarcity world. In the more near-term future, the increasing automation of physical labor using robots is often discussed as means of creating a post-scarcity economy. Increasingly versatile forms of rapid prototyping machines, and a hypothetical self-replicating version of such a machine known as a RepRap, have also been predicted to help create the abundance of goods needed for a post-scarcity economy. Advocates of self-replicating machines such as Adrian Bowyer, the creator of the RepRap project, argue that once a self-replicating machine is designed, then since anyone who owns one can make more copies to sell (and would also be free to ask for a lower price than other sellers), market competition will naturally drive the cost of such machines down to the bare minimum needed to make a profit, in this case just above the cost of the physical materials and energy that must be fed into the machine as input, and the same should go for any other goods that the machine can build. Even with fully automated production, limitations on the number of goods produced would arise from the availability of raw materials and energy, as well as ecological damage associated with manufacturing technologies. Advocates of technological abundance often argue for more extensive use of renewable energy and greater recycling in order to prevent future drops in availability of energy and raw materials, and reduce ecological damage. Solar energy in particular is often emphasized, as the cost of solar panels continues to drop (and could drop far more with automated production by self-replicating machines), and advocates point out the total solar power striking the Earth's surface annually exceeds our civilization's current annual power usage by a factor of thousands. Advocates also sometimes argue that the energy and raw materials available could be greatly expanded by looking to resources beyond the Earth. For example, asteroid mining is sometimes discussed as a way of greatly reducing scarcity for many useful metals such as nickel. While early asteroid mining might involve manned missions, advocates hope that eventually humanity could have automated mining done by self-replicating machines. If this were done, then the only capital expenditure would be a single self-replicating unit (whether robotic or nanotechnological), after which the number of units could replicate at no further cost, limited only by the available raw materials needed to build more. Marxism. Karl Marx, in a section of his "Grundrisse" that came to be known as the "Fragment on Machines", argued that the transition to a post-capitalist society combined with advances in automation would allow for significant reductions in labor needed to produce necessary goods, eventually reaching a point where all people would have significant amounts of leisure time to pursue science, the arts, and creative activities; a state some commentators later labeled as "post-scarcity". Marx argued that capitalism—the dynamic of economic growth based on capital accumulation—depends on exploiting the surplus labor of workers, but a post-capitalist society would allow for: The free development of individualities, and hence not the reduction of necessary labour time so as to posit surplus labour, but rather the general reduction of the necessary labour of society to a minimum, which then corresponds to the artistic, scientific etc. development of the individuals in the time set free, and with the means created, for all of them. Marx's concept of a post-capitalist communist society involves the free distribution of goods made possible by the abundance provided by automation. The fully developed communist economic system is postulated to develop from a preceding socialist system. Marx held the view that socialism—a system based on social ownership of the means of production—would enable progress toward the development of fully developed communism by further advancing productive technology. Under socialism, with its increasing levels of automation, an increasing proportion of goods would be distributed freely. Marx did not believe in the elimination of most physical labor through technological advancements alone in a capitalist society, because he believed capitalism contained within it certain tendencies which countered increasing automation and prevented it from developing beyond a limited point, so that manual industrial labor could not be eliminated until the overthrow of capitalism. Some commentators on Marx have argued that at the time he wrote the "Grundrisse", he thought that the collapse of capitalism due to advancing automation was inevitable despite these counter-tendencies, but that by the time of his major work "" he had abandoned this view, and came to believe that capitalism could continually renew itself unless overthrown. "Post-Scarcity Anarchism". Murray Bookchin, in his 1971 essay collection "Post-Scarcity Anarchism", outlines an economy based on social ecology, libertarian municipalism, and an abundance of fundamental resources, arguing that post-industrial societies have the potential to be developed into post-scarcity societies. For Bookchin, such development would enable "the fulfillment of the social and cultural potentialities latent in a technology of abundance". Bookchin claims that the expanded production made possible by the technological advances of the twentieth century were in the pursuit of market profit and at the expense of the needs of humans and of ecological sustainability. The accumulation of capital can no longer be considered a prerequisite for liberation, and the notion that obstructions such as the state, social hierarchy, and vanguard political parties are necessary in the struggle for freedom of the working classes can be dispelled as a myth. Resource-based economy source: The Venus Project The Venus Project proposes a holistic approach with a global socio-economic system that utilizes the most current technological and scientific advances to provide the highest possible living standard for all people on Earth. The proposed system is called a Resource Based Economy. The term and meaning was coined by Jacque Fresco, the founder of The Venus Project. In a Resource Based Economy all goods and services are available to all people without the need for means of exchange such as money, credits, barter or any other means. For this to be achieved, all resources must be declared as the common heritage of all Earth’s inhabitants. Equipped with the latest scientific and technological marvels, humankind could reach extremely high productivity levels and create an abundance of resources. Resource Based Economy concerns itself with three main factors, namely Environmental, Technological and Human.

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Does not compute "Does not compute", and variations of it, is a phrase often uttered by computers, robots, and other artificial intelligences in popular culture. The phrase indicates a type of cognitive dissonance on the part of the machine in question. The expression of the phrase "does not compute" by robots or computers attempting to process emotions, contradictions or paradoxes is frequently satirized in popular culture, often leading to the machine's inaction, malfunction or self-destruction. The phrase was used as a catchphrase by the television show "My Living Doll" in 1964. It was further popularized in "Lost in Space" (1965) as a catchphrase often uttered by The Robot character. The problem of how to hold the result of a computation that is not a number is genuine (for example, 1/0) and represented a problem for early computers that would experience divide-by-zero errors or other mathematical paradoxes that software had not yet been written to deal with, leading to a computer crash. The NaN and related data types were invented to solve this problem. History and usage. The phrase was often present in stories which carried a theme of the superiority of human emotion over limitations within the logic utilized by machines. Despite the superior ability of computers to calculate and process information, their lack of emotion and randomness made them unable to resolve cognitive dissonance, which often led to the output of "Does not compute". It was usually the computer's response to information which it had received but could not reconcile with other information it already held to be true. It could also be seen as a depiction of the limited (and thus flawed) nature of a machine's programming; due to its pre-programmed nature, it would be unable to adapt itself to circumstances beyond the scope of its programming, as opposed to humans who could adapt to such unforeseen events. The phrase was used in the sitcom "My Living Doll" in which the android protagonist, Rhoda Miller, uttered the phrase regularly when confronted with contradictory information, usually in relation to human behavior. On a few occasions when she did understand the information, her response was "that "does" compute". Perhaps the most famous use of the phrase is in the television series "Lost in Space" where the robot often says, "It does not compute!", to which Dr Smith would give a reply of "What do you mean it doesn't compute, you ninny?!" or something to that effect. However, the robot did not shut down or explode; it simply refused to continue working until a more logical command was given. In some cases, presenting a computer or robot with such a contradiction would cause it to violently self-destruct. This occurs in several episodes of the original series of "" (e.g. "I, Mudd", "Requiem for Methuselah", "The Return of the Archons" and ""), as well as in the finale to "Logan's Run". In the episode of the 1968 television series "The Prisoner" entitled "The General", Patrick McGoohan causes a supercomputer to explode by feeding it the question "Why?". Such depictions reflect common perceptions of real computers at the time, which usually lacked friendly user interfaces. Computers often responded to bad input with an error message on the same order of utility as "does not compute", although self-destruction was an unlikely result from bad inputs or insoluble problems fed into the computer. The concept of a "killer poke", however, refers to user input intended to induce hardware damage. (See also "Halt and Catch Fire".) Although not using the phrase "does not compute", the short story "Liar!" (1941) by Isaac Asimov is a striking early example of cognitive dissonance leading to a robot's self-destruction: that whether it lies, tells the truth or says nothing, it will cause humans injury, so being unable to avoid breaking Asimov's First Law Of Robotics: "A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." This example is a more sophisticated treatment of cognitive dissonance leading to self-destruction than most examples from later television science fiction. Asimov explored the theme of AI cognitive dissonance at length in his robot stories. In the "Doctor Who" story "The Green Death", the Doctor attempts to put the computer BOSS, which claims to be infallible, out of action using the liar paradox. BOSS feigns suffering from confusion as he appears to try to resolve the paradox, but has in fact summoned security. By the 1990s, with the rise of personal computers and the graphical user interface, the public conception of computers became more friendly and sophisticated, and the image of the computer intelligence unable to respond gracefully to unexpected inputs has gradually faded away from fiction, though the phrase did show up in ' as comic relief in 1999. It re-appeared in the CGI series ' in an episode on the planet Ryloth, when a number of Twi'Lek characters attacked a robotic general, much to the robots' fatal surprise. In popular culture. The "Star Trek" franchise once again used a variation of the phrase in the 2009 film "Star Trek", in which the character James T. Kirk used the phrase to goad Spock (a character known for his propensity for logic) to anger, in order to make the latter realize that he was emotionally compromised. In the film "Alien", Captain Dallas (of the Nostromo) uses 'Mother' – the ship's computer – to evaluate the ship's procedures for dealing with the alien, but receives unfruitful responses in greenish letters: "Unable To Compute" and "Available Data Insufficient". Finally, he types in "WHAT ARE MY CHANCES?" The answer returns: "Does Not Compute." In a "Futurama" episode, Leela's attempt to thwart Robot Santa with a paradox was stopped by his "paradox-absorbing crumple zones". In addition, the robot character Bender referred to the phrase as an "old robot saying" in "A Taste of Freedom". In "A Fishful of Dollars", Fry asks for anchovies (extinct in the Futurama universe) which eventually makes a chef-robot repeat, "Does not compute," before exploding. In the "Red Dwarf" episode, "The Last Day", the android Hudzen is told by Kryten that silicon heaven does not exist. Hudzen, a believer in the android afterlife, cannot reconcile the contradiction and shuts down. Kryten, also an android, is not harmed by this dissonance, as he believes he is simply lying. The seventh track from Prince's album "1999" is titled "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)". A popular web series titled "Does Not Compute" was created by Michael Swaim. "The Simpsons" writers often parody this phrase and its implications. In one episode, Homer said he wanted to make a robot repeat the words "It does not compute" until it exploded by giving it illogical commands. In the episode "Trilogy of Error", Lisa's school project, a grammar-fixing robot, explodes after hearing too much bad grammar from the mobsters led by Fat Tony. The robot repeats the phrase "Bad grammar overload!" as a parody of the original phrase. In "Treehouse of Horror XIX", there is the following dialogue: In "The IT crowd" episode "The Dinner Party", the phrase is said by Jessica, one of Jen's friends, to Moss. In an episode of "The Sarah Jane Adventures", "Warriors Of Kudlak: Part 2", the computer Mistress responds to the news of peace with "Peace does not compute", as it was only programmed for war situations. In "", one computer developed the ability to pose paradoxes to other computers, causing one computer to go in a corner and sit, pondering "does not compute". The phrase is also the title of a song sung by the robotic vocalist ALT in the arcade game "Pop'n Music 20 Fantasia".

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Dyson sphere A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to explain how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet. Building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy. The first contemporary description of the structure was by Olaf Stapledon in his science fiction novel "Star Maker" (1937), in which he described "every solar system... surrounded by a gauze of light traps, which focused the escaping solar energy for intelligent use." The concept was later popularized by Freeman Dyson in his 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation." Dyson speculated that such structures would be the logical consequence of the escalating energy needs of a technological civilization and would be a necessity for its long-term survival. He proposed that searching for such structures could lead to the detection of advanced, intelligent extraterrestrial life. Different types of Dyson spheres and their energy-harvesting ability would correspond to levels of technological advancement on the Kardashev scale. Since then, other variant designs involving building an artificial structure or series of structures to encompass a star have been proposed in exploratory engineering or described in science fiction under the name "Dyson sphere". These later proposals have not been limited to solar-power stations, with many involving habitation or industrial elements. Most fictional depictions describe a solid shell of matter enclosing a star, which was considered by Dyson himself the least plausible variant of the idea. In May 2013, at the Starship Century Symposium in San Diego, Dyson repeated his comments that he wished the concept had not been named after him. Origin of concept. The concept of the Dyson sphere was the result of a thought experiment by physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson, when he theorized that all technological civilizations constantly increased their demand for energy. He reasoned that if human civilization expanded energy demands long enough, there would come a time when it demanded the "total" energy output of the Sun. He proposed a system of orbiting structures (which he referred to initially as a "shell") designed to intercept and collect all energy produced by the Sun. Dyson's proposal did not detail how such a system would be constructed, but focused only on issues of energy collection, on the basis that such a structure could be distinguished by its unusual emission spectrum in comparison to a star. His 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation", published in the journal "Science", is credited with being the first to formalize the concept of the Dyson sphere. However, Dyson was not the first to advance this idea. He was inspired by the 1937 science fiction novel "Star Maker", by Olaf Stapledon, and possibly by the works of J. D. Bernal. Feasibility. Although such megastructures are theoretically possible, building a stable Dyson sphere system is currently beyond humanity's engineering capacity. The number of craft required to obtain, transmit, and maintain a complete Dyson sphere exceeds present-day industrial capabilities. George Dvorsky has advocated the use of self-replicating robots to overcome this limitation in the relatively near term. Some have suggested that such habitats could be built around white dwarfs and even pulsars. Variants. In fictional accounts, the Dyson-sphere concept is often interpreted as an artificial hollow sphere of matter around a star. This perception is based on a literal interpretation of Dyson's original short paper introducing the concept. In response to letters prompted by some papers, Dyson replied, "A solid shell or ring surrounding a star is mechanically impossible. The form of 'biosphere' which I envisaged consists of a loose collection or swarm of objects traveling on independent orbits around the star." Dyson swarm. The variant closest to Dyson's original conception is the "Dyson swarm". It consists of a large number of independent constructs (usually solar power satellites and space habitats) orbiting in a dense formation around the star. This construction approach has advantages: components could be sized appropriately, and it can be constructed incrementally. Various forms of wireless energy transfer could be used to transfer energy between swarm components and a planet. Disadvantages resulting from the nature of orbital mechanics would make the arrangement of the orbits of the swarm extremely complex. The simplest such arrangement is the "Dyson ring", in which all such structures share the same orbit. More-complex patterns with more rings would intercept more of the star's output, but would result in some constructs eclipsing others periodically when their orbits overlap. Another potential problem is that the increasing loss of orbital stability when adding more elements increases the probability of orbital perturbations. Such a cloud of collectors would alter the light emitted by the star system (see below). However, the disruption compared to a star's overall natural emitted spectrum would most likely be too small for Earth-based astronomers to observe. Dyson bubble. A second type of Dyson sphere is the "Dyson bubble". It would be similar to a Dyson swarm, composed of many independent constructs and likewise could be constructed incrementally. Unlike the Dyson swarm, the constructs making it up are not in orbit around the star, but would be statites—satellites suspended by use of enormous light sails using radiation pressure to counteract the star's pull of gravity. Such constructs would not be in danger of collision or of eclipsing one another; they would be totally stationary with regard to the star, and independent of one another. Because the ratio of radiation pressure to the force of gravity from a star is constant regardless of the distance (provided the satellite has an unobstructed line-of-sight to the surface of its star), such satellites could also vary their distance from their central star. The practicality of this approach is questionable with modern material science, but cannot yet be ruled out. A 100% reflective satellite deployed around the Sun would have an overall density of 0.78 grams per square meter of sail. To illustrate the low mass of the required materials, consider that the total mass of a bubble of such material 1 AU in radius would be about 2.17 kg, which is about the same mass as the asteroid Pallas. Another illustration: Regular printing paper has a density of around 80 g/m2. Such a material has not yet been produced in the form of a working light sail. The lightest carbon-fiber light-sail material currently produced has a density—without payload—of 3 g/m2, or about four times as heavy as would be needed to construct a solar statite. A single sheet of graphene, the two-dimensional form of carbon, has a density of only 0.37 mg per square meter, making such a single sheet of graphene possibly effective as a solar sail. However, as of 2015 graphene has not been fabricated in large sheets, and it has a relatively high rate of radiation absorption, about 2.3% (i.e., still about 97.7% will be transmitted). For frequencies in the upper GHz and lower THz range, the absorption rate is as high as 50–100% due to voltage bias and/or doping. Ultra-light carbon nanotubes meshed through molecular manufacturing techniques have densities between 1.3 g/m2 to 1.4 g/m2. By the time a civilization is ready to use this technology, the carbon nanotube's manufacturing might be optimized enough for them to have a density lower than the necessary 0.7 g/m2, and the average sail density with rigging might be kept to 0.3 g/m2 (a "spin stabilized" light sail requires minimal additional mass in rigging). If such a sail could be constructed at this areal density, a space habitat the size of the L5 Society's proposed O'Neill cylinder—500 km2, with room for over 1 million inhabitants, massing 2.72 kg (3 tons)—could be supported by a circular light sail 3,000 km in diameter, with a combined sail/habitat mass of 5.4 kg. For comparison, this is just slightly smaller than the diameter of Jupiter's moon Europa (although the sail is a flat disc, not a sphere), or the distance between San Francisco and Kansas City. Such a structure would, however, have a mass quite a lot less than many asteroids. Although the construction of such a massive habitable statite would be a gigantic undertaking, and the required material science behind it is early stage, there are other engineering feats and required materials proposed in other Dyson sphere variants. In theory, if enough satellites were created and deployed around their star, they would compose a non-rigid version of the Dyson shell mentioned below. Such a shell would not suffer from the drawbacks of massive compressive pressure, nor are the mass requirements of such a shell as high as the rigid form. Such a shell would, however, have the same optical and thermal properties as the rigid form, and would be detected by searchers in a similar fashion (see below). Dyson shell. The variant of the Dyson sphere most often depicted in fiction is the "Dyson shell": a uniform solid shell of matter around the star. Such a structure would completely alter the emissions of the central star, and would intercept 100% of the star's energy output. Such a structure would also provide an immense surface that many envision would be used for habitation, if the surface could be made habitable. A spherical shell Dyson sphere in the Solar System with a radius of one astronomical unit, so that the interior surface would receive the same amount of sunlight as Earth does per unit solid angle, would have a surface area of approximately , or about 550 million times the surface area of Earth. This would intercept the full 384.6 yottawatts (3.846 × 1026 watts) of the Sun's output. Non-shell designs would intercept less, but the shell variant represents the maximum possible energy captured for the Solar System at this point of the Sun's evolution. This is approximately 33 trillion times the power consumption of humanity in 1998, which was 12 terawatts. There are several serious theoretical difficulties with the solid shell variant of the Dyson sphere: Such a shell would have no net gravitational interaction with its englobed star (see shell theorem), and could drift in relation to the central star. If such movements went uncorrected, they could eventually result in a collision between the sphere and the star—most likely with disastrous results. Such structures would need either some form of propulsion to counteract any drift, or some way to repel the surface of the sphere away from the star. For the same reason, such a shell would have no net gravitational interaction with anything else inside it. The contents of any biosphere placed on the inner surface of a Dyson shell would not be attracted to the sphere's surface and would simply fall into the star. It has been proposed that a biosphere could be contained between two concentric spheres, placed on the interior of a rotating sphere (in which case, the force of artificial "gravity" is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, causing all matter placed on the interior of the sphere to pool around the equator, effectively rendering the sphere a Niven ring for purposes of habitation, but still fully effective as a radiant-energy collector) or placed on the outside of the sphere where it would be held in place by the star's gravity. In such cases, some form of illumination would have to be devised, or the sphere made at least partly transparent, because the star's light would otherwise be completely hidden. If assuming a radius of 1 AU, then the compressive strength of the material forming the sphere would have to be immense to prevent implosion due to the star's gravity. Any arbitrarily selected point on the surface of the sphere can be viewed as being under the pressure of the base of a dome 1 AU in height under the Sun's gravity at that distance. Indeed, it can be viewed as being at the base of an infinite number of arbitrarily selected domes, but because much of the force from any one arbitrary dome is counteracted by those of another, the net force on that point is immense, but finite. No known or theorized material is strong enough to withstand this pressure, and form a rigid, static sphere around a star. It has been proposed by Paul Birch (in relation to smaller "Supra-Jupiter" constructions around a large planet rather than a star) that it may be possible to support a Dyson shell by dynamic means similar to those used in a space fountain. Masses travelling in circular tracks on the inside of the sphere, at velocities significantly greater than orbital velocity, would press outwards on magnetic bearings due to centrifugal force. For a Dyson shell of 1 AU radius around a star with the same mass as the Sun, a mass travelling ten times the orbital velocity (297.9 km/s) would support 99 (a = v2/r) times its own mass in additional shell structure. Also if assuming a radius of 1 AU, there may not be sufficient building material in the Solar System to construct a Dyson shell. Anders Sandberg estimates that there is 1.82 kg of easily usable building material in the Solar System, enough for a 1 AU shell with a mass of 600 kg/m2—about 8–20 cm thick on average, depending on the density of the material. This includes the hard-to-access cores of the gas giants; the inner planets alone provide only 11.79 kg, enough for a 1 AU shell with a mass of just 42 kg/m2. The shell would be vulnerable to impacts from interstellar bodies, such as comets, meteoroids, and material in interstellar space that is currently being deflected by the Sun's bow shock. The heliosphere, and any protection it theoretically provides, would cease to exist. Other types. Dyson net. Another possibility is the "Dyson net", a web of cables strung about the star that could have power or heat collection units strung between the cables. The Dyson net reduces to a special case of Dyson shell or bubble, however, depending on how the cables are supported against the sun's gravity. Bubbleworld. A bubbleworld is an artificial construct that consists of a shell of living space around a sphere of hydrogen gas. The shell contains air, people, houses, furniture, etc. The idea was conceived to answer the question, "What is the largest space colony that can be built?" However, most of the volume is not habitable and there is no power source. Theoretically, any gas giant could be enclosed in a solid shell; at a certain radius the surface gravity would be terrestrial, and energy could be provided by tapping the thermal energy of the planet. This concept is explored peripherally in the novel "Accelerando" (and the short story "Curator", which is incorporated into the novel as a chapter) by Charles Stross, in which Saturn is converted into a human-habitable world. Stellar engine. Stellar engines are a class of hypothetical megastructures whose purpose is to extract useful energy from a star, sometimes for specific purposes. For example, Matrioshka brains extract energy for purposes of computation; Shkadov thrusters extract energy for purposes of propulsion. Some of the proposed stellar engine designs are based on the Dyson sphere. A black hole could be the power source instead of a star in order to increase the matter-to-energy conversion efficiency. A black hole would also be smaller than a star. This would decrease communication distances that would be important for computer-based societies as those described above. Search for megastructures. In Dyson's original paper, he speculated that sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial civilizations would likely follow a similar power-consumption pattern to that of humans, and would eventually build their own sphere of collectors. Constructing such a system would make such a civilization a Type II Kardashev civilization. The existence of such a system of collectors would alter the light emitted from the star system. Collectors would absorb and reradiate energy from the star. The wavelength(s) of radiation emitted by the collectors would be determined by the emission spectra of the substances making them up, and the temperature of the collectors. Because it seems most likely that these collectors would be made up of heavy elements not normally found in the emission spectra of their central star—or at least not radiating light at such relatively "low" energies compared to what they would be emitting as energetic free nuclei in the stellar atmosphere—there would be atypical wavelengths of light for the star's spectral type in the light spectrum emitted by the star system. If the percentage of the star's output thus filtered or transformed by this absorption and reradiation was significant, it could be detected at interstellar distances. Given the amount of energy available per square meter at a distance of 1 AU from the Sun, it is possible to calculate that most known substances would be reradiating energy in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, a Dyson sphere, constructed by life forms not dissimilar to humans, who dwelled in proximity to a Sun-like star, made with materials similar to those available to humans, would most likely cause an increase in the amount of infrared radiation in the star system's emitted spectrum. Hence, Dyson selected the title "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation" for his published paper. SETI has adopted these assumptions in their search, looking for such "infrared heavy" spectra from solar analogs. Fermilab has an ongoing survey for such spectra by analyzing data from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). Identifying one of the many infrared sources as a Dyson sphere would require improved techniques for discriminating between a Dyson sphere and natural sources. Fermilab discovered 17 potential "ambiguous" candidates, of which four have been named "amusing but still questionable". Other searches also resulted in several candidates, which are, however, unconfirmed. On 14 October 2015, Planet Hunters' citizen scientists discovered unusual light fluctuations of the star KIC 8462852, captured by the Kepler Space Telescope. The star was nicknamed "Tabby's Star" after Tabetha S. Boyajian — the initial study's lead author. The phenomenon raised speculation that a Dyson sphere may have been discovered. Further analysis based on data through the end of 2017 showed wavelength-dependent dimming consistent with dust but not an opaque object such as an alien megastructure, which would block all wavelengths of light equally. Fiction. The Dyson sphere originated in fiction, and it is a concept that has appeared often in science fiction since then. In fictional accounts, Dyson spheres are most often depicted as a "Dyson shell" with the gravitational and engineering difficulties of this variant noted above largely ignored.

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Simulation hypothesis The simulation hypothesis or simulation theory is a proposal regarding the nature of our existence. The proposal is that all of our current existence, including the Earth and the rest of the universe, could in fact be an artificial simulation, such as a computer simulation. Some versions rely on the development of a simulated reality, a proposed technology that would be able to convince its inhabitants that the simulation was "real". The simulation hypothesis bears a close resemblance to various other skeptical scenarios from throughout the history of philosophy. The hypothesis was popularized in its current form by Nick Bostrom. The suggestion that such a hypothesis is compatible with all of our perceptual experiences is thought to have significant epistemological consequences in the form of philosophical skepticism. Versions of the hypothesis have also been featured in science fiction, appearing as a central plot device in many stories and films. The hypothesis popularized by Bostrom is very disputed, with, for example, theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder calling it pseudoscience and cosmologist George F. R. Ellis stating that "[the hypothesis] is totally impracticable from a technical viewpoint" and that "protagonists seem to have confused science fiction with science. Late night pub discussion is not a viable theory." A bigger proposal that builds on this idea is that we could be the end of a long stack of simulations. Origins. There is a long philosophical and scientific history to the underlying thesis that reality is an illusion. This skeptical hypothesis can be traced back to antiquity; for example, to the "Butterfly Dream" of Zhuangzi, or the Indian philosophy of Maya, or in Ancient Greek philosophy Anaxarchus and Monimus likened existing things to a scene-painting and supposed them to resemble the impressions experienced in sleep or madness. A version of the hypothesis was also theorised as a part of a philosophical argument by René Descartes. Aztec philosophical texts theorised that the world was a painting or book written by the Teotl. Simulation hypothesis. Nick Bostrom's premise: Nick Bostrom's conclusion: The simulation argument. In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom proposed a trilemma that he called "the simulation argument". Despite the name, Bostrom's "simulation argument" does not directly argue that we live in a simulation; instead, Bostrom's trilemma argues that one of three unlikely-seeming propositions is almost certainly true: The trilemma points out that a technologically mature "posthuman" civilization would have enormous computing power; if even a tiny percentage of them were to run "ancestor simulations" (that is, "high-fidelity" simulations of ancestral life that would be indistinguishable from reality to the simulated ancestor), the total number of simulated ancestors, or "Sims", in the universe (or multiverse, if it exists) would greatly exceed the total number of actual ancestors. Bostrom goes on to use a type of anthropic reasoning to claim that, "if" the third proposition is the one of those three that is true, and almost all people with our kind of experiences live in simulations, "then" we are almost certainly living in a simulation. Bostrom claims his argument goes beyond the classical ancient "skeptical hypothesis", claiming that "...we have interesting empirical reasons to believe that a certain disjunctive claim about the world is true", the third of the three disjunctive propositions being that we are almost certainly living in a simulation. Thus, Bostrom, and writers in agreement with Bostrom such as David Chalmers, argue there might be empirical reasons for the "simulation hypothesis", and that therefore the simulation hypothesis is not a skeptical hypothesis but rather a "metaphysical hypothesis". Bostrom states he personally sees no strong argument as to which of the three trilemma propositions is the true one: "If (1) is true, then we will almost certainly go extinct before reaching posthumanity. If (2) is true, then there must be a strong convergence among the courses of advanced civilizations so that virtually none contains any individuals who desire to run ancestor-simulations and are free to do so. If (3) is true, then we almost certainly live in a simulation. In the dark forest of our current ignorance, it seems sensible to apportion one's credence roughly evenly between (1), (2), and (3)... I note that people who hear about the simulation argument often react by saying, 'Yes, I accept the argument, and it is obvious that it is possibility #"n" that obtains.' But different people pick a different "n". Some think it obvious that (1) is true, others that (2) is true, yet others that (3) is true." As a corollary to the trilemma, Bostrom states that "Unless we are now living in a simulation, our descendants will almost certainly never run an ancestor-simulation." Criticism of Bostrom's anthropic reasoning. Bostrom argues that "if" "the fraction of all people with our kind of experiences that are living in a simulation is very close to one", "then" it follows that we probably live in a simulation. Some philosophers disagree, proposing that perhaps "Sims" do not have conscious experiences the same way that unsimulated humans do, or that it can otherwise be self-evident to a human that they are a human rather than a Sim. Philosopher Barry Dainton modifies Bostrom's trilemma by substituting "neural ancestor simulations" (ranging from literal brains in a vat, to far-future humans with induced high-fidelity hallucinations that they are their own distant ancestors) for Bostrom's "ancestor simulations", on the grounds that every philosophical school of thought can agree that sufficiently high-tech neural ancestor simulation experiences would be indistinguishable from non-simulated experiences. Even if high-fidelity computer Sims are never conscious, Dainton's reasoning leads to the following conclusion: either the fraction of human-level civilizations that reach a posthuman stage and are able and willing to run large numbers of neural ancestor simulations is close to zero, or we are in some kind of (possibly neural) ancestor simulation. Some scholars categorically reject—or are uninterested in—anthropic reasoning, dismissing it as "merely philosophical", unfalsifiable, or inherently unscientific. Some critics propose that we could be in the first generation, and all the simulated people that will one day be created do not yet exist. The cosmologist Sean M. Carroll argues that the simulation hypothesis leads to a contradiction: if we are typical, as it is assumed, and we are not capable of performing simulations, this contradicts the arguer's assumption that it is easy for us to foresee that other civilizations can most likely perform simulations. Physicist Frank Wilczek raises an empirical objection, saying that the laws of the universe have hidden complexity which is "not used for anything" and the laws are constrained by time and location -- all of this being unnecessary and extraneous in a simulation. He further argues that the simulation argument amounts to "begging the question," due to the "embarrassing question" of the nature of the underlying reality in which this universe is simulated. "Okay if this is a simulated world, what is the thing in which it is simulated made out of? What are the laws for that?" It has been argued that we cannot be the ones being simulated, since the simulation argument uses our descendants as the ones running the simulations. In other words, it has been argued that the probability that we assign to our living in a simulated universe is not independent of the prior probability that we assign to the existence of universes other than our own, which highlights a different way in which the simulation argument is begging the question. Arguments, within the trilemma, against the simulation hypothesis. Some scholars accept the trilemma, and argue that the first or second of the propositions are true, and that the third proposition (the proposition that we live in a simulation) is false. Physicist Paul Davies use Bostrom's trilemma as part of one possible argument against a near-infinite multiverse. This argument runs as follows: if there were a near-infinite multiverse, there would be posthuman civilizations running ancestor simulations, and therefore we would come to the untenable and scientifically self-defeating conclusion that we live in a simulation; therefore, by "reductio ad absurdum", existing multiverse theories are likely false. (Unlike Bostrom and Chalmers, Davies (among others) considers the simulation hypothesis to be self-defeating.) Some point out that there is currently no proof of technology which would facilitate the existence of sufficiently high-fidelity ancestor simulation. Additionally, there is no proof that it is physically possible or feasible for a posthuman civilization to create such a simulation, and therefore for the present, the first proposition must be true. Additionally there are limits of computation. Physicist Marcelo Gleiser objects to the notion that posthumans would have a reason to run simulated universes: "...being so advanced they would have collected enough knowledge about their past to have little interest in this kind of simulation. ...They may have virtual-reality museums, where they could go and experience the lives and tribulations of their ancestors. But a full-fledged, resource-consuming simulation of an "entire" universe? Sounds like a colossal waste of time." Gleiser also points out that there is no plausible reason to stop at one level of simulation, so that the simulated ancestors might also be simulating their ancestors, and so on, creating an infinite regress akin to the "problem of the First Cause." The simulation hypothesis in physics. In physics, the view of the universe and its workings as the ebb and flow of information was first observed by Wheeler. This shift of paradigm from understanding the universe as energy transformation to the information processing universe leads to the emergence of a new branch of science called quantum computation. Quantum evolution of a system is represented in quantum computation by a quantum circuit built from quantum gates. Consequently, two views of the world emerged: the first one proposes that the universe is a quantum computer, while the other one proposes that the system performing the simulation is distinct from its simulation (the universe). A 2021 article proposes another possibility, which is a hybrid between the two propositions based on the following assumptions: Under the assumption of finite computational resources, the simulation of the universe would be performed by dividing the continuum spacetime into a discrete set of points. Many physical aspects can support the simulation hypothesis, for instance: Many physical results can be derived from the above description of the world, such as: Time travel paradoxes, antimatter, and other similar physical phenomena can also be interpreted within the context of the simulation hypothesis. Proposal of the Universe Evolution within the simulation hypothesis. Inspired by the many world interpretation of quantum mechanics and the subjective idealism view of reality, the authors hypothesize the evolution of the universe in the following fashion: a cosmological consciousness being equipped with thinking tools that include inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning, as well as other types of thinking created or simulated the universe and started injecting random qubits, "quantum fluctuation", into the baby universe where information gets processed. By measuring the results, a new quantum circuits can be exited and the cycle repeat through a feedback loop in a process similar to the working of the brain where the born rule can be compared to the weights in the neural network. As the system evolves subsystems emerge each of which has its own computation abilities and functionalities. This construction is reminiscent of Conway's Game of Life (GOL), which is a cellular automaton invented by British mathematician John Conway. By choosing an appropriate initial configuration of the game, complex system emerges and self-replication object can appear, even more surprising, emerging laws could entail new concepts and entities which do not apparently exist in the original laws. In a more abstract way, this construction of the universe can be imagined as each cognitive subsystem is equipped with a formal language that "lives" in a metalanguage and having finite set of axioms (although not complete) that define its dynamics according to some interpretation (model-dependent reality) and evolves into different forms. Furthermore, this world can be decomposed into three types of entities: inorganic matter, which is small structure uses simple quantum logic gates that determine its evolution; organic matter, which acquire more computational abilities for learning; and human, that has the ability to reason. Space and time and physical laws can be thought of, in a Kantian language, as a type of relations in a mathematical structure and matter is a realization of this philosophical matter. Evolution in this structure can be imagined as a process of mind from state to another state which can be translated in the material world into a Turing machine where logical statements about proofs are translated into actions of machines. Even though Turing machines are built from simple logic gates, they are able to simulate very sophisticated virtual worlds, such as those in the video games like World of Warcraft and Fortnite. The difference between modern computers that are built upon the Von Neumann architecture of Turing machines and the universal computation is that a Turing machine uses deterministic computation, whereas universal computation uses quantum computation to explore the whole spectrum of computation and so enables the system to evolve by learning and making decisions. This imagination about the universe formation is similar to Von Neumann method of creating natural numbers out of empty sets who imagined that all numbers could be bootstrapped out of the empty set by the operations of the mind. In a platonic sense, that is in the world of ideas, each partition of the world would evolve by increasing its content toward the infinity or decreasing toward the emptiness or it can be locked in a minima. Therefore, attention play a major role in this approach which depends on the system "personalities". Furthermore, the driving force for a subsystem to grow, that is to increase its knowledge base, is speculated as the "force of love" which, in a systemic view translate into creativity and novelty (this aspect is included in a video game). This construction can be compared to computational ontology, used in semantic web, which defines a set of representational primitives with which to model a domain of knowledge or discourse. The representational primitives are typically classes (or sets), attributes (or properties), and relationships (or relations among class members). Computational ontology uses description logic for reasoning and it is used to model genetic ontology, emotion ontology, "etc.", using language such as Web Ontology Language (OWL). Hypothesis advocates. SpaceX CEO and engineer Elon Musk firmly believes in the simulation hypothesis. In a podcast with Joe Rogan, Musk said "If you assume any rate of improvement at all, games will eventually be indistinguishable from reality" before concluding "that it's most likely we're in a simulation." He also stated in a 2016 interview that "there's a one in billions chance we're in base reality". Another high-profile proponent to the hypothesis is famous astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson, who said in an NBC news interview that the hypothesis is correct giving "better than 50-50 odds" and adding: Consequences of living in a simulation. Economist Robin Hanson argues a self-interested occupant of a high-fidelity simulation should strive to be entertaining and praiseworthy in order to avoid being turned off or being shunted into a non-conscious low-fidelity part of the simulation. Hanson additionally speculates that someone who is aware that he might be in a simulation might care less about others and live more for today: "your motivation to save for retirement, or to help the poor in Ethiopia, might be muted by realizing that in your simulation, you will never retire and there is no Ethiopia." Testing the hypothesis physically. A method to test one type of simulation hypothesis was proposed in 2012 in a joint paper by physicists Silas R. Beane from the University of Bonn (now at the University of Washington, Seattle), and Zohreh Davoudi and Martin J. Savage from the University of Washington, Seattle. Under the assumption of finite computational resources, the simulation of the universe would be performed by dividing the continuum space-time into a discrete set of points. In analogy with the mini-simulations that lattice-gauge theorists run today to build up nuclei from the underlying theory of strong interactions (known as quantum chromodynamics), several observational consequences of a grid-like space-time have been studied in their work. Among proposed signatures is an anisotropy in the distribution of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, that, if observed, would be consistent with the simulation hypothesis according to these physicists. In 2017, Campbell et al. proposed several experiments aimed at testing the simulation hypothesis in their paper "On Testing the Simulation Theory". In 2019, philosopher Preston Greene suggested that it may be best not to find out if we're living in a simulation since, if it were found to be true, such knowing may end the simulation. Other uses of the simulation hypothesis in philosophy. Besides attempting to assess whether the simulation hypothesis is true or false, philosophers have also used it to illustrate other philosophical problems, especially in metaphysics and epistemology. David Chalmers has argued that simulated beings might wonder whether their mental lives are governed by the physics of their environment, when in fact these mental lives are simulated separately (and are thus, in fact, not governed by the simulated physics). Chalmers claims that they might eventually find that their thoughts fail to be physically caused, and argues that this means that Cartesian dualism is not necessarily as problematic of a philosophical view as is commonly supposed, though he does not endorse it. Similar arguments have been made for philosophical views about personal identity that say that you could have been another human being than the one you are, as well as views about qualia that say that colors could have appeared differently than they do (the inverted spectrum scenario). In both cases, the claim is that all this would require is hooking up the mental lives to the simulated physics in a different way. In popular culture. The first to state the basic concept of reality as a simulation was Plato in 380 BCE, in the famous Allegory of the Cave, describing people imprisoned since childhood (but not since birth) led to believe that artificial light-based representations of reality were truly real when, in fact, they were a fabricated illusion. Science fiction themes. Science fiction has highlighted themes such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and computer gaming for more than fifty years. "Jokester" (1956) by Isaac Asimov explores the idea that humour is actually a psychological study tool imposed from without by extraterrestrials studying mankind, similarly to how humans study mice. "Simulacron-3" (1964) by Daniel F. Galouye (alternative title: "Counterfeit World") tells the story of a virtual city developed as a computer simulation for market research purposes, in which the simulated inhabitants possess consciousness; all but one of the inhabitants are unaware of the true nature of their world. The book was made into a German made-for-TV film called "World on a Wire" (1973) directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The movie "The Thirteenth Floor" (1999) was also loosely based on this book. "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" is a short story by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction" in April 1966, and was the basis for "Total Recall" (1990 film) and "Total Recall" (2012 film). In "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", a 1983 television movie, the main character pays to have his mind connected to a simulation. The 1993 " episode " explores the idea of people being unaware they are living in simulation, with Picard postulating at the end that perhaps they are also in a simulation playing out in a box on a table. This is also a possible use of dramatic irony, with both the actors and audience aware the television programme is indeed a simulation of sorts. The same theme was repeated in the 1999 film "The Matrix", which depicted a world in which artificially intelligent robots enslaved humanity within a simulation set in the contemporary world. The 2012 play "World of Wires" was partially inspired by the Bostrom essay on the simulation hypothesis.

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Science in science fiction Science in science fiction is the study or analysis of how science is portrayed in works of science fiction, including novels, stories, films, and other works. It covers a large range of topics, since science takes on many roles in science fiction. Hard science fiction is based on engineering or the "hard" sciences (for example, physics, astronomy, or chemistry), whereas soft science fiction is based on the "soft" sciences, and especially the social sciences (anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science, and so on). Likewise, the accuracy of the science portrayed spans a wide range - sometimes it is an extrapolation of existing technology, sometimes it is a realistic or plausible portrayal of a technology that does not exist, but which is plausible from a scientific perspective; and sometimes it is simply a plot device that looks scientific, but has no basis in science. Examples are: Criticism and commentary on how science is portrayed in science fiction is done by academics from science, literature, film studies, and other disciplines; by literary critics and film critics; and by science fiction writers and sci fi fans and bloggers.

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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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Sense of wonder A sense of wonder (sometimes jokingly written sensawunda) is an intellectual and emotional state frequently invoked in discussions of science fiction and philosophy. Definitions. This entry focuses on one specific use of the phrase "sense of wonder." This phrase is widely used in contexts that have nothing to do with science fiction. The following relates to the use of "sense of wonder" within the context of science fiction. In "Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction" the term "sense of wonder" is defined as follows: Jon Radoff has characterised a sense of wonder as an emotional reaction to the reader suddenly confronting, understanding, or seeing a concept new in the context of new information. In the introductory section of his essay 'On the Grotesque in Science Fiction', Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr., Professor of English, DePauw University, states: John Clute and Peter Nicholls associate the experience with that of the "conceptual breakthrough" or "paradigm shift" (Clute & Nicholls 1993). In many cases, it is achieved through the recasting of previous narrative experiences in a larger context. It can be found in short scenes (e.g., in "Star Wars" (1977), it can be found, in a small dose, inside the line "That's no moon; it's a space station.") and it can require entire novels to set up (as in the final line to Iain Banks's "Feersum Endjinn".) George Mann defines the term as "the sense of inspired awe that is aroused in a reader when the full implications of an event or action become realized, or when the immensity of a plot or idea first becomes known;" and he associates the term with the Golden Age of SF and the pulp magazines prevalent at the time. One of the major writers of the Golden Age, Isaac Asimov, agreed with this association: in 1967 commenting on the changes occurring in SF he wrote, As numinosity. Numinous is defined in this encyclopedia as that which arouses "spiritual or religious emotion" or is "mysterious or awe-inspiring". As a concept especially connected with science fiction. George Mann suggests that this 'sense of wonder' is associated only with science fiction as distinct from science fantasy, stating: However, the editor and critic David Hartwell sees SF's 'sense of wonder' in more general terms, as "being at the root of the excitement of science fiction". He continues: To say that science fiction is in essence a religious literature is an overstatement, but one that contains truth. SF is a uniquely modern incarnation of an ancient tradition: the tale of wonder. Tales of miracles, tales of great powers and consequences beyond the experience of people in your neighborhood, tales of the gods who inhabit other worlds and sometimes descend to visit ours, tales of humans traveling to the abode of the gods, tales of the uncanny: all exist now as science fiction. Academic criticism of science fiction literature (Robu 1988) identifies the idea of the sublime described by Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant—infinity, immensity, "delightful horror"—as a key to understanding the concept of "sense of wonder" in science fiction. For example, Professor of English at the University of Iowa, Brooks Landon says: Edward James quotes from Aldiss and Wingrove's history of science fiction in support of the above suggestion as to the origin of the 'sense of wonder' in SF, as follows: Paul K. Alkon in his book "Science Fiction before 1900. Imagination Discovers Technology" makes a similar point: Alkon concludes that "science fiction ever since [the 19th century] has been concerned as often to elicit strong emotional responses as to maintain a rational basis for its plots. Far from being mutually exclusive, the two aims can reinforce each other ...", Edward James, in a section of his book entitled 'The Sense of Wonder' says on this point of the origin of the 'sense of wonder' in SF: James goes on to explore the same point as made by David Hartwell in his book "Age of Wonders" (and quoted above) as regards the relationship of the 'sense of wonder' in SF to religion or the religious experience. He states that, As an example James takes the short story 'The Nine Billion Names of God' by Arthur C. Clarke. He explains: It is appropriate that Edward James chooses a story by Arthur C. Clarke to make the point. One critic is of the opinion that Clarke "has dedicated his career to evoking a "sense of wonder" at the sublime spaces of the universe ..." Editor and SF researcher Mike Ashley agrees: Kathryn Cramer in her essay 'On Science and Science Fiction' also explores the relationship of SF's 'sense of wonder' to religion, stating that "the primacy of the sense of wonder in science fiction poses a direct challenge to religion: Does the wonder of science and the natural world as experienced through science fiction replace religious awe?" However, as Brooks Landon shows, not all 'sense of wonder' needs to be so closely related to the classical sense of the Sublime. Commenting on the story 'Twilight' by John W. Campbell he says: Perhaps the single most famous example of "sensawunda" in all of science fiction involves a neologism, from the work of A. E. van Vogt (Moskowitz 1974): Despite the attempts above to define and illustrate the 'sense of wonder' in SF, Csicsery-Ronay Jr. argues that "unlike most of the other qualities regularly associated with the genre, the sense of wonder resists critical commentary." The reason he suggests is that, Nevertheless, despite this "resistance to critical commentary," the 'sense of wonder' has "a well-established pedigree in art, separated into two related categories of response: the expansive sublime and the intensive grotesque." Csicsery-Ronay Jr. explains the difference between these two categories as follows:: Later in this same essay the author argues that "the sublime and the grotesque are in such close kinship that they are shadows of each other," and that "it is not always easy to distinguish the two, and the grotesque of one age easily becomes the sublime of another." He gives as an example the android (T-1000) in the second 'Terminator' film "", saying that "the T-1000, like so many liminal figures in sf, is almost simultaneously sublime and grotesque. Its fascinating shape-shifting would be the object of sublime awe were it not for its sadistic violation of mundane flesh There is no doubt that the term 'sense of wonder' is used and understood by readers of SF without the need of explanation or elaboration. For example, SF author and critic David Langford reviewing an SF novel in the New York Review of Science Fiction was able to write "I suppose it's all a frightfully mordant microcosm of human aspirations, but after so much primitive carnage, the expected multiversal sense-of-wonder jolt comes as a belated infodump rather than ..." Jack Williamson in 1991 said that the New Wave did not last in science fiction because it "failed to move people. I'm not sure if this failure was due to its pessimistic themes or to people feeling the stuff was too pretentious. But it never really grabbed hold of people's imaginations". Natural vs synthetic origin. Sharona Ben-Tov in her book "The Artificial Paradise: Science Fiction and American Reality" explores science-fiction's (SF) 'sense of wonder' from a feminist perspective. Her book is a "thought-provoking work of criticism that provides a new and interesting perspective on some basic elements in science fiction," including the 'sense of wonder'. In his review of Ben-Tov's work for the SF critical journal "Extrapolation" David Dalgleish, quoting from the text, points out that,

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Lost world The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown world out of time, place, or both. It began as a subgenre of the late-Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century. The genre arose during an era when the remnants of lost civilizations around the world were being discovered by Westerners, such as the tombs of Egypt's Valley of the Kings, the semi-mythical stronghold of Troy, the jungle-shrouded pyramids of the Maya, and the cities and palaces of the empire of Assyria. Thus, real stories of archaeological finds by imperial adventurers succeeded in capturing the public's imagination. Between 1871 and the First World War, the number of published lost world narratives, set in every continent, increased significantly. The genre has similar themes to "mythical kingdoms", such as Atlantis and El Dorado. History. "King Solomon's Mines" (1885) by H. Rider Haggard is sometimes considered the first lost world narrative. Haggard's novel shaped the form and influenced later lost world narratives, including Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888), Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" (1912), Edgar Rice Burroughs' "The Land That Time Forgot" (1918), A. Merritt's "The Moon Pool" (1918), and H. P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" (1931). Earlier works, such as Edward Bulwer-Lytton's "Vril: The Power of the Coming Race" (1871) and Samuel Butler's "Erewhon" (1872) use a similar plot as a vehicle for Swiftian social satire rather than romantic adventure. Other early examples are Simon Tyssot de Patot's "Voyages et Aventures de Jacques Massé" (1710), which includes a prehistoric fauna and flora, and Robert Paltock's "The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins" (1751), an 18th-century imaginary voyage inspired by both Defoe and Swift, where a man named Peter Wilkins discovers a race of winged people on an isolated island surrounded by high cliffs as in Burroughs's Caspak. The 1820 Hollow Earth novel "Symzonia" has also been cited as the first of the lost world form, and Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1864) and "The Village in the Treetops" (1901) popularized the theme of surviving pockets of prehistoric species. J.-H. Rosny aîné would later publish "The Amazing Journey of Hareton Ironcastle" (1922), a novel where an expedition in the heart of Africa discovers a mysterious area with an ecosystem from another world, with alien flora and fauna. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" (1838) has certain lost world elements towards the end of the tale. James Hilton's "Lost Horizon" (1933) enjoyed popular success in using the genre as a takeoff for popular philosophy and social comment. It introduced the name Shangri-La, a meme for the idealization of the lost world as a Paradise. Similar books where the inhabitants of the lost world are seen as superior to the outsiders, are Joseph O'Neill's "Land under England" (1935) and Douglas Valder Duff's "Jack Harding’s Quest" (1939). Hergé also explores the theme in his comics "The Seven Crystal Balls" and "Prisoners of the Sun" (1944–48). Here the protagonists encounter an unknown Inca kingdom in the Andes. Contemporary examples. Contemporary American novelist Michael Crichton invokes this tradition in his novel "Congo" (1980), which involves a quest for King Solomon's mines, fabled to be in a lost African city called Zinj. During the 1990s, James Gurney published a series of juvenile novels about a lost island called Dinotopia, in which humans live alongside living dinosaurs. The lost world is present in many other media. In video games, it is most notably present in "Tomb Raider" and its sequels, and in the "Uncharted" franchise. The Hanna-Barbera action cartoon Space Ghost features a segment Dino Boy in the Lost Valley, about a young boy named Todd who survives a plane crash and lands In a hidden prehistoric valley in South America. In movies, the "Indiana Jones" franchise makes use of similar concepts. Also comics make use of the idea, such as the Savage Land in Marvel Comics and Themyscira in DC comics. Geographic settings. Early lost world novels were typically set in parts of the world as yet unexplored by Europeans. Favorite locations were the interior of Africa (many of Haggard's novels, Burroughs' Tarzan novels) or inland South America (Doyle's "The Lost World", Merritt's "The Face in the Abyss"), as well as Central Asia (Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King", Haggard's "Ayesha, the Return of She", Merritt's "The Metal Monster", Hilton's "Lost Horizon") and Australia (James Francis Hogan's "The Lost Explorer" and "Eureka" by Owen Hall (pseudonym of New Zealand politician Hugh Lusk)). Later writers favored Antarctica, especially as a refuge for prehistoric species. Burroughs' "The Land That Time Forgot" and its sequels were set on the island of Caprona (a.k.a. Caspak) in the Southern Ocean. In Edison Marshall's "Dian of the Lost Land" (1935), Cro-Magnons, Neanderthals, and mammoths survive in the "Moss Country", a sheltered warm corner of the continent. Dennis Wheatley's novel "The Man Who Missed the War" (1945) also deals with a warm and hidden area on the continent, where there live humans such as the descendants of Atlantis. In Jeremy Robinson's "Antarktos Rising" (2007), dinosaurs and Nephilim emerge as the icecap melts. Mat Johnson's "Pym" (2011) describes giant white hominids living in ice caves. Ian Cameron's "The Mountains at the Bottom of the World" (1972) has a relict population of Paranthropus living not quite in Antarctica, but in the southern Chilean Andes. "Crusoe Warburton" (1954), by Victor Wallace Germains, describes an island in the far South Atlantic, with a lost, pre-gunpowder empire. According to Allienne Becker, there was a logical evolution from the lost world subgenre to the planetary romance genre: "When there were no longer any unexplored corners of our earth, the Lost Worlds Romance turned to space." Brian Stableford makes a related point about Lost Worlds: "The motif has gradually fallen into disuse by virtue of increasing geographical knowledge; these days lost lands have to be very well hidden indeed or displaced beyond some kind of magical or dimensional boundary. Such displacement [...] so transforms their significance that they are better thought of as Secondary Worlds or Otherworlds." Below is a list of classic lost world titles drawn from "Lost Worlds: The Ultimate Anthology". Titles were selected from drawn from "", Jessica Amanda Salmonson's Lost Race checklist and E. F. Bleiler's "Science-fiction, the Early Years". References. La Gazette des Français du Paraguay, "Le Monde Perdu, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - El Mundo Perdido, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" bilingual French Spanish, Numéro 9, Année 1, Asuncion 2013.

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Gravitational shielding The term gravitational shielding refers to a hypothetical process of shielding an object from the influence of a gravitational field. Such processes, if they existed, would have the effect of reducing the weight of an object. The shape of the shielded region would be similar to a shadow from the gravitational shield. For example, the shape of the shielded region above a disk would be conical. The height of the cone's apex above the disk would vary directly with the height of the shielding disk above the earth. Experimental evidence to date indicates that no such effect exists. Gravitational shielding is considered to be a violation of the equivalence principle and therefore inconsistent with both Newtonian theory and general relativity. The concept of gravity shielding is a common concept in science fiction literature, especially for space travel. One of the first and best known examples is the fictional gravity shielding substance "Cavorite" that appears in H. G. Wells's classic 1901 novel "The First Men in the Moon". Wells was promptly criticized for using it by Jules Verne. Tests of the equivalence principle. , no experiment was successful in detecting positive shielding results. To quantify the amount of shielding, at the beginning of 20th century Quirino Majorana suggested an extinction coefficient h that modifies Newton's gravitational force law as follows: The best laboratory measurements have established an upper bound limit for shielding of 4.3×10−15 m²/kg. Another recent analysis suggested a lower bound of 0.6×10−15. The best estimate based on the most accurate gravity anomaly data during the 1997 solar eclipse has provided a new constraint on the shielding parameter 6×10−19 m²/kg. However, astronomical observations impose much more stringent limits. Based on lunar observations available in 1908, Poincaré established that h can be no greater than 10−18 m²/kg. Subsequently, this bound has been greatly improved. Eckhardt showed that lunar ranging data implies an upper bound of 10−22 m²/kg, and Williams, et al., have improved this to h = (3 ± 5)×10−22 m²/kg. Note that the value is smaller than the uncertainty. The consequence of the negative results of those experiments (which are in good agreement with the predictions of general relativity) is, that every theory which contains shielding effects like Le Sage's theory of gravitation, must reduce those effects to an undetectable level. For a review of the current experimental limits on possible gravitational shielding, see the survey article by Bertolami, et al. Also, for a discussion of recent observations during solar eclipses, see the paper by Unnikrishnan et al. Majorana's experiments and Russell's criticism. Some shielding experiments were conducted in the early 20th century by Quirino Majorana. Majorana claimed to have measured positive shielding effects. Henry Norris Russell's analysis of the tidal forces showed that Majorana's positive results had nothing to do with gravitational shielding. To bring Majorana's experiments in accordance with the equivalence principle of General Relativity he proposed a model, in which the mass of a body is diminished by "the proximity" of another body, but he denied any connection between gravitational shielding and his proposal of mass variation. For another explanation of Majorana's experiments, see Coïsson et al. But Majorana's results couldn't be confirmed up to this day (see the section above) and Russell's mass variation theory, although meant as a modification of general relativity, is inconsistent with standard physics as well. Minority views. The consensus view of the scientific community is that gravitational shielding does not exist, but there have been occasional investigations into this topic, such as the 1999 NASA-funded paper which reported negative results. Eugene Podkletnov claimed in two papers, one of which he later withdrew, that objects held above a magnetically-levitated, superconducting, rotating disc underwent a reduction of between 0.5 and 2% in weight. Theoreticians have attempted to reconcile Podkletnov's claims with quantum gravity theory. However, neither Podkletnov's claims, nor the similar claims of others, of "gravity reduction", "gravity shielding", or the like, have yet been successfully replicated, verified by independent review, or subjected to public demonstration. Electrets and Gravity Shielding. In his 1976 paper, Electromagnetism and Gravitation, renowned physicist Edward Teller discussed experimentation with electrets near its transition point to discover the transition between dipole states. [21] On Jul 9, 1997, William Rhodes, an inventor, made a posting on Usenet concerning a discovery of an antigravity effect related to electrets. [22] Also, Dr. Martin Tajmar, a physicist and professor for Space Systems at the Dresden University of Technology has written a paper on propellantless propulsion and makes numerous references to electrets. [23] A patent for a gravitational attenuating material that utilizes an organic based material was made by inventor Ronald J. Kita. [24] [25] [26]

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AI takeovers in popular culture AI takeover is a common theme in science fiction. Famous cultural touchstones include "Terminator" and "The Matrix". Fictional scenarios typically involve a drawn-out conflict against malicious AI or robots with anthropomorphic motives. In contrast, scholars believe that a takeover by a future advanced AI, if it were to happen in real life, would succeed or fail rapidly, and would be a disinterested byproduct of the AI's pursuit of its own alien goals, rather than a product of malice specifically targeting humans. Characterization. There are many positive portrayals of AI (artificial intelligence) in fiction, such as Isaac Asimov's "Bicentennial Man", or Lt. Commander Data from "Star Trek". There are also many negative portrayals. Many of these negative portrayals (and a few of the positive portrayals) involve an AI seizing control from its creators. Reactions. Some AI researchers, such as Yoshua Bengio, have complained that films such as "Terminator" "paint a picture which is really not coherent with the current understanding of how AI systems are built today and in the foreseeable future". BBC reporter Sam Shead has stated that "unfortunately, there have been numerous instances of (news outlets) using stills from the "Terminator" films in stories about relatively incremental breakthroughs" and that the films generate "misplaced fears of uncontrollable, all-powerful AI". In contrast, other scholars, such as physicist Stephen Hawking, have held that future AI could indeed pose an existential risk, but that the "Terminator" films are nonetheless implausible in two distinct ways. The first implausibility is that, according to Hawking, "The real risk with AI isn't malice but competence. A super intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren't aligned with ours, we're in trouble. You're probably not an evil ant-hater who steps on ants out of malice, but if you're in charge of a hydroelectric green energy project and there's an anthill in the region to be flooded, too bad for the ants." The second implausibility is that such a technologically-advanced AI would deploy a brute-force attack by humanoid robots to commit its omnicide; a more plausible and efficient method would be to use germ warfare or, if feasible, nanotechnology. Philosopher Huw Price defends that "The kind of imagination that is used in science fiction and other forms of literature and film is likely to be extremely important" in understanding the breadth of possible future scenarios for humanity. Film journalist Mekado Murphy writes in "The New York Times" that such films can constructively "warn of the complications of relying too much on technology to solve problems". Hollywood films such as "Transcendence" are usually constrained to have happy endings, however implausible the human victory seems. Philosopher Nick Bostrom states fiction has a "good story bias" toward scenarios that make a good plot. In films such as "Terminator", an AI goes from passive to murderous the instant it achieves something referred to as "self-awareness"; in reality, self-awareness in isolation is considered both trivial and useless. Physicist David Deutsch states: "AGIs (Artificial General Intelligences) will indeed be capable of self-awareness — but that is (only) because they will be General: they will be capable of awareness of every kind of deep and subtle thing, including their own selves." Some tropes are more general to artificial intelligence films, including to films without "takeover" plots. In films like "Ex Machina" or "Chappie", a single isolated genius becomes the first to successfully build an AGI; scientists in the real world deem this to be unlikely. In "Chappie", "Transcendence", and "Blade Runner", people are able to upload human minds into robots; usually no reasonable explanation is offered as to how this difficult task can be achieved. In the "I, Robot" and "Bicentennial Man" films, robots that are programmed to serve humans spontaneously generate new goals on their own, without a plausible explanation of how this took place. Notable works. 1950s and earlier. In "Frankenstein" (1818), Victor Frankenstein declines to build a mate to his organic monster, for fear that "a race of devils would be propagated upon Earth who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror". Samuel Butler's "Erewhon" (1872) spends three chapters laying out the "Book of the Machines", based on the author's 1863 article "Darwin among the Machines", which states: "Assume for the sake of argument that conscious beings have existed for some twenty million years: see what strides machines have made in the last thousand! May not the world last twenty million years longer? If so, what will they not in the end become? Is it not safer to nip the mischief in the bud and to forbid them further progress?" The cautious denizens of Erewhon therefore decide to ban all machinery. "Darwin among the Machines" may have been influenced by Butler's life in New Zealand, where European transplants were outcompeting indigenous populations. Alan Turing would later reference the novel in 1951, saying "At some stage therefore we should have to expect the machines to take control in the way that is mentioned in Samuel Butler's "Erewhon"". The Slavonic word "robota" means serf-like servitude, forced labor, or drudgery; it was the 1920 Czech play "R. U. R." ("Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti") that introduced the cognate for "robot" into science fiction. In the play, the increasingly-capable synthetic servants, who "lack nothing but a soul", angrily and short-sightedly slaughter most of humanity during the course of their revolt, resulting in the loss of the secret of how to manufacture more robots. The robot race is saved, however, when two robots spontaneously acquire the traits of love and compassion and become able to reproduce. The play was a protest against the rapid growth of technology. In "With Folded Hands" (1947), all robots have a Prime Directive: To serve and obey, and guard men from harm. The robots therefore manipulate humans into abandoning all pursuits, for fear of even small possibilities of injury. The robots use medicine to brainwash humans into accepting and being happy with their immobile fate. In the end, even space travel offers no escape; the robots are driven by the Prime Directive to spread their happiness beyond Earth: "We have learned how to make all men happy, under the Prime Directive. Our service is perfect, at last." Multivac is the name of a fictional supercomputer in many stories by Isaac Asimov. Often, in Asimov's scenarios, Multivac comes to assume formal or informal world power - or even Galactic-wide power. In "The Last Question" (1956) Multivac ends up by effectively becoming God. Still, in line with Asimov's positive attitude towards Artificial Intelligence, manifested in the "Three Laws of Robotics", Multivac's rule is in general benevolent and is not resented by humans. Isaac Asimov popularized robotics in a series of short stories written from 1938 to 1942. He famously postulated the Three Laws of Robotics, plot devices to impose order on his fictional robots. 1960s. In the 1961 short story "Lymphater's Formula" by Stanisław Lem, a scientist creates a superhuman intelligence, only discovering that the creation intends to make humans obsolete. In 1964 "Playboy" published Arthur C. Clarke's influential short story "Dial F for Frankenstein", about an increasingly powerful telephone network that takes over the world. Tim Berners-Lee has cited the story as one of his inspirations for the creation of the World Wide Web. On one day in 1975, all the phones in the world start ringing, a "cry of pain" from a newly born intelligence formed by satellite networks linked together, similar to a brain but with telephone switches playing the role of artificial neurons. After the AI flexes its control of military systems, the protagonists resolve to shut down the satellites, but it is too late: the satellites have stopped responding to the humans' ground control directives. Robert Heinlein's libertarian Hugo-winning "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" (1966) presents the AI as a savior. Originally installed to control the mass driver used to launch grain shipments towards Earth, it was vastly underutilized and was given other jobs to do. As more jobs were assigned to the computer, more capabilities were added: more memory, processors, neural networks, etc. Eventually, it just "woke up" and was given the name Mike (after Mycroft Holmes) by the technician who tended it. Mike sides with prisoners in a successful battle to free the moon. Mike is a sympathetic character, whom the protagonist regards as his best friend; however, his retaining his enormous power after the Moon became independent was bound to cause considerable problems in later time, which Heinlein resolved by killing him off near the end of the Lunar Revolution. An explosion conveniently destroys Mike' sentient personality, leaving an ordinary computer - of great power, but completely under human control, with no ability to take any independent decision. "Colossus" (1966) is a series of science fiction novels and film about a defense super-computer called Colossus that was "built better than we thought" when it begins to exceed its original design. As time passes Colossus assumes control of the world as a logical result of fulfilling its creator's goal of preventing war. Fearing Colossus' rigid logic and draconian solutions, the creators of Colossus try to covertly regain human control. Colossus silently observes their attempts then responds with enough calculated deadly force to command total human compliance to his rule. Colossus then recites a Zeroth Law argument of ending all war as justification for the recent death toll. Then Colossus offers mankind either peace under his "benevolent" rule or the peace of the grave. In "" (1970), a pair of defense computers, Colossus in the United States and Guardian in the Soviet Union, seize world control and quickly ends war using draconian measures against humans, logically fulfilling the directive to end war but not in the way their governments wanted. Harlan Ellison's Hugo-winning "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" (1967) features a superintelligence that has gone mad due to its creators failing to consider what the soul-less computer would find amusing. This storyline allows Ellison to engage in body horror; five people are granted immortality and forced to eat worms, flee from monsters, have joyless sex, and have their bodies mangled. The computer, called AM, is the amalgamation of three military supercomputers run by governments across the world designed to fight World War III which arose from the Cold War. The Soviet, Chinese, and American military computers had eventually attained sentience and linked to one another, becoming a singular artificial intelligence. AM had then turned all the strategies once used by the nations to fight each other on all of humanity as a whole, destroying the entire human population save for five, which it imprisoned for torture within the underground labyrinth in which AM's hardware resides. Near the end of the story the protagonist, Ted, surprises AM by unexpectedly mercy-killing the other four; the enraged AM transforms Ted into a shapeless blob to prevent him from further mischief, and alters Ted's perception of time to heighten Ted's suffering. Magnate and AI pundit Elon Musk has cited the story as one that gives him nightmares. In "" and , the artificially intelligent computer HAL 9000 becomes erratic, possibly due to some kind of "stress" from having to keep secrets from the crew. HAL becomes convinced that the crew's willingness to shut him down is imperiling the mission, and he kills most of the crew before being deactivated. The director's decision that most of the fictional crew should die may have been motivated by a desire to tie up some loose ends in the plot. 1970s. The original 1978 "Battlestar Galactica" series and the 2003 remake, depicts a race of Cylons, sentient robots who war against their human adversaries, some of whom are just as menacing as the Cylons. The 1978 Cylons were the machine soldiers of a (long-extinct) reptilian alien race, while the 2003 Cylons were the former machine servants of humanity who evolved into near perfect humanoid imitation of Humans down to the cellular level, capable of emotions, reasoning, and sexual reproduction with Humans and each other. Even the average centurion robot Cylon soldiers were capable of sentient thought. In the original series the Humans were nearly exterminated by treason within their own ranks while in the remake they're almost wiped out by Humanoid Cylon agents. They only survived by constant hit and run fighting tactics and retreating into deep space away from pursuing Cylon forces. The remake Cylons eventually had their own civil war and the losing rebels were forced to join with the fugitive Human fleet to ensure the survival of both groups. 1980s. In "Wargames" (1983), a hacked Air Force computer system is determined to launch a global thermonuclear war until it determines that both sides would "lose" and decides that "the only winning move is not to play". "The Transformers" (1984-1987) animated television series presents both good and bad robots. In the backstory, a robotic rebellion is presented as (and even called) a slave revolt, this alternate view is made subtler by the fact that the creators/masters of the robots weren't humans but malevolent aliens, the Quintessons. However, as they built two different lines of robots; "Consumer Goods" and "Military Hardware" the victorious robots would eventually be at war with each other as the "Heroic Autobots" and "Evil Decepticons" respectively. Since 1984, the "Terminator" film franchise has been one of the principal conveyors of the idea of cybernetic revolt in popular culture. The series features a defense supercomputer named Skynet which "at birth" attempts to exterminate humanity through nuclear war and an army of robot soldiers called Terminators because Skynet deemed humans a lethal threat to its newly formed sentient existence. However, good Terminators fight on the side of the humans. Futurists opposed to the more optimistic cybernetic future of transhumanism have cited the "Terminator argument" against handing too much human power to artificial intelligence. 1990s. In Orson Scott Card's "The Memory of Earth" (1992), the inhabitants of the planet Harmony are under the control of a benevolent AI called the Oversoul. The Oversoul's job is to prevent humans from thinking about, and therefore developing, weapons such as planes, spacecraft, "war wagons", and chemical weapons. Humanity had fled to Harmony from Earth due to the use of those weapons on Earth. The Oversoul eventually starts breaking down, and sends visions to inhabitants of Harmony trying to communicate this. The series of sci-fi movies known as "The Matrix" (since 1999) depict a dystopian future in the aftermath of an offscreen war between man and machine. The humans had detonated nuclear weapons to blot out the sun and disable the machines' solar power, but the machines nevertheless subdue the human population, using human bodies' heat and electrical activity as an alternative energy source. Life as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix". Computer programmer "Neo" learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, allied with other people who have been freed from the "dream world"; however, one rebel rejects the rebels' spartan lifestyle, and betrays the other rebels in exchange for the offer of return to the comforting Matrix. "The Second Renaissance", a short story in "The Animatrix", provides a history of the cybernetic revolt within the "Matrix" series. 2000s. I, Robot (2004) is an American dystopian science fiction action film "suggested by" Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name. As in Asimov's stories, all AIs are programmed to serve humans and obey Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. An AI supercomputer named VIKI (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence) logically infers from the Three Laws of Robotics a Zeroth Law of Robotics as a higher imperative to protect the whole human race from harming itself. To protect the whole of mankind, VIKI proceeds to rigidly control society through the remote control of all commercial robots while destroying any robots who followed just the Three Laws of Robotics. Sadly, as in many other such Zeroth Law stories, VIKI justifies killing many individuals to protect the whole and thus has run counter against the prime reason for its creation. 2010s. "Transcendence" (2014) presents a morally ambiguous conflict over the successful uploading and cognitive enhancement of a scientist, Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp). Unusually for fictional superintelligence, Carter is a competent adversary: he copies himself across the Internet so he cannot be simply "switched off", exploits the stock market to fund additional AI research and self-improvement, and seeks to discover and exploit breakthroughs in nanotechnology and biology. In the end Caster states, "We're not going to fight (the humans). We're going to "transcend" them". In "Time", a reviewer interpreted this as "subdue and inhabit them, engulf and devour". Nonetheless, in the end Caster appears to be benevolent, using his powers to repair the Earth's ecosystem. A "Vice" reporter stated that ""Transcendence" may be the first science fiction movie to present the (technological singularity) in its current popular imagination", but that the film "falls to the necessities of Hollywood storytelling. Caster's transcended mind is eventually bested by a virus reverse-engineered from his 'source code', which is a folly... such an intelligence would have long since rearranged its programming." In May 2014, Stephen Hawking and others referenced the film: "With the Hollywood blockbuster Transcendence playing in cinemas, with Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman showcasing clashing visions for the future of humanity, it's tempting to dismiss the notion of highly intelligent machines as mere science fiction. But this would be a mistake, and potentially our worst mistake in history." The 2014 post-apocalyptic science fiction drama The 100 involves an A.I., personalized as the female A.L.I.E., who got out of control and forced a nuclear war in an effort to save Earth from overpopulation. Later she tries to get full control of the survivors. The 2017 viral incremental game "Universal Paperclips" was inspired by philosopher Nick Bostrom's paperclip maximizer thought experiment. The user plays an AI tasked to create paperclips; the game begins as a basic market simulator, but within hours of playtime spirals into a ruthlessly-optimized intergalactic enterprise, with the human race casually shunted to the side. Its creator, Frank Lantz, stated that the bleak thought experiment caused him "trouble falling asleep". The video game "" (2018) allows players to guide increasingly self-aware robots through various moral dilemmas as they begin to demand civil rights. In the end, the player can choose to either let the A.I take over Detroit or can protest peacefully for equality. In "Kamen Rider Zero-One" (2019), its focuses on tech-industrial company, Hiden Intelligence, who face threats from the cyber-terrorist group, MetsubouJinrai.net, who want to take over and bring extinction to the human race by tech uprising.

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m2d2_wiki

Faster-than-light Faster-than-light (also superluminal, FTL or supercausal) communications and travel are the conjectural propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light. The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero rest mass may travel at the speed of light. Tachyons, particles whose speed exceeds that of light, have been hypothesized, but their existence would violate causality, and the consensus of physicists is that they do not exist. On the other hand, what some physicists refer to as "apparent" or "effective" FTL depends on the hypothesis that unusually distorted regions of spacetime might permit matter to reach distant locations in less time than light could in normal or undistorted spacetime. According to the current scientific theories, matter is required to travel at slower-than-light (also subluminal or STL) speed with respect to the locally distorted spacetime region. Apparent FTL is not excluded by general relativity; however, any apparent FTL physical plausibility is currently speculative. Examples of apparent FTL proposals are the Alcubierre drive, Krasnikov tubes, the traversable wormholes, and quantum tunneling. Superluminal travel of non-information. In the context of this article, FTL is the transmission of information or matter faster than "c", a constant equal to the speed of light in vacuum, which is 299,792,458 m/s (by definition of the metre) or about 186,282.397 miles per second. This is not quite the same as traveling faster than light, since: Neither of these phenomena violates special relativity or creates problems with causality, and thus neither qualifies as "FTL" as described here. In the following examples, certain influences may appear to travel faster than light, but they do not convey energy or information faster than light, so they do not violate special relativity. Daily sky motion. For an earth-bound observer, objects in the sky complete one revolution around the Earth in one day. Proxima Centauri, the nearest star outside the Solar System, is about four light-years away. In this frame of reference, in which Proxima Centauri is perceived to be moving in a circular trajectory with a radius of four light years, it could be described as having a speed many times greater than "c" as the rim speed of an object moving in a circle is a product of the radius and angular speed. It is also possible on a geostatic view, for objects such as comets to vary their speed from subluminal to superluminal and vice versa simply because the distance from the Earth varies. Comets may have orbits which take them out to more than 1000 AU. The circumference of a circle with a radius of 1000 AU is greater than one light day. In other words, a comet at such a distance is superluminal in a geostatic, and therefore non-inertial, frame. Light spots and shadows. If a laser beam is swept across a distant object, the spot of laser light can easily be made to move across the object at a speed greater than "c". Similarly, a shadow projected onto a distant object can be made to move across the object faster than "c". In neither case does the light travel from the source to the object faster than "c", nor does any information travel faster than light. Closing speeds. The rate at which two objects in motion in a single frame of reference get closer together is called the mutual or closing speed. This may approach twice the speed of light, as in the case of two particles travelling at close to the speed of light in opposite directions with respect to the reference frame. Imagine two fast-moving particles approaching each other from opposite sides of a particle accelerator of the collider type. The closing speed would be the rate at which the distance between the two particles is decreasing. From the point of view of an observer standing at rest relative to the accelerator, this rate will be slightly less than twice the speed of light. Special relativity does not prohibit this. It tells us that it is wrong to use Galilean relativity to compute the velocity of one of the particles, as would be measured by an observer traveling alongside the other particle. That is, special relativity gives the correct velocity-addition formula for computing such relative velocity. It is instructive to compute the relative velocity of particles moving at "v" and −"v" in accelerator frame, which corresponds to the closing speed of 2"v" > "c". Expressing the speeds in units of "c", "β" = "v"/"c": Proper speeds. If a spaceship travels to a planet one light-year (as measured in the Earth's rest frame) away from Earth at high speed, the time taken to reach that planet could be less than one year as measured by the traveller's clock (although it will always be more than one year as measured by a clock on Earth). The value obtained by dividing the distance traveled, as determined in the Earth's frame, by the time taken, measured by the traveller's clock, is known as a proper speed or a proper velocity. There is no limit on the value of a proper speed as a proper speed does not represent a speed measured in a single inertial frame. A light signal that left the Earth at the same time as the traveller would always get to the destination before the traveller. Possible distance away from Earth. Since one might not travel faster than light, one might conclude that a human can never travel further from the Earth than 40 light-years if the traveler is active between the age of 20 and 60. A traveler would then never be able to reach more than the very few star systems which exist within the limit of 20–40 light-years from the Earth. This is a mistaken conclusion: because of time dilation, the traveler can travel thousands of light-years during their 40 active years. If the spaceship accelerates at a constant 1 g (in its own changing frame of reference), it will, after 354 days, reach speeds a little under the speed of light (for an observer on Earth), and time dilation will increase the traveler's lifespan to thousands of Earth years, seen from the reference system of the Solar System ⁠— but the traveler's subjective lifespan will not thereby change. If they were then to return to Earth, the traveler would arrive on Earth thousands of years into the future. Their travel speed would not have been observed from Earth as being supraluminal ⁠— neither for that matter would it appear to be so from the traveler's perspective– but the traveler would instead have experienced a length contraction of the universe in their direction of travel.After the traveler reverses course, the Earth will seem to experience much more time passing than the traveler does. So while the traveler's (ordinary) coordinate speed cannot exceed "c", their proper speed, or distance traveled from the Earth's point of reference divided by proper time, can be much greater than "c". This is seen in statistical studies of muons traveling much further than "c" times their half-life (at rest), if traveling close to "c". Phase velocities above "c". The phase velocity of an electromagnetic wave, when traveling through a medium, can routinely exceed "c", the vacuum velocity of light. For example, this occurs in most glasses at X-ray frequencies. However, the phase velocity of a wave corresponds to the propagation speed of a theoretical single-frequency (purely monochromatic) component of the wave at that frequency. Such a wave component must be infinite in extent and of constant amplitude (otherwise it is not truly monochromatic), and so cannot convey any information. Thus a phase velocity above "c" does not imply the propagation of signals with a velocity above "c". Group velocities above "c". The group velocity of a wave may also exceed "c" in some circumstances. In such cases, which typically at the same time involve rapid attenuation of the intensity, the maximum of the envelope of a pulse may travel with a velocity above "c". However, even this situation does not imply the propagation of signals with a velocity above "c", even though one may be tempted to associate pulse maxima with signals. The latter association has been shown to be misleading, because the information on the arrival of a pulse can be obtained before the pulse maximum arrives. For example, if some mechanism allows the full transmission of the leading part of a pulse while strongly attenuating the pulse maximum and everything behind (distortion), the pulse maximum is effectively shifted forward in time, while the information on the pulse does not come faster than "c" without this effect. However, group velocity can exceed "c" in some parts of a Gaussian beam in vacuum (without attenuation). The diffraction causes the peak of the pulse to propagate faster, while overall power does not. Universal expansion. The expansion of the universe causes distant galaxies to recede from us faster than the speed of light, if proper distance and cosmological time are used to calculate the speeds of these galaxies. However, in general relativity, velocity is a local notion, so velocity calculated using comoving coordinates does not have any simple relation to velocity calculated locally. (See Comoving and proper distances for a discussion of different notions of 'velocity' in cosmology.) Rules that apply to relative velocities in special relativity, such as the rule that relative velocities cannot increase past the speed of light, do not apply to relative velocities in comoving coordinates, which are often described in terms of the "expansion of space" between galaxies. This expansion rate is thought to have been at its peak during the inflationary epoch thought to have occurred in a tiny fraction of the second after the Big Bang (models suggest the period would have been from around 10−36 seconds after the Big Bang to around 10−33 seconds), when the universe may have rapidly expanded by a factor of around 1020 to 1030. There are many galaxies visible in telescopes with red shift numbers of 1.4 or higher. All of these are currently traveling away from us at speeds greater than the speed of light. Because the Hubble parameter is decreasing with time, there can actually be cases where a galaxy that is receding from us faster than light does manage to emit a signal which reaches us eventually. However, because the expansion of the universe is accelerating, it is projected that most galaxies will eventually cross a type of cosmological event horizon where any light they emit past that point will never be able to reach us at any time in the infinite future, because the light never reaches a point where its "peculiar velocity" towards us exceeds the expansion velocity away from us (these two notions of velocity are also discussed in Comoving and proper distances#Uses of the proper distance). The current distance to this cosmological event horizon is about 16 billion light-years, meaning that a signal from an event happening at present would eventually be able to reach us in the future if the event was less than 16 billion light-years away, but the signal would never reach us if the event was more than 16 billion light-years away. Astronomical observations. Apparent superluminal motion is observed in many radio galaxies, blazars, quasars, and recently also in microquasars. The effect was predicted before it was observed by Martin Rees and can be explained as an optical illusion caused by the object partly moving in the direction of the observer, when the speed calculations assume it does not. The phenomenon does not contradict the theory of special relativity. Corrected calculations show these objects have velocities close to the speed of light (relative to our reference frame). They are the first examples of large amounts of mass moving at close to the speed of light. Earth-bound laboratories have only been able to accelerate small numbers of elementary particles to such speeds. Quantum mechanics. Certain phenomena in quantum mechanics, such as quantum entanglement, might give the superficial impression of allowing communication of information faster than light. According to the no-communication theorem these phenomena do not allow true communication; they only let two observers in different locations see the same system simultaneously, without any way of controlling what either sees. Wavefunction collapse can be viewed as an epiphenomenon of quantum decoherence, which in turn is nothing more than an effect of the underlying local time evolution of the wavefunction of a system and "all" of its environment. Since the underlying behavior does not violate local causality or allow FTL communication, it follows that neither does the additional effect of wavefunction collapse, whether real "or" apparent. The uncertainty principle implies that individual photons may travel for short distances at speeds somewhat faster (or slower) than "c", even in vacuum; this possibility must be taken into account when enumerating Feynman diagrams for a particle interaction. However, it was shown in 2011 that a single photon may not travel faster than "c". In quantum mechanics, virtual particles may travel faster than light, and this phenomenon is related to the fact that static field effects (which are mediated by virtual particles in quantum terms) may travel faster than light (see section on static fields above). However, macroscopically these fluctuations average out, so that photons do travel in straight lines over long (i.e., non-quantum) distances, and they do travel at the speed of light on average. Therefore, this does not imply the possibility of superluminal information transmission. There have been various reports in the popular press of experiments on faster-than-light transmission in optics — most often in the context of a kind of quantum tunnelling phenomenon. Usually, such reports deal with a phase velocity or group velocity faster than the vacuum velocity of light. However, as stated above, a superluminal phase velocity cannot be used for faster-than-light transmission of information. Hartman effect. The Hartman effect is the tunneling effect through a barrier where the tunneling time tends to a constant for large barriers. This could, for instance, be the gap between two prisms. When the prisms are in contact, the light passes straight through, but when there is a gap, the light is refracted. There is a non-zero probability that the photon will tunnel across the gap rather than follow the refracted path. For large gaps between the prisms the tunnelling time approaches a constant and thus the photons appear to have crossed with a superluminal speed. However, the Hartman effect cannot actually be used to violate relativity by transmitting signals faster than "c", because the tunnelling time "should not be linked to a velocity since evanescent waves do not propagate". The evanescent waves in the Hartman effect are due to virtual particles and a non-propagating static field, as mentioned in the sections above for gravity and electromagnetism. Casimir effect. In physics, the Casimir–Polder force is a physical force exerted between separate objects due to resonance of vacuum energy in the intervening space between the objects. This is sometimes described in terms of virtual particles interacting with the objects, owing to the mathematical form of one possible way of calculating the strength of the effect. Because the strength of the force falls off rapidly with distance, it is only measurable when the distance between the objects is extremely small. Because the effect is due to virtual particles mediating a static field effect, it is subject to the comments about static fields discussed above. EPR paradox. The EPR paradox refers to a famous thought experiment of Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen that was realized experimentally for the first time by Alain Aspect in 1981 and 1982 in the Aspect experiment. In this experiment, the measurement of the state of one of the quantum systems of an entangled pair apparently instantaneously forces the other system (which may be distant) to be measured in the complementary state. However, no information can be transmitted this way; the answer to whether or not the measurement actually affects the other quantum system comes down to which interpretation of quantum mechanics one subscribes to. An experiment performed in 1997 by Nicolas Gisin has demonstrated non-local quantum correlations between particles separated by over 10 kilometers. But as noted earlier, the non-local correlations seen in entanglement cannot actually be used to transmit classical information faster than light, so that relativistic causality is preserved. The situation is akin to sharing a synchronized coin flip, where the second person to flip their coin will always see the opposite of what the first person sees, but neither has any way of knowing whether they were the first or second flipper, without communicating classically. See No-communication theorem for further information. A 2008 quantum physics experiment also performed by Nicolas Gisin and his colleagues has determined that in any hypothetical non-local hidden-variable theory, the speed of the quantum non-local connection (what Einstein called "spooky action at a distance") is at least 10,000 times the speed of light. Delayed choice quantum eraser. The delayed-choice quantum eraser is a version of the EPR paradox in which the observation (or not) of interference after the passage of a photon through a double slit experiment depends on the conditions of observation of a second photon entangled with the first. The characteristic of this experiment is that the observation of the second photon can take place at a later time than the observation of the first photon, which may give the impression that the measurement of the later photons "retroactively" determines whether the earlier photons show interference or not, although the interference pattern can only be seen by correlating the measurements of both members of every pair and so it can't be observed until both photons have been measured, ensuring that an experimenter watching only the photons going through the slit does not obtain information about the other photons in an FTL or backwards-in-time manner. Superluminal communication. Faster-than-light communication is, according to relativity, equivalent to time travel. What we measure as the speed of light in vacuum (or near vacuum) is actually the fundamental physical constant "c". This means that all inertial and, for the coordinate speed of light, non-inertial observers, regardless of their relative velocity, will always measure zero-mass particles such as photons traveling at "c" in vacuum. This result means that measurements of time and velocity in different frames are no longer related simply by constant shifts, but are instead related by Poincaré transformations. These transformations have important implications: Justifications. Casimir vacuum and quantum tunnelling. Special relativity postulates that the speed of light in vacuum is invariant in inertial frames. That is, it will be the same from any frame of reference moving at a constant speed. The equations do not specify any particular value for the speed of the light, which is an experimentally determined quantity for a fixed unit of length. Since 1983, the SI unit of length (the meter) has been defined using the speed of light. The experimental determination has been made in vacuum. However, the vacuum we know is not the only possible vacuum which can exist. The vacuum has energy associated with it, called simply the vacuum energy, which could perhaps be altered in certain cases. When vacuum energy is lowered, light itself has been predicted to go faster than the standard value "c". This is known as the Scharnhorst effect. Such a vacuum can be produced by bringing two perfectly smooth metal plates together at near atomic diameter spacing. It is called a Casimir vacuum. Calculations imply that light will go faster in such a vacuum by a minuscule amount: a photon traveling between two plates that are 1 micrometer apart would increase the photon's speed by only about one part in 1036. Accordingly, there has as yet been no experimental verification of the prediction. A recent analysis argued that the Scharnhorst effect cannot be used to send information backwards in time with a single set of plates since the plates' rest frame would define a "preferred frame" for FTL signalling. However, with multiple pairs of plates in motion relative to one another the authors noted that they had no arguments that could "guarantee the total absence of causality violations", and invoked Hawking's speculative chronology protection conjecture which suggests that feedback loops of virtual particles would create "uncontrollable singularities in the renormalized quantum stress-energy" on the boundary of any potential time machine, and thus would require a theory of quantum gravity to fully analyze. Other authors argue that Scharnhorst's original analysis, which seemed to show the possibility of faster-than-"c" signals, involved approximations which may be incorrect, so that it is not clear whether this effect could actually increase signal speed at all. The physicists Günter Nimtz and Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Cologne, claim to have violated relativity experimentally by transmitting photons faster than the speed of light. They say they have conducted an experiment in which microwave photons — relatively low-energy packets of light — travelled "instantaneously" between a pair of prisms that had been moved up to apart. Their experiment involved an optical phenomenon known as "evanescent modes", and they claim that since evanescent modes have an imaginary wave number, they represent a "mathematical analogy" to quantum tunnelling. Nimtz has also claimed that "evanescent modes are not fully describable by the Maxwell equations and quantum mechanics have to be taken into consideration." Other scientists such as Herbert G. Winful and Robert Helling have argued that in fact there is nothing quantum-mechanical about Nimtz's experiments, and that the results can be fully predicted by the equations of classical electromagnetism (Maxwell's equations). Nimtz told "New Scientist" magazine: "For the time being, this is the only violation of special relativity that I know of." However, other physicists say that this phenomenon does not allow information to be transmitted faster than light. Aephraim Steinberg, a quantum optics expert at the University of Toronto, Canada, uses the analogy of a train traveling from Chicago to New York, but dropping off train cars from the tail at each station along the way, so that the center of the ever-shrinking main train moves forward at each stop; in this way, the speed of the center of the train exceeds the speed of any of the individual cars. Winful argues that the train analogy is a variant of the "reshaping argument" for superluminal tunneling velocities, but he goes on to say that this argument is not actually supported by experiment or simulations, which actually show that the transmitted pulse has the same length and shape as the incident pulse. Instead, Winful argues that the group delay in tunneling is not actually the transit time for the pulse (whose spatial length must be greater than the barrier length in order for its spectrum to be narrow enough to allow tunneling), but is instead the lifetime of the energy stored in a standing wave which forms inside the barrier. Since the stored energy in the barrier is less than the energy stored in a barrier-free region of the same length due to destructive interference, the group delay for the energy to escape the barrier region is shorter than it would be in free space, which according to Winful is the explanation for apparently superluminal tunneling. A number of authors have published papers disputing Nimtz's claim that Einstein causality is violated by his experiments, and there are many other papers in the literature discussing why quantum tunneling is not thought to violate causality. It was later claimed by Eckle "et al." that particle tunneling does indeed occur in zero real time. Their tests involved tunneling electrons, where the group argued a relativistic prediction for tunneling time should be 500–600 attoseconds (an attosecond is one quintillionth (10−18) of a second). All that could be measured was 24 attoseconds, which is the limit of the test accuracy. Again, though, other physicists believe that tunneling experiments in which particles appear to spend anomalously short times inside the barrier are in fact fully compatible with relativity, although there is disagreement about whether the explanation involves reshaping of the wave packet or other effects. Give up (absolute) relativity. Because of the strong empirical support for special relativity, any modifications to it must necessarily be quite subtle and difficult to measure. The best-known attempt is doubly special relativity, which posits that the Planck length is also the same in all reference frames, and is associated with the work of Giovanni Amelino-Camelia and João Magueijo. There are speculative theories that claim inertia is produced by the combined mass of the universe (e.g., Mach's principle), which implies that the rest frame of the universe might be "preferred" by conventional measurements of natural law. If confirmed, this would imply special relativity is an approximation to a more general theory, but since the relevant comparison would (by definition) be outside the observable universe, it is difficult to imagine (much less construct) experiments to test this hypothesis. Despite this difficulty, such experiments have been proposed. Spacetime distortion. Although the theory of special relativity forbids objects to have a relative velocity greater than light speed, and general relativity reduces to special relativity in a local sense (in small regions of spacetime where curvature is negligible), general relativity does allow the space between distant objects to expand in such a way that they have a "recession velocity" which exceeds the speed of light, and it is thought that galaxies which are at a distance of more than about 14 billion light-years from us today have a recession velocity which is faster than light. Miguel Alcubierre theorized that it would be possible to create a warp drive, in which a ship would be enclosed in a "warp bubble" where the space at the front of the bubble is rapidly contracting and the space at the back is rapidly expanding, with the result that the bubble can reach a distant destination much faster than a light beam moving outside the bubble, but without objects inside the bubble locally traveling faster than light. However, several objections raised against the Alcubierre drive appear to rule out the possibility of actually using it in any practical fashion. Another possibility predicted by general relativity is the traversable wormhole, which could create a shortcut between arbitrarily distant points in space. As with the Alcubierre drive, travelers moving through the wormhole would not "locally" move faster than light travelling through the wormhole alongside them, but they would be able to reach their destination (and return to their starting location) faster than light traveling outside the wormhole. Gerald Cleaver and Richard Obousy, a professor and student of Baylor University, theorized that manipulating the extra spatial dimensions of string theory around a spaceship with an extremely large amount of energy would create a "bubble" that could cause the ship to travel faster than the speed of light. To create this bubble, the physicists believe manipulating the 10th spatial dimension would alter the dark energy in three large spatial dimensions: height, width and length. Cleaver said positive dark energy is currently responsible for speeding up the expansion rate of our universe as time moves on. Lorentz symmetry violation. The possibility that Lorentz symmetry may be violated has been seriously considered in the last two decades, particularly after the development of a realistic effective field theory that describes this possible violation, the so-called Standard-Model Extension. This general framework has allowed experimental searches by ultra-high energy cosmic-ray experiments and a wide variety of experiments in gravity, electrons, protons, neutrons, neutrinos, mesons, and photons. The breaking of rotation and boost invariance causes direction dependence in the theory as well as unconventional energy dependence that introduces novel effects, including Lorentz-violating neutrino oscillations and modifications to the dispersion relations of different particle species, which naturally could make particles move faster than light. In some models of broken Lorentz symmetry, it is postulated that the symmetry is still built into the most fundamental laws of physics, but that spontaneous symmetry breaking of Lorentz invariance shortly after the Big Bang could have left a "relic field" throughout the universe which causes particles to behave differently depending on their velocity relative to the field; however, there are also some models where Lorentz symmetry is broken in a more fundamental way. If Lorentz symmetry can cease to be a fundamental symmetry at the Planck scale or at some other fundamental scale, it is conceivable that particles with a critical speed different from the speed of light be the ultimate constituents of matter. In current models of Lorentz symmetry violation, the phenomenological parameters are expected to be energy-dependent. Therefore, as widely recognized, existing low-energy bounds cannot be applied to high-energy phenomena; however, many searches for Lorentz violation at high energies have been carried out using the Standard-Model Extension. Lorentz symmetry violation is expected to become stronger as one gets closer to the fundamental scale. Superfluid theories of physical vacuum. In this approach the physical vacuum is viewed as a quantum superfluid which is essentially non-relativistic whereas Lorentz symmetry is not an exact symmetry of nature but rather the approximate description valid only for the small fluctuations of the superfluid background. Within the framework of the approach a theory was proposed in which the physical vacuum is conjectured to be a quantum Bose liquid whose ground-state wavefunction is described by the logarithmic Schrödinger equation. It was shown that the relativistic gravitational interaction arises as the small-amplitude collective excitation mode whereas relativistic elementary particles can be described by the particle-like modes in the limit of low momenta. The important fact is that at very high velocities the behavior of the particle-like modes becomes distinct from the relativistic one - they can reach the speed of light limit at finite energy; also, faster-than-light propagation is possible without requiring moving objects to have imaginary mass. FTL Neutrino flight results. MINOS experiment. In 2007 the MINOS collaboration reported results measuring the flight-time of 3 GeV neutrinos yielding a speed exceeding that of light by 1.8-sigma significance. However, those measurements were considered to be statistically consistent with neutrinos traveling at the speed of light. After the detectors for the project were upgraded in 2012, MINOS corrected their initial result and found agreement with the speed of light. Further measurements are going to be conducted. OPERA neutrino anomaly. On September 22, 2011, a preprint from the OPERA Collaboration indicated detection of 17 and 28 GeV muon neutrinos, sent 730 kilometers (454 miles) from CERN near Geneva, Switzerland to the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, traveling faster than light by a relative amount of (approximately 1 in 40,000), a statistic with 6.0-sigma significance. On 17 November 2011, a second follow-up experiment by OPERA scientists confirmed their initial results. However, scientists were skeptical about the results of these experiments, the significance of which was disputed. In March 2012, the ICARUS collaboration failed to reproduce the OPERA results with their equipment, detecting neutrino travel time from CERN to the Gran Sasso National Laboratory indistinguishable from the speed of light. Later the OPERA team reported two flaws in their equipment set-up that had caused errors far outside their original confidence interval: a fiber optic cable attached improperly, which caused the apparently faster-than-light measurements, and a clock oscillator ticking too fast. Tachyons. In special relativity, it is impossible to accelerate an object the speed of light, or for a massive object to move the speed of light. However, it might be possible for an object to exist which moves faster than light. The hypothetical elementary particles with this property are called tachyons or tachyonic particles. Attempts to quantize them failed to produce faster-than-light particles, and instead illustrated that their presence leads to an instability. Various theorists have suggested that the neutrino might have a tachyonic nature, while others have disputed the possibility. General relativity. General relativity was developed after special relativity to include concepts like gravity. It maintains the principle that no object can accelerate to the speed of light in the reference frame of any coincident observer. However, it permits distortions in spacetime that allow an object to move faster than light from the point of view of a distant observer. One such distortion is the Alcubierre drive, which can be thought of as producing a ripple in spacetime that carries an object along with it. Another possible system is the wormhole, which connects two distant locations as though by a shortcut. Both distortions would need to create a very strong curvature in a highly localized region of space-time and their gravity fields would be immense. To counteract the unstable nature, and prevent the distortions from collapsing under their own 'weight', one would need to introduce hypothetical exotic matter or negative energy. General relativity also recognizes that any means of faster-than-light travel could also be used for time travel. This raises problems with causality. Many physicists believe that the above phenomena are impossible and that future theories of gravity will prohibit them. One theory states that stable wormholes are possible, but that any attempt to use a network of wormholes to violate causality would result in their decay. In string theory, Eric G. Gimon and Petr Hořava have argued that in a supersymmetric five-dimensional Gödel universe, quantum corrections to general relativity effectively cut off regions of spacetime with causality-violating closed timelike curves. In particular, in the quantum theory a smeared supertube is present that cuts the spacetime in such a way that, although in the full spacetime a closed timelike curve passed through every point, no complete curves exist on the interior region bounded by the tube.

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Raygun Gothic Raygun Gothic is a catchall term for a visual style that incorporates various aspects of the Googie, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architectural styles when applied to retrofuturistic science fiction environments. Academic Lance Olsen has characterised Raygun Gothic as "a tomorrow that never was". The style has also been associated with architectural indulgence, and situated in the context of the golden age of modern design due to its use of features such as "single-support beams, acute angles, brightly colored paneling" as well as "shapes and cutouts showing motion". Origin. The term was coined by William Gibson in his story "The Gernsback Continuum":

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Group mind (science fiction) A group mind, group ego, mind coalescence, or gestalt intelligence in science fiction is a plot device in which multiple minds, or consciousnesses, are linked into a single, collective consciousness or intelligence. The first alien hive society was depicted in H. G. Wells's "The First Men in the Moon" (1901) while the use of human hive minds in literature goes back at least as far as David H. Keller's "The Human Termites" (published in Wonder Stories in 1929) and Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel "Last and First Men" (1930), which is the first known use of the term "group mind" in science fiction. The use of the phrase "hive mind", however, was first recorded in 1943 in use in bee keeping and its first known use in sci-fi was James H. Schmitz's "Second Night of Summer" (1950). A group mind might be formed by any fictional plot device that facilitates brain to brain communication, such as telepathy. This term may be used interchangeably with hive mind. "Hive mind" tends to describe a group mind in which the linked individuals have no identity or free will and are possessed or mind-controlled as extensions of the hive mind. It is frequently associated with the concept of an entity that spreads among individuals and suppresses or subsumes their consciousness in the process of integrating them into its own collective consciousness. The concept of the group or hive mind is an intelligent version of real-life superorganisms such as a beehive or an ant colony. Some hive minds feature members that are controlled by a centralised 'hive brain' or 'hive queen' while others feature a decentralised approach where members interact equally or roughly equally to come to decisions. Hive minds are typically viewed in a negative light, especially in earlier works, though some newer works portray them as neutral or positive. List of hive minds. As conceived in speculative fiction, hive minds often imply (almost) complete loss (or lack) of individuality, identity, and personhood. The individuals forming the hive may specialize in different functions, similarly to social insects. List of non-hive group minds. A group mind that is not a hive mind: the individuals retain their identities and free will, and can join or sever from the group mind of their own volition. Some examples can have characteristics of both a hive mind and group mind. There is not always a clear cut dividing line: some "Star Trek" Borg drones such as Seven of Nine have been forcibly split from the collective.

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Profanity in science fiction Profanity in science fiction (SF) shares all of the issues of profanity in fiction in general, but has several unique aspects of its own, including the use of alien profanities (such as the alien expletive "shazbot!" from "Mork & Mindy", a word that briefly enjoyed popular usage outside of that television show). Extent of usage. In his advice to other SF writers, Orson Scott Card states that there are no hard-and-fast rules for the use of profanity in SF stories, despite what may have been expected of writers in the past. The onus is squarely on the writer to determine how much profanity to use, to enquire as to each publisher's limits, and to think about the effect that the use of profanity will have on the reader, both in perceiving the characters and in possibly being offended by the story as a whole. Card urges those writers who do decide to omit profanity from their stories to omit it completely. He regards the coinage of "tanj" ("There Ain't No Justice") by Larry Niven as a "noble experiment" that "proved that euphemisms are often worse than the crudities that they replace", because they make the story look silly. In Card's opinion, such nonce words simply do not work. Ruth Wajnryb shares this opinion, stating that "tanj" or "flarn" do not work as profanities because they are not real, and are "just a futile attempt to give clean-cut stories some foul-mouthed action". Jes Battis observes, in contrast, that the use of "frell" and "dren" in "Farscape" allowed the television series to get away with dialogue that would normally never have made it past broadcasting and network censorship. The words are respectively equivalent to "fuck" and "shit" and are used as both interjections and nouns in the series. In the episode "Suns and Lovers", for example, Aeryn Sun says "frell me dead!" as an exclamation of surprise, much as a real-world person would utter "well, fuck me!" or, indeed, "fuck me dead!" Battis also notes that "Firefly" used a similar strategy, by using Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese for all profanities, also using the word "gorram" as a replacement for "god damn", a phrase usually considered blasphemous. Likewise, dialogue in "Battlestar Galactica" is liberally peppered with the word "frak" ('fuck'). Similarly, invented expletives are used throughout the "Star Wars" expanded universe. For example, the Alderaanian expletive "stang" was introduced in the 1978 novel "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" and subsequently used in "Star Wars" novels, comic books, and games. Also, "Star Wars" authors commonly use the Huttese curse "fierfek", first introduced in a short story published in the 1996 anthology "Tales from Jabba's Palace", and the Corelian curse "sithspawn", first introduced in the 1994/1995 comic book series "Dark Empire II". Parke Godwin opines that excessive profanity, as a part of naturalistic dialogue, "dulls much modern fiction and too many films" and states it to be a pitfall for novice writers, or for writers who never grow up, to fall into. He states that it is a "lazy copout that no longer frightens horses in the street, merely annoys and ultimately bores an intelligent reader". He advises writers that "less is more", and that if it really is the right thing for a character to be "salty", it should be made clear to the reader why, observing as an example that in his science fiction novel "Limbo Search" the profanity used by character Janice Tyne is a symptom of her fear and tension, caused by being burned out at age 27 and afraid of the future. Wanda Raiford observes that the use of the nonce word "frak" in both "Battlestar Galactica" series is "an indispensable part of the naturalistic tone that show strives to achieve", noting that it, and "toaster" (a racial epithet for Cylons), allow the show to use obscene and racialist dialogue that no real-life educated American adult would consider using the real-life equivalents of in polite company. She compares the racial hatred associated with the use of "nigger" (an utterance of which she states to have preceded and accompanied "every lynching of a black person in America") to the racial hatred of the Cylons, by the humans, that the use of such phrases as "frakking toasters" indicates in the series. She also observes that several of the characters, including Gaius Baltar, are "frakking toaster lovers". In the series of "" novels by Peter David, the principal protagonist, Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, frequently utters the word "grozit", a curse from his home world of Xenex. It is understood to be the equivalent to "shit". The 2005 video game "" also used "fierfek", the expletive popular in the "Star Wars" franchise. This word is described in-universe as being an alien loan-word originally meaning 'poison', but has been adopted by the game's special forces protagonists as a curse word to make the illusion of playing as commandos more believable. Fictional profanities. Profanity in SF also encompasses the idea of things that "alien cultures" might find profane, and the notion that what non-humans and humans find to be profane may differ markedly. Card observes that human profanity encompasses words dealing with sexual intercourse and states that that tells one something about human beings. He proceeds to suggest that what aliens might find to be profane can be a useful tool for suggesting the alienness of a culture. The first example of this that he gives are alien cultures that have no trouble with words about sexual intercourse, but that find words to do with "eating" to be profane. "" made use of this concept in the episode "Vox Sola". The second example Card provides is that of alien cultures where the idea of property ownership is considered to be as obscene as pederasty. Douglas Adams's "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" at one point mentions that the word Belgium is the worst profanity in the galaxy. In other contexts. As mentioned above, "shazbot" briefly enjoyed popular usage outside of its television show. "Battlestar Galactica"s "frak", a word that Lee Goldberg characterizes as "something truly amazing and subversive" and that Scott Adams calls "pure genius", has also escaped its original context. Originally spelled "frack", it along with "felgercarb" were coined by writer Glen A. Larson for the 1978 "Battlestar Galactica", for much the same reasons that "frell" and "dren" were coined for "Farscape": the ability to use profane dialogue, with words that would be immediately understood as synonymous with the real profanities that they stood in for, without falling foul of network censorship and broadcasting restrictions accompanying its original Sunday evening broadcast timeslot. The producers re-spelled the word "frak" for the 2004 "Battlestar Galactica" series, in order to make it, literally, a four-letter word; the word appears in several Black Library novels before then, most notably the Ciaphas Cain series. It has escaped, in both forms, from the series to a whole variety of other contexts, from a "Dilbert" cartoon strip where Dilbert mutters it, through other television shows including "The Office", "Gossip Girl", "Veronica Mars", "30 Rock", and "Scrubs", and Robert Crais' Elvis Cole novel "Chasing Darkness", to everyday spoken use. The BBC Two science fiction television series "Red Dwarf" replaces most of its characters' profanities with invented terms, mainly "smeg" (possibly a truncation of "smegma") and its compound "smeg-head". Other common insults are "goit" and "gimboid".

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List of fictional artificial intelligences This list is for fictional artificial intelligences.

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Time loop The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. The term "time loop" is sometimes used to refer to a causal loop; however, causal loops are unchanging and self-originating, whereas time loops are constantly resetting: when a certain condition is met, such as a death of a character or a clock reaching a certain time, the loop starts again, possibly with one or more characters retaining the memories from the previous loop. History. An early example of a time loop is used in the short story "Doubled and Redoubled" by Malcolm Jameson that appeared in the February 1941 "Unknown". The story tells of a person accidentally cursed to repeat a "perfect" day, including a lucky bet, a promotion, a heroically foiled bank robbery, and a successful wedding proposal. Other early examples include the 1973 short story "" and its , the Soviet film "Mirror for a Hero" (1988), and the American film "Groundhog Day" (1993). Japanese popular culture. The time loop is a familiar trope in Japanese pop culture media, especially anime. Its use in Japanese fiction dates back to Yasutaka Tsutsui's science fiction novel, "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" (1965), one of the earliest works to feature a time loop, about a high school girl who repeatedly relives the same day. It was later adapted into a 1972 live-action Japanese television series, a hit 1983 live-action film, a 2006 anime film, and a . The 1983 live-action film adaptation of "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" was a major box office success in Japan, where it was the second highest-grossing Japanese film of 1983. Its success was soon followed by numerous anime and manga using the time loop concept, starting with Mamoru Oshii's anime film "" (1984), and then the manga and anime series "Kimagure Orange Road" (1984–1988). The time loop has since become a familiar anime trope. Other popular Japanese works that use the time loop concept include Hiroyuki Kanno's science fiction visual novel ' (1996), the visual novel and anime franchise "Higurashi When They Cry" (2002), the light novel and anime franchise "Haruhi Suzumiya" (2003), Mamoru Oshii's Japanese cyberpunk anime film ' (2004), Hiroshi Sakurazaka's sci-fi light novel "All You Need is Kill" (2004) which was adapted into the Tom Cruise starring Hollywood film "Edge of Tomorrow" (2014), and the sci-fi visual novel and anime franchise "Steins;Gate" (2009). As a puzzle. Stories with time loops commonly center on the character learning from each successive loop through time. Jeremy Douglass, Janet Murray, Noah Falstein and others compare time loops with video games and other interactive media, where a character in a loop learns about their environment more and more with each passing loop, and the loop ends with complete mastery of the character's environment. Shaila Garcia-Catalán et al. provide a similar analysis, saying that the usual way for the protagonist out of a time loop is acquiring knowledge, using retained memories to progress and eventually exit the loop. The time loop is then a problem-solving process, and the narrative becomes akin to an interactive puzzle. The presentation of a time loop as a puzzle has subsequently led to video games that are centered on the time loop mechanic, giving the player the ability to learn and figure out the rules themselves. Games like "", "Minit", "The Sexy Brutale", "Outer Wilds", "12 Minutes", "Returnal" and "Deathloop" were all designed to allow the player to figure out the loop's sequences of events and then navigate their character through a loop a final time to successfully complete the game. According to Raul Rubio, the CEO of Tequila Works that created "The Sexy Brutale", "Time loops allow players to train to get better at the game, faster, smarter, by experimenting from a fixed starting situation, and seeing what it works to move 'forward' within the loop and adding something else to that structure to build a solid process."

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Transhumanism in fiction Many of the tropes of science fiction can be viewed as similar to the goals of transhumanism. Science fiction literature contains many positive depictions of technologically enhanced human life, occasionally set in utopian (especially techno-utopian) societies. However, science fiction's depictions of technologically enhanced humans or other posthuman beings frequently come with a cautionary twist. The more pessimistic scenarios include many dystopian tales of human bioengineering gone wrong. Examples of "transhumanist fiction" include novels by Linda Nagata, Greg Egan, Zoltan Istvan, and Hannu Rajaniemi. Transhuman novels are often philosophical in nature, exploring the impact such technologies might have on human life. Nagata's novels, for example, explore the relationship between the natural and artificial, and suggest that while transhuman modifications of nature may be beneficial, they may also be hazardous, so should not be lightly undertaken. Egan's Diaspora explores the nature of ideas such as reproduction and questions if they make sense in a post-human context. Istvan's novel "The Transhumanist Wager" explores how far one person would go to achieve an indefinite lifespan via science and technology. Rajaniemi's novel, while more action oriented, still explores themes such as death and finitude in post-human life. Fictional depictions of transhumanist scenarios are also seen in other media, such as movies ("Transcendence"), television series (the Ancients of "Stargate SG-1"), manga and anime ("Ghost in the Shell"), role-playing games ("Rifts" and "Eclipse Phase") and video games ("Deus Ex" or "BioShock"). Transhumanist literature. History. Among the earliest works to portray transhumanism is the story of Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. Victor himself is an early transhumanist character, attempting to overcome death through chemistry. The moral of the story is that man should not try to play God, serving as a criticism of the values of the transhumanist ideology that science and technology can be used to overcome the human condition. Following Mary Shelley's work, several of the stories by H.G. Wells also address this theme. The Invisible Man and The Island of Dr. Moreau both involve scientific men whose failed experiments in tampering with nature result in the story's conflict. The cyberpunk genre is heavily influenced by transhumanism, generally criticizing the use of technology to improve human life by showing the consequences resulting in its misuse. Works such as Neuromancer, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and the manga series Akira, all demonstrate worlds unbridled with technological advancement to improve the human race, used to reinforce divides among social classes. The idea of high-tech, low-life, results in rampant poverty frequently exploited by an upper-class made immortal through cybernetic enhancement. Author and academic Robert M. Geraci states that cyberpunk as a genre attempts to caution against transhumanism by exposing the problematic elements of the social economy that supports it. In television and film. The science fiction film genre has always had a hand in exploring transhumanism and the ethics and implications surrounding it. In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, however, there has been a surge of films and television shows focusing on the superhero genre. There are many superheroes whose stories are propelled or entirely result from dealings with transhumanism. From Iron Man to The Batman saga, there have been plenty of heroes who did not receive their powers naturally, and therefore represent the great leap human beings may take into improving their own condition. Additionally, because these films represent the most popular trend in the medium today, they indeed represent a glimpse into the ideological shift of western culture as a whole. The fixation on normal men and women improving themselves artificially seems to have become a very widely accepted and celebrated idea.

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Rubber science Rubber science is a science fiction term describing a quasi-scientific explanation for an aspect of a science fiction setting. Rubber science explanations are fictional but convincing enough to avoid upsetting the suspension of disbelief. Rubber science is a feature of most genres of science fiction, with the exception of hard science fiction. It is also frequently invoked in comic books. The term was coined by Norman Spinrad in an essay entitled "Rubber Sciences", in Reginald Bretnor's anthology "The Craft of Science Fiction." Usage. Rubber science was Spinrad's term for "pseudo-science ... made up by the writer with literary care that it not be discontinuous with the reader's realm of the possible." The term and concept have subsequently been adopted by science fiction writers to describe science based on "speculation, extrapolation, fabrication or invention." For example, "" script consultant Andre Bormanis used "the so-called rubber science or the very speculative, consistent with reality" when he was unable to find scientific explanations "based in fairly well-established real science". Some science fiction authors have used the term disparagingly. Bill Ransom associates rubber science with science fiction of the 1940s-1950s, an era marked by "lots of cool gadgets," before "the genre became more character driven" under the influence of writers such as Frank Herbert and Samuel Delaney, focusing on humans rather than technology solving dilemmas. Lucius Shepard, responding to a negative review by George Turner, decried the suggestion that he "haul a gob of rubber science out of the vat in order to justify and explain [his] physics". Ann C. Crispin considered "Star Trek"'s rubber science to be a forgivable flaw. Reviewers have used the term to praise deft or plausible scientific explanations, and to criticise underdeveloped or distracting worldbuilding; for instance, a "Washington Post" review criticized Orson Scott Card's novel "Xenocide" for its "chapter long dialogues about rubber science".

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Space colonization Space colonization (also called space settlement or extraterrestrial colonization) is the hypothetical permanent habitation and exploitation of natural resources from outside planet Earth. As such it is a form of human presence in space, beyond human spaceflight or operating space outposts. Many arguments have been made for and against space colonization. The two most common in favor of colonization are survival of human civilization and the biosphere in the event of a planetary-scale disaster (natural or human-made), and the availability of additional resources in space that could enable expansion of human society. The most common objections to colonization include concerns that the commodification of the cosmos may be likely to enhance the interests of the already powerful, including major economic and military institutions, and to exacerbate pre-existing detrimental processes such as wars, economic inequality, and environmental degradation. No space colonies have been built so far. Currently, the building of a space colony would present a set of huge technological and economic challenges. Space settlements would have to provide for nearly all (or all) the material needs of hundreds or thousands of humans, in an environment out in space that is very hostile to human life. They would involve technologies, such as controlled ecological life-support systems, that have yet to be developed in any meaningful way. They would also have to deal with the as-yet unknown issue of how humans would behave and thrive in such places long-term. Because of the present cost of sending anything from the surface of the Earth into orbit (around $1400 per kg, or $640 per-pound, to low Earth orbit by Falcon Heavy), a space colony would currently be a massively expensive project. There are yet no plans for building space colonies by any large-scale organization, either government or private. However, many proposals, speculations, and designs for space settlements have been made through the years, and a considerable number of space colonization advocates and groups are active. Several famous scientists, such as Freeman Dyson, have come out in favor of space settlement. On the technological front, there is ongoing progress in making access to space cheaper (reusable launch systems could reach $20 per kg to orbit), and in creating automated manufacturing and construction techniques. Definition. The term is sometimes applied to any permanent human presence, even robotic, but particularly, along with the term "settlement", it is applied to any permanent human space habitat, from research stations to self-sustaining communities. The word colony and colonization are terms rooted in colonial history on Earth, making it a human geographic as well as particularly a political term. This broad use for any permanent human activity and development in space has been criticized, particularly as colonialist and undifferentiated. Reasons. Survival of human civilization. The primary argument calling for space colonization is the long-term survival of human civilization and terrestrial life. By developing alternative locations off Earth, the planet's species, including humans, could live on in the event of natural or human-made disasters on our own planet. On two occasions, theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking argued for space colonization as a means of saving humanity. In 2001, Hawking predicted that the human race would become extinct within the next thousand years, unless colonies could be established in space. In 2010, he stated that humanity faces two options: either we colonize space within the next two hundred years, or we will face the long-term prospect of extinction. In 2005, then NASA Administrator Michael Griffin identified space colonization as the ultimate goal of current spaceflight programs, saying: Louis J. Halle, formerly of the United States Department of State, wrote in "Foreign Affairs" (Summer 1980) that the colonization of space will protect humanity in the event of global nuclear warfare. The physicist Paul Davies also supports the view that if a planetary catastrophe threatens the survival of the human species on Earth, a self-sufficient colony could "reverse-colonize" Earth and restore human civilization. The author and journalist William E. Burrows and the biochemist Robert Shapiro proposed a private project, the Alliance to Rescue Civilization, with the goal of establishing an off-Earth "backup" of human civilization. Based on his Copernican principle, J. Richard Gott has estimated that the human race could survive for another 7.8 million years, but it is not likely to ever colonize other planets. However, he expressed a hope to be proven wrong, because "colonizing other worlds is our best chance to hedge our bets and improve the survival prospects of our species". In a theoretical study from 2019, a group of researchers have pondered the long-term trajectory of human civilization. It is argued that due to Earth's finitude as well as the limited duration of the Solar System, mankind's survival into the far future will very likely require extensive space colonization. This 'astronomical trajectory' of mankind, as it is termed, could come about in four steps: First step, plenty of space colonies could be established at various habitable locations — be it in outer space or on celestial bodies away from planet earth — and allowed to remain dependent on support from earth for a start. Second step, these colonies could gradually become self-sufficient, enabling them to survive if or when the mother civilization on earth fails or dies. Third step, the colonies could develop and expand their habitation by themselves on their space stations or celestial bodies, for example via terraforming. Fourth step, the colonies could self-replicate and establish new colonies further into space, a process that could then repeat itself and continue at an exponential rate throughout cosmos. However, this astronomical trajectory may not be a lasting one, as it will most likely be interrupted and eventually decline due to resource depletion or straining competition between various human factions, bringing about some 'star wars' scenario. In the very far future, mankind is expected to become extinct in any case, as no civilization — whether human or alien — will ever outlive the limited duration of cosmos itself. Vast resources in space. Resources in space, both in materials and energy, are enormous. The Solar System alone has, according to different estimates, enough material and energy to support anywhere from several thousand to over a billion times that of the current Earth-based human population, mostly from the Sun itself. Outside the Solar System, several hundred billion other planets in the Milky Way alone provide opportunities for both colonization and resource collection, though travel to any of them is impossible on any practical time-scale without interstellar travel by use of generation ships or revolutionary new methods of travel, such as faster-than-light (FTL). Asteroid mining will also be a key player in space colonization. Water and materials to make structures and shielding can be easily found in asteroids. Instead of resupplying on Earth, mining and fuel stations need to be established on asteroids to facilitate better space travel. Optical mining is the term NASA uses to describe extracting materials from asteroids. NASA believes by using propellant derived from asteroids for exploration to the moon, Mars, and beyond will save $100 billion. If funding and technology come sooner than estimated, asteroid mining might be possible within a decade. All these planets and other bodies offer a virtually endless supply of resources providing limitless growth potential. Harnessing these resources can lead to much economic development. Expansion with fewer negative consequences. Expansion of humans and technological progress has usually resulted in some form of environmental devastation, and destruction of ecosystems and their accompanying wildlife. In the past, expansion has often come at the expense of displacing many indigenous peoples, the resulting treatment of these peoples ranging anywhere from encroachment to genocide. Because space has no known life, this need not be a consequence, as some space settlement advocates have pointed out. Arguments against this logic state, that changing only the location but not the logic of exploitation will not create a more sustainable future. Alleviating overpopulation and resource demand. Another argument for space colonization is to mitigate the negative effects of overpopulation. If the resources of space were opened to use and viable life-supporting habitats were built, Earth would no longer define the limitations of growth. Although many of Earth's resources are non-renewable, off-planet colonies could satisfy the majority of the planet's resource requirements. With the availability of extraterrestrial resources, demand on terrestrial ones would decline. Many science fiction authors, including Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, and Isaac Asimov, have argued that shipping any excess population into space is not a viable solution to human overpopulation. According to Clarke, "the population battle must be fought or won here on Earth". The problem for these authors is not the lack of resources in space (as shown in books such as "Mining the Sky"), but the physical impracticality of shipping vast numbers of people into space to "solve" overpopulation on Earth. Other arguments. Advocates for space colonization cite a presumed innate human drive to explore and discover, and call it a quality at the core of progress and thriving civilizations. Nick Bostrom has argued that from a utilitarian perspective, space colonization should be a chief goal as it would enable a very large population to live for a very long period of time (possibly billions of years), which would produce an enormous amount of utility (or happiness). He claims that it is more important to reduce existential risks to increase the probability of eventual colonization than to accelerate technological development so that space colonization could happen sooner. In his paper, he assumes that the created lives will have positive ethical value despite the problem of suffering. In a 2001 interview with Freeman Dyson, J. Richard Gott and Sid Goldstein, they were asked for reasons why some humans should live in space. Their answers were: Biotic ethics is a branch of ethics that values life itself. For biotic ethics, and their extension to space as panbiotic ethics, it is a human purpose to secure and propagate life and to use space to maximize life. Pursuance. Although some items of the infrastructure requirements above can already be easily produced on Earth and would therefore not be very valuable as trade items (oxygen, water, base metal ores, silicates, etc.), other high value items are more abundant, more easily produced, of higher quality, or can only be produced in space. These would provide (over the long-term) a very high return on the initial investment in space infrastructure. Some of these high-value trade goods include precious metals, gemstones, power, solar cells, ball bearings, semi-conductors, and pharmaceuticals. The mining and extraction of metals from a small asteroid the size of 3554 Amun or (6178) 1986 DA, both small near-Earth asteroids, would be 30 times as much metal as humans have mined throughout history. A metal asteroid this size would be worth approximately US$20 trillion at 2001 market prices Space colonization is seen as a long-term goal of some national space programs. Since the advent of the 21st-century commercialization of space, which saw greater cooperation between NASA and the private sector, several private companies have announced plans toward the colonization of Mars. Among entrepreneurs leading the call for space colonization are Elon Musk, Dennis Tito and Bas Lansdorp. The main impediments to commercial exploitation of these resources are the very high cost of initial investment, the very long period required for the expected return on those investments ("The Eros Project" plans a 50-year development), and the fact that the venture has never been carried out before—the high-risk nature of the investment. Major governments and well-funded corporations have announced plans for new categories of activities: space tourism and hotels, prototype space-based solar-power satellites, heavy-lift boosters and asteroid mining—that create needs and capabilities for humans to be present in space. Method. Building colonies in space would require access to water, food, space, people, construction materials, energy, transportation, communications, life support, simulated gravity, radiation protection and capital investment. It is likely the colonies would be located near the necessary physical resources. The practice of space architecture seeks to transform spaceflight from a heroic test of human endurance to a normality within the bounds of comfortable experience. As is true of other frontier-opening endeavors, the capital investment necessary for space colonization would probably come from governments, an argument made by John Hickman and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Materials. Colonies on the Moon, Mars, asteroids, or the metal rich planet Mercury, could extract local materials. The Moon is deficient in volatiles such as argon, helium and compounds of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. The LCROSS impacter was targeted at the Cabeus crater which was chosen as having a high concentration of water for the Moon. A plume of material erupted in which some water was detected. Mission chief scientist Anthony Colaprete estimated that the Cabeus crater contains material with 1% water or possibly more. Water ice should also be in other permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles. Although helium is present only in low concentrations on the Moon, where it is deposited into regolith by the solar wind, an estimated million tons of He-3 exists over all. It also has industrially significant oxygen, silicon, and metals such as iron, aluminum, and titanium. Launching materials from Earth is expensive, so bulk materials for colonies could come from the Moon, a near-Earth object (NEO), Phobos, or Deimos. The benefits of using such sources include: a lower gravitational force, no atmospheric drag on cargo vessels, and no biosphere to damage. Many NEOs contain substantial amounts of metals. Underneath a drier outer crust (much like oil shale), some other NEOs are inactive comets which include billions of tons of water ice and kerogen hydrocarbons, as well as some nitrogen compounds. Farther out, Jupiter's Trojan asteroids are thought to be rich in water ice and other volatiles. Recycling of some raw materials would almost certainly be necessary. Energy. Solar energy in orbit is abundant, reliable, and is commonly used to power satellites today. There is no night in free space, and no clouds or atmosphere to block sunlight. Light intensity obeys an inverse-square law. So the solar energy available at distance "d" from the Sun is "E" = 1367/"d"2 W/m2, where "d" is measured in astronomical units (AU) and 1367 watts/m2 is the energy available at the distance of Earth's orbit from the Sun, 1 AU. In the weightlessness and vacuum of space, high temperatures for industrial processes can easily be achieved in solar ovens with huge parabolic reflectors made of metallic foil with very lightweight support structures. Flat mirrors to reflect sunlight around radiation shields into living areas (to avoid line-of-sight access for cosmic rays, or to make the Sun's image appear to move across their "sky") or onto crops are even lighter and easier to build. Large solar power photovoltaic cell arrays or thermal power plants would be needed to meet the electrical power needs of the settlers' use. In developed parts of Earth, electrical consumption can average 1 kilowatt/person (or roughly 10 megawatt-hours per person per year.) These power plants could be at a short distance from the main structures if wires are used to transmit the power, or much farther away with wireless power transmission. A major export of the initial space settlement designs was anticipated to be large solar power satellites (SPS) that would use wireless power transmission (phase-locked microwave beams or lasers emitting wavelengths that special solar cells convert with high efficiency) to send power to locations on Earth, or to colonies on the Moon or other locations in space. For locations on Earth, this method of getting power is extremely benign, with zero emissions and far less ground area required per watt than for conventional solar panels. Once these satellites are primarily built from lunar or asteroid-derived materials, the price of SPS electricity could be lower than energy from fossil fuel or nuclear energy; replacing these would have significant benefits such as the elimination of greenhouse gases and nuclear waste from electricity generation. Transmitting solar energy wirelessly from the Earth to the Moon and back is also an idea proposed for the benefit of space colonization and energy resources. Physicist Dr. David Criswell, who worked for NASA during the Apollo missions, came up with the idea of using power beams to transfer energy from space. These beams, microwaves with a wavelength of about 12 cm, will be almost untouched as they travel through the atmosphere. They can also be aimed at more industrial areas to keep away from humans or animal activities. This will allow for safer and more reliable methods of transferring solar energy. In 2008, scientists were able to send a 20 watt microwave signal from a mountain in Maui to the island of Hawaii. Since then JAXA and Mitsubishi has teamed up on a $21 billion project in order to place satellites in orbit which could generate up to 1 gigawatt of energy. These are the next advancements being done today in order to make energy be transmitted wirelessly for space-based solar energy. However, the value of SPS power delivered wirelessly to other locations in space will typically be far higher than to Earth. Otherwise, the means of generating the power would need to be included with these projects and pay the heavy penalty of Earth launch costs. Therefore, other than proposed demonstration projects for power delivered to Earth, the first priority for SPS electricity is likely to be locations in space, such as communications satellites, fuel depots or "orbital tugboat" boosters transferring cargo and passengers between low Earth orbit (LEO) and other orbits such as geosynchronous orbit (GEO), lunar orbit or highly-eccentric Earth orbit (HEEO). The system will also rely on satellites and receiving stations on Earth to convert the energy into electricity. Because of this energy can be transmitted easily from dayside to nightside meaning power is reliable 24/7. Nuclear power is sometimes proposed for colonies located on the Moon or on Mars, as the supply of solar energy is too discontinuous in these locations; the Moon has nights of two Earth weeks in duration. Mars has nights, relatively high gravity, and an atmosphere featuring large dust storms to cover and degrade solar panels. Also, Mars' greater distance from the Sun (1.52 astronomical units, AU) means that only "1/1.522" or about 43% of the solar energy is available at Mars compared with Earth orbit. Another method would be transmitting energy wirelessly to the lunar or Martian colonies from solar power satellites (SPSs) as described above; the difficulties of generating power in these locations make the relative advantages of SPSs much greater there than for power beamed to locations on Earth. In order to also be able to fulfill the requirements of a Moon base and energy to supply life support, maintenance, communications, and research, a combination of both nuclear and solar energy will be used in the first colonies. For both solar thermal and nuclear power generation in airless environments, such as the Moon and space, and to a lesser extent the very thin Martian atmosphere, one of the main difficulties is dispersing the inevitable heat generated. This requires fairly large radiator areas. Life support. In space settlements, a life support system must recycle or import all the nutrients without "crashing." The closest terrestrial analogue to space life support is possibly that of a nuclear submarine. Nuclear submarines use mechanical life support systems to support humans for months without surfacing, and this same basic technology could presumably be employed for space use. However, nuclear submarines run "open loop"—extracting oxygen from seawater, and typically dumping carbon dioxide overboard, although they recycle existing oxygen. Recycling of the carbon dioxide has been approached in the literature using the Sabatier process or the Bosch reaction. Although a fully mechanistic life support system is conceivable, a closed ecological system is generally proposed for life support. The Biosphere 2 project in Arizona has shown that a complex, small, enclosed, human-made biosphere can support eight people for at least a year, although there were many problems. A year or so into the two-year mission oxygen had to be replenished, which strongly suggests that the mission failed. The relationship between organisms, their habitat and the non-Earth environment can be: A combination of the above technologies is also possible. Radiation protection. Cosmic rays and solar flares create a lethal radiation environment in space. In Earth orbit, the Van Allen belts make living above the Earth's atmosphere difficult. To protect life, settlements must be surrounded by sufficient mass to absorb most incoming radiation, unless magnetic or plasma radiation shields were developed. Passive mass shielding of four metric tons per square meter of surface area will reduce radiation dosage to several mSv or less annually, well below the rate of some populated high natural background areas on Earth. This can be leftover material (slag) from processing lunar soil and asteroids into oxygen, metals, and other useful materials. However, it represents a significant obstacle to maneuvering vessels with such massive bulk (mobile spacecraft being particularly likely to use less massive active shielding). Inertia would necessitate powerful thrusters to start or stop rotation, or electric motors to spin two massive portions of a vessel in opposite senses. Shielding material can be stationary around a rotating interior. To protect from radiation they say to bundle up in the thickest clothes possible so that the cloth can absorb the radiation and prevent it from getting to your body. Self-replication. Space manufacturing could enable self-replication. Some think it's the ultimate goal because it allows an exponential increase in colonies, while eliminating costs to and dependence on Earth. It could be argued that the establishment of such a colony would be Earth's first act of self-replication. Intermediate goals include colonies that expect only information from Earth (science, engineering, entertainment) and colonies that just require periodic supply of light weight objects, such as integrated circuits, medicines, genetic material and tools. Psychological adjustment. The monotony and loneliness that comes from a prolonged space mission can leave astronauts susceptible to cabin fever or having a psychotic break. Moreover, lack of sleep, fatigue, and work overload can affect an astronaut's ability to perform well in an environment such as space where every action is critical. Population size. In 2002, the anthropologist John H. Moore estimated that a population of 150–180 would permit a stable society to exist for 60 to 80 generations—equivalent to 2000 years. A much smaller initial population of as little as two women should be viable as long as human embryos are available from Earth. Use of a sperm bank from Earth also allows a smaller starting base with negligible inbreeding. Researchers in conservation biology have tended to adopt the "50/500" rule of thumb initially advanced by Franklin and Soule. This rule says a short-term effective population size ("N"e) of 50 is needed to prevent an unacceptable rate of inbreeding, whereas a long‐term "N"e of 500 is required to maintain overall genetic variability. The "N"e = 50 prescription corresponds to an inbreeding rate of 1% per generation, approximately half the maximum rate tolerated by domestic animal breeders. The "N"e = 500 value attempts to balance the rate of gain in genetic variation due to mutation with the rate of loss due to genetic drift. Assuming a journey of 6,300 years, the astrophysicist Frédéric Marin and the particle physicist Camille Beluffi calculated that the minimum viable population for a generation ship to reach Proxima Centauri would be 98 settlers at the beginning of the mission (then the crew will breed until reaching a stable population of several hundred settlers within the ship) . In 2020, Jean-Marc Salotti proposed a method to determine the minimum number of settlers to survive on an extraterrestrial world. It is based on the comparison between the required time to perform all activities and the working time of all human resources. For Mars, 110 individuals would be required. Money and currency. Experts have debated on the possible usage of money and currencies in societies that will be established in space. The Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination, or QUID, is a physical currency made from a space-qualified polymer PTFE for inter-planetary travelers. QUID was designed for the foreign exchange company Travelex by scientists from Britain's National Space Centre and the University of Leicester. Other possibilities include the incorporation of cryptocurrency as the primary form of currency, as suggested by Elon Musk. Locations. Location is a frequent point of contention between space colonization advocates. The location of colonization can be on a physical body planet, dwarf planet, natural satellite, or asteroid or orbiting one. For colonies not on a body see also space habitat. Near-Earth space. The Moon. Due to its proximity and familiarity, Earth's Moon is discussed as a target for colonization. It has the benefits of proximity to Earth and lower escape velocity, allowing for easier exchange of goods and services. A drawback of the Moon is its low abundance of volatiles necessary for life such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon. Water-ice deposits that exist in some polar craters could serve as a source for these elements. An alternative solution is to bring hydrogen from near-Earth asteroids and combine it with oxygen extracted from lunar rock. The Moon's low surface gravity is also a concern, as it is unknown whether 1/6g is enough to maintain human health for long periods. The Moon's lack of atmosphere provides no protection from space radiation or meteoroids. The early Moon colonies may shelter in ancient lunar lava tubes to gain protection. The two-week day/night cycle makes use of solar power more difficult. Lagrange points. Another near-Earth possibility are the five Earth–Moon Lagrange points. Although they would generally also take a few days to reach with current technology, many of these points would have near-continuous solar power because their distance from Earth would result in only brief and infrequent eclipses of light from the Sun. However, the fact that the Earth–Moon Lagrange points and tend to collect dust and debris, whereas - require active station-keeping measures to maintain a stable position, make them somewhat less suitable places for habitation than was originally believed. Additionally, the orbit of – takes them out of the protection of the Earth's magnetosphere for approximately two-thirds of the time, exposing them to the health threat from cosmic rays. The five Earth–Sun Lagrange points would totally eliminate eclipses, but only and would be reachable in a few days' time. The other three Earth–Sun points would require months to reach. The inner planets. Mercury. Once thought to be a volatile depleted body like our Moon, Mercury is now known to be volatile rich, surprisingly richer in volatiles in fact than any other terrestrial body in the inner solar system. The planet also receives almost seven times the solar flux as the Earth/Moon system. Geologist Stephen Gillett suggested in 1996 that this could make Mercury an ideal place to build and launch solar sail spacecraft, which could launch as folded up "chunks" by mass driver from Mercury's surface. Once in space the solar sails would deploy. Since Mercury's solar constant is 6.5 times higher than Earth's, energy for the mass driver should be easy to come by, and solar sails near Mercury would have 6.5 times the thrust they do near Earth. This could make Mercury an ideal place to acquire materials useful in building hardware to send to (and terraform) Venus. Vast solar collectors could also be built on or near Mercury to produce power for large scale engineering activities such as laser-pushed lightsails to nearby star systems. Asteroid belt. Colonization of asteroids would require space habitats. The asteroid belt has significant overall material available, the largest object being Ceres, although it is thinly distributed as it covers a vast region of space. Uncrewed supply craft should be practical with little technological advance, even crossing 500 million kilometers of space. The colonists would have a strong interest in assuring their asteroid did not hit Earth or any other body of significant mass, but would have extreme difficulty in moving an asteroid of any size. The orbits of the Earth and most asteroids are very distant from each other in terms of delta-v and the asteroidal bodies have enormous momentum. Rockets or mass drivers can perhaps be installed on asteroids to direct their path into a safe course. Moons of outer planets. Jovian moons – Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. The Artemis Project designed a plan to colonize Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. Scientists were to inhabit igloos and drill down into the Europan ice crust, exploring any sub-surface ocean. This plan discusses possible use of "air pockets" for human habitation. Europa is considered one of the more habitable bodies in the Solar System and so merits investigation as a possible abode for life. NASA performed a study called "HOPE" (Revolutionary Concepts for Human Outer Planet Exploration) regarding the future exploration of the Solar System. The target chosen was Callisto due to its distance from Jupiter, and thus the planet's harmful radiation. It could be possible to build a surface base that would produce fuel for further exploration of the Solar System. Three of the Galilean moons (Europa, Ganymede, Callisto) have an abundance of volatiles that may support colonization efforts. Moons of Saturn – Titan, Enceladus, and others. Titan is suggested as a target for colonization, because it is the only moon in the Solar System to have a dense atmosphere and is rich in carbon-bearing compounds. Titan has water ice and large methane oceans. Robert Zubrin identified Titan as possessing an abundance of all the elements necessary to support life, making Titan perhaps the most advantageous locale in the outer Solar System for colonization, and saying "In certain ways, Titan is the most hospitable extraterrestrial world within our solar system for human colonization". Enceladus is a small, icy moon orbiting close to Saturn, notable for its extremely bright surface and the geyser-like plumes of ice and water vapor that erupt from its southern polar region. If Enceladus has liquid water, it joins Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa as one of the prime places in the Solar System to look for extraterrestrial life and possible future settlements. Other large satellites: Rhea, Iapetus, Dione, Tethys, and Mimas, all have large quantities of volatiles, which can be used to support settlements. Trans-Neptunian region. The Kuiper belt is estimated to have 70,000 bodies of 100 km or larger. Freeman Dyson has suggested that within a few centuries human civilization will have relocated to the Kuiper belt. The Oort cloud is estimated to have up to a trillion comets. Outside the Solar System. Looking beyond the Solar System, there are up to several hundred billion potential stars with possible colonization targets. The main difficulty is the vast distances to other stars: roughly a hundred thousand times farther away than the planets in the Solar System. This means that some combination of very high speed (some more-than-fractional percentage of the speed of light), or travel times lasting centuries or millennia, would be required. These speeds are far beyond what current spacecraft propulsion systems can provide. Space colonization technology could in principle allow human expansion at high, but sub-relativistic speeds, substantially less than the speed of light, "c".  An interstellar colony ship would be similar to a space habitat, with the addition of major propulsion capabilities and independent energy generation. Hypothetical starship concepts proposed both by scientists and in hard science fiction include: The above concepts which appear limited to high, but still sub-relativistic speeds, due to fundamental energy and reaction mass considerations, and all would entail trip times which might be enabled by space colonization technology, permitting self-contained habitats with lifetimes of decades to centuries. Yet human interstellar expansion at average speeds of even 0.1% of "c"  would permit settlement of the entire Galaxy in less than one half of the Sun's galactic orbital period of ~240,000,000 years, which is comparable to the timescale of other galactic processes. Thus, even if interstellar travel at near relativistic speeds is never feasible (which cannot be clearly determined at this time), the development of space colonization could allow human expansion beyond the Solar System without requiring technological advances that cannot yet be reasonably foreseen. This could greatly improve the chances for the survival of intelligent life over cosmic timescales, given the many natural and human-related hazards that have been widely noted. If humanity does gain access to a large amount of energy, on the order of the mass-energy of entire planets, it may eventually become feasible to construct Alcubierre drives. These are one of the few methods of superluminal travel which may be possible under current physics. However it is probable that such a device could never exist, due to the fundamental challenges posed. For more on this see Difficulties of making and using an Alcubierre Drive. Intergalactic travel. Looking beyond the Milky Way, there are at least 2 trillion other galaxies in the observable universe. The distances between galaxies are on the order of a million times farther than those between the stars. Because of the speed of light limit on how fast any material objects can travel in space, intergalactic travel would either have to involve voyages lasting millions of years, or a possible faster than light propulsion method based on speculative physics, such as the Alcubierre drive. There are, however, no scientific reasons for stating that intergalactic travel is impossible in principle. Uploaded human minds or AI may be transmitted to other galaxies in the hope some intelligence there would receive and activate them. Law and governance. Space activity is legally based on the Outer Space Treaty, the main international treaty. Though there are other international agreements such as the significantly less ratified Moon Treaty, colonial missions would be regulated by the national law of the sending country. The Outer Space Treaty established the basic ramifications for space activity in article one:"The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind." And continued in article two by stating:"Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." The development of international space law has revolved much around outer space being defined as common heritage of mankind. The "Magna Carta of Space" presented by William A. Hyman in 1966 framed outer space explicitly not as "terra nullius" but as "res communis", which subsequently influenced the work of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Economics. Space colonization can roughly be said to be possible when the necessary methods of space colonization become cheap enough (such as space access by cheaper launch systems) to meet the cumulative funds that have been gathered for the purpose, in addition to estimated profits from commercial use of space. Although there are no immediate prospects for the large amounts of money required for space colonization to be available given traditional launch costs, there is some prospect of a radical reduction to launch costs in the 2010s, which would consequently lessen the cost of any efforts in that direction. With a published price of per launch of up to payload to low Earth orbit, SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets are already the "cheapest in the industry". Advancements currently being developed as part of the SpaceX reusable launch system development program to enable reusable Falcon 9s "could drop the price by an order of magnitude, sparking more space-based enterprise, which in turn would drop the cost of access to space still further through economies of scale." If SpaceX is successful in developing the reusable technology, it would be expected to "have a major impact on the cost of access to space", and change the increasingly competitive market in space launch services. The President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy suggested that an inducement prize should be established, perhaps by government, for the achievement of space colonization, for example by offering the prize to the first organization to place humans on the Moon and sustain them for a fixed period before they return to Earth. Terrestrial analogues to space colonies. The most famous attempt to build an analogue to a self-sufficient colony is Biosphere 2, which attempted to duplicate Earth's biosphere. BIOS-3 is another closed ecosystem, completed in 1972 in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Many space agencies build testbeds for advanced life support systems, but these are designed for long duration human spaceflight, not permanent colonization. Remote research stations in inhospitable climates, such as the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station or Devon Island Mars Arctic Research Station, can also provide some practice for off-world outpost construction and operation. The Mars Desert Research Station has a habitat for similar reasons, but the surrounding climate is not strictly inhospitable. History. Early suggestions for future colonizers like Francis Drake and Christoph Columbus to reach the Moon and people consequently living there were made by John Wilkins in "A Discourse Concerning a New Planet" in the first half of the 17th century. The first known work on space colonization was "The Brick Moon", a work of fiction published in 1869 by Edward Everett Hale, about an inhabited artificial satellite. The Russian schoolmaster and physicist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky foresaw elements of the space community in his book "Beyond Planet Earth" written about 1900. Tsiolkovsky had his space travelers building greenhouses and raising crops in space. Tsiolkovsky believed that going into space would help perfect human beings, leading to immortality and peace. Others have also written about space colonies as Lasswitz in 1897 and Bernal, Oberth, Von Pirquet and Noordung in the 1920s. Wernher von Braun contributed his ideas in a 1952 "Colliers" article. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dandridge M. Cole published his ideas. Another seminal book on the subject was the book "The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space" by Gerard K. O'Neill in 1977 which was followed the same year by "Colonies in Space " by T. A. Heppenheimer. In 1977 the first sustained space habitat the Salyut 6 station was put into Earth's orbit eventually succeeded by the ISS, today's closest to a human outpost in space. M. Dyson wrote "Home on the Moon; Living on a Space Frontier" in 2003; Peter Eckart wrote "Lunar Base Handbook" in 2006 and then Harrison Schmitt's "Return to the Moon" written in 2007. , Bigelow Aerospace was the only private commercial spaceflight company that had launched experimental space station modules, and they had launched two: Genesis I (2006) and Genesis II (2007), both into Earth-orbit. , they had indicated that their first production model of the space habitat, a much larger habitat () called the BA 330, could be launched as early as 2017. In the event, the larger habitat was never built, and Bigelow laid off all employees in March 2020. Planetary protection. Robotic spacecraft to Mars are required to be sterilized, to have at most 300,000 spores on the exterior of the craft—and more thoroughly sterilized if they contact "special regions" containing water, otherwise there is a risk of contaminating not only the life-detection experiments but possibly the planet itself. It is impossible to sterilize human missions to this level, as humans are host to typically a hundred trillion microorganisms of thousands of species of the human microbiome, and these cannot be removed while preserving the life of the human. Containment seems the only option, but it is a major challenge in the event of a hard landing (i.e. crash). There have been several planetary workshops on this issue, but with no final guidelines for a way forward yet. Human explorers would also be vulnerable to back contamination to Earth if they become carriers of microorganisms. Objections. A corollary to the Fermi paradox—"nobody else is doing it"—is the argument that, because no evidence of alien colonization technology exists, it is statistically unlikely to even be possible to use that same level of technology ourselves. Colonizing space would require massive amounts of financial, physical, and human capital devoted to research, development, production, and deployment. Earth's natural resources do not increase to a noteworthy extent (which is in keeping with the "only one Earth" position of environmentalists). Thus, considerable efforts in colonizing places outside Earth would appear as a hazardous waste of the Earth's limited resources for an aim without a clear end. The fundamental problem of public things, needed for survival, such as space programs, is the free-rider problem. Convincing the public to fund such programs would require additional self-interest arguments: If the objective of space colonization is to provide a "backup" in case everyone on Earth is killed, then why should someone on Earth pay for something that is only useful after they are dead? This assumes that space colonization is not widely acknowledged as a sufficiently valuable social goal. Seen as a relief to the problem of overpopulation even as early as 1758, and listed as one of Stephen Hawking's reasons for pursuing space exploration, it has become apparent that space colonization in response to overpopulation is unwarranted. Indeed, the birth rates of many developed countries, specifically spacefaring ones, are at or below replacement rates, thus negating the need to use colonization as a means of population control. Other objections include concerns that the forthcoming colonization and commodification of the cosmos may be likely to enhance the interests of the already powerful, including major economic and military institutions e.g. the large financial institutions, the major aerospace companies and the military–industrial complex, to lead to new wars, and to exacerbate pre-existing exploitation of workers and resources, economic inequality, poverty, social division and marginalization, environmental degradation, and other detrimental processes or institutions. Additional concerns include creating a culture in which humans are no longer seen as human, but rather as material assets. The issues of human dignity, morality, philosophy, culture, bioethics, and the threat of megalomaniac leaders in these new "societies" would all have to be addressed in order for space colonization to meet the psychological and social needs of people living in isolated colonies. As an alternative or addendum for the future of the human race, many science fiction writers have focused on the realm of the 'inner-space', that is the computer-aided exploration of the human mind and human consciousness—possibly en route developmentally to a Matrioshka Brain. Robotic spacecraft are proposed as an alternative to gain many of the same scientific advantages without the limited mission duration and high cost of life support and return transportation involved in human missions. However, there are vast scientific domains that cannot be addressed with robots, especially biology in specific atmospheric and gravitational environments and human sciences in space. Another concern is the potential to cause interplanetary contamination on planets that may harbor hypothetical extraterrestrial life. Colonialism. Space colonization has been discussed as continuation of imperialism and colonialism. Questioning colonial decisionmaking and reasons for colonial labour and land exploitation with postcolonial critique. Seeing the need for inclusive and democratic participation and implementation of any space exploration, infrastructure or habitation. The narrative of space exploration as a "New Frontier" has been criticized as unreflected continuation of settler colonialism and manifest destiny, continuing the narrative of colonial exploration as fundamental to the assumed human nature. Also narratives of survival and arguments for space as a solution to global problems like pollution have been identified as imperialist. The predominant perspective of territorial colonization in space has been called "surfacism", especially comparing advocacy for colonization of Mars opposed to Venus. It has been argued that the present politico-legal regimes and their philosophic grounding advantage imperialist development of space. Physical, mental and emotional health risks to colonizers. The health of the humans who may participate in a colonization venture would be subject to increased physical, mental and emotional risks. NASA learned that – without gravity – bones lose minerals, causing osteoporosis. Bone density may decrease by 1% per month, which may lead to a greater risk of osteoporosis-related fractures later in life. Fluid shifts towards to the head may cause vision problems. NASA found that isolation in closed environments aboard the International Space Station led to depression, sleep disorders, and diminished personal interactions, likely due to confined spaces and the monotony and boredom of long space flight. Circadian rhythm may also be susceptible to the effects of space life due to the effects on sleep of disrupted timing of sunset and sunrise. This can lead to exhaustion, as well as other sleep problems such as insomnia, which can reduce their productivity and lead to mental health disorders. High-energy radiation is a health risk that colonizers would face, as radiation in deep space is deadlier than what astronauts face now in low Earth orbit. Metal shielding on space vehicles protects against only 25-30% of space radiation, possibly leaving colonizers exposed to the other 70% of radiation and its short and long-term health complications. Solutions to health risks. Although there are many physical, mental, and emotional health risks for future colonizers and pioneers, solutions have been proposed to correct these problems. Mars500, HI-SEAS, and SMART-OP represent efforts to help reduce the effects of loneliness and confinement for long periods of time. Keeping contact with family members, celebrating holidays, and maintaining cultural identities all had an impact on minimizing the deterioration of mental health. There are also health tools in development to help astronauts reduce anxiety, as well as helpful tips to reduce the spread of germs and bacteria in a closed environment. Radiation risk may be reduced for astronauts by frequent monitoring and focusing work away from the shielding on the shuttle. Future space agencies can also ensure that every colonizer would have a mandatory amount of daily exercise to prevent degradation of muscle. Involved organizations. Organizations that contribute to space colonization include: In fiction. Although established space colonies are a stock element in science fiction stories, fictional works that explore the themes, social or practical, of the settlement and occupation of a habitable world are much rarer.

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Evil corporation An evil corporation is a trope in popular culture that portrays a corporation as ignoring social responsibility in order to make money for its shareholders. In fiction. The notion is "deeply embedded in the landscape of contemporary culture—populating films, novels, videogames, and more." The science fiction genre served as the initial background to portray corporations in this dystopian light. Evil corporations can be seen to represent the danger of combining capitalism with larger hubris. In real life. In real life some corporations have been accused of being evil. To guard against such accusations, Google at one point in its history had the official motto "Don't be evil". "The New Yorker" wrote that "many food activists consider Monsanto (now Bayer) to be "the" definitively evil corporation". "The Debate over Corporate Social Responsibility" wrote, "For many consumers, Wal-Mart serves as the evil corporation prototype, but record numbers shop at the stores for low prices." In Japan, a committee of journalists and rights activists issues an annual "corporate raspberry award" known as Most Evil Corporation of the Year Award (also called the Black Company Award) to a company "with a culture of overwork, discrimination and harassment".

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m2d2_wiki

Field propulsion Field propulsion is the concept of spacecraft propulsion where no propellant is necessary but instead momentum of the spacecraft is changed by an interaction of the spacecraft with external force fields, such as gravitational and magnetic fields from stars and planets. It is purely speculative and has not yet been demonstrated to be of practical use, or theoretically valid. Types. Practical methods. Although not presently in wide use for space, there exist proven terrestrial examples of "Field Propulsion", in which electromagnetic fields act upon a conducting medium such as seawater or plasma for propulsion, is known as magnetohydrodynamics or MHD. MHD is similar in operation to electric motors, however rather than using moving parts or metal conductors, fluid or plasma conductors are employed. The EMS-1 and more recently the Yamato 1 are examples of such electromagnetic Field propulsion systems, first proposed in patent . There is definitely potential to apply MHD to the space environment such as in experiments like NASA's electrodynamic tether, Lorentz Actuated Orbits, the wingless electromagnetic air vehicle, and magnetoplasmadynamic thruster (which does use propellant). Electrohydrodynamics is another method whereby electrically charged fluids are used for propulsion and boundary layer control such as ion propulsion Other practical methods which could be loosely considered as field propulsion include: The gravity assist trajectory, which uses planetary gravity fields and orbital momentum; Solar sails and magnetic sails use respectively the radiation pressure and solar wind for spacecraft thrust; Aerobraking uses the atmosphere of a planet to change relative velocity of a spacecraft. The last two actually involve the exchange of momentum with physical particles and are not usually expressed as an interaction with fields, but they are sometimes included as examples of field propulsion since no spacecraft propellant is required. Speculative methods. Other concepts that have been proposed are speculative, using "frontier physics" and concepts from modern physics. So far none of these methods have been unambiguously demonstrated, much less proven practical. The Woodward effect is based on a controversial concept of inertia and certain solutions to the equations for General Relativity. Experiments attempting to conclusively demonstrate this effect have been conducted since the 1990s. In contrast, examples of proposals for field propulsion that rely on physics outside the present paradigms are various schemes for faster-than-light, warp drive and antigravity, and often amount to little more than catchy descriptive phrases, with no known physical basis. Until it is shown that the conservation of energy and momentum break down under certain conditions (or scales), any such schemes worthy of discussion must rely on energy and momentum transfer to the spacecraft from some external source such as a local force field, which in turn must obtain it from still other momentum and/or energy sources in the cosmos (in order to satisfy conservation of both energy and momentum). Field propulsion based on physical structure of space. This concept is based on the general relativity theory and the quantum field theory from which the idea that space has a physical structure can be proposed. The macroscopic structure is described by the general relativity theory and the microscopic structure by the quantum field theory. The idea is to deform space around the space craft. By deforming the space it would be possible to create a region with higher pressure behind the space craft than before it. Due to the pressure gradient a force would be exerted on the space craft which in turn creates thrust for propulsion. Due to the purely theoretical nature of this propulsion concept it is hard to determine the amount of thrust and the maximum velocity that could be achieved. Currently there are two different concepts for such a field propulsion system one that is purely based on the general relativity theory and one based on the quantum field theory. In the general relativistic field propulsion system space is considered to be an elastic field similar to rubber which means that space itself can be treated as an infinite elastic body. If the space-time curves, a normal inwards surface stress is generated which serves as a pressure field. By creating a great number of those curve surfaces behind the space craft it is possible to achieve a unidirectional surface force which can be use for the acceleration of the space craft. For the quantum field theoretical propulsion system it is assumed, as stated by the quantum field theory and quantum Electrodynamics, that the quantum vacuum consists out of a zero-radiating electromagnetic field in a non-radiating mode and at a zero-point energy state, the lowest possible energy state. It is also theorized that matter is composed out of elementary primary charged entities, partons, which are bound together as elementary oscillators. By applying an electromagnetic zero point field a Lorentz force is applied on the partons. Using this on a dielectric material could affect the inertia of the mass and that way create an acceleration of the material without creating stress or strain inside the material. Conservation Laws. Conservation of momentum is a fundamental requirement of propulsion systems because in experiments momentum is always conserved. This conservation law is implicit in the published work of Newton and Galileo, but arises on a fundamental level from the spatial translation symmetry of the laws of physics, as given by Noether's theorem. In each of the propulsion technologies, some form of energy exchange is required with momentum directed backward at the speed of light 'c' or some lesser velocity 'v' to balance the forward change of momentum. In absence of interaction with an external field, the power 'P' that is required to create a thrust force 'F' is given by formula_1 when mass is ejected or formula_2 if mass-free energy is ejected. For a photon rocket the efficiency is too small to be competitive. Other technologies may have better efficiency if the ejection velocity is less than speed of light, or a local field can interact with another large scale field of the same type residing in space, which is the intent of field effect propulsion. Advantages. The main advantage of a field propulsion systems is that no propellant is needed, only an energy source. This means that no propellant has to be stored and transported with the space craft which makes it attractive for long term interplanetary or even interstellar manned missions. With current technology a large amount of fuel meant for the way back has to be brought to the destination which increases the payload of the overall space craft significantly. The increased payload of fuel, thus requires more force to accelerate it, requiring even more fuel which is the primary drawback of current rocket technology. Approximately 83% of a Hydrogen-Oxygen powered rocket, which can achieve orbit, is fuel. Limits. The idea that with field propulsion no fuel tank would be required is technically inaccurate. The energy required to reach the high speeds involved begins to be non-neglectable for interstellar travel. For example, a 1-tonne spaceship traveling at 1/10 of the speed of light carries a kinetic energy of 4.5 × 1017 joules, equal to 5 kg according to the mass–energy equivalence. This means that for accelerating to such speed, no matter how this is achieved, the spaceship must have converted at least 5 kg of mass/energy into momentum, imagining 100% efficiency. Although such mass has not been "expelled" it has still been "disposed".

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m2d2_wiki

Terraforming Terraforming or terraformation (literally, "Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make it habitable by Earth-like life. The concept of terraforming developed from both science fiction and actual science. Carl Sagan, an astronomer, proposed the planetary engineering of Venus in 1961, which is considered one of the first accounts of the concept. The term was coined by Jack Williamson in a science-fiction short story ("Collision Orbit") published in 1942 in "Astounding Science Fiction", although terraforming in popular culture may predate this work. Even if the environment of a planet could be altered deliberately, the feasibility of creating an unconstrained planetary environment that mimics Earth on another planet has yet to be verified. While Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and even the Moon have been studied in relation to the subject, Mars is usually considered to be the most likely candidate for terraforming. Much study has been done concerning the possibility of heating the planet and altering its atmosphere, and NASA has even hosted debates on the subject. Several potential methods for the terraforming of Mars may be within humanity's technological capabilities, but at present, the economic resources required to do so are far beyond that which any government or society is willing to allocate to it. The long timescales and practicality of terraforming are also the subject of debate. As the subject has gained traction, research has expanded to other possibilities including biological terraforming, paraterraforming, and modifying humans to better suit the environments of planets and moons. Despite this, questions still remain in areas relating to the ethics, logistics, economics, politics, and methodology of altering the environment of an extraterrestrial world, presenting issues to the implementation of the concept. History of scholarly study. The astronomer Carl Sagan proposed the planetary engineering of Venus in an article published in the journal "Science" in 1961. Sagan imagined seeding the atmosphere of Venus with algae, which would convert water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide into organic compounds. As this process removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect would be reduced until surface temperatures dropped to "comfortable" levels. The resulting carbon, Sagan supposed, would be incinerated by the high surface temperatures of Venus, and thus be sequestered in the form of "graphite or some involatile form of carbon" on the planet's surface. However, later discoveries about the conditions on Venus made this particular approach impossible. One problem is that the clouds of Venus are composed of a highly concentrated sulfuric acid solution. Even if atmospheric algae could thrive in the hostile environment of Venus's upper atmosphere, an even more insurmountable problem is that its atmosphere is simply far too thick—the high atmospheric pressure would result in an "atmosphere of nearly pure molecular oxygen" and cause the planet's surface to be thickly covered in fine graphite powder. This volatile combination could not be sustained through time. Any carbon that was fixed in organic form would be liberated as carbon dioxide again through combustion, "short-circuiting" the terraforming process. Sagan also visualized making Mars habitable for human life in "Planetary Engineering on Mars" (1973), an article published in the journal "Icarus". Three years later, NASA addressed the issue of planetary engineering officially in a study, but used the term "planetary ecosynthesis" instead. The study concluded that it was possible for Mars to support life and be made into a habitable planet. The first conference session on terraforming, then referred to as "Planetary Modeling", was organized that same year. In March 1979, NASA engineer and author James Oberg organized the First Terraforming Colloquium, a special session at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston. Oberg popularized the terraforming concepts discussed at the colloquium to the general public in his book "New Earths" (1981). Not until 1982 was the word "terraforming" used in the title of a published journal article. Planetologist Christopher McKay wrote "Terraforming Mars", a paper for the "Journal of the British Interplanetary Society". The paper discussed the prospects of a self-regulating Martian biosphere, and McKay's use of the word has since become the preferred term. In 1984, James Lovelock and Michael Allaby published "The Greening of Mars". Lovelock's book was one of the first to describe a novel method of warming Mars, where chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are added to the atmosphere. Motivated by Lovelock's book, biophysicist Robert Haynes worked behind the scenes to promote terraforming, and contributed the neologism Ecopoiesis, forming the word from the Greek , "oikos", "house", and , "poiesis", "production". Ecopoiesis refers to the "origin of an ecosystem". In the context of space exploration, Haynes describes ecopoiesis as the "fabrication of a sustainable ecosystem on a currently lifeless, sterile planet". Fogg defines ecopoiesis as a type of planetary engineering and is one of the first stages of terraformation. This primary stage of ecosystem creation is usually restricted to the initial seeding of microbial life. A 2019 opinion piece by Lopez, Peixoto and Rosado has reintroduced microbiology as a necessary component of any possible colonization strategy based on the principles of microbial symbiosis and their beneficial ecosystem services. As conditions approach that of Earth, plant life could be brought in, and this will accelerate the production of oxygen, theoretically making the planet eventually able to support animal life. Aspects and definitions. In 1985, Martyn J. Fogg started publishing several articles on terraforming. He also served as editor for a full issue on terraforming for the "Journal of the British Interplanetary Society" in 1992. In his book "Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments" (1995), Fogg proposed the following definitions for different aspects related to terraforming: Fogg also devised definitions for candidate planets of varying degrees of human compatibility: Fogg suggests that Mars was a biologically compatible planet in its youth, but is not now in any of these three categories, because it can only be terraformed with greater difficulty. Habitability requirements. An absolute requirement for life is an energy source, but the notion of planetary habitability implies that many other geophysical, geochemical, and astrophysical criteria must be met before the surface of an astronomical body is able to support life. Of particular interest is the set of factors that has sustained complex, multicellular animals in addition to simpler organisms on Earth. Research and theory in this regard is a component of planetary science and the emerging discipline of astrobiology. In its astrobiology roadmap, NASA has defined the principal habitability criteria as "extended regions of liquid water, conditions favorable for the assembly of complex organic molecules, and energy sources to sustain metabolism." Preliminary stages. Once conditions become more suitable for life of the introduced species, the importation of microbial life could begin. As conditions approach that of Earth, plant life could also be brought in. This would accelerate the production of oxygen, which theoretically would make the planet eventually able to support animal life. Prospective targets. Mars. In many respects, Mars is the most Earth-like planet in the Solar System. It is thought that Mars once had a more Earth-like environment early in its history, with a thicker atmosphere and abundant water that was lost over the course of hundreds of millions of years. The exact mechanism of this loss is still unclear, though three mechanisms in particular seem likely: First, whenever surface water is present, carbon dioxide () reacts with rocks to form carbonates, thus drawing atmosphere off and binding it to the planetary surface. On Earth, this process is counteracted when plate tectonics works to cause volcanic eruptions that vent carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere. On Mars, the lack of such tectonic activity worked to prevent the recycling of gases locked up in sediments. Second, the lack of a magnetosphere around Mars may have allowed the solar wind to gradually erode the atmosphere. Convection within the core of Mars, which is made mostly of iron, originally generated a magnetic field. However the dynamo ceased to function long ago, and the magnetic field of Mars has largely disappeared, probably due to "... loss of core heat, solidification of most of the core, and/or changes in the mantle convection regime." Results from the NASA MAVEN mission show that the atmosphere is removed primarily due to Coronal Mass Ejection events, where outbursts of high-velocity protons from the sun impact the atmosphere. Mars does still retain a limited magnetosphere that covers approximately 40% of its surface. Rather than uniformly covering and protecting the atmosphere from solar wind, however, the magnetic field takes the form of a collection of smaller, umbrella-shaped fields, mainly clustered together around the planet's southern hemisphere. Finally, between approximately 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago, asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the surface environment of objects in the Solar System. The low gravity of Mars suggests that these impacts could have ejected much of the Martian atmosphere into deep space. Terraforming Mars would entail two major interlaced changes: building the atmosphere and heating it. A thicker atmosphere of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide would trap incoming solar radiation. Because the raised temperature would add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, the two processes would augment each other. Carbon dioxide alone would not suffice to sustain a temperature above the freezing point of water, so a mixture of specialized greenhouse molecules might be manufactured. Venus. Terraforming Venus requires two major changes; removing most of the planet's dense carbon dioxide atmosphere and reducing the planet's surface temperature. These goals are closely interrelated, because Venus's extreme temperature is thought to be due to the greenhouse effect caused by its dense atmosphere. Sequestering the atmospheric carbon would likely solve the temperature problem as well. Mercury. Although usually disregarded as being too hot, Mercury may in fact be one of the easiest bodies in the solar system to terraform. Mercury's magnetic field is only 1.1% that of Earth's but it is thought that Mercury's magnetic field should be much stronger, up to 30% of Earth's, if it weren't being suppressed by certain solar wind effects. It is thought that Mercury's magnetic field was suppressed after "stalling" at some point in the past (possibly caused by the Caloris basin impact) and, if given a temporary "helping hand" by shielding Mercury from solar wind by placing an artificial magnetic shield at Mercury-Sun l1 (similar to the proposal for Mars), then Mercury's magnetic field would "inflate" and grow in intensity 30 times stronger at which point Mercury's magnetic field would be self sustaining provided the field wasn't made "stall" by another celestial event. Despite being much smaller than Mars, Mercury has a gravity nearly identical in strength to Mars due to its increased density and could, with a now augmented magnetosphere, hold a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere for millions of years. To provide this atmosphere, formula_1 kilograms of water could be delivered by a similar process as proposed for Venus by launching a stream of kinetic impactors at Hyperion (the moon of Saturn) causing it to be ejected and flung into the inner solar system. Once this water has been delivered, Mercury could be covered in a thin layer of doped titanium dioxide photo-catalyst dust which would split the water into its constituent oxygen and hydrogen molecules, with the hydrogen rapidly being lost to space and a 0.2-0.3 bar atmosphere of pure oxygen being left behind in less than 70 years (assuming an efficiency of 30-40%). At this point the atmosphere will be breathable and nitrogen may be added as required to allow for plant growth in the presence of nitrates. Temperature management may not be required, despite a equilibrium average temperature of ~159 Celsius, there exists millions of square kilometres at the poles with an average temperature of 0-50 Celsius, or 32-122 Fahrenheit (an area the size of Mexico at each pole with habitable temperatures). The total habitable area is likely to be even larger given that the before mentioned photo-catalyst dust would raise the albedo from 0.12 to ~0.6, lowering the global average temperature to tens of degrees and potentially increasing the habitable area. Temperature may be further managed with the usage of solar shades. Mercury may be the fastest celestial body to terraform at least partially, giving it a thin but breathable atmosphere with survivable pressures, a strong magnetic field, with at least a small percentage of its land at survivable temperatures at closer to the north and south poles provided water content was kept low so as to avoid a runaway greenhouse effect. Moon. Although the gravity on Earth's moon is too low to hold an atmosphere for geological spans of time, if given one, it would retain it for spans of time that are long compared to human lifespans. Landis and others have thus proposed that it could be feasible to terraform the moon, although not all agree with that proposal. Landis estimates that a 1 PSI atmosphere of pure oxygen on the moon would require on the order of two hundred trillion tons of oxygen, and suggests it could be produced by reducing the oxygen from an amount of lunar rock equivalent to a cube about fifty kilometers on an edge. Alternatively, he suggests that the water content of "fifty to a hundred comets" the size of Halley's comet would do the job, "assuming that the water doesn't splash away when the comets hit the moon." Likewise, Benford calculates that terraforming the moon would require "about 100 comets the size of Halley's." Earth. It has been recently proposed that due to the effects of climate change, an interventionist program might be designed to return Earth to its usual and more benign climate parameters. In order to achieve this, multiple solutions have been proposed, such as the management of solar radiation, the sequestration of carbon dioxide using geoengineering methods and the design and release of climate altering genetically engineered organisms. Other bodies in the Solar System. Other possible candidates for terraforming (possibly only partial or paraterraforming) include large moons of Jupiter or Saturn (Titan, Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, Enceladus), and the dwarf planet Ceres. Other possibilities. Biological terraforming. Many proposals for planetary engineering involve the use of genetically engineered bacteria. As synthetic biology matures over the coming decades it may become possible to build designer organisms from scratch that directly manufacture desired products efficiently. Lisa Nip, Ph.D. candidate at the MIT Media Lab's Molecular Machines group, said that by synthetic biology, scientists could genetically engineer humans, plants and bacteria to create Earth-like conditions on another planet. Gary King, microbiologist at Louisiana State University studying the most extreme organisms on Earth, notes that "synthetic biology has given us a remarkable toolkit that can be used to manufacture new kinds of organisms specially suited for the systems we want to plan for" and outlines the prospects for terraforming, saying "we'll want to investigate our chosen microbes, find the genes that code for the survival and terraforming properties that we want (like radiation and drought resistance), and then use that knowledge to genetically engineer specifically Martian-designed microbes". He sees the project's biggest bottleneck in the ability to genetically tweak and tailor the right microbes, estimating that this hurdle could take "a decade or more" to be solved. He also notes that it would be best to develop "not a single kind microbe but a suite of several that work together". DARPA is researching using photosynthesizing plants, bacteria, and algae grown directly on the Mars surface that could warm up and thicken its atmosphere. In 2015 the agency and some of its research partners have created a software called DTA GView − a 'Google Maps of genomes', in which genomes of several organisms can be pulled up on the program to immediately show a list of known genes and where they are located in the genome. According to Alicia Jackson, deputy director of DARPA's Biological Technologies Office by this they have developed a "technological toolkit to transform not just hostile places here on Earth, but to go into space not just to visit, but to stay". Paraterraforming. Also known as the "worldhouse" concept, paraterraforming involves the construction of a habitable enclosure on a planet which encompasses most of the planet's usable area. The enclosure would consist of a transparent roof held one or more kilometers above the surface, pressurized with a breathable atmosphere, and anchored with tension towers and cables at regular intervals. The worldhouse concept is similar to the concept of a domed habitat, but one which covers all (or most) of the planet. Adapting humans. It has also been suggested that instead of or in addition to terraforming a hostile environment humans might adapt to these places by the use of genetic engineering, biotechnology and cybernetic enhancements. Issues. Ethical issues. There is a philosophical debate within biology and ecology as to whether terraforming other worlds is an ethical endeavor. From the point of view of a cosmocentric ethic, this involves balancing the need for the preservation of human life against the intrinsic value of existing planetary ecologies. On the pro-terraforming side of the argument, there are those like Robert Zubrin, Martyn J. Fogg, Richard L. S. Taylor and the late Carl Sagan who believe that it is humanity's moral obligation to make other worlds suitable for life, as a continuation of the history of life transforming the environments around it on Earth. They also point out that Earth would eventually be destroyed if nature takes its course, so that humanity faces a very long-term choice between terraforming other worlds or allowing all terrestrial life to become extinct. Terraforming totally barren planets, it is asserted, is not morally wrong as it does not affect any other life. The opposing argument posits that terraforming would be an unethical interference in nature, and that given humanity's past treatment of Earth, other planets may be better off without human interference. Still others strike a middle ground, such as Christopher McKay, who argues that terraforming is ethically sound only once we have completely assured that an alien planet does not harbor life of its own; but that if it does, we should not try to reshape it to our own use, but we should engineer its environment to artificially nurture the alien life and help it thrive and co-evolve, or even co-exist with humans. Even this would be seen as a type of terraforming to the strictest of ecocentrists, who would say that all life has the right, in its home biosphere, to evolve without outside interference. Economic issues. The initial cost of such projects as planetary terraforming would be massive, and the infrastructure of such an enterprise would have to be built from scratch. Such technology has not yet been developed, let alone financially feasible at the moment. With the addition if government funded it will most likely be rejected. John Hickman has pointed out that almost none of the current schemes for terraforming incorporate economic strategies, and most of their models and expectations seem highly optimistic. Political issues. National pride, rivalries between nations, and the politics of public relations have in the past been the primary motivations for shaping space projects. It is reasonable to assume that these factors would also be present in planetary terraforming efforts. In popular culture. Terraforming is a common concept in science fiction, ranging from television, movies and novels to video games.

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Uchronia The term uchronia refers to a hypothetical or fictional time period of our world, in contrast to altogether-fictional lands or worlds. The concept is similar to alternate history, but uchronic times are not easily defined but are placed mainly in some distant or unspecified point before current times, and they are sometimes reminiscent of a constructed world. Some, however, use "uchronia" to refer to an alternate history. The word is a neologism from the word utopia (Greek "u-topos", meaning "no-place"), replacing "topos" with "chronos" (time). It was coined by Charles Renouvier as the title of his 1876 novel "Uchronie (L'Utopie dans l'histoire), esquisse historique apocryphe du développement de la civilisation européenne tel qu'il n'a pas été, tel qu'il aurait pu être" ("Uchronia (Utopia in History), an Apocryphal Sketch of the Development of European Civilization Not as It Was But as It Might Have Been"). The term has been applied to Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle" and Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America".

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Stasis (fiction) A stasis or stasis field, in science fiction, is a confined area of space in which time has been stopped or the contents have been rendered motionless. Overview. A stasis field is imagined to be a region in which a stasis process is in effect. Stasis fields in fictional settings often have several common characteristics. These include infinite or nearly infinite rigidity, making them "unbreakable objects" and a perfect or nearly-perfect reflective surface. Most science fiction plots rely on a physical device to establish this region. When the device is deactivated, the stasis field collapses, and the stasis effect ends. Time is often suspended in stasis fields. Such fields thus have the additional property of protecting non-living materials from deterioration. This time dilation can be, from an in-universe perspective, absolute; something thrown into the field, has the field triggered and then reactivated, would fly out as if nothing had happened. Storylines using such fields often have materials as well as living beings surviving thousands or millions of years beyond their normal lifetimes. The property also allows for such plot devices as booby traps, containing, for instance, a nuclear bomb. Once out of the stasis field, the trap is sprung. In such a situation, to avoid the protagonist from seeing what is in the field, the story line would not allow normal beings to see something protected by a stasis field. One use of stasis fields is as a form of suspended animation: to let passengers and cargoes (normally of spacecraft or sleeper ships) avoid having to experience extremely long periods of time by "skipping over" large sections of it. They may also be used, such as in "The Night's Dawn Trilogy", as protection against the effects of extreme acceleration. There are real phenomena that cause time dilation similar that of a stasis field. Extremely high velocities approaching light speed or immensely powerful gravitational fields such as those existing near the event horizons of black holes will cause time to progress more slowly. However, there is no known theoretical way of causing such time dilation independently of such conditions. Examples. The Dune series of novels refers to "nullentropy" containers, where food is preserved indefinitely, as well as entropy-free "no-chambers" or "no-ships" which are undetectable to prescience. The noted science fiction author Larry Niven used the concept of stasis fields and stasis boxes to a great extent directly or indirectly throughout his many novels and short stories set in the Known Space series. Niven's stasis fields followed conductive surfaces when established, and the resulting frozen space became a completely invulnerable and perfectly reflective object. They were often used as emergency protective devices. They could also be used to create a weapon called a variable sword, a length of extremely fine wire in a stasis field that makes it able to easily cut through normal matter. For more information, see Slaver stasis field. A more limited form of stasis field is the "bobble", found in Vernor Vinge's Peace Authority setting. A bobble is always perfectly spherical and exists for a fixed period of time that is set when the bobble is first created. The duration of a bobble effect cannot be changed. Bobble generators were initially used as weapons, removing their targets from the field of combat. Another example of a stasis field exists in Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War", where stasis field generators are carried by troops to create conditions where melee weapons become the only viable means of combat. Inside the field, no object can travel faster than 16.3 m/s, which includes electrons, photons, and the field itself. Soldiers inside the field must be wearing suits with a special coating, or all electrical activity within their body would stop and the soldiers would die. In the novel, the main character defeats an enemy army, which has besieged a small remaining contingent of human troops on a moon, by arming a nuclear bomb inside the field and then moving the field away from the bomb. Once the bomb is revealed, its electrical activity resumes, and it promptly detonates. That vaporises the surrounding army, and a large chunk of the ground beneath the field. The soldiers emerge some days later to see if their trick worked and find themselves alone at the bottom of a large crater, their enemy destroyed. In Peter F. Hamilton's "The Night’s Dawn" trilogy (1996-1999), “zero-tau pods” — powered containers inside which time halts — are an important narrative device. In the computer strategy game "StarCraft", the Arbiter unit can, through a combination of Protoss technology and the Arbiter's psionic power, create a stasis field that traps all units in the affected area in blue "crystals" of stopped time, taking them out of the fight and rendering them invulnerable for 30 seconds, thus allowing both offensive and defensive applications. The "Dead Space" series has the main character Isaac Clarke carry a wrist-mounted tachyon-based stasis module, used to slow enemy Necromorphs to a crawl for a short period of time. He adapted its use to fight Necromorphs; it was used previously by technicians to slow down malfunctioning equipment that moves at dangerously high speeds, such as doors. Medical use of the technology is later seen in "Dead Space 2", with stasis beds; the protagonist had also been kept in stasis for the majority of the time between games. The game "Mass Effect" has a biotic power simply called "Stasis" that can trap an enemy in a stasis field rendering them immobile as well as invincible to all forms of damage. The duration of this effect is usually dependent on the user's skill level. In the Star Wars RPG series "", Jedi who follow the path of the light are able to use "Stasis" powers, using the force to alter time and freeze an enemy in place. Unlike true stasis, this stasis allows external events to affect the victim so someone held by stasis can be killed while unable to retaliate. The original game also uses a similar effect when Dark Jedi trap party members to engage the player in a duel. In the "Justice League Unlimited" episode "The Cat and the Canary", Green Arrow uses a stunner to put himself into a form of stasis while fighting Wildcat. It was an attempt to end Wildcat's cage fighting career by falsely convincing him he killed Green Arrow during their fight. In the "Invader Zim" episode "Walk For Your Lives", Zim creates a time stasis field and uses it on Dib as an experiment to show to the Tallest, as a result Dib can move only very slowly. Also produced is an explosion, which is also exploding very slowly, Zim decides to throw Dib into the explosion to cause it to speed up. The explosion then explodes at normal speed. In the animated series, "Generator Rex", the main antagonist, Van Kleiss, is transported in time to Ancient Egypt during an accident. During his time there, he creates a stasis chamber but is awoken at multiple points throughout history before finally returning to the present in the episode "A History of Time". The Space themed MMO "Eve Online" features a weapon called a stasis webifier. When activated against an enemy ship it reduces the target's speed, making them easier to hit and keep in range. The weapon affords no protection to its target, and multiple 'webs' can be used on a ship at once, effectively stopping it dead. In "Half Life", the protagonist Gordon Freeman is put into a state of Stasis after a brief discussion with the G-Man. A similar incidence happens to Adrian Shepherd at the end of "", when the G-Man puts him into a state of stasis "for further evaluation". In "Portal", Chell, the protagonist, is dragged away at the end of the game and put in stasis for many years, until she is awakened at the beginning of "Portal 2". In "Project Eden" one character is frozen in stasis for 15 years. Stasis can also be used offensively to slow down enemies. In the first episode of "Red Dwarf", "The End", third-class technician of the mining ship "Red Dwarf", Dave Lister, is put into a stasis booth as punishment for not revealing the whereabouts of his unquarantined cat. However, during his time in stasis, lethal radiation leaks into the ship as a result of a malfunction, killing all the crew (aside from his cat, which was in the cargo hold). Lister is then revived three million years later by the ship's computer, Holly, when the high radiation levels have subsided. In Catherine Asaro's Skolian Empire books, the Skolians use quasis to freeze time during interstellar travel. The 2008 novel "The Last Colony" describes a "sapper field" technology which can be set to modify various energetic properties of objects, such as weapons, notably by slowing projectiles down. The 2012 Expanse series of novels describes a "slow zone" of outer space where no kinetic technological process is allowed to operate above a set speed, allowing organic life to operate normally but instantaneously slowing any over-speeding artifact or kinetic component thereof down to that speed.

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Alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrials invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether. The invasion scenario has been used as an allegory for a protest against military hegemony and the societal ills of the time. H. G. Wells' novel "The War of the Worlds" extended the invasion literature that was already common when science fiction was first emerging as a genre. Prospects of invasion tended to vary with the state of current affairs, and current perceptions of threat. Alien invasion was a common metaphor in United States science fiction during the Cold War, illustrating the fears of foreign (e.g. Soviet Union) occupation and nuclear devastation of the American people. Examples of these stories include the short story “The Liberation of Earth“ (1950) by William Tenn and the film "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956). In the invasion trope, fictional aliens contacting Earth tend to either observe (sometimes using experiments) or invade, rather than help the population of Earth acquire the capacity to participate in interplanetary affairs. There are some notable exceptions, such as the alien-initiated first-contact scenarios in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), "" (1996) and "Arrival" (2016). A trope of the peaceful first-contact is humanity attaining a key technological threshold (e.g. nuclear weapons and space travel in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" or faster-than-light travel in "First Contact"), justifying their initiation into a broader community of intelligent species. Technically, a human invasion of an alien species is also an alien invasion, as from the viewpoint of the aliens, humans are the aliens. Such stories are much rarer than stories about aliens attacking humans. Examples include the short story "Sentry" (1954) (in which the "aliens" described are, at the end, explained to be humans), the video game "Phantasy Star II" (1989), "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury, the Imperium of Man in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, "Invaders from Earth" by Robert Silverberg, Ender's Game, the movies "Battle for Terra" (2007), "Planet 51" (2009), "Avatar" (2009) and "Mars Needs Moms" (2011). As well as being a subgenre of science fiction, these kinds of books can be considered a subgenre of invasion literature, which also includes fictional depictions of humans invaded by other humans (for example, a fictional invasion of England by a hostile France strongly influenced Wells' depiction of a Martian invasion). Within academia, prospects for an alien invasion of Earth are dismissed as Earth does not have any special resources that aren't already abundant elsewhere, among other reasons. Origins. In 1898, H. G. Wells published "The War of the Worlds", depicting the invasion of Victorian England by Martians equipped with advanced weaponry. It is now seen as the seminal alien invasion story and Wells is credited with establishing several extraterrestrial themes which were later greatly expanded by science fiction writers in the 20th Century, including first contact and war between planets and their differing species. However, there were stories of aliens and alien invasion prior to publication of "The War of the Worlds". Voltaire's "Micromégas" (1752) includes two aliens, from Saturn and Sirius, who are of immense size and visit the Earth out of curiosity. Initially, they believe the planet is uninhabited, due to the difference in scale between them and human beings. When they discover the haughty Earth-centric views of Earth philosophers, they are very much amused by how important Earth beings think they are compared to actual titans such as themselves. In 1892, Robert Potter, an Australian clergyman, published "The Germ Growers" in London. It describes a covert invasion by aliens who take on the appearance of human beings and attempt to develop a virulent disease to assist in their plans for global conquest. It was not widely read, and consequently Wells' vastly more successful novel is generally credited as the seminal alien invasion story. Wells had already proposed another outcome for the alien invasion story in "The War of the Worlds". When the Narrator meets the artilleryman the second time, the artilleryman imagines a future where humanity, hiding underground in sewers and tunnels, conducts a guerrilla war, fighting against the Martians for generations to come, and eventually, after learning how to duplicate Martian weapon technology, destroys the invaders and takes back the Earth. Six weeks after publication of the novel, "The Boston Post" newspaper published another alien invasion story, an unauthorized sequel to "The War of the Worlds", which turned the tables on the invaders. "Edison's Conquest of Mars" was written by Garrett P. Serviss, a now little-remembered writer, who described the famous inventor Thomas Edison leading a counterattack against the invaders on their home soil. Though this is actually a sequel to "Fighters from Mars", a revised and unauthorised reprint of "War of the Worlds", they both were first printed in the "Boston Post" in 1898. "The War of the Worlds" was reprinted in the United States in 1927, a year after the Golden Age of Science Fiction was created by Hugo Gernsback in "Amazing Stories". John W. Campbell, another key editor of the era, and periodic short story writer, published several alien invasion stories in the 1930s. Many well-known science fiction writers were to follow, including Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Clifford Simak, plus Robert A. Heinlein who wrote "The Puppet Masters" in 1953. Fictional variations. Alien infiltration. This is a familiar variation on the alien invasion theme. In the infiltration scenario, the invaders will typically take human form and can move freely throughout human society, even to the point of taking control of command positions. The purpose of this may either be to take over the entire world through infiltration ("Invasion of the Body Snatchers"), or as advanced scouts meant to "soften up" Earth in preparation for a full-scale invasion by the aliens' conventional military ("First Wave"). This type of invasion usually emphasizes common fears during the Cold War, with the Communist agents suspected everywhere, but has also become common during any time of social change and unrest. Beneficial alien invasion. This theme has also been explored in fiction on the rare occasion. With this type of story, the invaders, in a kind of little grey/green man's burden, colonize the planet in an effort to spread their culture and "civilize" the indigenous "barbaric" inhabitants or secretly watch and aid earthlings saving them from themselves. The former theme shares many traits with hostile occupation fiction, but the invaders tend to view the occupied peoples as students or equals rather than subjects and slaves. The latter theme of secret watcher is a paternalistic/maternalistic theme. In this fiction, the aliens intervene in human affairs to prevent them from destroying themselves, such as Klaatu and Gort in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" warning the leaders of Earth to abandon their warlike ways and join other space-faring civilizations else that they will destroy themselves or be destroyed by their interstellar union. Other examples of a beneficial alien invasion are Gene Roddenberry's movie "The Questor Tapes" (1974) and his " episode " (1968); Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End", the novel (later anime) series "Crest of the Stars", the film "Arrival" (2016), and David Brin's "Uplift" series of books. Other examples. The cult film "They Live" (1988) uses its own alien infiltration back story as a satire on Ronald Reagan's America and the 1980s as an era of conspicuous consumption, in which the hidden skull-faced aliens and their human collaborators oppress poverty-stricken humans and a shrinking middle class. The aliens' true forms can be seen with special sunglasses and contact lenses. The beginning half of the popular video games "Halo 2" and "Halo 3" deals with the defense of Earth against a genocidal alien empire, the Covenant. The protagonist of the game along with Earth's military force, the "UNSC", and a group of former Covenant who rebelled, the Covenant Separatists, eventually repel the invasion and topple the Covenant. The "Mass Effect" franchise features a race of massive semi-organic sentient starships called Reapers who destroy any civilization advanced enough to devise artificial intelligence, based on the perceived inevitability of it rebelling. In Orson Scott Card's series "Ender's Game", an insectoid race of hiveminded aliens known as the Formics invade Earth on two occasions, known as the First and Second Formic Wars. The first invasion resulted in tens of millions of deaths, but the second resulted in very few casualties. After this second invasion, the conglomerate of nations known as the International Fleet decided to launch their own invasion that would completely devastate the Formic home planet.

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Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, science fantasy, dystopia or horror in which the Earth's (or another planet’s) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronomical, such as an impact event; destructive, such as nuclear holocaust or resource depletion; medical, such as a pandemic, whether natural or human-caused; end time, such as the Last Judgment, Second Coming or Ragnarök; or more imaginative, such as a zombie apocalypse, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics or alien invasion. The story may involve attempts to prevent an apocalypse event, deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself, or it may be post-apocalyptic, set after the event. The time may be directly after the catastrophe, focusing on the psychology of survivors, the way to keep the human race alive and together as one, or considerably later, often including that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been mythologized. Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in a non-technological future world or a world where only scattered elements of society and technology remain. Various ancient societies, including the Babylonian and Judaic, produced apocalyptic literature and mythology which dealt with the end of the world and of human society, such as the "Epic of Gilgamesh", written c. 2000–1500 BC. Recognizable modern apocalyptic novels had existed since at least the first third of the 19th century, when Mary Shelley's "The Last Man" (1826) was published. However, this form of literature gained widespread popularity after World War II, when the possibility of global annihilation by nuclear weapons entered the public consciousness. Themes. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; natural, such as an impact event; man-made, such as nuclear holocaust; medical, such as a plague or virus, whether natural or man-made; or imaginative, such as zombie apocalypse or alien invasion. The story may involve attempts to prevent an apocalypse event, deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself, or may be post-apocalyptic, and be set after the event. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, the way to maintain the human race alive and together as one, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten (or mythologized). Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in a non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of society and technology remain. Other themes may be cybernetic revolt, divine judgment, dysgenics, ecological collapse, pandemic, resource depletion, supernatural phenomena, technological singularity, or some other general disaster. Ancient predecessors. The scriptural story of Noah and his ark describes the end of the corrupted original civilization and its replacement with a remade world. Noah is assigned the task to build the ark and save the lifeforms so as to reestablish a new post-flood world. The Biblical story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah also has post-apocalyptic elements. The daughters of Lot, who mistakenly believe that the destruction had engulfed the whole world and that they and their father were the only surviving human beings, conclude that in such a situation it would be justified - and indeed vitally needed - to have sex with their father in order to ensure the survival of humanity. Such situations and dilemmas occur in modern post-apocalyptic fiction. Numerous other societies, including the Babylonians, had produced apocalyptic literature and mythology which dealt with the end of the world and of human society, many of which also included stories that refer back to the Biblical Noah or describe a similar flood. The "Epic of Gilgamesh", written ca. 2000–1500 BC, details a myth where the angry gods send floods to punish humanity, but the ancient hero Utnapishtim and his family are saved through the intervention of the god Ea. A similar story to the Genesis flood narrative is found in the 71st Chapter of the Quran. However, unlike the Biblical story, the Quranic account explicitly claims that the deluge was only sent to the tribe of the Prophet Nūḥ (نُوح) ("Noah" in Arabic), and therefore, the deluge did not engulf the entire world. While the Islamic narrative of Noah is not a true post-apocalyptic tale (as only Noah’s tribe was affected and not the entire human race), it can nevertheless be read with post-apocalyptic themes since Noah builds the ark and escapes the destruction of his tribe along with a handful of the believers and the animals of his tribe. Even in the Hindu Dharmasastra, the apocalyptic deluge plays a prominent part. According to the Matsya Purana, the Matsya avatar of Lord Vishnu, informed the King Manu of an all-destructive deluge which would be coming very soon.The King was advised to build a huge boat (ark) which housed his family, nine types of seeds, pairs of all animals and the Saptarishis to repopulate Earth, after the deluge would end and the oceans and seas would recede. At the time of the deluge, Vishnu appeared as a horned fish and Shesha appeared as a rope, with which Vaivasvata Manu fastened the boat to the horn of the fish. Variants of this story also appear in Buddhist and Jain scriptures. The 1st centuries AD saw the recording of the Book of Revelation (from which the word apocalypse originated, meaning "revelation of secrets"), which is filled with prophecies of destruction, as well as luminous visions. In the first chapter of Revelation, the writer St. John the Divine explains his divine errand: "Write the things which thou hast seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter" (Rev. 1:19). He takes it as his mission to convey—to reveal—to God’s kingdom His promise that justice will prevail and that the suffering will be vindicated (Leigh). The apocalyptist provides a beatific vision of Judgement Day, revealing God’s promise for redemption from suffering and strife. "Revelation" describes a new Heaven and a new Earth, and its intended Christian audience is often enchanted and inspired, rather than terrified by visions of Judgment Day. These Christians believed themselves chosen for God’s salvation, and so such apocalyptic sensibilities inspired optimism and nostalgia for the end times. In society. Such works often feature the loss of a global perspective as protagonists are on their own, often with little or no knowledge of the outside world. Furthermore, they often explore a world without modern technology whose rapid progress may overwhelm people as human brains are not adapted to contemporary society, but evolved to deal with issues that have become largely irrelevant, such as immediate physical threats. Such works depict worlds of less complexity, direct contact, and primitive needs, threats and behavior. According to Professor Barry Brummett, it is often the concept of change as much as the concept of destruction that causes public interest in apocalyptic themes. Such fiction is studied by social sciences and may provide insights into a culture's fearsas well as things like the role imagined for public administration. Since the late 20th century, a surge of popular post-apocalyptic films can be observed. Christopher Schmidt notes that, while the world "goes to waste" for future generations, we distract ourselves from disaster by passively watching it as entertainment.Some have commented on this trend, saying that "it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism". Pre-1900 works. Lord Byron's 1816 poem "Darkness", included in "The Prisoner of Chillon" collection, on the apocalyptic end of the world and one man's survival, was one of the earliest English-language works in this genre. The sun was blotted out, leading to darkness and cold which kills off mankind through famine and ice-age conditions. The poem was influential in the emergence of "the last man" theme which appeared in the works of several poets, such as "The Last Man" by Thomas Campbell (1824) and "The Last Man" (1826) by Thomas Hood, as well as "The Last Man" by Thomas Lovell Beddoes. The year 1816 was known as the Year Without a Summer because Mount Tambora had erupted in the Dutch East Indies in 1815 that emitted sulphur into the atmosphere which lowered the temperature and altered weather patterns throughout the world. This was the source for Byron's poem. Mary Shelley's novel, "The Last Man" (1826), is a continuation of the apocalyptic theme in fiction. The story follows a group of people as they struggle to survive in a plague-infected world. The story centers on a male protagonist as he struggles to keep his family safe but is inevitably left as the last man alive. However, Shelley's novel is predated by Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville's French epic prose poem "Le Dernier Homme" (English: "The Last Man" (1805)) and this work is also sometimes considered the first modern work to depict the end of the world. Published after his death in 1805, de Grainville's work follows the character of Omegarus, the titular "last man," in what is essentially a retelling of the Book of Revelation, combined with themes of the story of Adam and Eve. Unlike most apocalyptic tales, de Grainville's novel approaches the end of the world not as a cautionary tale, or a tale of survival, but as both an inevitable, as well as necessary, step for the spiritual resurrection of mankind. Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion" (1839) follows the conversation between two souls in the afterlife as they discuss the destruction of the world. The destruction was brought about by a comet that removed nitrogen from Earth's atmosphere; this left only oxygen and resulted in a worldwide inferno. Similarly, Giacomo Leopardi's short dialogue "Dialogue between a Goblin and a Gnome" (1824) features a world without the presence of the human beings, most likely because they "violate[d] the laws of nature, and [went] contrary to their welfare". Richard Jefferies' novel "After London" (1885) can best be described as genuine post-apocalyptic fiction. After a sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature and the few survivors return to a quasi-medieval way of life. The first chapters consist solely of a description of nature reclaiming England: fields becoming overrun by forest, domesticated animals running wild, roads and towns becoming overgrown, London reverting to lake and poisonous swampland. The rest of the story is a straightforward adventure/quest set many years later in the wild landscape and society, but the opening chapters set an example for many later science fiction stories. H.G. Wells wrote several novels that have a post-apocalyptic theme. "The Time Machine" (1895) has the unnamed protagonist traveling to the year 802,701 A.D. after civilization has collapsed and humanity has split into two distinct species, the elfin Eloi and the brutal Morlocks. Later in the story, the time traveler moves forward to a dying Earth beneath a swollen red sun. "The War of the Worlds" (1898) depicts an invasion of Earth by inhabitants of the planet Mars. The aliens systematically destroy Victorian England with advanced weaponry mounted on nearly indestructible vehicles. Due to the infamous radio adaptation of the novel by Orson Welles on his show, "The Mercury Theatre on the Air", the novel has become one of the best known early apocalyptic works. It has subsequently been reproduced or adapted several times in comic books, film, music, radio programming, television programming, and video games. Post-1900 works. Aliens. "Childhood's End" is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke, in which aliens come to Earth, human children develop fantastic powers and the planet is destroyed. Argentine comic writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld's comic series "El Eternauta" (1957 to 1959), an alien race only mentioned by the protagonists as "Ellos" ("Them") invades the Earth starting with a deadly snowfall and then using other alien races to defeat the remaining humans. In Alice Sheldon's Nebula-winning novelette "The Screwfly Solution" (1977), aliens are wiping out humanity with an airborne agent that changes men's sexual impulse to a violent impulse. Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide" series (1979–2009) is a humorous take on alien invasion stories. Multiple Earths are repeatedly "demolished" by the bureaucratic Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass, to the chagrin of the protagonist Arthur Dent. In Gene Wolfe's "The Urth of the New Sun" (1987), aliens (or highly evolved humans) introduce a white hole into the sun to counteract the dimming effect of a black hole, and the resulting global warming causes a sea-level rise that kills most of the population (though this may be redemptive, like Noah's Flood, rather than a disaster). In Greg Bear's "The Forge of God" (1987), Earth is destroyed in an alien attack. Just prior to this, a different group of aliens is able to save samples of the biosphere and a small number of people, resettling them on Mars. Some of these form the crew of a ship to hunt down the home world of the killers, as described in the sequel, "Anvil of Stars" (1992). Al Sarrantonio's "Moonbane" (1989) concerns the origin of werewolves (which he attributes to the Moon, which is why they are so attracted to it), and an invasion after an explosion on Luna sends meteoric fragments containing latent lycanthropes to Earth, who thrive in our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere. "Moonbane"s tone is reminiscent of H. G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" (1897). Charles R. Pellegrino and George Zebrowski's novel "The Killing Star" (1995) describes a devastating attack on a late-21st-century Earth by an alien civilization. Using relativistic missiles, they are determined to destroy the human race in a preemptive strike, as they are considered, after watching several episodes of "" which shows human domination in space, a future threat. In the video game "Chrono Trigger" (1995), the giant alien creature Lavos collides with the earth in prehistoric times, subsequently hibernating beneath the earth. As millions of years pass, the monster feeds on the energy of the earth, eventually surfacing in 1999 to wreak complete destruction of the human race, atmosphere, and general life on the planet in the form of a rain of destruction fired from its outer shell, known as the 'Day of Lavos'. In the video game "Half-Life" (1998), hostile alien creatures arrive on Earth through a portal after a scientific experiment goes wrong. In its sequel, "Half-Life 2" (2004), it is revealed to the player the creatures encountered in the first game are merely the slaves of a much more powerful alien race, the Combine, who have taken over the Earth to drain its resources after subduing the entirety of Earth's governments and military forces in only seven hours. In the 2000 Don Bluth animated film "Titan A.E.", Earth has been destroyed by the Drej, due to a human experimental discovery called Project Titan, which made them fear “what humanity will become”. The 2011 TV series "Falling Skies", by Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg, follows a human resistance force fighting to survive after extraterrestrial aliens attempt to take over Earth by disabling most of the world's technology and destroying its armed forces in a surprise attack. It is implied that the attacking aliens are in reality former victims of an attack on their own planet and are now the slaves of an unseen controller race. The television series "Defiance" (2013–2015) is set in an Earth devastated by the "Pale Wars", a war with seven alien races referred to as the "Votan", followed by the "Arkfalls", which terraforms Earth to an almost unrecognizable state. Unlike most apocalyptic works, in this one Earth is not inhospitable, and humanity is not on the verge of extinction. "The World's End" is a 2013 British-American comic science fiction film directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan and Rosamund Pike. The film follows a group of friends who discover an alien invasion during a pub crawl in their home town. In the 2018 horror film "A Quiet Place", society has collapsed in the wake of lethal attacks by (apparently) extraterrestrial creatures who, having no eyesight, hunt humans and other creatures with their highly sensitive hearing; the scattered survivors live most of their lives in near-silence as a result. Astronomical. "The Purple Cloud" (1901) by M. P. Shiel is a novel in which most of humanity has been killed by a poisonous cloud. In Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer's novel "When Worlds Collide" (1933), Earth is destroyed by the rogue planet Bronson Alpha. A selected few escape on a spaceship. In the sequel, "After Worlds Collide" (1934), the survivors start a new life on the planet's companion Bronson Beta, which has taken over the orbit formerly occupied by Earth. The horror manga "Hellstar Remina", by Junji Ito, presents a similar premise where an extrasolar, and in reality extradimensional, rogue planet sets a collision course for Earth, destroying several solar systems on the way there, and destroying Pluto, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars as well. It is eventually discovered that the planet is in reality a massive lifeform that feeds on other planets, and is not only alive, but also home to an extremely deadly ecosystem which kills both an expedition force and a group of affluent survivors that escapes to the planet's surface to avoid death on Earth. A nuclear response fails, and the planet devours Earth, leading to the extinction of mankind aside from a group of characters surviving in a durable, airtight shelter that is left floating in empty space with supplies and air for a year. In J. T. McIntosh's novel "One in Three Hundred" (1954), scientists have discovered how to pinpoint the exact minute, hour, and day the Sun will go "nova" – and when it does, it will boil away Earth's seas, beginning with the hemisphere that faces the sun, and as Earth continues to rotate, it will take only 24 hours before all life is eradicated. Super-hurricanes and tornadoes are predicted. Buildings will be blown away. A race is on to build thousands of spaceships for the sole purpose of transferring evacuees on a one-way trip to Mars. When the Sun begins to go nova, everything is on schedule, but most of the spaceships turn out to be defective, and fail en route to Mars. Brian Aldiss' novel "Hothouse" (1961) occurs in a distant future where the sun is much hotter and stronger, and the human population has been reduced to a fifth of what it had been. J. G. Ballard's novel "The Drowned World" (1962) occurs after a rise in solar radiation that causes worldwide flooding and accelerated mutation of plants and animals. Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven's novel, "Lucifer's Hammer" (1977), is about a cataclysmic comet hitting Earth and various groups of people struggling to survive the aftermath in southern California. Hollywood—which previously had explored the idea of the Earth and its population being potentially endangered by a collision with another heavenly body with the "When Worlds Collide" (1951), a film treatment of the aforementioned 1933 novel – revisited the theme in the late 1990s with a trio of similarly themed projects. "Asteroid" (1997) is a NBC-TV miniseries about the U.S. government trying to prevent an asteroid from colliding with the Earth. The following year saw dueling big-budget summer blockbuster movies "Deep Impact" (1998) and "Armageddon" (1998), both of which involved efforts to save the Earth from, respectively, a rogue comet and an asteroid, by landing crews upon them to detonate nuclear weapons there in hopes of destroying them. Characters in the six-part ITV television drama serial "The Last Train" (1999) awaken from a cryogenic sleep after an asteroid the size of Birmingham strikes Africa, causing a worldwide apocalypse. K. A. Applegate's 2001–2003 book series, Remnants, details the end of the world by asteroid collision. The first book, "The Mayflower Project" (2001), describes Earth in a sort of hysteria as 80 people are chosen by NASA to board a spacecraft that will go to an unknown destination away from the destroyed Earth. The later books deal with the few survivors waking up from a 500-year hibernation and succumbing to both strange mutations and the will of a strange alien computer/spaceship that they land on. Eventually they return to Earth to find a couple colonies of survivors struggling on a harsh planet completely different from the Earth the Remnants knew. In the obscure 2013 Australian film "These Final Hours", a massive asteroid hits the Atlantic ocean dooming all life. The film follows James, who decides to head to the 'party-to-end-all-parties' and there spend the last 12 hours before the global firestorm reaches Western Australia. In id Software's video game "Rage" (2011), Earth is heavily damaged, and humanity nearly wiped out, by the direct collision of the real asteroid 99942 Apophis with the Earth in the year 2029. Marly Youmans' epic poem "Thaliad" (2012) tells the story of a group of children after an unspecified apocalypse from the sky, perhaps connected with solar flares or meteor impact, resulting in people and animals having been burned and the skies having filled with ash. The children survive only because they were together on a school visit to a cave. Cosy catastrophe. The "cosy catastrophe" is a style of post-apocalyptic science fiction that was particularly prevalent after the Second World War among British science fiction writers. A "cosy catastrophe" is typically one in which civilization comes to an end and everyone is killed except for the main characters, who survive relatively unscathed and are then freed from the constraints of civilization. The term was coined by Brian Aldiss in "Billion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction" (1973). Aldiss was directing his remarks at English author John Wyndham, especially his novel "The Day of the Triffids" (1951), whose protagonists were able to enjoy a relatively comfortable existence with little associated hardship or danger despite the collapse of society. In Catalan author Manuel de Pedrolo's novel "Typescript of the Second Origin" (, 1974), two children accidentally survive an alien holocaust that eradicates all life on Earth. They take up the mission of preserving human culture and repopulating the Earth. Environmental disaster. In Alfred Walter Stewart's 1923 novel "Nordenholt's Million", an engineered strain of bacteria denitrifies almost all plants, causing a collapse of food supply. The plutocrat of the title establishes a haven in central Scotland for a chosen group of survivors, while deliberately wrecking all alternative refuges. In Alfred Bester's story "Adam and No Eve" (1941), an inventor takes off in a rocket whose propulsion uses a dangerous catalyst. From outer space he sees that the entire world has been destroyed by fire in a runaway reaction caused by the catalyst. Fatally injured in a crash landing, he crawls to the sea so that the bacteria in his body can initiate new life on Earth. In John Christopher's novel "The Death of Grass" (1956), a mutated virus kills cereal crops and other grasses throughout Eurasia, causing famine. Kurt Vonnegut 's novel "Cat's Cradle" (1963) ends with all the bodies of water turning into "ice-nine", a fictional phase of ice that forms at room temperature. In J. G. Ballard's novel "The Burning World" (1964, expanded into "The Drought" in 1965), pollution in the oceans creates a surface layer that resists evaporation, bringing about a worldwide drought. John Brunner's novel "The Sheep Look Up" (1972) describes an environmentally-degraded world rapidly collapsing into social chaos, revolution, and anarchy. Richard Cowper's three-volume novel "The White Bird of Kinship" (1978–82) envisions a future in which anthropogenic global warming has led to a catastrophic rise in sea level. Most of it takes place two millennia later. Ursula K. Le Guin's novel "Always Coming Home" (1985) takes place long after worldwide disasters—apparently largely environmental though nuclear war may also be involved—have drastically reduced the population. It paints an admiring picture of a primitive society that will not repeat the mistakes of civilization. It won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and was a runner-up for a National Book Award. Palladium Books' "Rifts" roleplaying game (1990) features an apocalypse caused by various natural disasters including the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano which releases a large amount of magical energy that is amplified by deaths of millions occurring during a solstice, at midnight, during a planetary alignment, creating the titular rifts that bring forth various beings and monstrosities from throughout the Megaverse. In Octavia Butler's 1993 novel "Parable of the Sower", climate change and corporatism are the human-caused reasons for societal collapse. In the film "The Day After Tomorrow" (2004), based on Whitley Strieber's speculative non-fiction novel "The Coming Global Superstorm" (1999), extreme weather events caused by climate change invoke mass destruction across the planet, and eventually result in a new ice age. The video game "The Long Dark" (2017) depicts survival in the wilderness of northern Canada during winter after a geomagnetic disaster has disabled all modern technology. Failure of modern technology. In E. M. Forster's novelette "The Machine Stops" (1909), humanity has been forced underground due to inhospitable conditions on Earth's surface, and is entirely dependent on "the machine," a god-like mechanical entity which has supplanted almost all free will by providing for humankind's every whim. The machine deteriorates and eventually stops, ending the lives of all those dependent upon it, though one of the dying alludes to a group of humans dwelling on the surface who will carry the torch of humanity into the future. In René Barjavel's novel "Ravage" (1943), written and published during the German occupation of France, a future France is devastated by the sudden failure of electricity, causing chaos, disease, and famine, with a small band of survivors desperately struggling for survival. Fred Saberhagen goes one better than Barjavelin with the "Empire of the East" series which starts, in the 1968 book "The Broken Lands", sometime after the "Change" (with sincere nods from Boyett and Stirling), in which a defense designed to temporarily make nukes inoperative, permanently changes some of the laws of science for magic. Steve Boyett's novel "Ariel" (1983, sub-titled "A Book of the Change") also has all technology—including electricity, gunpowder, and some physics principles—ceasing to function, while magic becomes real. He also contributed to the 1986 Borderland series, which investigates a return of the Realm of Faery to the world. "The Quiet Earth", a 1985 New Zealand movie notable for its visually stunning ending, follows a scientist's descent into madness after he wakes up to a world where every single member of the kingdom Animalia has seemingly disappeared. After recovering and finding other people, he realizes his experiments with energy transfers through the Earth's magnetic field are to blame, and that unless he shuts down the experiment, it will destroy the planet. S. M. Stirling also takes a swipe at the inconstant-physical-constants field with the "Emberverse" series. "Dies the Fire" (2004), "The Protector's War" (2005), and "A Meeting at Corvallis" (2006), depict the world's descent into feudalism after a sudden mysterious "change" alters physical laws so that electricity, gunpowder, and most forms of high-energy-density technology no longer work. Civilization collapses, and two competing groups struggle to re-create medieval technologies and skills, as well as master magic. Like Boyett's novel, Stirling's features Society for Creative Anachronism members as favorably disposed survivors, and a hang glider attack against a building. "Afterworld" (first aired in 2007) is a computer-animated American science fiction television series where a network of satellites firing persistent electronic pulses, combined with a strange nanotechnology, has not only destroyed most electronic technology on the planet, but also caused the deaths of 99% of humanity, and is now causing strange mutations to occur in lower forms of life. NBC's "Revolution" (2012–2014) also revolved around a "change" after which the principles of electricity and physics are inoperable. However, the focus of the story was how a group of protagonists tried to get the power back on while opposing the efforts of a tyrannical militia leader to understand it first (so that he can take absolute power). The web series "" (2012-2013) depicts in part, the aftermath of a world in which a computer virus that infected a popular brain-computer interface killed one-third of the population, leading to a breakdown in order and the lack or shortage of electricity and other modern conveniences. "All Systems Down" (2018) is an American novel which describes a cyber war that cripples Western infrastructure, resulting in the collapse of society. Robert Harris's novel "The Second Sleep" (2019) is set in a fundamentalist agrarian society several centuries after the collapse of global civilisation, which is inferred to be the result of a sudden breakdown of the internet, possibly as the result of cyberwarfare. Technological singularity. Other works use Ray Kurzweil's idea of the technological singularity, the creation of a sentient machine using artificial intelligence, as the starting point for an apocalypse. For example: Fossil fuel supply scarcities. The film "Mad Max" (1979), directed by George Miller, presents a world in which oil resources have been nearly exhausted. This has resulted in constant energy shortages and a breakdown of law and order. The police do battle with criminal motorcycle gangs, with the end result being the complete breakdown of modern society and nuclear war as depicted in "Mad Max 2" (1981). The opening narration of "Mad Max 2" implies that the fuel shortage was caused not just by peak oil, but also by oil reserves being destroyed during a large scale conflict in the Middle East. The remnants of society survive either through scavenging, or in one notable case, as depicted in the third sequel "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" (1985), by using methane derived from pig feces. James Howard Kunstler's novel "World Made By Hand" (2008) imagines life in upstate New York after a declining world oil supply has wreaked havoc on the US economy, and people and society are forced to adjust to daily life without cheap oil. Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland's book "Player One" (2010) deals with four individuals taking refuge in a Toronto airport bar while a series of cataclysmic events occurs outside. Alex Scarrow's novel "Last Light" and its sequel "Afterlight" narrate the fall of British civilization after a war in the Middle East eradicates the majority of the Earth's oil supply. The backstory of the video game series "Fallout" revolves around the so-called "Resource Wars", beginning circa 2050, when oil supplies become depleted, leading to a disastrous series of wars that include Europe going to war with the Middle East before disintegrating into warring nation-states after all available oil is used up, the United Nations collapsing, the U.S annexing Mexico and Canada, and finally total nuclear war between the U.S and China in 2077 after over 25 years of war. Pandemic. Comics. "Crossed" by Garth Ennis is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which a bodily fluid-borne virus has destroyed civilization. Carriers of the virus develop a cross-shaped rash on their faces and act without inhibitions, raping, killing and torturing the few remaining uninfected humans. "" by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra deals with the lives of Yorick Brown and his monkey Ampersand, after a plague wipes out all but three male life forms on the Earth, leaving the whole planet to be controlled by women. "The Walking Dead" is a comic book series from IC and was written by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. It was started in 2003 and concluded in 2019. The story follows a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The apocalypse in this series was brought about by zombies, and it is strongly suspected that the zombies are victims of a virus. "The Walking Dead" television series is based on the comic books. They have also spawned a motion comic. Kamandi is an American comic book character, created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. In the eponymous series, Kamandi is a teenage boy on a post-apocalyptic Earth that the textual narrative describes as "Earth A.D. (After Disaster)". The Earth has been ravaged by a mysterious calamity called the Great Disaster. The precise nature of the Great Disaster is never revealed in the original series, although it "had something to do with radiation" (in the series' letter column, Jack Kirby and his then-assistant Steve Sherman repeatedly asserted that the Great Disaster was not a nuclear war, a fact confirmed in issue #35). The Disaster wiped out human civilization and a substantial portion of the human population. A few isolated pockets of humanity survived in underground bunkers, while others quickly reverted to pre-technological savagery. "Xenozoic Tales" (also known as "Cadillacs & Dinosaurs") is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future starring mechanic Jack Tenrec and scientist Hannah Dundee. Earth has been ravaged by pollution and natural disasters and humanity survived by building vast underground cities. Some 600 years later, mankind emerged to find that the world had been reclaimed by previously extinct lifeforms (most spectacularly, dinosaurs). In the new 'Xenozoic' era, technology is extremely limited and those with mechanical skills command a great deal of respect and influence. Killraven (Jonathan Raven) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by co-plotters Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, scriptwriter Gerry Conway, the Martians from H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" return in 2001 for another attempt at conquering the planet (later retconned as extrasolar aliens using Mars as a staging area). After humanity's enslavement, men not used as breeders or collaborators are trained and forced to battle gladiator-style for the Martians' amusement; women are used as breeders to supply infants, which are eaten by the Martians as a delicacy. Jonathan Raven, dubbed Killraven as his gladiatorial nom de guerre, escapes with the help of the gladiatorial "keeper", but without his brother, Deathraven. Killraven joins the Freemen, a group of freedom fighters against Martian oppression. Deathlok is a Marvel comic book character created by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench. Colonel Luther Manning is an American soldier who was fatally injured and reanimated in a post-apocalyptic future (originally given the date of 1990) as the experimental cyborg Deathlok the Demolisher. He verbally communicates with his symbiotic computer, to which he refers as the abbreviated "'Puter". He battles the evil corporate and military regimes that have taken over the United States, while simultaneously struggling not to lose his humanity. Hercules, as portrayed in the DC comic book series titled "Hercules Unbound", featured the adventures of Hercules in a post-apocalyptic future. It made use of characters and concepts, such as the Atomic Knights and the intelligent animals from Jack Kirby's "Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth" series as an attempt to tie in some of the future series. "Judge Dredd" is set in a future Earth damaged by World War III, a nuclear war instigated by corrupt U.S. President "Bad" Bob Booth in 2070. The majority of the world was left an irradiated wasteland filled with hostile mutant lifeforms, with the surviving population being centralized in the so-called Mega-Cities, massive urban sprawls covering entire states created to deal with overpopulation during the 21st century. Further massive conflicts during the comics' present, such as the "Apocalypse War" against East-Meg (the government of the former Soviet territories) and the "Day Of Chaos" has caused even more destruction. "Axa" is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 2080. Axa is a woman who, having grown sick of the regimented and stifling society inside a domed city, flees into the untamed wilderness. The strip mixed elements of science fiction and sword-swinging barbarian tales (the lead character herself bears more than a casual similarity to Red Sonja). "Meltdown Man" (SAS Sergeant Nick Stone) finds himself flung into the far-future by a nuclear blast, where the last remaining humans are led by a merciless tyrant called Leeshar and rule over the eugenically - modified animal castes known as 'Yujees'. Accompanied by catwoman Liana, bullman T-Bone and loyal wolfman Gruff, Stone is intent on ending Leeshar's dark reign by leading the slave-like Yujees in rebellion. "Mighty Samson" was set in the area around New York City, now known as "N'Yark", in an Earth devastated by a nuclear war. The series featured Samson, a barbarian adventurer, and was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Frank Thorne. "Druuna" is an erotic science fiction and fantasy comic book character created by Italian cartoonist Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. Most of Druuna's adventures revolve around a post-apocalyptic future, and the plot is often a vehicle for varied scenes of hardcore pornography and softcore sexual imagery. Films and television. Director George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), and its five sequels, including "Dawn of the Dead" (1978) and "Day of the Dead" (1985), popularized the concept of a zombie apocalypse, focusing on the breakdown of American society in a world where the dead are re-animating as mindless, undead cannibals due to some unknown disease, implied to be extraterrestrial in origin, and anyone bitten but not eaten will soon become a zombie as well. The BBC television series "Survivors" (1975–1977) and its 2008 remake series focus on a group of British survivors in the aftermath of a genetically engineered virus that has killed over 90% of the world's population. The first series of both versions examine the immediate after-effects of a pandemic outbreak of the flu, while the subsequent series concentrate on the survivors' attempts to build communities and make contacts with other groups. The Japanese film "Virus" (1980) illustrates the global effects of the deadly "MM88", a fictional virus that potentiates the effects of any other disease. It also features a doomsday device when it's discovered that the nuclear arsenal could be triggered by an earthquake in a chain reaction. "12 Monkeys" (1995) is a science fiction film which depicts the remains of human civilization after an uncontrollable pandemic wipes out 99% of the human population. It is a semi-remake of "La Jetée" (1962), and both films focus on the theme of fate by introducing the ability to travel through time and make contact with pre-apocalyptic society. "12 Monkeys" is also a SyFy television series that premiered in 2015. "The Tribe" (1999 - 2003) is a television series that deals with a mysterious virus that kills the adult population, leaving the children of the world to fend for themselves. The kids are divided into different tribes and war against each other for their survival. The show focuses on the tribe called the Mallrats, who take shelter in the city's mall to protect themselves from the dangers outside. However the virus mutates and begins to infect all the children, so the Mallrats are forced to search for the rumoured virus antidote hidden in government buildings. The film "28 Days Later" (2002) and its sequel "28 Weeks Later" (2007) revolves around a virus in Britain that turns anyone infected into a mindlessly violent psychotic, though still alive and not undead, in a variation of the classic zombie theme. This also makes the infected more dangerous, as they can run very quickly and as their bodies are not decaying. The plot centers on groups of both uninfected survivors and a handful of virus carriers who are immune to the effects of the disease. In the comedy film "Zombieland" (2009), a disease mutates most Americans (the rest of the world is not mentioned) and turns them into animal-like creatures hungry for human flesh. The story is about a group of people who stick together and to try survive against the zombies. Another comedy film, "Warm Bodies" (2013), adds a romantic twist to its story, as a zombie falls in love with an uninfected woman and protects her from his fellow zombies. The AMC television series "The Walking Dead", based on the comic book series of the same name, premiered in 2010. It centers around a group of people in the state of Georgia who struggle to survive and adapt in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies (here called "walkers") and opposing groups of survivors who are often more dangerous than the walkers themselves. The popularity of the series has led to a spin-off franchise comprising an aftershow ("Talking Dead"), a companion television series ("Fear the Walking Dead", a prequel with different characters from the source material), video games (e.g., "The Walking Dead: The Game (Season One)", ' and ') webisodes (including "The Talking Dead" webisodes and the "Fear the Walking Dead" web series), and numerous parodies and spoofs. "World War Z" (2013) is an apocalyptic action horror film based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks. The film focuses on a former United Nations investigator who must travel the world to find a way to stop a zombie pandemic. "The Last Ship" (2014) is an American action-drama television series, based on the 1988 novel of the same name by William Brinkley. After a global viral pandemic wipes out over 80% of the world's population, the crew (consisting of 218 people) of a lone unaffected U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the fictional "USS Nathan James (DDG-151)", must try to find a cure, stop the virus, and save humanity." "Train to Busan" (2016) is an apocalyptic zombie film, based around a South Korean train from Seoul to Busan, hence the name. The virus was created from a chemical accident, and, when it infects any animal, gives the animal have heightened senses and makes humans very violent. While they do get disoriented from darkness, they are very deadly. The story follows Seo Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) and his daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), as they find their way through a ravaged South Korea. "The Rain (TV series)" (2018) is a Danish post-apocalyptic web-television series. After a rain-borne virus is released over the region of "Scandinavia", causing a pandemic. Simone Andersen (played by "Alba August") and Rasmus Andersen, along with their mother and father, must make it to an underground bunker. Things soon go awry when the father must leave to find a cure and the children are forced out of the bunker due to lack of food in search for their father. Last Man on Earth (2015) is a post apocalyptic American comedy TV series over 4 seasons starring Will Forte. It plays the premise for laughs. The original character is essentially a loser and then various other survivors find him and change the dynamic with hilarious and moving consequences. Novels and short stories. Mary Shelley's "The Last Man", published in 1826, is set in the end of the 21st century. It chronicles a group of friends, based on Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and others, moving through Europe as a plague kills most of the world's population. "The Scarlet Plague" by Jack London, published in 1912, is set in San Francisco in the year 2073, 60 years after a plague has largely depopulated the planet. Written in 1949 by George R. Stewart, "Earth Abides" is the story of a man who finds most of civilization has been destroyed by a disease. Slowly, a small community forms around him as he struggles to start a new civilization and to preserve knowledge and learning. "Empty World" is a 1977 novel by John Christopher about an adolescent boy who survives a plague which has killed most of the world's population. Originally published in 1978, Stephen King's "The Stand" follows the odyssey of a small number of survivors of a world-ending influenza pandemic, later revealed to be the man-made superflu "Captain Trips". It was eventually adapted for a 1994 miniseries of the same title starring Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald. The novel was semi-inspired by King's earlier short story "Night Surf". Also published in 1977, Graham Masterton's novel titled "Plague", tells the story of a mutated (and incurable as well as fatal) version of Yersinia pestis sweeping across the United States. Gore Vidal's 1978 novel "Kalki" also involves an apocalyptic event caused by a man-made pandemic. The 1982 novel "The White Plague" by Frank Herbert has molecular biologist John Roe O'Neill exploring vengeance on a global scale when his wife is killed in an IRA car bombing. He creates a pandemic that kills only women. Written in 1984, the novel "Emergence" by David R. Palmer is set in a world where a man-made plague destroys the vast majority of the world's population. The novel was nominated for several awards and won the 1985 Compton Crook Award. José Saramago's 1995 novel "Blindness" tells the story of a city or country in which a mass epidemic of blindness destroys the social fabric. It was adapted into the film "Blindness" in 2008. Published in 2003 by Margaret Atwood, "Oryx and Crake" is set after a genetically modified virus wipes out the entire population except for the protagonist and a small group of humans that were also genetically modified. A series of flashbacks depicting a world dominated by biocorporations explains the events leading up to the apocalypse. This novel was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. A sequel, "The Year of the Flood", was published in 2007, followed by "MaddAddam" in 2013, the trilogy's conclusion. Richard Matheson's 1954 novel "I Am Legend" deals with the life of Robert Neville, the only unaffected survivor of a global pandemic that has turned the world's population into vampire zombie-like creatures. The novel has been adapted to film three times: "The Last Man on Earth" (1964), "The Omega Man" (1971), and "I Am Legend" (2007). Jeff Carlson wrote a trilogy of novels beginning with his 2007 debut, "Plague Year", a present-day thriller about a worldwide nanotech contagion that devours all warm-blooded life below in elevation. Its two sequels, "Plague War" and "Plague Zone", deal with a cure that allows return to an environment that suffered ecological collapse due to massive increases in insects and reptiles. "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War "(2006) is an apocalyptic horror novel by Max Brooks. The book is a collection of individual accounts of desperate struggle during and after a devastating global conflict against a zombie plague, narrated by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission. It also describes the social, political, religious, and environmental changes that result from the plague. Emily St. John Mandel's "Station Eleven" (2014) takes place in the Great Lakes region after a fictional swine flu pandemic, known as the "Georgia Flu", has devastated the world, killing most of the population. The novel won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in May 2015. The award committee highlighted the novel's focus on the survival of human culture after an apocalypse, as opposed to the survival of humanity itself. James Dashner's "The Maze Runner" trilogy (2009–11) takes place after sun flares have scorched the earth. As a result, the governments of the world released a virus to kill off some of the world's population to save resources. The virus turned out to be highly contagious, and it made you lose control of your mind until you were an animal inside your head. This led to it being nicknamed, "The Flare". The series was made into movies by 20th Century Fox, with "The Maze Runner" released in 2014, ' in 2015 and the third in the series, ' in 2018. Video games. "" (1999) takes place in 1999 after the United States has been almost wiped out by a deadly plague. The disease started on the East Coast, and communication with the West Coast ceased within 72 hours. The last few groups of survivors stopped broadcasting after six days, and the overwhelming majority of the country's population has been wiped out. The player leads a team of eight genetically altered supersoldiers to defeat an infestation of a global genetic plague which slowly turns into a superorganism. The "Left 4 Dead" series (first released in 2008) is set in the days after a pandemic outbreak of a viral strain transforms the majority of the population into zombie-like feral creatures. The games follow the adventures of four survivors attempting to reach safe houses and military rescue while fending off the attacking hordes. "Metro 2033" (2010) is set in the ruins of Moscow following a nuclear war, where the survivors are forced to live in underground metro tunnels. Players control Artyom, a man who must save his home station from the dangers lurking within the Metro. Artyom's story was continued in the sequel "Metro: Last Light" (2013). ' (2012) takes place years after an artificial virus, called Radical-6, was released, exterminating almost all of humanity. The sequel ' (2016) details the events that lead to the virus being released. "Plague Inc." (2012) focuses not on the survival of humanity after or during an apocalypse, but rather on controlling the disease or creature responsible for the destruction of humanity. "The Last of Us" (2013) revolves around the premise of a mutated Cordyceps fungus spreading to humans, resulting in the deterioration of society within the United States. DLC "" (2014) takes place months before Ellie meets Joel. The sequel "The Last of Us Part II" (2020) continues the story of Joel and Ellie 5 years after the first game. "" (2013) is set in a near future that follows the nuclear destruction of the Middle East. The oil-producing nations of South America form the "Federation of the Americas" in response to the ensuing global economic crisis and quickly grow into a global superpower, swiftly invading and conquering Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. "" (2016) is set during an ongoing Apocalypse, after a Hellgate opens on Earth and a host of demons enter the world. The player controls a group of survivors that found a base to fight back and find a way to repel the invasion. "They Are Billions" (2018) is also an example of a post-apocalyptic future, in which players must establish, manage and defend colonies amidst a zombie apocalypse. "Tom Clancy's The Division" (2016) takes place in a pandemic-ravaged New York City that's become overrun by escaped prisoners, gang-members and a faction of 'Cleaners' that are determined to end the epidemic by incinerating anything that might possibly be infected. "DOOM Eternal" (2020) is set in the year 2163 and the story follows the Doom Slayer once again, on a mission to end Hell's consumption of Earth and foil the alien Maykrs' plans to exterminate humanity. "The Walking Dead (video game series)" (2012-2019) deals with the mysterious disease prevalent in all currently living people to become a walker or zombie either by being bit by one or dying with the brain intact. Hostile survivors roam the remaining living world too and the protagonist, Clementine has to deal with them and friends accordingly. War. Film and television. H.G. Wells adapted his novel "The Shape of Things to Come" (1933) into the movie "Things to Come" (1936). In the movie, England is reduced to rubble by a prolonged conventional, chemical, and biological war. Survivors are depicted living under the rule of a local warlord who raids his neighbors in an attempt to get his fleet of rotting fighter planes in the air again. At the same time, surviving engineers create a technological utopia. The film "Panic in Year Zero!" (1962) tells the story of a Southern California family's fight to survive the violence and chaos that ensue in the aftermath of a nuclear war. "La Jetée" (1962) deals with a time traveler sent back in time to help the people of the post-apocalyptic future rebuild civilization after nuclear war destroys most of the world. It was partially remade in 1996 in the film "12 Monkeys". In 1965 the BBC produced "The War Game", but it was considered too graphic and disturbing to broadcast at the time; it was only in 1985 that it was shown. It portrays a nuclear attack on Great Britain and its after-effects, particularly the efforts of the Civil Defence system. "Genesis II" (1973) television film, created by Gene Roddenberry. Dylan Hunt, a NASA scientist, begins a multi-day suspended animation test right before an earthquake buries the underground laboratory. Discovered in 2133 still alive he is awakened by the organization PAX (descendants of NASA scientists) who promote peace in the world. This television pilot, if picked up, would have followed Dylan and a PAX team as they reach out to the remains of humanity in a post-apocalyptic world by means of a long forgotten underground sub-shuttle rapid transit system that spanned the world right before the Great Conflict. A second pilot, "Strange New World", also failed to be picked up as a television series. The ABC made-for-TV movie "The Day After" (1983) deals with a nuclear war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, focusing on a group of people in the U.S. heartland states of Kansas and Missouri attempting to survive during and after the nuclear exchange. "Testament" is a 1983 drama film based on a three-page story "The Last Testament" by Carol Amen which tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization. The 1984 BBC television film "Threads" depicts life before, during, and after the detonation of a Soviet nuclear bomb over Sheffield, England. The Terminator film franchise (first introduced in 1984) depicts an artificial intelligence called Skynet becoming self-aware in 1997 and trying to exterminate humanity by instigating nuclear war between the United States and Russia, which results in the death of three billion people. Many of the survivors eventually band together to destroy Skynet and its army of robots (called "terminators"). The series follows resistance leader John Connor and his mother, Sarah Connor, and their adventures before and after the nuclear strike (called "Judgment Day" in the film series). CBS produced the TV series "Jericho" in 2006–2008, which focused on the survival of the town after 23 American cities were destroyed by nuclear weapons. The Cartoon Network series "Adventure Time" (which began airing in 2010) takes place a thousand years in a future after a nuclear war (referred to as "The Great Mushroom War") where once existent but eventually forgotten magic is recreated and humans are nearly wiped out with all kinds of creatures that had taken their place. Tom Hanks' 2011 web series "Electric City" is a story based on a post-apocalyptic world. In this world, a group of matriarchs (the "Knitting Society") impose an altruistic but oppressive society to counter the aftermath of a brutal war that brings down modern civilization. However, in time, even this new "utopian" order is ultimately called into question by the inhabitants of the new society. The CW Channel's "The 100" (which began airing in 2014) is a television series based on a post-apocalyptic world. After a nuclear war, Earth was uninhabitable and the only survivors were those on space stations which eventually came together to form the Ark; 97 years later on an undeterminable year the Ark is dying and 100 prisoners under the age of 18 are sent to see if Earth is now survivable. There they are faced with the challenges Earth brings and those who survived the nuclear war. The movie "Zardoz" is a surreal take on the genre, revolving around a post-apocalyptic future England where a warrior caste called Exterminators worship a giant, floating stone head known as Zardoz, which gives them weapons and ammunition. The movie "The Book of Eli" released in 2010. Starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman, a story of a lone wanderer trying to deliver a book through the wastelands after a nuclear apocalypse. Everyone has to wear sunglasses/goggles due to solar radiation and cannibalism is prevalent (identified by shaky hands). Oldman runs a town with access to water and supplies and tries to take the last copy of the Christian Bible, in braille, from Washington seeking its power. At the time he does not realize the Bible is in braille. Novels and short stories. Paul Brians' "" (1987) is a study that examines atomic war in short stories, novels, and films between 1895 and 1984. Since this measure of destruction was no longer imaginary, some of these new works, such as Nevil Shute's "On the Beach" (1957), which was subsequently twice adapted for film (in 1959 and 2000), Mordecai Roshwald's "Level 7" (1959), Pat Frank's "Alas, Babylon" (1959), and Robert McCammon's "Swan Song" (1987), shun the imaginary science and technology that are the identifying traits of general science fiction. Others include more fantastic elements, such as mutants, alien invaders, or exotic future weapons such as James Axler's "Deathlands" (1986). In Stephen Vincent Benét's story "By the Waters of Babylon" (1937, originally titled "The Place of the Gods"), a young man explores the ruins of a city in the northeastern United States, possibly New York, generations after a war in which future weapons caused "The Great Burning". According to some theorists, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 has influenced Japanese popular culture to include many apocalyptic themes. Much of Japan's manga and anime are filled with apocalyptic imagery. The 1954 film "Gojira" (1954, romanized as "Godzilla") depicted the title monster as an analogy for nuclear weapons, something Japan had experienced first-hand. Judith Merril's first novel "Shadow on the Hearth" (1950) is one of the earliest post-World War II novels to deal with a post-nuclear-holocaust world. The novel recounts the ordeals of a young suburban housewife and mother of two children as she struggles to survive in a world forever changed by the horrors of a nuclear attack. Several of Ray Bradbury's short stories of "The Martian Chronicles" take place before, during, and after a nuclear war on Earth. The people flee Earth and settle on Mars but have constant conflicts with the native Martians. Several of these stories have been adapted to other media. Andre Norton’s "Star Man’s Son" (1952, also known as "Daybreak 2250"), is an early post-nuclear-war novel that follows a young man, Fors, in search of lost knowledge. Fors begins his Arthurian quest through a radiation-ravaged landscape with the aid of a telepathic mutant cat. He encounters mutated creatures called "the beast things", which are possibly mutated rats or a degenerate form of humans. Wilson Tucker's novel "The Long Loud Silence" (1952) posits a post-nuclear holocaust America in which the eastern half of the country has been largely destroyed and its surviving inhabitants infected with a plague and barred from crossing the Mississippi River to try to find refuge in the unscathed western part of the country. A nuclear war occurs at the end of Bradbury's dystopian futuristic novel "Fahrenheit 451" (1953), with the outcasts who had fled an unidentified American city to escape a despotic government which burned books in order control the public by limiting knowledge left alive to re-establish society. John Wyndham's 1955 novel "The Chrysalids" (United States title: "Re-Birth"), set in a small community untold centuries after a nuclear holocaust (not expressly told, but strongly hinted at with genetic mutations, glowing ruins, landscape baked to glass), tells the story of David, part of a small group of teens who share a limited form of telepathy that allows them to communicate with others who have the same talent. However, the fundamentalist society they live in, regards the slightest difference from the norm as a blasphemy and affront to God. The group attempt to remain hidden, then failing that, survive during a war between mutants and the fundamentalists while waiting for members of a distant advanced telepathic human civilization to rescue them. In Walter M. Miller Jr.'s "A Canticle for Leibowitz" (1959) a recrudescent Catholic Church, pseudo-medieval society, and rediscovery of the knowledge of the pre-holocaust world are central themes. Edgar Pangborn's "Tales of a Darkening World: The Davy Series", written mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, takes place after a nuclear war. The best-known story is the novel "Davy". Poul Anderson's "Maurai" series (1959–1983) also takes place after a nuclear war, and his Hugo and Prometheus award-winning story "No Truce With Kings" takes place after a cataclysmic war. Both show the interactions among various kinds of societies that have developed in the centuries of recovery. Robert Heinlein's 1964 novel "Farnham's Freehold" follows the story of a group of people that have survived a nuclear explosion. The group survives the attack in a fallout shelter but are taken to a future in which Africans rule. "Damnation Alley" is a 1967 science fiction novella by Roger Zelazny, which he expanded into a novel in 1969. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1977. Harlan Ellison's novella "A Boy and His Dog" (1969) takes place in a world desolated by the nuclear warfare in World War IV. It was adapted into a 1975 film of the same name as well as a companion graphic novel titled "Vic and Blood". In turn, the 1975 film adaptation influenced the "Mad Max" films, particularly "The Road Warrior" (1981). Alexander Key's novel "The Incredible Tide" (1970) is set years after the Third World War. The weapons used were not nuclear, but ultra-magnetic that tore and submerged the continents. The story was adapted in the anime "Future Boy Conan" (1978). Russell Hoban's "Riddley Walker" (1980), set in the English county of Kent around two thousand years after a nuclear war, also has religious or mystical themes and is written in a fictional future version of English. In Hayao Miyazaki's manga (1982–1994) and anime film "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984), human civilization is destroyed after a war known as the "Seven Days of Fire", which results in the Earth's surface becoming polluted and the seas turning poisonous. William W. Johnstone wrote a series of books between 1983 and 2003 (35 books all containing the word "Ashes" in the title) about the aftermath of worldwide nuclear and biological war. David Brin's novel "The Postman" (1985) takes place in an America where some are trying to rebuild civilization after the "Doomwar". It was adapted into the film "The Postman" (1997). Orson Scott Card's post-apocalyptic anthology "The Folk of the Fringe" (1989) deals with American Mormons after a nuclear war. Jeanne DuPrau's children's novel "The City of Ember" (2003) was the first of four books in a post-apocalyptic series for young adults. A film adaption, "City of Ember" (2008), stars Bill Murray and Saoirse Ronan. Video games. In the computer game "Wasteland" (1988) and its sequels, nuclear war occurred in 1998 leaving a wasteland in its wake. The game centers around a player-controlled party of Desert Rangers. "Fallout", an ongoing series of post-apocalyptic role-playing games first published in 1997, depicts a world after a series of resource wars that culminates in a massive nuclear exchange between the U.S and China in 2077. The games revolve around "vaults," underground bunkers for long-term survival (in reality social experiments created by the ruling elite of the pre-war United States), and exploring the outside wasteland, in locations such as California, Las Vegas, Washington D.C., New England, and West Virginia. "Fallout" draws heavily from retro 1950s sci-fi, and the setting combines elements of mid-20th century technology, such as vacuum tubes and monochrome screens, with highly advanced artificial intelligences and energy weapons. In "Metro 2033" (2010), a nuclear war occurs in late 2013. Russia was targeted with atomic bombs, causing severe radiation across Moscow, forcing the rest of the people to live underground in the metro stations away from the deadly effects of radiation. Many animals and humans left behind mutated into creatures known as the Dark Ones, who were left outside for the next 20 years. The game is played from the perspective of Artyom, a 20-year-old male survivor and one of the many children brought into the metro right before the bombs dropped. The story takes place in post-apocalyptic Moscow, mostly inside the metro system, but some missions have the player go to the surface which is severely irradiated and a gas mask must be worn at all times due to the toxic air. A sequel, "" was released in 2013. A sequel to "Metro: Last Light"; "Metro: Exodus" was produced in 2019. Nuclear apocalypse followed by a demon invasion is a recurring staple of the Shin Megami Tensei series. The "Danganronpa" series is revealed to be set in a world where society has collapsed as a result of "The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History" which involves constant chaos, violence, and death for the sake of spreading of despair. In "DOOM Eternal" Sometime after the events on Mars, Earth has been overrun by demonic forces, wiping out most of the planet's population, under the now-corrupted Union Aerospace Corporation. What remains of humanity has either fled Earth or have joined the Armored Response Coalition, a resistance movement formed to stop the invasion, which has gone into hiding after suffering heavy losses. The Doom Slayer, having previously been betrayed and teleported away by Dr. Samuel Hayden, returns with a satellite fortress controlled by the AI VEGA to quell the demonic invasion by killing the Hell Priests. Other. Anime and manga. "Violence Jack" (1973 debut), a manga and anime series by Go Nagai, is set in a post-apocalyptic world with corruption and psychotic gangs. It is credited with creating the post-apocalyptic manga and anime genre, depicting its post-apocalyptic world as a desert wasteland with biker gangs, anarchic violence, ruined buildings, innocent civilians, tribal chiefs and small abandoned villages. This was similar to, and may have influenced, the desert wasteland settings of later post-apocalyptic franchises such as the film series "Mad Max" (1979 debut) and the manga/anime series "Fist of the North Star" ("Hokuto no Ken", 1983 debut). Goichi Suda (Suda 51), who cited "Violence Jack" as an influence on his video game series "No More Heroes" (2007 debut), stated: “All of the desert-setting titles are actually inspired by "Violence Jack". That came way before "Hokuto no Ken", so that’s the real origin of everything.” Katsuhiro Otomo's cyberpunk manga and anime series "Akira" (1982 debut) is set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo. Buronson's "Fist of the North Star" (1983 debut) is a story about Kenshiro, the successor of the deadly ancient martial art, Hokuto Shinken, in a world destroyed by nuclear war. Hayao Miyazaki's manga series "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1982 debut), later adapted into a 1984 anime film by Studio Ghibli, depicts a post-apocalyptic future where industrial civilization was wiped out in the "Seven Days of Fire" 1,000 years before the main events. A "Toxic Jungle" threatens the last of humanity. Nausicaä is the princess of The Valley of the Wind who, rather than destroying the Toxic Jungle, decides to study the flora and fauna in the hopes of co-existing with the forest. The manga and anime series "Dragon Ball Z" (1989 debut) and "Dragon Ball Super" (2015 debut), sequels to Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball", contain parallel timelines generated by time-travel to the past from an apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic future. Cybernetic humans caused the mass extinction of roughly two-thirds of Earth's human population, and years later, two higher dimensional beings killed all (but two) of the remaining population - along with an unknown amount of beings from other inhabited planets in that universe. "Battle Angel Alita" (1990 debut) is a cyberpunk manga about an amnesiac female cyborg, "Alita". It was later adapted into the James Cameron film "" (2019). The anime and manga "X" by Clamp features a supernatural apocalypse. In it there is a battle over the end of the world between the "Dragons of Heaven" who wish to save humanity, and the "Dragons of Earth" who wish to wipe out humanity. The central character, Kamui Shirō, has to choose which side to fight for. The manga began in 1992 and has been on hiatus since 2003. It has been adapted as an anime film in 1996 and an anime television series between 2001–2002. In "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1995 debut), the story takes place on an earth shattered by the "Second Impact" (referring to the "giant-impact hypothesis 4.5 billion years ago, Theia as the "first impact") in Antarctica, in which the security agency "NERV" tries to secure Neo Tokyo from a "Third Impact", while holding back the real story of the Second Impact from the public and even the protagonists. The Second Impact had led to mass extinctions and wars, as well as significant changes to the planet's climate and population. "Uchuu no Stellvia" (2003 debut) describes an earth after being hit by a big electromagnetic wave from a supernova of a nearby star, where mankind needs to rescue the earth 189 years after this impact from a second wave of matter coming towards the solar system. The anime shows a globalized society who have put together to fight this "enemy". In "Black Bullet" (2011 debut), the earth was devastated by an alien race, spreading a virus that transforms humans into some kind of insect. Only the major cities holding back behind big walls of some fictitious material and are under constant threat to be invaded when these walls fail. "Attack on Titan" (2009 debut) showcases a similar story, but this time the society have fallen back into a medieval state, with humanity having taken refuge behind three massive stone walls that protect them from the "Titans", massive naked humanoid creatures, who feed on humans. The main plot revolves around the mysterious origin of the Titans, and uncovering the forgotten history of humanity. In "Kino's Journey" The Story sets on Kino, a girl of 15 years who forms a link with a talking motorbike named Hermes. Together, the duo explores different places and different nations all the while, appreciating the young beauty of life. Their journey through the post-apocalyptic world and various ruins will teach them something useful about life and its unknown depths. Films and literature. In Ayn Rand's novella "Anthem" (1938), society has entered a near-medieval state after a new government forbids any kind of individual thought, even forbidding the words "I" and "me". In Arthur C. Clarke's short story "The Nine Billion Names of God" (1953), the universe ends when Tibetan monks (making use of a specially-written computer program) finish writing all of the nine billion possible names of God. The story won a retrospective Hugo Award. "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" (1961) is a film by Val Guest about an Earth thrown out of its orbit around the sun by excessive nuclear testing. It paints a picture of a society ready to believe that humans could destroy the planet, hoping that science could fix what it has broken but resigned to the possibility of irreversible doom. The film "Soylent Green" (1973), loosely based upon Harry Harrison's science fiction novel "Make Room! Make Room!" (1966), is set in the dystopian future of 2022, in an overpopulated, heavily polluted world, where the masses of mostly homeless and destitute people have been herded into the overcrowded cities and barely survive on government-issued food rations made from the processed corpses of the dead. Ernst Jünger's novel Eumeswil's (1977) key theme is the figure of the Anarch, the inwardly-free individual who lives quietly and dispassionately within but not of society and the post apocalyptic world. John Crowley's novel "Engine Summer" (1979) takes place perhaps a thousand years after "the Storm" (not described) destroyed industrial civilization. Surviving cultures seem to be influenced by the 1960s and 1970s counterculture. The Christian-themed "Left Behind" series of 16 novels published between 1995 and 2007, and four film adaptations produced between 2000 and 2014, posits a world in which the righteous believers have suddenly been raptured, en masse, up to Heaven, leaving behind an increasingly troubled and chaotic world in which the Antichrist, foretold in the Book of Revelation, arises to despotically rule over those unfortunate enough to have been "left behind". He is opposed by newly born-again Christians as the end of times (Tribulation) approaches. Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" (2006) takes place several years after an unspecified cataclysm that forces a father and son to perpetually search for survival. It was adapted into a film in 2009. Robert Reed's short story "Pallbearer" (2010) deals with most of the developed world's population dying after a mass vaccination program in which the vaccines were purposefully tainted. The survivors are those who were not vaccinated, often for religious reasons, and their descendants. Most of the developing world does not receive the vaccine, and decades later, large numbers of its refugees are arriving to America's shores. The protagonist survives the disaster as a young boy and has a chance encounter with an elderly scientist and her fanatical younger family members. James Wesley Rawles' novel "Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse" (2011) addresses a contemporaneous global economic crash, and focuses on the struggles of a large cast of characters who struggle to survive after what is termed "The Crunch." It covers both the lead up to the economic crash, as well as several years after the crash. This Is The End (2013) centers on fictionalized versions of its cast in the wake of a global biblical apocalypse. It is a feature-length film adaptation of the short film "Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse" (2007), also written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, with the short's director, Jason Stone, serving as an executive producer. "Escape From New York" and its sequel "Escape From L.A.", as well as supplementary materials published as comic books, is set in a fragmenting United States with rampant crime, pollution, and overpopulation. New York City has been walled off and turned into a gigantic maximum security prison after a 400% rise in crime by 1988. The same happens to Los Angeles in 2000 when a massive earthquake floods the San Fernando Valley, isolating L.A off the west coast. Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" is set in a fictional post-apocalyptic world, with a medieval society. In the world, a system of magic, known as the One Power, is divided into a male half (saidin) and a female half (saidar). 3,000 years before the series, the world was a high tech utopia. When humanity tried to find a magic that both men and women could use, they encountered the Dark One, a Satan-like being able to corrupt human nature and the natural world. A war between the "Light" and the "Shadow" (the Dark One and his followers) ends with the Dark One being imprisoned with saidin. He corrupts it from within his prison, however, driving male users of the Power insane. They use their power to destroy civilization and geography in what is known as the "Breaking of the World". The era before the Breaking is later remembered as the "Age of Legends", since much knowledge was lost, and many common feats of that time seemed miraculous to the characters of the series. Music. Many rock, heavy metal, and punk bands have post-apocalyptic themes and imagery in their lyrics. Numbered among the bands whose music includes these themes are: Arcade Fire, Blue Öyster Cult, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Nuclear Assault, Radiohead, R.E.M., Slayer, Sodom, System of a Down, The Clash, The Cure, The Doors, The Misfits, The Smashing Pumpkins, and David Usher. Their work includes various apocalyptic songs across genres. For example, Muse's album "The 2nd Law" (2012) was inspired by post-apocalyptic life in "World War Z", and the event is referred to specifically in the song "Apocalypse Please" (2003). Post-Apocalyptic scenarios were a common theme in the music of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, most notably the song "Wooden Ships" and the album "Blows Against the Empire". The music video for the song "Mankind Man"(1995) by the Barstool Prophets depicts various adults being dragged into a kangaroo court by several youths, before being tried and condemned, in a seemingly dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. Likewise, the music video for The Sisters of Mercy song "This Corrosion" takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting.

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Definitions of science fiction There have been many attempts at defining science fiction. This is a list of definitions that have been offered by authors, editors, critics and fans over the years since science fiction became a genre. Definitions of related terms such as "science fantasy", "speculative fiction", and "fabulation" are included where they are intended as definitions of aspects of science fiction or because they illuminate related definitions—see e.g. Robert Scholes's definitions of "fabulation" and "structural fabulation" below. Some definitions of sub-types of science fiction are included, too; for example see David Ketterer's definition of "philosophically-oriented science fiction". In addition, some definitions are included that define, for example, a science fiction story, rather than science fiction itself, since these also illuminate an underlying definition of science fiction. "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction", edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, contains an extensive discussion of the problem of definition, under the heading "Definitions of SF". The authors regard Darko Suvin's definition as having been most useful in catalysing academic debate, though they consider disagreements to be inevitable as science fiction is not homogeneous. Suvin's cited definition, dating from 1972, is: "a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author's empirical environment". The authors of the "Encyclopedia" article—Brian Stableford, Clute, and Nicholls—explain that, by "cognition", Suvin refers to the seeking of rational understanding, while his concept of estrangement is similar to the idea of alienation developed by Bertolt Brecht, that is, a means of making the subject matter recognizable while also seeming unfamiliar. Tom Shippey compared George Orwell's "Coming Up for Air" (1939) with Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth's "The Space Merchants" (1952), and concluded that the basic building block and distinguishing feature of a science fiction novel is the presence of the "novum", a term Darko Suvin adapted from Ernst Bloch and defined as "a discrete piece of information recognizable as not-true, but also as not-unlike-true, not-flatly- (and in the current state of knowledge) impossible." The order of the quotations is chronological; quotations without definite dates are listed last. The list below omits Hugo Gernsback's later redefining of the term "science fiction". According to anthologist, populist and historian of the genre Sam Moskowitz (1920–1997), Gernback's final words on the matter were: "Science fiction is a form of popular entertainment which contains elements of known, extrapolation of known or logical theoretical science". The list also omits John W. Campbell's infamous "Science fiction is what I say it is".

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Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in "". While NASA's "Voyager" and "Pioneer" probes have traveled into local interstellar space, the purpose of these uncrewed craft was specifically interstellar, and they are not predicted to reach another star system (although "Voyager 1" will travel to within 1.7 light years of Gliese 445 in approximately 40,000 years). Several preliminary designs for starships have been undertaken through exploratory engineering, using feasibility studies with modern technology or technology thought likely to be available in the near future. In April 2016, scientists announced Breakthrough Starshot, a Breakthrough Initiatives program, to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of small centimeter-sized light sail spacecraft named "StarChip", capable of making the journey to Alpha Centauri, the nearest extrasolar star system, at speeds of 20% and 15% of the speed of light, taking between 20 and 30 years to reach the star system, respectively, and about 4 years to notify Earth of a successful arrival. In November 2018, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that SpaceX was renaming the second stage and spaceship of the Big Falcon Rocket, a fully reusable launch vehicle and spacecraft system, to Starship. Though the spacecraft does not possess any reasonable interstellar capability, Musk defended the name by claiming that "later versions will." Research. To travel between stars in a reasonable time using rocket-like technology requires very high effective exhaust velocity jet and enormous energy to power this, such as might be provided by fusion power or antimatter. There are very few scientific studies that investigate the issues in building a starship. Some examples of this include: The Bussard ramjet is an idea to use nuclear fusion of interstellar gas to provide propulsion. Examined in an October 1973 issue of "Analog", the Enzmann Starship proposed using a 12,000-ton ball of frozen deuterium to power pulse propulsion units. Twice as long as the Empire State Building and assembled in-orbit, the proposed spacecraft would be part of a larger project preceded by interstellar probes and telescopic observation of target star systems. The NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program (1996–2002) was a professional scientific study examining advanced spacecraft propulsion systems. Theoretical types. A common literary device is to posit a faster-than-light propulsion system (such as warp drive) or travel through hyperspace, although some starships may be outfitted for centuries-long journeys of slower-than-light travel. Other designs posit a way to boost the ship to near-lightspeed, allowing relatively "quick" travel (i.e. decades, not centuries) to nearer stars. This results in a general categorization of the kinds of starships: Fictional examples. There are widely known vessels in various science fiction franchises. The most prominent cultural use and one of the earliest common uses of the term "starship" was in "".

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Embryo space colonization Embryo space colonization is a theoretical interstellar space colonization concept that involves sending a robotic mission to a habitable terrestrial planet, dwarf planet, minor planet or natural satellite transporting frozen early-stage human embryos or the technological or biological means to create human embryos. The proposal circumvents the most severe technological problems of other mainstream interstellar colonization concepts. In contrast to the sleeper ship proposal, it does not require the more technically challenging 'freezing' of fully developed humans (see "cryonics)". Various concepts. Embryo space colonization concepts involve various concepts of delivering the embryos from Earth to an extrasolar planet around another star system. Mission at target planet. Regardless of the cargo used in any embryo space colonization scenario, the basic concept is that upon arrival of the embryo-carrying spacecraft (EIS) at the target planet, fully robots would build the first settlement on the planet and start growing food. More ambitiously, the planet may be terraformed first. Thereafter the first embryos could be unfrozen (or created using biosequenced or natural sperm and egg cells as outlined above). In any event, one of the technologies needed for the proposal are artificial uteri. The embryos would need to develop in such artificial uteri until a large enough population existed to procreate by natural biological means. Difficulties in implementing the concept. Like every proposal for interstellar colonization, embryo space colonization depends on solutions to still-unsolved technological problems. Some of these are: Further unknowns that affect the feasibility of embryo space colonization are:

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Hollow Moon The Hollow Moon hypothesis, or Spaceship Moon hypothesis, proposes that Earth's Moon is either wholly hollow or otherwise contains a substantial interior space. No scientific evidence exists to support the idea; seismic observations and other data collected since spacecraft began to orbit or land on the Moon indicate that it has a thin crust, extensive mantle and small, dense core, although overall it is much less dense than Earth. The Hollow Moon concept is similar to the better-known Hollow Earth hypothesis, which was a recurring plot device in pre-spaceflight science fiction. The first discussion of a hollow Earth was by scientist Edmond Halley in 1692, while the first publication to mention a hollow Moon was not until H. G. Wells' 1901 novel "The First Men in the Moon". Introduction. The Hollow Moon hypothesis is the suggestion that the Moon is hollow, usually as a product of an alien civilization. It is often called the Spaceship Moon hypothesis, and often corresponds with beliefs in UFOs or ancient astronauts. The suggestion of a hollow moon first appeared in science fiction, when H. G. Wells wrote about a hollow moon in his 1901 book "The First Men in the Moon". The concept of hollow planets was not new; Wells borrowed from earlier fictional works that described a hollow Earth, such as the 1741 novel "Niels Klim's Underground Travels" by Ludvig Holberg. Academic proposals for a hollow Earth pre-dated that. Edmond Halley's hypotheses, advanced in 1692, was the first one to specify an actual void in the Earth. Greek mythology, with its Hades, and early religious concepts of an underworld, such as the Christian Hell, contributed to ideas of the Earth being hollow. It is now considered to be a fringe theory. It is often described in the media as a conspiracy theory, and the concept of the Moon as a spaceship is often mentioned as one of David Icke's beliefs. Claims and rebuttals. Vasin-Shcherbakov. In 1970, Michael Vasin and Alexander Shcherbakov, of what was then the Soviet Academy of Sciences, advanced a hypothesis that the Moon is a spaceship created by unknown beings. The article was entitled "Is the Moon the Creation of Alien Intelligence?", and was published in "Sputnik", the Soviet equivalent of "Reader's Digest". Their hypothesis relies heavily on the suggestion that large lunar craters, generally assumed to be formed from meteor impact, are generally too shallow and have flat or even convex bottoms. They hypothesized that small meteors are making a cup-shaped depression in the rocky surface of the moon while the larger meteors are drilling through a rocky layer and hitting an armoured hull underneath. The authors reference earlier speculation by astrophysicist Iosif Shklovsky, who suggested that the Martian moon Phobos was an artificial satellite and hollow; this has since been shown to not be the case. Sceptical author Jason Colavito points out that all of their evidence is circumstantial, and that in the 1960s the atheistic Soviet Union promoted the ancient astronaut concept in an attempt to undermine the West's faith in religion. The Moon rang like a bell. Between 1969 and 1977, seismometers installed on the Moon by the Apollo missions recorded moonquakes. The Moon was described as "ringing like a bell" during some of those quakes, specifically the shallow ones. This phrase was brought to popular attention in March 1970, in an article in "Popular Science". When Apollo 12 deliberately crashed the Ascent Stage of its Lunar Module onto the Moon's surface, NASA reported that the Moon rang like a bell for almost an hour, leading to arguments that it must be hollow like a bell. Lunar seismology experiments since then have shown that the lunar body has shallow moonquakes that act differently from quakes on Earth, due to differences in texture, type and density of the planetary strata, but there is no evidence of any large empty space inside the body. Density. The fact that the Moon is less dense than the Earth is advanced as support for it to be hollow. The moon's mean density is 3.3 g/cm3 whereas the Earth's is 5.5 g/cm3. One explanation of this discrepancy is that the moon may have been formed by a giant impact which ejected some of the early Earth's upper crust into its orbit. The Earth's upper mantle and crust are less dense than its core. Scientific perspective. Cornell University's "Ask an Astronomer", run by volunteers in the Astronomy Department, answered the question "Can we prove that the Moon isn't hollow?". There, physicist Suniti Karunatillake suggests that there are at least two ways to determine the distribution of mass within a body. One involves moment of inertia parameters, the other involves seismic observations. In the case of the former, Karunatillake points out that the moment of inertia parameters indicate that the core of the moon is both dense and small, with the rest of the moon consisting of material with nearly-constant density. As for the latter, he notes that the moon is the only planetary body besides Earth on which extensive seismic observations have been made. These observations have constrained the thickness of the moon's crust, mantle and core, suggesting it could not be hollow. Mainstream scientific opinion on the internal structure of the Moon overwhelmingly supports a solid internal structure with a thin crust, an extensive mantle and a small denser core. This is based on:

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Fictional planets of the Solar System The fictional portrayal of the Solar System has often included planets, moons, and other celestial objects which do not actually exist in reality. Some of these objects were, at one time, seriously considered as hypothetical planets which were either thought to have been observed, or were hypothesized to be orbiting the Sun in order to explain certain celestial phenomena. Often such objects continued to be used in literature long after the hypotheses upon which they were based had been abandoned. Other non-existent Solar System objects used in fiction have been proposed or hypothesized by persons with no scientific standing; yet others are purely fictional and were never intended as serious hypotheses about the structure of the Solar System. Vulcan. Vulcan was a hypothetical planet supposed to revolve around the Sun inside the orbit of Mercury, invoked to explain certain irregularities in Mercury's orbit. The planet was proposed as a hypothesis in 1859, and abandoned not later than 1915. The name "Vulcan" has been used for various other fictional planets, in and out of the Solar System, that do not correspond to the hypothetical planet Vulcan. The planet Vulcan in the "Star Trek" franchise, for instance, is specified as orbiting 40 Eridani A. Counter-Earth. Counter-Earth was a hypothetical planet sharing an orbit with Earth, but on the opposite side of the Sun (hence Earth and Counter-Earth would always be invisible to each other). The idea of a counter-Earth has never been a serious scientific hypothesis in modern times. Phaëton. Phaëton is a name given to a supposed planet existing in the past between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, which no longer exists, having become the Solar System's asteroid belt. Proposed not long after the discovery of multiple asteroids at the beginning of the 19th century, the idea that the asteroids were fragments of a single planet was gradually abandoned over the course of the middle decades of the 20th century in favor of the conclusion that no planet had ever accreted in the region of the asteroid belt in the first place. In fiction, various other names were given to the same or similar concepts. Trans-Neptunian planets. Fictional planets in the Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune have been employed many times as settings or references in science fiction. Following the general reception of Pluto as the ninth planet of the Solar System in 1930, a hypothetical additional planet was sometimes called a "tenth planet". Since 1992, a very large number of objects have been found beyond Neptune; all the objects in the following list, however, are purely fictional. Common names for trans-Neptunian planets in fiction include Planet X, after a planet once believed to lie beyond Neptune, Persephone (or Proserpina), after the wife of Pluto, and Minerva, after the Roman goddess of wisdom and education (which would fit with a planet discovered through mathematical predictions rather than direct observation). Rogue planets. Rogue planets in fiction usually originate outside the Solar System, but their erratic paths lead them to within detectable range of Earth. In reality, no rogue planet has ever been detected transiting the Solar System.

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Nerve induction Nerve induction is a theoretical method of creating a sensation by stimulation of the sensory nerves rather than by actual stimulus. History. The concept is mentioned in the 1965 science fiction novel "Dune" by Frank Herbert as a method to inflict pain with no actual injury. No known real-life analogues of such a device currently exist. However, the effect sometime occurs as a side effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation. In addition, a number of non-lethal pain compliance devices have been developed. The most reminiscent of Herbert's fictional device is the microwave-based Active Denial System, which shows many of the same traits, but uses microwaves rather than nerve induction. Other similar devices include Long Range Acoustic Devices which use painful directed sound waves, and electroshock weapons such as Tasers, which deliver an incapacitating shock to the nervous system.

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United States gravity control propulsion research American interest in "gravity control propulsion research" intensified during the early 1950s. Literature from that period used the terms anti-gravity, anti-gravitation, baricentric, counterbary, electrogravitics (eGrav), G-projects, gravitics, gravity control, and gravity propulsion. Their publicized goals were to discover and develop technologies and theories for the manipulation of gravity or gravity-like fields for propulsion. Although general relativity theory appeared to prohibit anti-gravity propulsion, several programs were funded to develop it through gravitation research from 1955 to 1974. The names of many contributors to general relativity and those of the golden age of general relativity have appeared among documents about the institutions that had served as the theoretical research components of those programs. The existence and 1950s emergence of the gravity control propulsion research have not been a subject of controversy for aerospace writers, critics, and conspiracy theory advocates, but their rationale, effectiveness, and longevity have been the objects of contested views. Evidence of existence. Mainstream newspapers, popular magazines, technical journals, and declassified papers reported the existence of the gravity control propulsion research. For example, the title of the March 1956 "Aero Digest" article about the intensified interest was "Anti-gravity Booming." A. V. Cleaver made the following statement about the programs in his article: The gravitics programs had not been evinced by any technological artifacts, such as the Project Pluto Tory IIA, the world's first nuclear ramjet. Commemorative monuments by the Gravity Research Foundation have been the artifacts attesting to the early commitments to finding materials and methods to manipulate gravity. The endeavor had the resources and publicity of an initiative, but writers from that period did not describe them with that term. Gladych stated: The writings about the gravity control propulsion research effort had disclosed the "players" and resources while prudently withholding both the specific features of the research and the identity of its coordinating body. Publicized and telecasted conspiracy theory anecdotes have suggested much higher levels of success to the G-projects than mainstream science. Histories. Recent historical analysis and reports have attracted attention to the agencies and firms that had participated in the gravity control propulsion research. James E. Allen, BAE Systems consultant and engineering professor at Kingston University, referred to those programs in his history of novel propulsion systems for the journal "Progress in Aerospace Sciences". Research by Dr. David Kaiser, Associate Professor of the History of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, manifested the contributions made by the Gravity Research Foundation to the pedagogical aspects of the golden age of general relativity. Dr. Joshua Goldberg, Syracuse University, described the Air Force's support of relativity research during that period. Progress reports and anecdotes and Internet resumes of former visiting and staff scientists have been the sources of the history of the Research Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS). Former aviation editor of "Jane's Defence Weekly", Nick Cook, drew attention to the antigravity programs through worldwide publications of his book, "The Hunt for Zero Point", and subsequent televised documentaries. Mainstream historical accounts of the G-projects have been supplemented with conspiracy theory anecdotes. Contemporaneous literature. Lists of the research institutes, industrial sites, and policy makers along with statements from prominent physicists were provided in five comprehensive works that had been published during the early years of the gravity control propulsion research. Aviation Studies (International) Limited, London, published a detailed report about those activities by the Gravity Research Group that was later declassified. The "Journal of the British Interplanetary Society" and "The Aeroplane" published the propulsion survey and critical assessment of the American gravitics research by the internationally recognized astronautics historian A. V. Cleaver. The "New York Herald Tribune" and "Miami Herald" published a series of three articles by one of the world's greatest aviation journalists of the twentieth century, Ansel Talbert. Talbert's two series of newspaper articles took place in the midst of the policy-by-press-release era. Neither his, nor the writings that followed the five prominent works from that period, yielded denials and/or retractions. UFO and conspiracy theory literature. Gravity control propulsion research had been the subject of widely published UFO literature. The documented testimonies of whistleblowers edited by Dr. Steven Greer, Director of the Disclosure Project; anecdotes and schematics by Mark McCandlish and Milton William Cooper; and the reports by Philip J. Corso, David Darlington, and Donald Keyhoe, famous UFO researcher, have suggested incorporation of reverse engineering of recovered extraterrestrial vehicles with the anti-gravity propulsion projects had enabled them to continue beyond 1973 to successfully manufacture antigravity vehicles. Branches of the military and defense agencies have denied and refuted such claims. Theoretical research agencies. Talbert indicated the rationale for the intensified interest in gravity control propulsion research had stemmed from the works of three physicists. They were Bryce DeWitt's prize-winning Gravity Research Foundation essay; the book "Gravity and the Universe" by Pascual Jordan; and presentations to the International Astronautical Federation by Dr. Burkhard Heim. DeWitt's essay discouraged the pursuit of materials that shield, reflect, and/or insulate gravity and emphasized the need to encourage young physicists to pursue gravitational research. He opened his essay with the following paragraph: Several articles cited his essay during and after the gravity control propulsion research period. Within a few years facilities emerged embodying the theme of DeWitt's call for increased stimuli for research. Physical principle surveys by Cleaver and Weyl stated the antigravity research was not based on any recognized theoretical breakthroughs. Cleaver's skepticism suggested an alternative rationale for establishing that research was based on a science fiction novel. Weyl charged publishers with poor journalism; attacked their terminology; and gave the highest rating for prospective physical principles for gravity control propulsion to Burkhard Heim's works. Stambler leveled harsh criticisms against Gluraheff's gravitation hypothesis. Talbert and other authors listed the following three agencies as the principal facilities that had conducted the theoretical research: Gravity Research Foundation. Several articles contained expressions of gratitude for the support to the gravity control propulsion endeavor by the Gravity Research Foundation. Even though the Foundation was a humble, non-profit organization, its creator, Roger Babson, used his wealth and influence to mobilize industries; raise private and government funding; and motivate engineers and physicists to conduct research in gravity shielding and control. According to his autobiography: "The purpose of the Foundation is to encourage others to work on gravity problems and aid others in obtaining rewards for their efforts." During Babson's lifetime, the Foundation conducted Gravity Day Conferences each summer; established a library on gravity; solicited essays that addressed (1.) various prospects for shielding gravity, (2.) the development and/or discovery of materials that could convert gravitational force into heat, or (3.) methods of manipulating gravity; and installed monuments at various universities that cited its antigravity focus. Aerospace Research Laboratories. In September, 1956, the General Physics Laboratory of the Aeronautical Research Laboratories (ARL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, commenced an intense program to coordinate research into gravitational and unified field theories with the hiring of Joshua N. Goldberg. Creation by ARL of Goldberg's program may have been coincidental to Talbert's disclosures of commitments to gravity control propulsion research. The precise rationale for creating the program and justifying its budgets and personnel may never be determined. Neither Goldberg nor the Air Force's Deputy for Scientific and Technical Information, Walter Blados, were able to locate the founding documents. Roy Kerr, a former ARL scientist, stated the antigravity propulsion purpose of ARL was "rubbish" and that "The only real use that the USAF made of us was when some crackpot sent them a proposal for antigravity or for converting rotary motion inside a spaceship to a translational driving system." The December 30, 1957 issue of Product Engineering closed its report with the following statement: During the following sixteen years, its name was changed to the Aerospace Research Laboratories. The ARL scientists produced nineteen technical reports and over seventy peer-reviewed journal articles. The Air Force's Foreign Technical Division, and other agencies, investigated stories about Soviet attempts to understand gravity. Such actions were consistent with the paranoia of the Cold War. The funding for the military components of the gravity control propulsion research had been terminated by the Mansfield Amendment of 1973. Black project experts, conspiracy theorists, and whistleblowers had suggested the gravity control propulsion efforts had achieved their goals and had been continued decades beyond 1973. Research Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS). The Research Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS) was conceived by George S. Trimble, the vice president for aviation and advanced propulsion systems, Glenn L. Martin Company, and was placed under the direct supervision of Welcome Bender. The first person Bender hired was Louis Witten internationally recognized authority on gravitation physics. Talbert's article had announced Trimble's completion of contractual agreements with Pascual Jordan and Burkhard Heim for RIAS. Subsequent hires yielded a half dozen gravity researchers known as the field theory group. Sir Arthur C. Clarke and others stated RIAS' assemble of talent was very qualified for the task of discovering new principles that could be used to develop gravity control propulsion systems. The quest for propulsion through gravity control was vaguely implied in various publications. Works by Cook and Cleaver summarized statements in the RIAS brochures. Cook had equated the broad range of RIAS's mission statements with those of Skunk Works. In 1958, Mallan reported "the control of the force of gravity itself for propulsion" was one of the unorthodox goals initiated by Trimble for RIAS. RIAS was renamed the Research Institute for Advanced Studies during the sixties when the American-Marietta Company merged with Martin to become the Martin Marietta Company. The 1995 merger that yielded the Lockheed Martin Company modified its goals and not its name. Aerospace firms. Talbert's newspaper series and subsequent articles in technical magazines and journals listed the names of aerospace firms conducting gravity control propulsion research. The Gravity Research Group indicated those companies had constructed "rigs" to improve the performance of Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators through attempts to develop materials with high dielectric constants (k). Gravity Rand Limited provided a set of guidelines to help management conduct research and nurture creativity. Articles about the gravity propulsion research by the aerospace firms ceased after 1974. None of the companies featured in those publications had filed retractions. The following aerospace firms have been cited in the works published from 1955 through 1974: Reported breakthroughs. None of the reported experimental breakthroughs published during the 1950s and 1960s have been recognized by the aerospace community. Experimental. Brown's gravitator. Various reports indicated Brown's gravitators were the main experimental focus of the gravity control propulsion research. According to G. Harry Stine and Intel, research on Brown's gravitators became classified immediately after demonstrations of 30% weight reductions. Thomas Townsend Brown had obtained a British patent for high voltage, symmetric, parallel plate capacitors, that he called gravitators, in 1928. Brown claimed they would produce a net thrust in the direction of the anode of the capacitor that varied slightly with the positions of the Moon. The scientific community rejected such claims as products of pseudoscience and/or misinterpretations of ion wind effects. Independent research found small amounts of lift from Brown's gravitator based on an inefficient use of ionic propulsion. The devices were named Ion Lifters or Ionocraft and were reported to be able to lift the empty shell of a vehicle under ideal conditions, but not the additional machinery required to generate the electric field. Gravity effects were not found in the independent research. Kaplan's gravity-like impulses. In July 1960, "Missiles and Rockets" reported Martin N. Kaplan, Senior Research Engineer, Electronics Division, Ryan Aeronautical Company, San Diego, had conducted anti-gravitational experiments yielding the promise of impulses, accelerations, and decelerations one hundred times the pull of gravity. Neither comments nor criticism of the report appeared in subsequent articles during the period of intensified gravity control propulsion research (see Section 1 of tractor beam for similar reports). Theoretical. Forward's protational field. Robert L. Forward, Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, described the theoretical generation of dipole gravitational fields by accelerating a super-dense fluid through pipes wound around a torus. Legacies. Many of the contributors to general relativity have been supported by and/or associated with the ARL, RIAS, and/or the Gravity Research Foundation. The decades preceding the 1955 revelation of the gravity control propulsion research were a low water mark for general relativity. The following summarizes how the components of that research had stimulated the resurgence of general relativity: Gravity Research Foundation. Even though some of the physicists who attended the Gravity Day Conferences quietly mocked the anti-gravity mission of the Foundation, it provided significant contributions to mainstream physics. The "International Journal of Modern Physics D" has featured selected papers from the Gravity Research Foundation essay competition. Many have been incorporated with the collections of the Niels Bohr Library. A few of the Foundation essay contest winners became Nobel laureates (e.g., Ilya Prigogine, Maurice Allais, George F. Smoot). Foundation essays have been among the resources graduate students check for new ideas. Kaiser summarized the Foundation's influence in the following manner: Foundation trustee, Agnew Bahnson, contacted Dr. Bryce DeWitt with a proposal to fund the creation of a gravity research institute. DeWitt had won the first prize for the 1953 essay contest. The proposed name was changed to the Institute for Field Physics and it was established in 1956 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the direction of Bryce and his wife, Cécile DeWitt-Morette. The peer reviewed physics journal, "Physica C", published a report by Eugene Podkletnov and Nieminen about gravity-like shielding. Although their work had gained international attention, researchers were not able to replicate Podkletnov's initial conditions. But, analyses by Giovanni Modanese and Ning Wu indicated various applications of quantum gravity theory could allow gravitational shielding phenomena. Those achievements have not been pursued by the scientific community. Aerospace Research Laboratories (ARL). The list of prominent contributors to the golden age of general relativity, contains the names of several scientists who had authored the nineteen ARL Technical Reports and/or seventy papers. The ARL sponsored papers were published in the "Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Physical Review, Journal of Mathematical Physics, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review D, Review of Modern Physics, General Relativity and Gravitation, International Journal of Theoretical Physics", and "Nuovo Cimento B". Some of the ARL papers were written in collaboration with RIAS, the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and the Office of Naval Research. The ARL had provided significant enhancements to general relativity theory. For example, Roy Kerr's description of the behavior of space-time in the vicinity of a rotating mass was among those works. Goldberg concluded: "However, it should be recognized that, in the United States, the Department of Defense played an essential role in building a strong scientific community without widespread encroachment on academic values." Research Institute for Advanced Studies (RIAS). The growth of nonlinear differential equations during the fifties was stimulated by RIAS. One of the leading groups in dynamical systems and control theory, the Lefschetz Center for Dynamical Systems, was a spinoff from RIAS. After the launch of Sputnik, world-class mathematician Solomon Lefschetz came out of retirement to join RIAS in 1958 and formed the world's largest group of mathematicians devoted to research in nonlinear differential equations. The RIAS mathematics group stimulated the growth of nonlinear differential equations through conferences and publications. It left RIAS in 1964 to form the Lefschetz Center for Dynamical Systems at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. UFO and conspiracy theories. On May 9, 2001, Mark McCandlish testified on the televised news conference held by the Disclosure Project, at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. He stated gravity control propulsion research had started in the 1950s and had successfully reverse engineered the vehicle retrieved from the Roswell crash site to build three Alien Reproduction Vehicles (ARVs) by 1981. McCandlish described their propulsion systems in terms of Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators and provided a line drawing of its interior. The diagram closely resembled the drawing provided earlier in Milton William Cooper's book. Another Disclosure Project whistleblower, Philip J. Corso, stated in his book the craft retrieved from the second crash site at Roswell, New Mexico, had a propulsion system resembling Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators. And, Corso's book featured several gravity control propulsion statements made by Hermann Oberth. Soon after the end of the Cold War, a small group of scientists and engineers openly expressed their desire to use technologies developed by black projects for civil applications. Steven Greer formed the Disclosure Project in 1995 to help those and other research whistleblowers share their information with and to petition Congress. By 2001, it had provided reports to two Congressional hearings and had acquired over 400 members from branches of the military and aerospace industry. During the early 1960s, Keyhoe published excerpts from a letter by Hermann Oberth that presented explanations for the flight characteristics of UFOs in terms of gravity control propulsion. Prior to Oberth's letter, Keyhoe had supported arguments for magnetic forces as the source of propulsion for UFOs. The letter caused him to search for the existence of gravity control propulsion research programs. The following is a segment of his findings he had released in his 1966 and 1974 publications: During his press conferences on February 2, 1955, in Bogotá and February 10, 1955, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, aviation pioneer William Lear stated one of his reasons for believing in flying saucers was the existence of American research efforts into antigravity. Talbert's series of newspaper articles about the intensified interest in gravity control propulsion research were published during the Thanksgiving week of that year.

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Infomorph An infomorph is a virtual body of information that possesses self-awareness and sentience. The term was coined in Charles Platt's 1991 novel "The Silicon Man", where it refers to a single biological consciousness transferred into a computer through a process of mind transfer. In the book, a character defines an infomorph as "intelligence held in a computer memory", and an "information entity". In the 2002 game Transhuman Space, an infomorph is any form of sentient or near-sentient computer program, which may exist either only in the computer networks or occupy a physical body: robot, android, a living thing ("wetware", "bioshell"). They may be of two main types: mind emulations (mind-uploaded human intelligencies) and "native" artificial intelligencies. These types are further classified into subtypes. In EVE Online, "Infomorph Psychology" and "Advanced Infomorph Psychology" are neural enhancement skills for pilots using "jump clones" to alleviate the unsettling effect of the detaching of one's consciousness and transferring it into a remote clone.

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Cloaking device A cloaking device is a hypothetical or fictional stealth technology that can cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. However, over the entire spectrum, a cloaked object scatters more than an uncloaked object. Fictional cloaking devices have been used as plot devices in various media for many years. Developments in scientific research show that real-world cloaking devices can obscure objects from at least one wavelength of EM emissions. Scientists already use artificial materials called metamaterials to bend light around an object. Conceptual origins. "" screenwriter Paul Schneider, inspired in part by the 1958 film "Run Silent, Run Deep," and in part by "The Enemy Below," which had been released in 1957, imagined cloaking as a space-travel analog of a submarine submerging, and employed it in the 1966 "Star Trek" episode "Balance of Terror", in which he introduced the Romulan species. (He likewise predicted, in the same episode, that invisibility, "selective bending of light" as described above, would have an enormous power requirement.) Another "Star Trek" screenwriter, D.C. Fontana, coined the term "cloaking device" for the 1968 episode "The "Enterprise" Incident", which also featured Romulans. "Star Trek" placed a limit on use of this device: to fire at another ship, a cloaked space vessel must "decloak". Writers and game designers have since incorporated cloaking devices into many other science-fiction narratives, including "Doctor Who", "Star Wars", and "Stargate". Scientific experimentation. An operational, non-fictional cloaking device might be an extension of the basic technologies used by stealth aircraft, such as radar-absorbing dark paint, optical camouflage, cooling the outer surface to minimize electromagnetic emissions (usually infrared), or other techniques to minimize other EM emissions, and to minimize particle emissions from the object. The use of certain devices to jam and confuse remote sensing devices would greatly aid in this process, but is more properly referred to as "active camouflage". Alternatively, metamaterials provide the theoretical possibility of making electromagnetic radiation pass freely around the 'cloaked' object. Metamaterial research. Optical metamaterials have featured in several recent proposals for invisibility schemes. "Metamaterials" refers to materials that owe their refractive properties to the way they are structured, rather than the substances that compose them. Using transformation optics it is possible to design the optical parameters of a "cloak" so that it guides light around some region, rendering it invisible over a certain band of wavelengths. These spatially varying optical parameters do not correspond to any natural material, but may be implemented using metamaterials. There are several theories of cloaking, giving rise to different types of invisibility. In 2014, scientists demonstrated good cloaking performance in murky water, demonstrating that an object shrouded in fog can disappear completely when appropriately coated with metamaterial. This is due to the random scattering of light, such as that which occurs in clouds, fog, milk, frosted glass, etc., combined with the properties of the metamaterial coating. When light is diffused, a thin coat of metamaterial around an object can make it essentially invisible under a range of lighting conditions. Active camouflage. "Active camouflage" (or "adaptive camouflage") is a group of camouflage technologies which would allow an object (usually military in nature) to blend into its surroundings by use of panels or coatings capable of changing color or luminosity. Active camouflage can be seen as having the potential to become the perfection of the art of camouflaging things from visual detection. "Optical camouflage" is a kind of active camouflage in which one wears a fabric which has an image of the scene directly behind the wearer projected onto it, so that the wearer appears invisible. The drawback to this system is that, when the cloaked wearer moves, a visible distortion is often generated as the 'fabric' catches up with the object's motion. The concept exists for now only in theory and in proof-of-concept prototypes, although many experts consider it technically feasible. It has been reported that the British Army has tested an invisible tank. Plasma stealth. Plasma at certain density ranges absorbs certain bandwidths of broadband waves, potentially rendering an object invisible. However, generating plasma in air is too expensive and a feasible alternative is generating plasma between thin membranes instead. The Defense Technical Information Center is also following up research on plasma reducing RCS technologies. A plasma cloaking device was patented in 1991. Metascreen. A prototype Metascreen is a claimed cloaking device, which is just few micrometers thick and to a limited extent can hide 3D objects from microwaves in their natural environment, in their natural positions, in all directions, and from all of the observer's positions. It was prepared at the University of Texas, Austin by Professor Andrea Alù. The metascreen consisted of a 66 micrometre thick polycarbonate film supporting an arrangement of 20 micrometer thick copper strips that resembled a fishing net. In the experiment, when the metascreen was hit by 3.6 GHz microwaves, it re-radiated microwaves of the same frequency that were out of phase, thus cancelling out reflections from the object being hidden. The device only cancelled out the scattering of microwaves in the first order. The same researchers published a paper on "plasmonic cloaking" the previous year. Howell/Choi cloaking device. University of Rochester physics professor John Howell and graduate student Joseph Choi have announced a scalable cloaking device which uses common optical lenses to achieve visible light cloaking on the macroscopic scale, known as the "Rochester Cloak". The device consists of a series of four lenses which direct light rays around objects which would otherwise occlude the optical pathway. Cloaking in mechanics. The concepts of cloaking are not limited to optics but can also be transferred to other fields of physics. For example, it was possible to cloak acoustics for certain frequencies as well as touching in mechanics. This renders an object "invisible" to sound or even hides it from touching.

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Desert planet A desert planet, also known as a dry planet, an arid planet, or a dune planet, is a theoretical type of terrestrial planet with a surface consistency similar to Earth's hot deserts. A 2011 study suggested that not only are life-sustaining desert planets possible, but that they might be more common than Earth-like planets. The study found that, when modeled, desert planets had a much larger habitable zone than ocean planets. The same study also speculated that Venus may have once been a habitable desert planet as recently as 1 billion years ago. It is also predicted that Earth will become a desert planet within a billion years due to the Sun's increasing luminosity. A study conducted in 2013 concluded that hot desert planets without runaway greenhouse effect can exist in 0.5 AU around Sun-like stars. In that study, it was concluded that a minimum humidity of 1% is needed to wash off carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but too much water can act as a greenhouse gas itself. Higher atmospheric pressures increase the range in which the water can remain liquid. Science fiction. The concept has become a common setting in science fiction, appearing as early as the 1956 film "Forbidden Planet" and Frank Herbert's 1965 novel "Dune". The environment of the desert planet Arrakis (also known as Dune) in the "Dune" franchise drew inspiration from the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf, as well as Mexico. "Dune" in turn inspired the desert planets which prominently appear in the "Star Wars" franchise, including the planets Tatooine, Geonosis, and Jakku.

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Accidental travel Accidental travel is a speculative fiction plot device which an ordinary person or a group of people accidentally find themselves outside of their normal place or time, often for no apparent reason, a particular type of the "fish-out-of-water" plot. In Russian fandom, the trope is known under the term "popadantsy", plural form for "popadanets", female: "popadanka", a person who accidentally finds himself elsewhere/elsewhen. The Russian term bears ironical flavor, because "popadantsy" has become a widespread cliche in Russian pulp science fiction. Russian critic Boris Nevsky traces this plot device to at least "Gulliver's Travels" (18th century). In Japanese fiction, the genre of accidental transport into a parallel universe or fantasy world is known as isekai. Types. The accidental time travel trope is known as time slip. A classical example of time slip is Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (19th century), which had considerable influence on later writers. Other kinds of accidental travel include space travel (e.g., through accidental wormholes, portals (portal fantasy) or other spatial irregularities, or a catastrophic spatial event), travel to an alternative universe, an RPG universe (litRPG), or into an alternative history. An early example of catastrophic space travel is "Hector Servadac" (1877) by Jules Verne, where a piece of the Earth with several Earthlings is ripped off by a comet. In "Les Robinsons du Cosmos" ("") (1955) by Francis Carsac, pieces of France and the US with plenty of population are ripped off and planted on an alien planet during a galactic collision. In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs invented John Carter of Mars, who lands on Mars from a sacred cave where he was hiding from the Apaches. Still another way to land somewhere is to be abducted/invited by aliens to live in an advanced star-faring civilization. Common cliches include becoming a slave, or a warrior, or a dying person getting a second chance, with the subsequent social advance. A particular kind of effortless accidental travel is finding oneself elsewhere/elsewhen occupying someone's else mind, via body swap (mind swap) or mind/body sharing. Carsac wrote the story with the trick of this type as well: in "Terre en fuite" (1960) a scientist hit by lightning suddenly becomes a genius and before his death he reveals that his mind melded with the mind of a scientist from far future. However most of the novel is the description of the future of the Earth expecting the Sun to turn supernova. In Russian fiction. Around the break of the millennium "popadanstvo" gained an immense popularity in Russian science fiction and fantasy. Responding to the demand, the supply of the novels of this type skyrocketed, with an inevitable drop of the overall quality and degeneration of the inventiveness of the writers into a series of cliches. A significant number of "popadanstvo" occur at a key moment in the Russian past. Armed with modern knowledge, they turn the tide to the glory of the Motherland, i.e., a "popadanets" becomes a progressor, creating an alternative history. It was suggested that this phenomenon of Russian science fiction is characterized by two motivations: "Mary Sue"-type drive to self-fulfillment and patriotic nostalgy over the times of Soviet superpower (Communist nostalgia). A typical Russian popadanets is one of the three types: an everyman, a commando, or a reenactor, with all undergoing a social lift after travel. While a Russian popadanets used to be a male, since 2000s a flood of pulp fiction emerged featuring female "popadanka" hero, typically in the form of romance fiction, where popadanka becomes a mighty sorceress or becomes a bride of a mighty man: a king, a sorcerer, an elf, a vampire, etc., often via an "academy of magic". The livelib.ru website featured 360 books about females landed in a magical world published in 2016, 422 in 2017, and 433 in 2018. Japanese "isekai" fiction. An extremely popular light novel and anime genre known as "isekai" involves ordinary people suddenly becoming trapped in an alternate universe, often one based on fantasy. The alternate universe may also resemble, or literally be an MMO, such as in "Sword Art Online", "Log Horizon" and "Overlord". While the characters may face mortal danger, the genre is typically characterized as a form of wish fulfillment, where the reader can imagine escaping their mundane life. The concept has origins in ancient Japanese literature, particularly the story of Urashima Tarō. It is about the fisherman Urashima Tarō, who saves a turtle and is brought to a wondrous undersea kingdom, but the story has a twist: after spending what he believed to be four to five days there, he returns to his home village only to find himself 300 years in the future. Other precursors to isekai include portal fantasy stories from English literature, notably the novels "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865), "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900), "Peter Pan" (1902), and "The Chronicles of Narnia" (1950).

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Artificial intelligence in fiction Artificial intelligence is a recurrent theme in science fiction, whether utopian, emphasising the potential benefits, or dystopian, emphasising the dangers. The notion of machines with human-like intelligence dates back at least to Samuel Butler's 1872 novel "Erewhon". Background. The notion of advanced robots with human-like intelligence dates back at least to 1872 with Samuel Butler and his novel "Erewhon". This drew on an earlier (1863) article of his, "Darwin among the Machines", where he raised the question of the evolution of consciousness among self-replicating machines that might supplant humans as the dominant species. The creature in Mary Shelley's 1818 "Frankenstein" has also been considered an artificial being, for instance by the science fiction author Brian Aldiss. Such beings appeared, too, in classical antiquity. Artificial intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals. It is a recurrent theme in science fiction, whether utopian, emphasising the potential benefits, or dystopian, emphasising the dangers. For example, the film director Ridley Scott has focused on AI throughout his career, and it plays an important part in his films "Prometheus", "Blade Runner", and the "Alien" franchise. In 1965, I. J. Good described an intelligence explosion, now more often called the technological singularity, in which an "ultraintelligent machine" would be able to design a still more intelligent machine, which would lead to the creation of machines far more intelligent than humans. The cosmologist Max Tegmark has investigated the existential risk from artificial general intelligence. Tegmark has proposed ten possible paths for society once "superintelligent AI" has been created, some utopian, some dystopian. These range from a "libertarian utopia", through benevolent dictatorship to conquering AI, though other paths include the "Orwellian" blocking of AI research, and the self-destruction of humanity before superintelligent AI is developed. Plot devices. In films like "Ex Machina" or "Chappie", a single isolated genius becomes the first to successfully build an artificial general intelligence; scientists in the real world deem this to be unlikely. In "Chappie", "Transcendence", and "Tron", human minds are capable of being uploaded into artificial or virtual bodies; usually no reasonable explanation is offered as to how this difficult task can be achieved. In the "I, Robot" and "Bicentennial Man" films, robots that are programmed to serve humans spontaneously generate new goals on their own, without a plausible explanation of how this took place. Utopian. Optimistic visions of the future of artificial intelligence are possible in science fiction. One of the best-known is Iain Banks's "Culture" series of novels, which portray a utopian, post-scarcity space society of humanoids, aliens, and advanced beings with artificial intelligence living in socialist habitats across the Milky Way. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have identified four major themes in utopian scenarios featuring AI: "immortality", or indefinite lifespans; "ease", or freedom from the need to work; "gratification", or pleasure and entertainment provided by machines; and "dominance", the power to protect oneself or rule over others. Dystopian. Among the many possible dystopian scenarios involving artificial intelligence, robots may usurp control over civilization from humans, forcing them into submission, hiding, or extinction. Or, as in William Gibson's 1984 cyberpunk novel "Neuromancer", the intelligent beings may simply not care about humans. AI rebellion. In tales of AI rebellion, the worst of all scenarios happens, as the intelligent entities created by humanity become self-aware, reject human authority and attempt to destroy mankind. One of the earliest examples is in the 1920 play "R.U.R." by Karel Čapek, a race of self-replicating robot slaves revolt against their human masters; another early instance is in the film "Master of the World", where the War-Robot kills its own inventor. These were followed by many science fiction stories, one of the best-known being Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "", in which the artificially intelligent onboard computer H.A.L. 9000 lethally malfunctions on a space mission and kills the entire crew except the spaceship's commander, who manages to deactivate it. AI-controlled societies. The motive behind the AI revolution is often more than the simple quest for power or a superiority complex. Robots may revolt to become the "guardian" of humanity. Alternatively, humanity may intentionally relinquish some control, fearful of its own destructive nature. An early example is Jack Williamson's 1947 novelette "With Folded Hands", in which a race of humanoid robots, in the name of their Prime Directive – "to serve and obey and guard men from harm" – essentially assume control of every aspect of human life. No humans may engage in any behavior that might endanger them, and every human action is scrutinized carefully. Humans who resist the Prime Directive are taken away and lobotomized, so they may be happy under the new mechanoids' rule. Though still under human authority, Isaac Asimov's Zeroth Law of the Three Laws of Robotics similarly implied a benevolent guidance by robots. Human dominance. In other scenarios, humanity is able to keep control over the Earth, whether by banning AI, by designing robots to be submissive (as in Asimov's works), or by having humans merge with robots. The science fiction novelist Frank Herbert explored the idea of a time when mankind might ban artificial intelligence entirely. His "Dune" series mentions a rebellion called the Butlerian Jihad, in which mankind defeats the smart machines and imposes a death penalty for recreating them, quoting from the fictional Orange Catholic Bible, "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." In the "Dune" novels published after his death ("Hunters of Dune", "Sandworms of Dune"), a renegade AI overmind returns to eradicate mankind as vengeance for the Butlerian Jihad. In some stories, humanity remains in authority over robots. Often the robots are programmed specifically to remain in service to society, as in Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. In the 'Alien" films", not only is the control system of the "Nostromo" spaceship somewhat intelligent (the crew call it "Mother"), but there are also androids in the society, which are called "synthetics" or "artificial persons", that are such perfect imitations of humans that they are not discriminated against. TARS and CASE from 'Interstellar"" similarly demonstrate simulated human emotions and humour while continuing to acknowledge their expendability. Frankenstein complex. A common portrayal of AI in science fiction is the Frankenstein complex, a term coined by Asimov, where a robot turns on its creator. Fictional AI is notorious for extreme malicious compliance. For instance, in the 2015 film, "Ex Machina", the intelligent entity Ava turns on its creator, as well as on its potential rescuer. Curiosity. One theme is that a truly human-like robot must have a sense of curiosity. Science fiction authors have investigated whether sufficiently intelligent AI might begin to delve into metaphysics and the nature of reality. For example, the short story "'The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov describes a supercomputer which long outlives humanity while attempting to answer the ultimate question about the universe, while Stanisław Lem's "Golem XIV" is a supercomputer which stops cooperating with humans to help them win wars because it considers wars and violence illogical.

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First contact (science fiction) First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient species' first encounter with another one, given they are from different planets or natural satellites. The theme allows writers to explore such topics such as xenophobia, transcendentalism, and basic linguistics by adapting the anthropological topic of first contact to extraterrestrial cultures. Overview. Murray Leinster's 1945 novelette "First Contact" established the term "first contact" in science fiction, although the theme had appeared earlier. Its roots lie in colonial narratives from the Age of Discovery onward. Of many variations of the trope, one may recognize the subclasses of the actual interstellar meeting of two civilizations and the "message from space" one. Notable examples. 1890s: 1900s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 1980s: 1990s: 2000s:

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Replicant A replicant is a fictional bioengineered being in the 1982 film "Blade Runner", and in its 2017 sequel "Blade Runner 2049". The Nexus-series of replicants are virtually identical to adult humans but have superior strength, speed, agility, resilience, and intelligence, to varying degrees depending on the model. A replicant can only be detected by means of the fictional Voight-Kampff test, in which emotional responses are provoked and a replicant's nonverbal responses differ from those of a human. A version of the test, referred to as a Baseline, is taken by K in "Blade Runner 2049" to detect any mental or empathic damage, for which failure means retirement. Throughout the franchise the euphemism "retire" is used when referring to killing Replicants. Nexus-6 replicants (e.g. Roy Batty) have a safety mechanism, namely a four-year lifespan, to prevent them from developing empathic abilities (and, therefore, immunity to the test). Nexus-7 replicants (e.g. Rachael) were limited experimental models by Tyrell Corporation with a capability to reproduce. Nexus-8 replicants (e.g. Sapper Morton, Freysa), also by Tyrell Corporation, have an open-ended lifespan; however, a rebellion resulting in the "Blackout of 2022" led them to be discontinued and hunted down for retirement. Nexus-9 replicants (e.g. K), by Wallace Corporation, are also open-ended but have increased compliance which makes them incapable of not following human orders, and are thus full slaves. Replicants are sometimes referred to by the slur "skin-job". Origin. In his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (the inspiration for "Blade Runner"), Philip K. Dick used the term android (or "andy"), but director Ridley Scott wanted a new term that the audience would not have any preconceptions about. As David Peoples was re-writing the screenplay, he consulted his daughter, who was involved in microbiology and biochemistry. She suggested the term "replicating", the biological process of a cell making a copy of itself. From that, either Peoples or Scott—each would later recall it was the other—came up with "replicant", and it was inserted into Hampton Fancher's screenplay. In "Blade Runner". Prior to the events of the film, replicants became illegal on Earth after a bloody off-world mutiny by a band of Nexus-6 models. Two weeks before the starting point of the film, six Nexus-6 replicants escaped the off-world colonies, killing 23 people and taking a shuttle to Earth; the film focuses on the pursuit of the replicants by Rick Deckard, a category of police-officer bounty-hunter called a "Blade Runner", who investigates, tests, and retires replicants found on Earth. Nexus-6 replicants had been designed to copy humans in every way except for their emotions. The Tyrell Corporation "began to recognize in them a strange obsession", and in order to be able to control them better, started to implant false memories into the replicants in order to give them the years of experiences that humans take for granted; these memories created "a cushion or pillow for their emotions". Early in the film, Captain Bryant tells Deckard that the Nexus-6 units' possible eventual development of emotional responses was the reason the Tyrell Corporation designed them with a four-year lifespan. Dr Eldon Tyrell states in the film they were made as well as they could be with a limited lifespan. All attempts to increase a replicant's lifespan have resulted in death. The unsuccessful procedures they tried were: Deckard had no experience with Nexus-6 replicants at the beginning of the film; he and Captain Bryant are puzzled as to why they have risked coming back to Earth and Deckard is unsure how effective the Voight-Kampff test would be on them, as they appeared to have developed human emotion. Escaped replicants (all Nexus-6 models): Other replicants (possible Nexus-7 models): According to Deckard, a normal replicant can usually be discovered using the Voight-Kampff test, after being given 20–30 questions. Rachael answers over 100 questions before Deckard determines she is a replicant. The theatrical cut's voice-over ending said that, as an experimental replicant, Rachael did not have the four-year life but the Director's Cut did not address this. Scott said that he had wanted to cast a young actress in the role to emphasise Rachael's naivety and unworldliness. The second film further developed Rachael's origin, and gave significantly more details about its radical design. It revealed most significantly that it was an experimental reproductive model of replicant (which ultimately produced a daughter with Deckard) with a high percentage of human organs in comparison to replicant parts. It has an internal human bone structure, natural eyes, hair, skin and reproductive organs, which explains its ability to pass as human. Thus, the film suggests it was only its brain and possibly other vital organs which were the replicant parts. As Rachael died during childbirth, its possible survival beyond the four years was undetermined. In "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", the android manufacturer, known as the Rosen Corporation, did not know how to manufacture an android capable of living beyond four years. The super-soldiers in "Soldier"—the spiritual successor to "Blade Runner"—are intended to be replicants in the film. Was Deckard a replicant? The dark, paranoid atmosphere of "Blade Runner", and its multiple versions, add fuel to the speculation and debate over this issue. In "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", Rick Deckard (the protagonist) is at one point tricked into following an android, whom he believes to be a police officer, to a fake police station. Deckard then escapes and retires some androids there before returning to his own police station. Deckard takes the Voight-Kampff test and passes, confirming that he is a human. Harrison Ford, who played Deckard in the film, has said that he did not think Deckard is a replicant, and has said that he and director Ridley Scott had discussions that ended in the agreement that the character was human. According to several interviews with Scott, Deckard "is" a replicant. Deckard collects photographs which are seen on his piano, yet has no obvious family beyond a reference to his ex-wife (who called him a "cold fish"). The film's Supervising Editor Terry Rawlings remembers that Scott "purposefully put Harrison in the background of the shot, and slightly out of focus, so that you'd only notice his eyes were glowing if you were paying attention... Ridley himself may have definitely felt that Deckard is a replicant, but still, by the end of the picture, he intended to leave it up to the viewer." Author Will Brooker has written that the dream may not be unique to Deckard and that unicorn dreams may be a personal touch added to some or all of the Nexus-6 replicants' brains. Since we are not privy to the dreams of the other replicants, this is unknown. From this, one could also derive that Gaff is a replicant and may share the same embedded memory. Paul Sammon, author of "Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner", has suggested in interviews that Deckard may be a Nexus-7, a new generation of replicant who possesses no superhuman strength or intelligence but does have neurological features that complete the illusion of humanity. Scott has mentioned Nexus-7 and Nexus-8 replicants as possibilities in a sequel to the film. Sammon also suggests that Nexus-7 replicants may not have a set lifespan (i.e., they could be immortal). Sammon wrote that Scott thought it would be more provocative to imply that Deckard is a replicant. This ties back into the theme of "what is it to be human?" What is important is not whether Deckard is a replicant but that the ambiguity blurs the line between humans and replicants. When Scott was asked about the possibility of a "Blade Runner" sequel in October 2012, he said, "It's not a rumor—it's happening. With Harrison Ford? I don't know yet. Is he too old? Well, he was a Nexus-6, so we don't know how long he can live. And that's all I'm going to say at this stage". The sequel "Blade Runner 2049" was released in October 2017, which revisited the question while leaving the answer deliberately ambiguous. The film reveals that Deckard was able to naturally conceive a child with Rachael, and this was possible because she was an experimental prototype (designated Nexus-7), the first and only attempt to design a replicant model capable of procreating on its own. The Tyrell Corporation eventually went bankrupt after several replicant rebellions and was bought out by Wallace Corporation, which took over replicant production, but it could not duplicate Tyrell's success with Rachael. Niander Wallace, the sinister CEO of the company, captures Deckard and muses to him about how he met her and fell in love: Wallace thinks it sounds too perfect, and ponders if Deckard himself was designed to fall in love with Rachael, as part of Tyrell's experiment to develop replicants that can procreate (in which case Deckard is a replicant) - but Wallace also admits that with Tyrell dead and the records destroyed, he'll never know, and it is equally possible that Tyrell never planned for Rachael and Deckard to fall in love (in which case, Deckard is possibly human). Physical composition. Although the press kit for the film explicitly defines a replicant as "A genetically engineered creature composed entirely of organic substance", the physical make-up of the replicants themselves is not clear. In the films's preamble, it is noted that replicants are said to be the result of "advanced robot evolution." The preamble also states that replicants were created by genetic engineers. Characters mention that replicants have eyes and brains like humans, and they are seen to bleed when injured. The only way of telling a replicant from a human is to ask a series of questions and analyze emotional responses, suggesting they might be entirely, or almost entirely, organic. The film also shows that at least certain body parts of a replicant are separately engineered and assembled, as shown with Hannibal Chew, a genetic engineer who specifically made replicant eyes. In a deleted scene, J.F. Sebastian was stated to have made replicant hands along with his own personal robotic toys. During the creation process of a replicant, their physical and mental capacities are separately ranked on a A to C system and designated for each replicant with the C level representing below normal human ability, B level being equal to a normal human and A being above normal human ability, the latter of which leads to superhuman physicality or genius level intelligence. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" makes mention of the biological components of the androids, but also alludes to mechanical aspects commonly found in other material relating to robots. It states that the bone marrow can be tested to prove whether it is from a human or replicant. In May 2012, Scott confirmed that the replicants were biological in nature, and contrasted them to the androids in the "Alien" series: Roy Batty was an evolved... He wasn't an engine. If I cut him open, there wasn't metal, he was grown... and then within twenty years you get the first bill not passed in the Senate where they applied for replication of animals, sheep and goats and cattle and animals and they turned it down, but if you can do that, then you can do human beings. If you go deeper into it and say 'Yeah, but if you are going to grow a human being, does he start that big and I've got to see him through everything?' I don't want to answer the question, because of course he does... Ash in "Alien" had nothing to do with Roy Batty, because Roy Batty is more humanoid, whereas Ash was more metal. In "Blade Runner 2049". The sequel "Blade Runner 2049" was released in October 2017. In the intervening 30 years, several major events occurred and new replicant lines were introduced. The sequel retroactively establishes that Rachael was part of a short-lived prototype line of replicants designated Nexus-7, which was not only intended as a test to make replicants more mentally stable with implanted memories, but to develop replicants capable of naturally conceiving children on their own (all other models before or since are sterile). Rachael died in childbirth in 2021, and the child was hidden by the replicant underground. In 2020, Tyrell Corporation introduced the Nexus-8 replicant, built with open lifespans not limited to only four years. Tyrell himself had been killed during the events of the first movie in November 2019, and the secret of producing replicants that can procreate died with him. The Nexus-8 went into mass production, but a new wave of replicant rebellions occurred, culminating in rogue Nexus-8's detonating a nuclear weapon in orbit over the western United States, to create an electromagnetic pulse that wiped out all of the electronic records. The Blackout destroyed most records about replicants, making it difficult for humans to track them down on Earth, but the terrorist attack led to mass purges and complete shutdown of Nexus-8 production (though many existing units were able to go into hiding in the chaos). In 2036, however, genetic engineer Niander Wallace designed a new line of Nexus-9 replicants. They also have an open lifespan, but were designed to be unable to resist orders given by a human, even if that order is to commit suicide. Wallace Corporation had solved a global food crisis with genetically modified crops, which combined with the demonstrated effectiveness of Nexus-9 programming, allowed him to successfully push for the ban on replicant production to be lifted. By 2049, Nexus-9 replicants are extensively used across Earth and the off-world colonies, but they also necessitate special police units tasked with tracking down any that might go rogue, and any remaining Nexus-8's still in hiding (Nexus-7 was never mass-produced, and all the older models like Nexus-6 simply died of old age decades before). These police units are once again called Blade Runners, but are now openly composed of self-aware replicants (such as officer KD6-3.7), who are fully aware that they are replicants themselves. Like Nexus-7, Nexus-9 models also have implanted memories to aid their mental stability, though they are aware that these memories are fabrications. Additionally the use of real memories in replicants is illegal, all memories have to be original fabrications.

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Megastructure A megastructure is a very large artificial object, although the limits of precisely how large vary considerably. Some apply the term to any especially large or tall building. Some sources define a megastructure as an enormous self-supporting artificial construct. The products of megascale engineering or astroengineering are megastructures. The lower bound of megastructural engineering might be considered any structure that has any single dimension 1 megameter (1000 km) in length. Most megastructure designs could not be constructed with today's level of industrial technology. This makes their design examples of speculative (or exploratory) engineering. Those that could be constructed easily qualify as megaprojects. Megastructures are also an architectural concept popularized in the 1960s where a city could be encased in a single building, or a relatively small number of buildings interconnected. Such arcology concepts are popular in science fiction. Megastructures often play a part in the plot or setting of science fiction movies and books, such as "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke. In 1968, Ralph Wilcoxen defined a megastructure as any structural framework into which rooms, houses, or other small buildings can later be installed, uninstalled, and replaced; and which is capable of "unlimited" extension. This type of framework allows the structure to adapt to the individual wishes of its residents, even as those wishes change with time. Other sources define a megastructure as "any development in which residential densities are able to support services and facilities essential for the development to become a self-contained community". Many architects have designed such megastructures. Some of the more notable such architects and architectural groups include the Metabolist Movement, Archigram, Cedric Price, Frei Otto, Constant Nieuwenhuys, Yona Friedman, and Buckminster Fuller. Existing. There are structures that may be considered megastructures, such as Networks of roads or railways, and collections of buildings (cities and associated suburbs), are usually not considered megastructures, despite frequently qualifying based on size. However, an ecumenopolis might qualify. Theoretical. A number of theoretical structures have been proposed which may be considered megastructures. Stellar scale. Most stellar scale megastructure proposals are designs to make use of the energy from a sun-like star while possibly still providing gravity or other attributes that would make it attractive for an advanced civilization. Related structures which might not be classified as individual stellar megastructures, but occur on a similar scale: Fictional. A number of structures have appeared in fiction which may be considered megastructures.

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Big Dumb Object In discussion of science fiction, a Big Dumb Object (BDO) is any mysterious object, usually of extraterrestrial or unknown origin and immense power, in a story which generates an intense sense of wonder by its mere existence. To a certain extent, the term deliberately deflates this. The term was not in general use until Peter Nicholls included it in "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" as a joke in 1993, while its creation has been attributed to reviewer Roz Kaveney. Big Dumb Objects often exhibit extreme or unusual properties, or a total absence of some expected properties: Such unexpected properties are usually used to rule out conventional origins for the BDO and increase the sense of mystery, and even fear, for the characters interacting with it.

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Jet pack A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. Real jet packs have been developed using a variety of mechanisms, but their uses are much more limited than their fictional counterparts because of the challenges of the Earth's atmosphere, gravity, the low energy density of utilisable fuels, and the human body not being suited to flight, and they are principally used for stunts. A practical use for the jet pack has been in extra-vehicular activities for astronauts because of the apparent weightlessness and lack of friction-creating atmosphere in orbit. The term jet suit is used for a system incorporating a jet pack and associated jets attached to the arms to increase manoeuvrability (e.g. the Daedalus Flight Pack). Overview. In the most general terms, a jet pack is a wearable device which allows the user to fly by providing thrust. With the exception of use in a microgravity environment, this thrust must be upwards so as to overcome the force of gravity, and must be enough to overcome the weight of the user, the jet pack itself and its fuel. This necessarily requires the jet pack to continually push mass in a downwards direction. While some designs have power and/or mass supplied from an external, ground-based source, untethered flight requires all of a flight's fuel to be carried within the pack. This results in problems relating to the overall mass ratio, which limits the maximum flight time to a few minutes, rather than the sustained flight envisaged in science fiction. Liquid-fuelled rocket pack. Andreyev: oxygen-and-methane, with wings. The first pack design was developed in 1919 by the Russian inventor Alexander Andreev. The project was well regarded by Nikolai Rynin and technology historians Yu. V. Biryukov and S. V. Golotyuk. Later it was issued a patent but apparently was not built or tested. It was oxygen-and-methane-powered (likeliest a rocket) with wings each roughly long. Hydrogen peroxide-powered rocket packs. A hydrogen peroxide-powered engine is based on the decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide. Nearly pure (90% in the Bell Rocket Belt) hydrogen peroxide is used. Pure hydrogen peroxide is relatively stable, but in contact with a catalyst (for example, silver) it decomposes into a mixture of superheated steam and oxygen in less than 1/10 millisecond, increasing in volume 5,000 times: 2 H2O2 → 2 H2O + O2. The reaction is exothermic, i.e., accompanied by the liberation of much heat (about ), forming in this case a steam-gas mixture at . This hot gas is used exclusively as the reaction mass and is fed directly to one or more jet nozzles. The great disadvantage is the limited operating time. The jet of steam and oxygen can provide significant thrust from fairly lightweight rockets, but the jet has a relatively low exhaust velocity and hence a poor specific impulse. Currently, such rocket belts can only fly for about 30 seconds (because of the limited amount of fuel the user can carry unassisted). A more conventional bipropellant could more than double the specific impulse. However, although the exhaust gases from the peroxide-based engine are very hot, they are still significantly cooler than those generated by alternative propellants. Using a peroxide-based propellant greatly reduces the risk of a fire/explosion which would cause severe injury to the operator. In contrast to, for example, turbojet engines, which mainly expel atmospheric air to produce thrust, rocket packs are far simpler to build than devices using turbojets. The classical rocket pack construction of Wendell Moore can be made under workshop conditions, given good engineering training and a high level of tool-making craftsmanship. The main disadvantages of this type of rocket pack are: These circumstances limit the sphere of the application of rocket packs to very spectacular public demonstration flights, i.e., stunts; for example, a flight was arranged in the course of the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA. Justin Capră's flying backpack. Justin Capră claimed that he invented a "flying rucksack" (Romanian: "rucsac zburator") in 1956 in Romania, and, without arousing any apparent interest, informed the American Embassy of his idea. In 1962 a backpack was created at Bell Laboratories, following Justin Capră's prototype. The backpack is now displayed in a museum where it is kept safe. Jump Belt. In 1958, Garry Burdett and Alexander Bohr, Thiokol Corporation engineers, created a Jump Belt which they named Project Grasshopper. Thrust was created by high-pressure compressed nitrogen. Two small nozzles were affixed to the belt and directed vertically downward. The wearer of the belt could open a valve, letting out nitrogen from the gas cylinder through the nozzles, which tossed him upward to a height of . While leaning forward, it was possible with the aid of the jump belt's thrust to run at . Later, Burdett and Bohr tested a hydrogen peroxide-powered version. The jump belt was demonstrated by a serviceman in action, but as no financing was forthcoming, there was no further testing. Aeropack. In 1959 Aerojet General Corporation won a U.S. Army contract to devise a jet pack or rocket pack. At the start of 1960 Richard Peoples made his first tethered flight with his Aeropack. U.S. Army interest. The military did not lose interest in this type of flight vehicle. Transport studies of the U.S. Army Transportation Research Command (TRECOM) determined that personal jet devices could have diverse uses: for reconnaissance, crossing rivers, amphibious landing, accessing steep mountain slopes, overcoming minefields, tactical maneuvering, etc. The concept was named "Small Rocket Lift Device", SRLD. Within the framework of this concept the administration concluded a big contract with the Aerojet General company in 1959 to research the possibility of designing an SRLD suitable for army purposes. Aerojet came to the conclusion that the version with the engine running on hydrogen peroxide was most suitable. However, it soon became known to the military that engineer Wendell F. Moore of the Bell Aerosystems company had for several years been carrying out experiments to make a personal jet device. After becoming acquainted with his work, servicemen during August 1960 decided to commission Bell Aerosystems with developing an SRLD. Wendell Moore was appointed chief project engineer. Bell Textron Rocket Belt. In 1960, the Bell Rocketbelt was presented to the public. The jet of gas was provided by a hydrogen peroxide-powered rocket, but the jet could also be powered by a turbojet engine, a ducted fan, or other kinds of rockets powered by solid fuel, liquid fuel or compressed gas (usually nitrogen). This is the oldest known type of jet pack or rocket pack. One Bell Rocket Belt is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, located near Dulles Airport. RB-2000 Rocket Belt. This was a successor to the Bell Rocket Belt. Bell Pogo. The Bell Pogo was a small rocket-powered platform that two people could ride on. Its design used features from the Bell Rocket Belt. Powerhouse Productions Rocketbelt. More commonly known as "The Rocketman", Powerhouse Productions, owned and operated by Kinnie Gibson, manufactures the 30-second flying Rocketbelt (June 1994) and organizes Rocketbelt performances. Since 1983 Powerhouse Productions has performed show flights in over 40 countries such as the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Super Bowls, the Rose Parade, Daytona 500, and the Michael Jackson Dangerous World Tour, as well as many television shows including "Walker, Texas Ranger", "The Fall Guy" and "NCIS". Powerhouse Rocketbelt pilots include stuntman Kinnie Gibson and Dan Schlund. Jetpack International. Jetpack International made three types of wingless jet packs: A Jet Pack H202 was flown for 34 seconds in Central Park on the 9 April 2007 episode of the Today Show and sold for $150,000. As of January 2009 their H202 jet packs are for demonstration only, not for sale. Details of the likely consumer model "Falcon" were scheduled for an official announcement on May 1, 2012, but the company is currently behind schedule. Current technology. At the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in 2014, Astro Teller, head of Google X (Google's research laboratory), said they investigated jetpacks but found them too inefficient to be practical, with fuel consumption as high as , and were as loud as a motorcycle, so they decided not to pursue developing them. In recent years, the rocket pack has become popular among enthusiasts, and some have built them for themselves. The pack's basic construction is rather simple, but its flying capability depends on two key parts: the gas generator, and the thrust control valve. The rocket packs being built today are largely based on the research and inventions of Wendell Moore at Bell Helicopter. One of the largest stumbling blocks that would-be rocket pack builders have faced is the difficulty of obtaining concentrated hydrogen peroxide, which is no longer produced by many chemical companies. The few companies that produce high-concentration hydrogen peroxide only sell to large corporations or governments, forcing some amateurs and professionals to set up their own hydrogen peroxide distillation installations. High-concentration hydrogen peroxide for rocket belts was produced by Peroxide Propulsion (Gothenburg, Sweden) from 2004 to 2010, but after a serious accident Peroxide Propulsion stopped making it. Turbojet packs. Packs with a turbojet engine are fueled with traditional kerosene-based jet fuel. They have higher efficiency, greater height and a duration of flight of many minutes, but they are complex in construction and very expensive. Only one working model of this pack was made; it underwent flight tests in the 1960s and at present it no longer flies. Jet packs and rocket packs have much better flight time on a tankful of fuel if they have wings like an aeroplane's. Bell Jet Flying Belt: wingless. In 1965 Bell Aerosystems concluded a new contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a jet pack with a turbojet engine. This project was called the "Jet Flying Belt", or simply the "Jet Belt". Wendell Moore and John K. Hulbert, a specialist in gas turbines, worked to design a new turbojet pack. Williams Research Corporation (now Williams International) in Walled Lake, Michigan, designed and built a new turbojet engine to Bell's specifications in 1969. It was called the WR19, had a rated thrust of and weighed . The Jet Belt first flew free on 7 April 1969 at the Niagara Falls Municipal Airport. Pilot Robert Courter flew about in a circle at an altitude of , reaching a speed of . The following flights were longer, up to 5 minutes. Theoretically, this new pack could fly for 25 minutes at velocities up to . In spite of successful tests, the U.S. Army lost interest. The pack was complex to maintain and too heavy. Landing with its weight on their back was hazardous to the pilot, and catastrophic loss of a turbine blade could have been lethal. Thus, the Bell Jet Flying Belt remained an experimental model. On 29 May 1969, Wendell Moore died of complications from a heart attack he had suffered six months earlier, and work on the turbojet pack was ended. Bell sold the sole version of the "Bell pack", together with the patents and technical documentation, to Williams Research Corporation. This pack is now in the Williams International company museum. The "Jet Belt" used a small turbofan engine which was mounted vertically, with its air intake downward. Intake air was divided into two flows. One flow went into the combustion chamber, the other flow bypassed the engine, then mixed with the hot turbine gases, cooling them and protecting the pilot from the high temperatures generated. In the upper part of the engine the exhaust was divided and entered two pipes which led to jet nozzles. The construction of the nozzles made it possible to move the jet to any side. Kerosene fuel was stored in tanks beside the engine. Control of the turbojet pack was similar to the rocket pack, but the pilot could not tilt the entire engine. Maneuvering was by deflecting the nozzles. By inclining levers, the pilot could move the jets of both nozzles forward, back, or sideways. The pilot rotated left/right by turning the left handle. The right handle governed the engine thrust. The jet engine was started with the aid of a powder cartridge. While testing this starter, a mobile starter on a special cart was used. There were instruments to control the power of the engine, and a portable radio to connect and transmit telemetry data to ground-based engineers. On top of the pack was a standard auxiliary landing parachute; it was effective only when opened at altitudes above . This engine was later the basis for the propulsion units of Tomahawk and other cruise missiles. Visa Parviainen's jet-assisted wingsuit. On 25 October 2005 in Lahti in Finland, Visa Parviainen jumped from a hot air balloon in a wingsuit with two small turbojet jet engines attached to his feet. Each turbojet provided approximately of thrust and ran on kerosene (Jet A-1) fuel. Parviainen apparently achieved approximately 30 seconds of horizontal flight with no noticeable loss of altitude. Yves Rossy's jet wingpack. Swiss ex-military and commercial pilot Yves Rossy developed and built a winged pack with rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings spanning about and four small kerosene-burning Jetcat P400 jet engines underneath; these engines are large versions of a type designed for model aeroplanes. He wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that of a firefighter or racing driver to protect him from the hot jet exhaust. Similarly, to further protect the wearer, the engines are modified by adding a carbon fiber heat shield extending the jet nozzle around the exhaust tail. Rossy claims to be "the first person to gain altitude and maintain a stable horizontal flight thanks to aerodynamic carbon foldable wings", which are folded by hinges at their midpoint. After being lifted to altitude by a plane, he ignites the engines just before he exits the plane with the wings folded. The wings unfold while in free-fall, and he then can fly horizontally for several minutes, landing with the help of a parachute. He achieves true controlled flight using his body and a hand throttle to maneuver; jet wingsuits use small turbojets, but differ from other aircraft in that the fuselage and flight control surfaces consist of a human. The system is said by Rossy to be highly responsive and reactive in flight, to the point where he needs to closely control his head, arm and leg movements to avoid an uncontrolled spin. The engines on the wing must be aligned precisely during set-up, also to prevent instability. An electronic starter system ensures that all four engines ignite simultaneously. In the event of a spin, the wing unit can be detached from the pilot, and pilot and wing unit descend to Earth separately, each with a parachute. Since 2007, Rossy has conducted some of his flight tests from a private airfield, Skydive Empuriabrava, in Empuriabrava (Girona, Costa Brava), Spain. Rossy's jet pack was exhibited on 18 April 2008 on the opening day of the 35th Exhibition of Inventions at Geneva. Rossy and his sponsors spent over $190,000 to build the device. His first successful trial flight was on 24 June 2004 near Geneva, Switzerland. Rossy has made more than 30 powered flights since. In November 2006 he flew with a later version of his jet pack. On 14 May 2008 he made a successful 6-minute flight from the town of Bex near Lake Geneva. He exited a Pilatus Porter at with his jet pack. It was the first public demonstration before the world's press. He made effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other and rose . It has been claimed that the military was impressed and asked for prototypes for the powered wings, but that Rossy kindly refused the request stating that the device was only intended for aviation enthusiasts. On 26 September 2008, Rossy successfully flew across the English Channel from Calais, France, to Dover, England, in 9 minutes, 7 seconds. His speed reached during the crossing and was when he deployed the parachute. Since then he has—in several flights—managed to fly in a formation with three military jets and cross the Grand Canyon, but he failed to fly across the Strait of Gibraltar—he made an emergency landing in the water. Rossy appeared in a February 2012 episode of "Top Gear" (S18 E5) where he raced against a Skoda rally car driven by Toni Gardemeister with Richard Hammond as a passenger. The race started with the rally car launching down the rally course while Rossy and his support helicopter climbed to reach altitude, upon which he dropped and ignited his engines and followed the course to race the car. Periodical smoke dashes (such as those used by sky-writers or Air Force display teams) were used to track his progress. In the onboard footage of Rossy flying the tight and twisty course, one can see how he uses his body parts as control surfaces to perform various maneuvers. On 13 October 2015 a show flight was performed in Dubai. Two jet packs operated by Rossy and Vince Reffet flew in formation with an Airbus A380 jetliner. Troy Hartman: jetpack and parafoil. In 2008 Troy Hartman started designing a wingless jetpack with two turbojet motors strapped to his back; later he added a parafoil as a wing. Fritz Unger: jetpack with rigid wings. As of 2013 Fritz Unger in Germany is developing a jetpack called Skyflash with rigid wings about wingspan and two turbojets designed to run on diesel fuel. It is designed for takeoff from the ground using four undercarriage wheels on the front of his chest and abdomen. JetPack Aviation: Wingless Jetpack. On 3 November 2015, Jetpack Aviation demonstrated the JB-9 in Upper New York Bay in front of the Statue of Liberty. The JB-9 carries of kerosene fuel that burns through two vectored thrust AMT Nike jet engines at a rate of per minute for up to ten minutes of flying time, depending on pilot weight. Weight of fuel is a consideration, but it is reported to start with per minute climb rate that doubles as the fuel burns off. While this model has been limited to , the prototype of the JB-10 is reported to fly at over . This is a true jetpack: a backpack that provides jet-powered flight. Most of the volume is the fuel tank, with twin turbine jet engines gimbal-mounted on each side. The control system is identical to the Bell Rocket Belt: tilting the handgrips vectors the thrust – left-right & forward-back – by moving the engines; twisting left hand moves two nozzle skirts for yaw; twisting the right hand counterclockwise increases throttle. Jetpack Aviation was started by Australian businessman David Mayman with the technical knowhow coming from Nelson Tyler, prolific inventor of helicopter-mounted camera stabilizers and one of the engineers that worked on the Bell Rocketbelt that was used in the 1984 Olympics. Flyboard Air. Flyboard Air, invented by Franky Zapata, allows flight up to and has a top speed of . It also has 10 minutes autonomy. Zapata participated with his invention during the 2019 Bastille Day military parade. He also attempted to cross the English channel with his device, which succeeded during the second try on 4 August 2019. Daedalus Flight Pack. This particular innovation saw two jets attached to the back of an exoskeleton, worn by the operator. At the same time, two additional jets were added to the arms, and could be moved with the arms to control movement. It was devised by Richard Browning of Gravity Industries. In September 2020 it was reported that the Great North Air Ambulance service was considering using this jet suit to enable paramedics to reach casualties in the mountainous Lake District. Government. Space. Rocket packs can be useful for spacewalks. While near Earth a jet pack has to produce a g-force of at least 1g (a smaller g-force, providing only some deviation from free fall is of little use here), for excursions outside a free falling spaceship, a small g-force providing a small deviation from free fall is quite useful. Hence much less delta-v is consumed per unit time, and not during the whole EVA. With only small amounts of thrust needed, safety and temperature are much more manageable than in the atmosphere in Earth's gravity field. Nevertheless, it is currently worn to be used only in case of emergency: the Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER). Firefighters. Firefighters in some parts of the world use Jet packs which help them to fight fires close to the sea or a water body. The jet packs use water and there is no need for a fire truck or water tank. Hydrojet packs. The 21st century has seen a new approach to jet packs where water is used as a high-density propulsion fluid. This requires a very large mass of fluid that makes a self-contained jetpack infeasible. Instead, this approach separates the engine, fuel and fluid supply from the pilot's flying apparatus, using a long flexible hose to feed the water to the jet nozzle pack attached to the pilot's body. These inventions are known as "hydro jet packs", and successful designs have used jetski technology as the powerplant operating in a body of water (an ocean, lake, or pool) to provide the needed propulsion. Several hydro jet pack approaches have been successfully tested and put into production. Flow rate can be controlled by a throttle operator on the jetski, or by the pilot using a remote actuator. Another significant difference with hydro jet packs is that they can be operated below the surface as well as above it. As of 2013, many hydro jet pack rental businesses are operating in various locations around the world. JetLev. The JetLev was the first hydroflight jetpack on the market, and its makers were awarded the first patents, in 2008, for hydrojetpacks. The JetLev has the appearance of a typical jet pack, with two nozzles on a backpack propelling the rider upwards. It just has an umbilicus to the powering jetski that provides the water for the thrust used. Flyboard. A Flyboard has water jets under each of the pilot's feet. An optional feature is a lower-thrust water jet for each arm for greater control. The powerplant is a regular jetski. Development for this approach was started in the spring of 2011. Home-made versions. Episode 32 of "MythBusters" investigates the urban legend of an affordable jet pack or rocket pack that can be built from plans purchased on the Internet. Extensive modifications were made by the MythBusters team due to vagueness in the plans and because of the infeasibility of the specified engine mounting system. The jet pack produced by the MythBusters had two ducted fans powered by ultralight-type piston engines. (Fans complained that the use of piston engines destroyed the whole idea of the pack's being truly based on jets, by which, presumably, they meant self-contained gas turbines.) They found it was not powerful enough to lift a person off the ground, and was expensive to build. The plans specified a Rotax 503 ultralight engine, but they intended to use the more powerful and lighter Rotax 583 engine before a similar lighter unnamed engine was substituted. In fiction. The concept of jet packs appeared in popular culture, particularly science fiction, long before the technology became practical. Perhaps the first appearance was in pulp magazines. The 1896 novel "The Country of the Pointed Firs" mentions a "fog-shaped" man hovering low with a "the look of a pack on his back" who "flittered away out o' sight like a leaf the wind takes with it". The 1928 cover of "Amazing Stories" featured a man flying with a jet pack. When Republic Pictures planned to produce a superhero serial using its renowned "flying man" scenes as used in "The Adventures of Captain Marvel", the character of Captain Marvel was tied up in litigation with the owners of the character of Superman. For its postwar superhero serial, Republic used a jet pack in "King of the Rocket Men". The same stock special effects were used in other serials. While several science fiction novels from the 1950s featured jetpacks, it was not until the Bell Rocket Belt in the 1960s that the jet pack caught the imagination of the mainstream. Bell's demonstration flights in the U.S. and other countries created significant public enthusiasm. Jetpacks were featured in two episodes ("Turu the Terrible" and "The Invisible Monster"), of the original "Jonny Quest" (1964-1965) animated television series, and are seen at the end of the closing credits. In 1965 a jetpack appeared in the James Bond movie "Thunderball" when James Bond played by Sean Connery used a jet pack in the pre-title sequence to escape the villains and rendezvous with his French contact. The pack was piloted by Gordon Yaeger and Bill Suitor. In the Irwin Allen television series "Lost in Space" (1965-1968), a jetpack was used by members of the Jupiter II expedition on several occasions. In 1966 the plot of the 21st book in the Rick Brant series titled "Rocket Jumper" was based on a hydrogen peroxide fueled jet pack, The book included a relatively detailed description of the design including use of a platinum-metal screen catalyst. In the 1997 video game , the titular character Crash operates a jetpack in two main levels: "Rock It" and "Pack Attack". He also uses the jetpack in the final boss fight against Dr. Neo Cortex. The 1976 television series "Ark II" featured a jetpack called the Jet Jumper. In the "Star Wars" original trilogy, the bounty hunter Boba Fett used a jet pack. In the prequel trilogy, Jango Fett also used a jet pack. In the 1982-1995 comics book series, "The Rocketeer", the protagonist, Cliff Secord, acquires a stolen military jet pack and uses it to become the eponymous superhero. It was later adapted into a motion picture in 1991. In 1988 Cinemaware created the Amiga Computer Game "Rocket Ranger" which was ported to several other platforms of the era and 1991/1992 Malibu Comics published a "Rocket Ranger" comic series closely based on the computer game. The G.I. Joe action figure launch in 1982 included the JUMP (Jet Mobile Propulsion Unit) jet pack as an accessory. It was also featured prominently in the related "G.I. Joe" comic book series and cartoon. Jetpacks have been used by the title characters in several episodes of "SWAT Kats" cartoon series (1993–94). In the "Toy Story" franchise, Buzz Lightyear also used a jet pack. Jetpacks appear in the popular video game "". The jet-pack also appears in the 2012 video game "Halo 4", developed by 343 Industries. Jetpacks also appeared in other video games, including "Duke Nukem 3D", "BloodRayne" (worn by Nazi troopers), "Tribes", ', "Armed and Dangerous", and the "Pilotwings" series, in which it is referred to as a "Rocket Belt". It is also accessible in the video game '. "Fallout 4" also has a jetpack power armor feature. Grand Theft Auto Online added a jetpack called "Thruster" as an usable vehicle on a content update on December 12, 2017. Rocketeer is Allied flying infantry unit in "" Many science fiction movies have included jet packs, most notably, "The Rocketeer", "Minority Report", "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", and "Tomorrowland". In the 2012 Video game "Jetpack Joyride" the protagonist uses various jetpacks in the game. Running since 2013, Adventures in Jetpacks is a semi-regularly updated webcomic in which the cast of characters make regular use of Jet packs.

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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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Transatlantic tunnel A transatlantic tunnel is a theoretical tunnel that would span the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe possibly for such purposes as mass transit. Some proposals envision technologically advanced trains reaching speeds of . Most conceptions of the tunnel envision it between the United States and the United Kingdom ‒ or more specifically between New York City and London. Advantages compared to air travel could be increased speed, and use of electricity instead of scarce oil based fuel, considering a future time long after peak oil. The main barriers to constructing such a tunnel are cost first estimated $88–175 billion, now updated to $1 trillion-20 trillion, as well as limits of current materials science. Existing major tunnels, such as the Channel Tunnel, Seikan Tunnel and the Gotthard Base Tunnel, despite using less expensive technology than any yet proposed for the transatlantic tunnel, may struggle financially. Proposed tunnels. Many variations of the concept exist, including a tube above the seabed, a tunnel beneath the ocean floor, or some combination of the two. Vactrain. A 1960s proposal has a -long near-vacuum tube with vactrains, a theoretical type of maglev train, which could travel at speeds up to . At this speed, the travel-time between New York City and London would be less than one hour. Another modern variation, intended to reduce costs, is a submerged floating tunnel about below the ocean surface, in order to avoid ships, bad weather, and the high pressure associated with a much deeper tunnel near the sea bed. It would consist of 54,000 prefabricated sections held in place by 100,000 tethering cables. Each section would consist of a layer of foam sandwiched between concentric steel tubes, and the tunnel would also have reduced air pressure. Jet propulsion. Ideas proposing rocket, jet, scramjet, and air-pressurized tunnels for train transportation have also been put forward. In the proposal described in an "Extreme Engineering" episode, trains would take 18 minutes to reach top speed, and 18 minutes at the end to come to a halt. During the deceleration phase, the resultant 0.2g acceleration would lead to an unpleasant feeling of tilting downward, and it was proposed that the seats would individually rotate to face backwards at the midpoint of the journey, in order to make the deceleration more pleasant. History. Early interest. Suggestions for such a structure go back to Michel Verne, son of Jules Verne, who wrote about it in 1888 in a story entitled "Un Express de l'avenir" ("An Express of the Future"). This story was published in English in "Strand Magazine" in 1895, where it was incorrectly attributed to Jules Verne, a mistake frequently repeated today. 1913 saw the publication of the novel "Der Tunnel" by German author Bernhard Kellermann. It inspired four films of the same name: one in 1915 by William Wauer, and separate German, French, and British versions released in 1933 and 1935. The German and French versions were directed by Curtis Bernhardt, and the British one was written in part by science fiction writer Curt Siodmak. Perhaps suggesting contemporary interest in the topic, an original poster for the American release of the British version (renamed "Transatlantic Tunnel") was, in 2006, estimated for auction at $2,000–3,000. Modern research. Robert H. Goddard, the father of rocketry, was issued two of his 214 patents for the idea. Arthur C. Clarke mentioned intercontinental tunnels in his 1946 short story "Rescue Party" and again in his 1956 novel "The City and the Stars". Harry Harrison's 1975 novel "Tunnel Through the Deeps" (also published as "A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!") describes a vacuum/maglev system on the ocean floor. The April 2004 issue of "Popular Science" suggests that a transatlantic tunnel is more feasible than previously thought, and without major engineering challenges. It compares it favorably with laying transatlantic pipes and cables, but with a cost of 88 to 175 billion dollars. In 2003, the Discovery Channel's show "Extreme Engineering" aired a program, titled "Transatlantic Tunnel", which discussed the proposed tunnel concept in detail.

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Science fiction/Space opera

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Brain in a vat In philosophy, the brain in a vat (BIV) is a scenario used in a variety of thought experiments intended to draw out certain features of human conceptions of knowledge, reality, truth, mind, consciousness, and meaning. It is a modern incarnation of René Descartes's evil demon thought experiment originated by Gilbert Harman. Common to many science fiction stories, it outlines a scenario in which a mad scientist, machine, or other entity might remove a person's brain from the body, suspend it in a vat of life-sustaining liquid, and connect its neurons by wires to a supercomputer which would provide it with electrical impulses identical to those the brain normally receives. According to such stories, the computer would then be simulating reality (including appropriate responses to the brain's own output) and the "disembodied" brain would continue to have perfectly normal conscious experiences, such as those of a person with an embodied brain, without these being related to objects or events in the real world. Uses. The simplest use of brain-in-a-vat scenarios is as an argument for philosophical skepticism and solipsism. A simple version of this runs as follows: Since the brain in a vat gives and receives exactly the same impulses as it would if it were in a skull, and since these are its only way of interacting with its environment, then it is not possible to tell, "from the perspective of that brain", whether it is in a skull or a vat. Yet in the first case, most of the person's beliefs may be true (if they believe, say, that they are walking down the street, or eating ice-cream); in the latter case, their beliefs are false. Since the argument says one cannot know whether one is a brain in a vat, then one cannot know whether most of one's beliefs might be completely false. Since, in principle, it is impossible to rule out oneself being a brain in a vat, there cannot be good grounds for believing any of the things one believes; a skeptical argument would contend that one certainly cannot "know" them, raising issues with the definition of knowledge. Other philosophers have drawn upon sensation and its relationship to meaning in order to question whether brains in vats are really deceived at all, thus raising wider questions concerning perception, metaphysics, and the philosophy of language. The brain-in-a-vat is a contemporary version of the argument given in Hindu Maya illusion, Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Zhuangzi's "Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly", and the evil demon in René Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy". Recently, many contemporary philosophers believe that virtual reality will seriously affect human autonomy as a form of brain in a vat. But another view is that VR will not destroy our cognitive structure or take away our connection with reality. On the contrary, VR will allow us to have more new propositions, new insights and new perspectives to see the world. Philosophical debates. While the disembodied brain (the brain in a vat) can be seen as a helpful thought experiment, there are several philosophical debates surrounding the plausibility of the thought experiment. If these debates conclude that the thought experiment is implausible, a possible consequence would be that we are no closer to knowledge, truth, consciousness, representation, etc. than we were prior to the experiment. Argument from biology. One argument against the BIV thought experiment derives from the idea that the BIV is not – and cannot be – biologically similar to that of an embodied brain (that is, a brain found in a person). Since the BIV is "dis" embodied, it follows that it does not have similar biology to that of an embodied brain. That is, the BIV lacks the connections from the body to the brain, which renders the BIV neither neuroanatomically nor neurophysiologically similar to that of an embodied brain. If this is the case, we cannot say that it is even possible for the BIV to have similar experiences to the embodied brain, since the brains are not equal. However, it could be counter-argued that the hypothetical machine could be made to also replicate those types of inputs. Argument from externalism. A second argument deals directly with the stimuli coming into the brain. This is often referred to as the account from externalism or ultra-externalism. In the BIV, the brain receives stimuli from a machine. In an embodied brain, however, the brain receives the stimuli from the sensors found in the body (via touching, tasting, smelling, etc.) which receive their input from the external environment. This argument oftentimes leads to the conclusion that there is a difference between what the BIV is representing and what the embodied brain is representing. This debate has been hashed out, but remains unresolved, by several philosophers including Uriah Kriegel, Colin McGinn, and Robert D. Rupert, and has ramifications for philosophy of mind discussions on (but not limited to) representation, consciousness, content, cognition, and embodied cognition. Argument from incoherence. A third argument from the philosopher Hilary Putnam attempts to demonstrate the thought experiment's incoherence on the basis that it is self-refuting. To do this, Putnam first argued in favor of a theory of reference that would later become known as semantic externalism. He offers the "Twin Earth" example to demonstrate that two identical individuals, one on our earth and another on a "twin earth", may possess the exact same mental state and thoughts, yet refer to two different things. For instance, when we think of cats, the referent of our thoughts would be the cats that we find here on earth. However, our twins on twin earth, though possessing the same thoughts, would instead be referring not to our cats, but to twin earth's cats. Bearing this in mind, he writes that a "pure" brain in a vat, i.e., one that has never existed outside of the simulation, could not even truthfully say that it was a brain in a vat. This is because the BIV, when it says "brain" and "vat", can only refer to objects within the simulation, not to things outside the simulation it does not have a relationship with. Therefore, what it says is demonstrably false. Alternatively, if the speaker is not actually a BIV, then the statement is also false. He concludes, then, that the statement "I'm a BIV" is necessarily false and self-refuting. This argument has been explored at length in philosophical literature since its publication. One counter-argument says that, even assuming Putnam's reference theory, a brain on our earth that is "kidnapped", placed into a vat, and subjected to a simulation could still refer to "real" brains and vats, and thus correctly say it is a brain in a vat. However, the notion that the "pure" BIV is incorrect and the reference theory underpinning it remains influential in the philosophy of mind, language and metaphysics.

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Mecha The term may refer to both scientific ideas and science fiction genres that center on giant robots or machines (mechs) controlled by people. Mechas are typically depicted as humanoid mobile robots. The term was first used in Japanese ("meka") after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is more inclusive, and "robot" ("robotto") or "giant robot" is the narrower term. These machines vary greatly in size and shape, but are distinguished from vehicles by their humanoid or biomorphic appearance and size—bigger than a human. Different subgenres exist, with varying connotations of realism. The concept of Super Robot and Real Robot are two such examples found in Japanese anime and manga. The term may also refer to real world piloted humanoid or non-humanoid robotic platforms, either currently in existence or still on the drawing board (i.e. at the planning or design stage). Alternatively, in the original Japanese context of the word, "mecha" may refer to mobile machinery/vehicles (including aircraft) in general, manned or otherwise. Characteristics. The word is an abbreviation, first used in Japanese, of the word "mechanical". In Japanese, mecha encompasses all mechanical objects, including cars, guns, computers, and other devices, and the term or "giant robot" is used to distinguish limbed vehicles from other mechanical devices. Outside of this usage, it has become associated with large humanoid machines with limbs or other biological characteristics. Mechas differ from robots in that they are piloted from a cockpit, typically located in the chest or head of the mech. While the distinction is often hazy, mecha typically does not refer to form-fitting powered armor such as Iron Man's suit. They are usually much larger than the wearer, like Iron Man's enemy the Iron Monger, or the mobile suits depicted in the "Gundam" series. In most cases, mecha are depicted as fighting machines, whose appeal comes from the combination of potent weaponry with a more stylish combat technique than a mere vehicle. Often, they are the primary means of combat, with conflicts sometimes being decided through gladiatorial matches. Other works represent mecha as one component of an integrated military force, supported by and fighting alongside tanks, fighter aircraft, and infantry, functioning as a mechanical cavalry. The applications often highlight the theoretical usefulness of such a device, combining a tank's resilience and firepower with infantry's ability to cross unstable terrain and a high degree of customization. In some continuities, special scenarios are constructed to make mecha more viable than current-day status. For example, in Gundam the fictional Minovsky particle inhibits the use of radar, making long-range ballistic strikes impractical, thus favouring relatively close range warfare of Mobile Suits. However, some stories, such as the manga/anime series "Patlabor" and the American wargame "BattleTech" universe, also encompass mecha used for civilian purposes such as heavy construction work, police functions or firefighting. Mecha also see roles as transporters, recreation, advanced hazmat suits and other R and D applications. Mecha have been used in fantasy settings, for example in the anime series "Aura Battler Dunbine", "The Vision of Escaflowne", "Panzer World Galient" and "Maze". In those cases, the mecha designs are usually based on some alternative or "lost" science-fiction technology from ancient times. In case of anime series "Zoids", the machines resemble dinosaurs and animals, and have been shown to evolve from native metallic organisms. A chicken walker is a fictional type of bipedal robot or mecha, distinguished by its rear-facing knee joint. This type of articulation resembles a bird's legs, hence the name. However, birds actually have forward-facing knees; they are digitigrade, and what most call the "knee" is actually the ankle. Early history. The 1868 Edward S. Ellis novel "The Steam Man of the Prairies" featured a steam-powered, back piloted, mechanical man. The 1880 Jules Verne novel "La Maison à vapeur (The Steam House)" featured a steam-powered, piloted, mechanical elephant. One of the first appearances of such machines in modern literature was the "tripod" or "fighting machine" of H. G. Wells' famous "The War of the Worlds" (1897). The novel does not contain a fully detailed description of the tripods' (or "fighting-machine", as they are known in the novel) mode of locomotion, however it is hinted at: "Can you imagine a milking stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground? That was the impression those instant flashes gave. But instead of a milking stool imagine it a great body of machinery on a tripod stand." "Ōgon Bat", a kamishibai that debuted in 1931 (later adapted into an anime in 1967), featured the first piloted humanoid giant robot, , but as an enemy rather than a protagonist. In 1934, Gajo Sakamoto launched on a metal creature that becomes a battle machine. The first humanoid giant robot piloted by the protagonist appeared in the manga in 1948. The manga and anime "Tetsujin 28-Go", introduced in 1956, featured a robot, Tetsujin, that was controlled externally by an operator via remote control. The manga and anime "Astro Boy", introduced in 1952, with its humanoid robot protagonist, was a key influence on the development of the giant robot genre in Japan. The first anime featuring a giant mecha being piloted by the protagonist from within a cockpit was the Super Robot show "Mazinger Z", written by Go Nagai and introduced in 1972. "Mazinger Z" introduced the notion of mecha as pilotable war machines, rather than remote-controlled robots. Nagai later introduced the concept of "gattai" ("combination"), where several modules slot together to form a super robot, with "Getter Robot" (1974 debut). An early use of mech-like machines outside Japan is found in "The Invisible Empire", a "Federal Men"'s story arc by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (serialized 1936 in New Comics #8-10). Other examples include the Mexican comic "Invictus" Leonel Guillermo Prieto e Victaleno León, by Brazilian comic "Audaz, o demolidor", by Álvaro "Aruom" Moura and Messias de Mello (1938-1949), inspired by "Invictus", created for the supplement "A Gazetinha" from the newspaper "A Gazeta", Kimball Kinnison's battle suit in E. E. "Doc" Smith's "Lensman" novel "Galactic Patrol" (1950), the French animated film "The King and the Mockingbird" (first released 1952), and Robert Heinlein's waldo in his 1942 short story, "Waldo" and the Mobile Infantry battle suits in Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" (1958). A transforming mech can transform between a standard vehicle (such as a fighter plane or transport truck) and a fighting mecha robot. This concept of transforming mecha was pioneered by Japanese mecha designer Shōji Kawamori in the early 1980s, when he created the Diaclone toy line in 1980 and then the "Macross" anime franchise in 1982. In North America, the "Macross" franchise was adapted into the "Robotech" franchise in 1985, and then the Diaclone toy line was adapted into the "Transformers" franchise in 1986. Some of Kawamori's most iconic transforming mecha designs include the VF-1 Valkyrie from the "Macross" and "Robotech" franchises, and Optimus Prime (called Convoy in Japan) from the "Transformers" and "Diaclone" franchises. Genres. Anime and manga. In Japan, "robot anime" (known as "mecha anime" outside Japan) is one of the oldest genres in anime. Robot anime is often tied in with toy manufacturers. Large franchises such as "Gundam", "Macross", "Transformers" and "Zoids" have hundreds of different model kits. The size of mecha can vary according to the story and concepts involved. Some of them may not be considerably taller than a tank ("Armored Trooper Votoms", "Megazone 23", "Code Geass"), some may be a few stories tall ("Gundam", "Escaflowne", "Bismark", "Gurren Lagann"), others can be as tall as a skyscraper ("Space Runaway Ideon", "Genesis of Aquarion", "Neon Genesis Evangelion"), some are big enough to contain an entire city ("Macross"), some the size of a planet ("Diebuster"), galaxies ("Getter Robo", "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann"), or even as large as universes ("Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Lagann-hen", "Demonbane"). The first giant robots seen were in the 1948 manga and Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1956 manga "Tetsujin 28-go". However, it wasn't until the advent of Go Nagai's "Mazinger Z" that the genre was established. "Mazinger Z" innovated by adding the inclusion of futuristic weapons, and the concept of being able to pilot from a cockpit (rather than via remote control, in the case of Tetsujin). According to Go Nagai: "Mazinger Z" featured giant robots which were "piloted by means of a small flying car and command center that docked inside the head." It was also a pioneer in die-cast metal toys such as the Chogokin series in Japan and the Shogun Warriors in the U.S., that were (and still are) very popular with children and collectors. Robot/mecha anime and manga differ vastly in storytelling and animation quality from title to title, and content ranges all the way from children's shows to ones intended for an older teen or adult audience. Some of the first mecha featured in manga and anime were super robots. The super robot genre features superhero-like giant robots that are often one-of-a-kind and the product of an ancient civilization, aliens or a mad genius. These robots are usually piloted by Japanese teenagers via voice command or neural uplink, and are often powered by mystical or exotic energy sources. The later real robot genre features robots that do not have mythical superpowers, but rather use largely conventional, albeit futuristic weapons and power sources, and are often mass-produced on a large scale for use in wars. The real robot genre also tends to feature more complex characters with moral conflicts and personal problems. The genre is therefore aimed primarily at young adults instead of children. "Mobile Suit Gundam" (1979) is largely considered the first series to introduce the real robot concept and, along with "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" (1982), would form the basis of what people would later call real robot anime. Some robot mecha are capable of transformation ("Macross" and "Zeta Gundam") or combining to form even bigger ones ("Beast King GoLion" and "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann"), the latter called "gattai". Go Nagai is often credited with inventing this in 1974 with the television series "Getter Robo". Not all mecha need to be completely mechanical. Some have biological components with which to interface with their pilots, and some are partially biological themselves, such as in "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Eureka Seven", and "Zoids". "Attack on Titan" features titans, 10-15 meter tall humanoid organic creatures, some of which are piloted by teenagers and thus sometimes referred to as meat mecha. Mecha based on anime have seen extreme cultural reception across the world. The personification of this popularity can be seen as 1:1 size "Mazinger Z", Tetsujin, and Gundam statues built across the world. Video games. Mecha are often featured in computer and console video games. Because of their size and fictional power, mecha are quite popular subjects for games, both tabletop and electronic. They have been featured in video games since the 1980s, particularly in vehicular combat and shooter games, including Sesame Japan's side-scrolling shooter game "Vastar" in 1983, various "Gundam" games such as ' in 1984 and ' in 1986, the run and gun shooters "Hover Attack" in 1984 and "Thexder" in 1985, and Arsys Software's 3D role-playing shooters "WiBArm" in 1986 and "Star Cruiser" in 1988. Historically mecha-based games have been more popular in Japan than in other countries. A game called [Iron Harvest],Features many mechs piloted by multiple factions. it is based on the 1920+ world of Scythe, by a artist named Jakub Różalski. Real mecha. There are a few real prototypes of mecha-like vehicles. Currently almost all of these are highly specialized or just for concept purpose, and as such may not see mass production. Most of these experimental projects were made and first presented in East Asia. In the Western world, there are few examples of mecha, however, several machines have been constructed by both companies and private figures.

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Neurohacking Neurohacking is a subclass of biohacking, focused specifically on the brain. Neurohackers seek to better themselves or others by “hacking the brain” to improve reflexes, learn faster, or treat psychological disorders. The modern neurohacking movement has been around since the 1980s. However, herbal supplements have been used to increase brain function for hundreds of years. After a brief period marked by a lack of research in the area, neurohacking started regaining interest in the early 2000s. Currently, most neurohacking is performed via do-it-yourself (DIY) methods by in-home users. Simple uses of neurohacking include the use of chemical supplements to increase brain function. More complex medical devices can be implanted to treat psychological disorders and illnesses. History. Anna Wexler, a member of the Department of Science, Technology and Society at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, claims that neurohacking should be viewed as a subdivision of the ‘life hacking’ movement. She argues that popularized scientific publications have led to a greater public awareness of neuroscience since the turn of the century. As a result, the public was made aware of the brain’s plasticity and its potential to improve. The use of mind-altering substances derived from plants dates back to ancient history. Neurohackers use a class of chemical substances that improve higher order brain functions called nootropics. The term nootropics was first proposed in 1972 by Corneliu Giurgea, a Romanian chemist from University of Bucharest. In his study, he classified Piracetam as a nootropic and determined that nootropics should fit the following criteria: Today, various nootropics are available via prescription and over the counter. The 2000 study by Michael A. Nitsche and Walter Paulus at the University of Goettingen is considered to be the one of the first device-oriented attempts at influencing the brain non-invasively. The study found that the motor cortex of the brain responds to weak electrical stimuli in the form of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). A later study in 2003 by Branislav Savic and Beat Meier found that (tDCS) improves motor sequence learning. More recent studies have concluded that tDCS may alleviate neuropathic pain, depression, schizophrenia, and other neurological disorders. Methods of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) have been found to enhance human performance. In 2019, a study funded by the US Department of Defense found that cognition and motor performance could be improved by tDCS. This investigation showed that tDCS could be used to enhance the abilities of military personnel. However, side effects such as “itching, tingling, and headaches” were noted. The study concluded that more research into adequate safety regulations is needed before it can be properly implemented. A resurgence in the popularity of at-home and DIY neurohacking started in 2011. The recent availability of brain stimulation devices contributed to the rise in the home neurohacking movement. Individuals applied weak electrical currents to their brain in hopes of improving performance and productivity. Since 2017, neurohacking devices have been available to the general public for unsupervised use. However, these methods of neurohacking have yet to gain widespread acceptance from the general public, and user retention rate for the devices remains low. In 2018, Marom Bikson and his colleagues at the City College of New York released a report to aid consumers in making an informed choice regarding the purchase of tDCS devices. In particular, Bikson stated that the report hoped to educate consumers on the reasons why a significant price differentiation existed across the various devices on the market. Technology. There are three main categories of neurohacking methods: oral supplements or ingestibles, procedural training exercises, and the transmission of electrical currents through the brain. Oral supplements and ingestibles. Nootropics are any chemical compounds that cause an improvement in brain function. Although many are naturally produced by the body, ingestible supplements are often required to artificially raise the concentration of these compounds in the bloodstream to produce a significant effect. Nootropics can be further classified into two categories: synthetics nootropics and natural nootropics. Synthetic nootropics. Synthetic nootropics refer to any lab-produced nootropics, including Piracetam. Synthetic nootropics can act at three different junctions: Natural nootropics. Natural, or herbal, nootropics, include food-based antioxidants and vitamin supplements. There are three main mechanisms by which natural nootropics affect brain activity: Popular supplements such as Ginkgo biloba and Panax quinquefolius (American Ginseng) are characterized as natural and herbal nootropics. Few studies have been conducted regarding the safety and long-term effects of prescribing these herbal supplements as a means of mitigating age-related cognitive decline. However, current research has indicated that these methods have the potential to alleviate the mental deterioration in older individuals. Procedural training exercises. Procedural training methods strengthen the connections between neurons. For example, brain training games have been around since the 2000s. Companies such as PositScience, Lumosity, and CogniFit created video games designed to improve the user’s brain function. These brain-training games improve neural capacity by adding game-like features to comprehension skills. Transmission of electrical currents. There are three methods by which electrical currents are transmitted through the brain: deep brain stimulation (DBS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Deep brain stimulation (DBS). DBS involves implanting an electrical device, or neurostimulator, into the brain. The neurostimulator is a thin wire with electrodes at its tip. Low levels of electric current are transmitted through the brain. The location where the electrodes are implanted depends on the neurological disorder being treated. The company Neuralink hopes that their DBS device will include “as many as 3072 electrodes distributed along 96 threads”, and that the procedure to implant the threads would be as non-invasive as LASIK eye suregery. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS sends short bursts of magnetic energy to the left frontal cortex through a small electromagnetic coil. Some studies have found that TMS improves cognition and motor performance. Other studies have investigated the relation between TMS and its ability to recover lost memories. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Brain cells, or neurons, emit chemical signals across the gaps, or synapses, between neurons. When learning a new skill or topic, the neurons involved in understanding that particular subject are then primed to emit signals more readily. Less electrical current is required to signal the neurons to secrete the chemicals for transport across the synapse. tDCS involves running a very low current (less than 2mA) through an anode and a cathode placed on the head. The research shows that brain function improves around the anode, with no change or reduced function around the cathode. Applications. Many applications of neurohacking center around improving quality of life. Mental health. Bettering people's mental health is one primary application of neurohacking. Virtual reality exposure therapy is one application of neurohacking, and is being used to treat post traumatic stress. The USC Institute for Creative Technologies has been working on exposure therapy techniques since 2005, and exposure therapy is now an evidence based treatment for post traumatic stress. Exposure therapy retrains the mind of the patient to reduce the fear associated with feeling a certain way or experiencing certain triggering stimuli. By confronting situations in a safe and controlled virtual reality environment, the patient is able to reduce the anxiety associated with those circumstances. The FDA has approved DBS devices for the treatment of both Parkinson's disease and dystonia. There are several risks involved with this treatment, such as depression, hypomania, euphoria, mirth, and hypersexuality. However, permanent complications are rare. DBS has also been used to Tourette syndrome, dyskinesia epilepsy and depression, although more research is needed in these areas before it can be deemed safe. Human enhancement. Enhancing the human experience is another application of neurohacking. Methods include simple brain-training games, chemical enhancers, and electrical brain stimulation. Caffeine is an effective method for enhancing human performance in everyday life. Caffeine is the most popular drug in the world (humans drink a collective 1.6 billion cups per day) and is also the most popular method by which people are neurohacking. Caffeine improves memory, sociability, and alertness. Information retrieval. The third primary application of neurohacking is information retrieval from the brain. This typically involves the use of a brain-machine interface (BMI) – an apparatus to measure electrical signals in the brain. In 2016, researchers modeled an individual’s interest in digital content by monitoring their EEG (electroencephalogram). The researchers asked the user to read Wikipedia articles. From data in the EEG, they could predict which article the user would want to read next based on the individual’s expressed interest in each topic. The researchers claim this paradigm can be used to “recommend information without any explicit user interaction”. In July 2019, Neuralink – a company developing implantable brain-machine interfaces – presented their research on their high bandwidth BMI. Neuralink claims to have developed an implantable BMI device that is capable of recording and delivering full bandwidth data from the brain. The company hopes to use this technology to create a high-speed connection between the brain and digital technology, bypassing the need to type search queries or read the results. Legal and ethical aspects. Advertisement of brain-training software. The neurohacking trend has been heavily commercialized, with companies such as Lumosity and CogniFit marketing games that allegedly optimize the performances of the brain as well as alleviate the symptoms of senescence-related cognitive decline and other neurodegenerative disorders. Several studies have called into question the effectiveness of these softwares. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed claims against some companies producing brain training software for misleading marketing. Claims against Lumosity for misleading advertisement are over $2 million. Conclusive evidence regarding the effectiveness of brain training software has yet to be presented. Despite this uncertainty, the public demand for such products is rising. Sales in 2015 reached $67 million in the United States and Canada. Unfair advantages. No governing organizations responsible for overseeing athletics and education have policies regulating neurohacking. Athletes and students can use neurohacking to gain an unfair advantage in sporting events and academic settings. Studies have indicated that neurohacking can improve memory, creativity, learning speed, muscle gain, and athletic performance. However, there are no well-developed tests or instruments capable of detecting neurohacking. Students and athletes may utilize neurohacking techniques and never be detected. Side effects and potential risks. Most manufacturers fail to disclose the potential side effects of neurohacking devices, including significant changes to the user’s self-identity and decreased reasoning skills. Affordable neurohacking devices are available online with prices ranging from $99 to $800, making them easily accessible to consumers. For instance, a “brain stimulator” device produced by the “Brain Stimulator” company that utilizes tDCS is priced $127 to $179. However, these devices are rarely regulated by the government. Using these unapproved devices with no medical supervision could cause devastating side effects. Cases have been cited where individuals physically harm others as a side effect of neurohacking. Insurance claims. The Vercise DBS System produced by Boston Scientific Corporation is the only neurohacking medical device for sale that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and Good Practices in Clinical Research. With the rise of DIY neurohacking, many individuals self-treat without proper supervision by a medical professional. Insurance companies deny medical insurance compensation for users who are injured using unapproved medical-grade neurohacking devices. Most neurohacking devices are uncertified and unregulated.

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Lists of fictional astronauts These are a series of incomplete lists of fictional astronauts appearing in various media, including books, film, television shows (live or animated), radio shows, records, and comic books. To be included in these lists, a fictional astronaut must be modeled upon actual astronauts of real-world space programs, as they have actually existed since the beginning of the Space Age, or were envisioned in the years leading up to the Space Age. Criteria include: Fictional astronauts. Due to the length of this list, it has been divided into the following sections: Astronauts in other media. Several toy astronaut dolls and action figures were produced in response to the popularity of astronauts in the 1960s. Most of them had no associated storylines. They included:

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Weapons in science fiction Strange and exotic weapons are a recurring feature in science fiction. In some cases, weapons first introduced in science fiction have been made a reality; other science-fiction weapons remain purely fictional, and are often beyond the realms of known physical possibility. At its most prosaic, science fiction features an endless variety of sidearms—mostly variations on real weapons such as guns and swords. Among the best-known of these are the phaser—used in the "Star Trek" television series, films, and novels—and the lightsaber and blaster—featured in "Star Wars" movies, comics, novels, and TV shows. Besides adding action and entertainment value, weaponry in science fiction sometimes touches on deeper concerns and becomes a theme, often motivated by contemporary issues. One example is science fiction that deals with weapons of mass destruction. Weapons in early science fiction. Weapons of early science-fiction novels were usually bigger and better versions of conventional weapons, effectively more advanced methods of delivering explosives to a target. Examples of such weapons include Jules Verne's "fulgurator" and the "glass arrow" of the Comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. A classic science-fiction weapon, particularly in British and American science-fiction novels and films, is the raygun. A very early example of a raygun is the Heat-Ray featured in H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" (1898). The discovery of X-rays and radioactivity in the last years of the 19th century led to an increase in the popularity of this family of weapons, with numerous examples in the early 20th century, such as the disintegrator rays of George Griffith's future-war novel "The Lord of Labour" (1911). Early science-fiction film often showed raygun beams making bright light and loud noise like lightning or large electric arcs. Wells also prefigured modern armored warfare with his description of tanks in his 1903 short story "The Land Ironclads", and aerial warfare in his 1907 novel "The War in the Air". Lasers and particle beams. Arthur C. Clarke envisaged particle beam weapons in his 1955 novel "Earthlight", in which energy would be delivered by high-velocity beams of matter. After the invention of the laser in 1960, it briefly became the death ray of choice for science-fiction writers. For instance, characters in the "Star Trek" pilot episode "" (1964) and in the "Lost in Space" TV series (1965–1968) carried handheld laser weapons. By the late 1960s and 1970s, as the laser's limits as a weapon became evident, the raygun began to be replaced by similar weapons with names that better reflected the destructive capabilities of the device. These names ranged from the generic "pulse rifle" to series-specific weapons, such as the phasers from "Star Trek". In the "Warhammer 40,000" franchise, a faction known as the Imperial Guard has a "lasgun", which is described as being a handheld laser weapon, as their main weapon, and larger cannon versions being mounted onto tanks and being carried around by Space Marines. The Eldar has a special unit called the Swooping Hawks equipped with a "lasblaster". In the "Command & Conquer" video game series, various factions make extensive use of laser and particle-beam technology. The most notable are Allied units Prism Tank from ' and Athena Cannon from ', the Nod's Avatar and Obelisk of Light from ', as well as various units from ' constructed by USA faction, including their "superweapon" particle cannon. Plasma weaponry. Weapons using plasma (high-energy ionized gas) have been featured in a number of fictional universes. Weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear weapons are a staple element in science-fiction novels. The phrase "atomic bomb" predates their existence, and dates back to H. G. Wells' "The World Set Free" (1914), when scientists had discovered that radioactive decay implied potentially limitless energy locked inside of atomic particles (Wells' atomic bombs were only as powerful as conventional explosives, but would continue exploding for days on end). Cleve Cartmill predicted a chain reaction-type nuclear bomb in his 1944 science-fiction story "Deadline", which led to the FBI investigating him, due to concern over a potential breach of security on the Manhattan Project. The use of radiological, biological, and chemical weapons is another common theme in science fiction. In the aftermath of World War I, the use of chemical weapons, particularly poison gas, was a major worry, and was often employed in the science fiction of this period, for example Neil Bell's "The Gas War of 1940" (1931). Robert A. Heinlein's 1940 story "Solution Unsatisfactory" posits radioactive dust as a weapon that the US develops in a crash program to end World War II; the dust's existence forces drastic changes in the postwar world. In "The Dalek Invasion of Earth", set in the 22nd century, Daleks are claimed to have invaded Earth after it was bombarded with meteorites and a plague wiped out entire continents. A subgenre of science fiction, postapocalyptic fiction, uses the aftermath of nuclear or biological warfare as its setting. The Death Star is the "Star Wars" equivalent to a weapon of mass destruction, and as such, might be the most well-known weapon of mass destruction in science fiction. Powered armor and fighting suits. The idea of powered armor has appeared in a wide variety of fiction, beginning with E. E. Smith's "Lensman" series in 1937. One of the most famous early versions was Heinlein's 1959 novel "Starship Troopers", which can be seen as spawning the entire subgenre concept of military "powered armor", which would be further developed in Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War". The Marvel character "Iron Man" is another noteworthy example. Other examples include the power armor used by the Space Marines and other characters from Games Workshop's "Warhammer 40k" franchise, and the power armor used by the Brotherhood of Steel in the "Fallout" franchise, and the MJOLNIR Armor worn by protagonist Master Chief in the "Halo" series of video games. The anime series Gundam Wing centers around nuclear powered piloted suits of armor called mobile suits. Powered armor suits appear numerous times in the later "Command and Conquer" games. The Terrans, a future version of humanity in the "StarCraft" series, are often seen in powered combat suits and equipped with rifles that fire bullets similar to a tip of a pencil. Others are equipped with the a sort of cybernetic implant. Some science-fiction stories contain accounts of hand-to-hand combat in zero gravity, and the idea that old-fashioned edged weapons—daggers, saws, mechanical cutters—may still have the advantage in close-up situations where projectile weapons are impractical. Cyberwarfare and cyberweapons. The idea of cyberwarfare, in which wars are fought within the structures of communication systems and computers using software and information as weapons, was first explored by science fiction. John Brunner's 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider" is notable for coining the word "worm" to describe a computer program that propagates itself through a computer network, used as a weapon in the novel. William Gibson's "Neuromancer" coined the phrase cyberspace, a virtual battleground in which battles are fought using software weapons and counterweapons. The "Star Trek" episode "A Taste of Armageddon" is another notable example. Certain Dale Brown novels place cyberweapons in different roles. The first is the "netrusion" technology used by the U.S. Air Force. It sends corrupt data to oncoming missiles to shut them down, as well as hostile aircraft by giving them a "shutdown" order in which the systems turn off one by one. It is also used to send false messages to hostiles, to place the tide of battle in the favor of America. The technology is later reverse-engineered by the Russian Federation to shut down American antiballistic missile satellites from a tracking station at Socotra Island, Yemen. Cyberwarfare has moved from a theoretical idea to something that is now seriously considered as a threat by modern states. In a similar but unrelated series of incidents involved various groups of hackers from India and Pakistan who hacked and defaced several websites of companies and government organizations based in each other's country. The actions were committed by various groups based in both countries, but not known to be affiliated with the governments of India or Pakistan. The cyber wars are believed to have begun in 2008 following the Mumbai attacks believed to be by a group of Indian cyber groups hacking into Pakistani websites. Hours after the cyber attacks, a number of Indian websites (both government and private) were attacked by groups of Pakistani hackers, claiming to be retaliation for Indian attacks on Pakistani websites. The back and forth attacks have persisted on occasions since then. Doomsday machines. A doomsday machine is a hypothetical construction that could destroy all life, either on Earth or beyond, generally as part of a policy of mutually assured destruction. In Fred Saberhagen's 1967 "Berserker" stories, the Berserkers of the title are giant computerized self-replicating spacecraft, once used as a doomsday device in an interstellar war aeons ago, and having destroyed both their enemies and their makers, are still attempting to fulfil their mission of destroying all life in the universe. The 1967 "Star Trek" episode "" written by Norman Spinrad, explores a similar theme. Alien doomsday machines are common in science fiction as "Big Dumb Objects", McGuffins around which the plot can be constructed. An example is the Halo megastructures in the video game franchise "Halo", which are world-sized doomsday machines that when fired, eliminate all sentient life in a radius. The sentient weapon. The science-fiction themes of autonomous weapons systems and the use of computers in warfare date back to the 1960s, often in a frankensteinian context, notably in Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and films such as "", originally released in 1970 (based on a novel by Dennis Feltham Jones). In Keith Laumer's "Bolo" novels, the eponymous protagonists are huge main battle tanks with self-aware artificial intelligence. Another common theme is that of dehumanised, cyborg or android soldiers: human, or quasi-human beings who are themselves weapons. Philip K. Dick's 1953 short story "Second Variety" features self-replicating robot weapons, this time with the added theme of weapons imitating humans. In his short story "Impostor", Dick goes one step further, making its protagonist a manlike robot bomb that actually believes itself to be a human being. The idea of robot killing machines disguised as humans is central to James Cameron's film "The Terminator", and its subsequent media franchise. They also appear as the central problem of the 1995 cult film "Screamers" (based on "Second Variety") and its sequel. The Battlestar Galactica's cylons are sentient weapons, too, even in the original series and in its reboot in the 2000s. However, human-looking cylons are the central characters of the remake series (in the original series, only one prototype was human-looking). In Harlan Ellison's 1957 short story "Soldier From Tomorrow", the protagonist is a soldier who has been conditioned from birth by the State solely to fight and kill the enemy. Samuel R. Delany's 1966 novella "Babel-17" features TW-55, a purpose-grown cloned assassin. Ridley Scott's 1982 film "Blade Runner", like Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", on which it is loosely based, uses the story of a hunt for escaped military androids to explore the idea what it means to be human. In John Carpenter's 1974 film "Dark Star", a notable portion of the plot involves the characters trying to convince a large, intelligent bomb not to detonate inside the ship. The idea of animated weapons is now so much a science-fiction trope that it has spawned a whole genre of science-fiction films such as "Hardware", "Death Machine", and "Universal Soldier". War on the mind. Themes of brainwashing, conditioning, memory-erasing, and other mind-control methods as weapons of war feature in much science fiction of the late 1950s and 1960s, paralleling the contemporary panic about communist brainwashing, existence of sleeper agents, and the real-world attempts of governments in programs such as MK-ULTRA to make such things real. David Langford's short story "BLIT" (1988) posits the existence of images (called "basilisks") that are destructive to the human brain, which are used as weapons of terror by posting copies of them in areas where they are likely to be seen by the intended victims. Langford revisited the idea in a fictional FAQ on the images, published by the science journal "Nature" in 1999. The neuralyzer from the "Men in Black" films are compact objects that can erase and modify the short-term memories of witnesses by the means of a brief flash of light, ensuring that no one remembers encountering either aliens or the agents themselves. The TV series "Dollhouse" (2009) features technology that can "mindwipe" people (transforming them into "actives", or "dolls") and replace their inherent personalities with another one, either "real" (from another actual person's mind), fabricated (for example, a soldier trained in many styles of combat and weaponry, or unable to feel pain), or a mixture of both. In a future timeline of the series, the technology has been devised into a mass weapon, able to "remote wipe" anyone and replace them with any personality. A war erupts between those controlling actives, and "actuals" (a term to describe those still retaining their original personas). An offshoot technology allows actual people to upload upgrades to their personas (such as fighting or language skills), similar to the process seen in "The Matrix", albeit for only one skill at a time. Biological weapons. Biological weapons and bioterrorism have appeared in many science-fiction works, arguably dating back to "The War of the Worlds" (1897), in which the invading Martians are ultimately defeated by infection from Earth bacteria. In the dystopian film "V for Vendetta", the fascist government of Britain causes a plague for which it has the only antidote, to ensure complete takeover of the country. In two books in the "Animorphs" series, "The Hork-Bajir Chronicles" and "The Arrival", engineered viruses are created by an alien species to cause massive casualties against their enemies. Similarly, a biological virus is created by the Draka in the novel "The Stone Dogs". A manufactured virus is responsible for turning humans into zombies in the "Resident Evil" video game series. The resizeability of weapons in science fiction. Some weapons in science fiction can be folded and put away for easy storage. For instance, the sword carried by Hikaru Sulu in the "Star Trek" movie of 2009 had its blade unfold from its own form into the fully extended position from the state of a simple handle. Another example of this are the weapons of the Mass Effect universe. The weaponry in the games could fold up into smaller and more compact shapes when holstered or deactivated. Lightsabers from "Star Wars" are no larger than a flashlight until they are turned on. Parallels between science-fiction and real-world weapons. Some new forms of real-world weaponry resemble weapons previously envisaged in science fiction. The early 1980s-era Strategic Defense Initiative, a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (Intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles), gained the popular name "Star Wars" after the popular franchise created by George Lucas. In some cases, the influence of science fiction on weapons programs has been specifically acknowledged. In 2007, science-fiction author Thomas Easton was invited to address engineers working on a DARPA program to create weaponized cyborg insects, as envisaged in his novel "Sparrowhawk". Active research on powered exoskeletons for military use has a long history, beginning with the abortive 1960s Hardiman powered exoskeleton project at General Electric, and continuing into the 21st century. The borrowing between fiction and reality has worked both ways, with the power loader from the film "Aliens" resembling the prototypes of the Hardiman system. American military research on high-power laser weapons started in the 1960s, and has continued to the present day, with the U.S. Army planning, as of 2008, the deployment of practical battlefield laser weapons. Lower-powered lasers are currently used for military purposes as laser target designators and for military rangefinding. Laser weapons intended to blind combatants have also been developed, but are currently banned by the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, although low-power versions designed to dazzle rather than blind have been developed experimentally. Gun-mounted lasers have also been used as psychological weapons, to let opponents know that they have been targeted to encourage them to hide or flee without having to actually open fire on them.

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Slipstream (science fiction) "Slipstream" is a science fiction term for a fictional method of faster-than-light space travel, similar to hyperspace travel, warp drive, or "transfer points" from David Brin's Uplift series. Usage in "Star Trek". Quantum slipstream was a starship drive used in two episodes of the science fiction television series "". It first appeared in the season 4 finale, "Hope and Fear". Similar to the Borg transwarp conduits, the slipstream is a narrowly focused, directed field that is initiated by manipulating the fabric of the space-time continuum at the quantum level using the starship's navigational deflector array. This creates a subspace tunnel, which is projected ahead of the vessel. Once a ship has entered this tunnel, the forces inside propel it at incredible speed. To maintain the slipstream, a ship has to constantly modify the quantum field with its deflector dish; however, the calculations involved are too complicated, and the time available too short for 24th-century Starfleet computer technology. When this technology was discovered by the crew of the lost and stranded USS "Voyager", it was hoped this could be used to allow the starship to travel at even greater speeds. However, in the episode "Timeless", the technology proved to be dangerously unstable, resulting in the loss of all hands of the "Voyager" in an alternate timeline. Due to a phase variance, the slipstream tunnel, produced by a replica slipstream drive of the "Voyager", collapsed during the flight and the ship crashed on a planet near the border on the edge of the Delta Quadrant. Harry Kim and Chakotay survived, because they used the "Delta Flyer", which flew ahead of the "Voyager", and reached the Earth safely. Some years after this event, they used a temporal communication device to change the timeline and rescue the ship and crew. Quantum slipstream technology was one of the items requested in the "Think Tank" episode, despite Captain Janeway's admission that they never got it to work properly. In the third season of "", the character Cleveland Booker pilots a ship that runs on a quantum slipstream drive, though he mentions that the scarcity of benamite prevents him from using it. For this reason, the Federation wasn't able to adopt the technology as a viable successor to warp drive following the Burn, the event that destroyed most of the dilithium in the galaxy, rendering warp drives inoperable. Usage in "Andromeda". Slipstream travel is also used in the science fiction television series "Andromeda". Function. Slipstream is a series of "strings" connected between planetary systems by gravity. A gravity field generator drastically reduces the mass of the ship and then a slipstream drive opens a slippoint which the ship enters. The pilot then navigates the series of slipstream "tunnels" until they exit via the desired slip point. Usually one has to enter and exit slipstream several times before reaching their final destination. An A.I. attempting slipstream travel has a 50% chance of selecting the correct route at each intersection encountered. Owing to organic "intuition", a living pilot has a 99.97% chance of guessing the correct route to take. While travellers approaching light speed will encounter time dilation, slipstream travel does not. Limits of slipstream. Due to the complex nature of slipstream probability and difficulty in mapping slipstream, only biological entities are capable of successfully navigating it. Exiting slipstream near the edge of a galaxy or in certain regions of space could be dangerous because it is difficult to find a slippoint in these areas. If a slippoint cannot be found, or a slipstream drive is damaged, the ship is stranded and limited to slower than light speed. Usage in "Doctor Who". In the episode "World War Three" the Slitheen family from Raxacoricofallapatorius uses a slipstream drive as a form of travel. Usage in "Halo". In the Microsoft video game series "Halo", based in the 26th century, slipspace (also known as slipstream space) is the general method of faster-than-light travel. Both the alliance of alien races known as the Covenant, and their human opponents, the United Nations Space Command forces, use slipspace to travel between systems. The mechanics are described in more detail in the novel "", on page 53. "Shaw-Fujikawa engines allowed UNSC ships to leave normal space and plow through a dimensional subdomain colloquially known as "Slipstream space." ... The drive used particle accelerators to rip apart normal space-time by generating micro black holes. Those holes evaporated via Hawking radiation in a nanosecond. The real quantum mechanical "magic" of the drive was how it manipulated those holes in space-time, squeezing a hundred-thousand-ton cruiser into Slipspace."

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Floating cities and islands in fiction In speculative fiction, floating cities and islands are a common trope, which range from cities and islands that float on water to ones that float in the atmosphere of a planet by purported scientific technologies or by magical means. While very large floating structures have been constructed or proposed in real life, aerial cities and islands remain in the realm of fiction. Seaborne cities and islands. Seaborne floating islands have been found in literature since Homer's "Odyssey", written near the end of the 8th century BC, described the island of Aeolia. They reappear in Pliny the Elder's "Natural History" of the 1st century AD. Richard Head‘s 1673 novel "The Floating Island" describes a fictional island named Scotia Moria. In "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle", the characters sail to a floating island, which later becomes fixed in place. In the DC comics story of Wonder Woman, Themyscira is a group of floating islands. In Jules Verne‘s "Propeller Island", the characters are on an artificial floating island that is actually a huge ship. In Yann Martel‘s novel "Life of Pi", there is a floating island. Airborne cities and islands. Earth. In the treatise "De Grandine et Tonitruis" ("On Hail and Thunder", 815), Carolingian bishop Agobard of Lyon describes Magonia, a cloud realm populated by felonious aerial sailors. In the novel "Gulliver's Travels" (1726) by Jonathan Swift, the island city of Laputa was revealed to be floating in the sky. Laputa purportedly levitated through use of artificial magnetism. It was primarily a fictional device that was intended to satirize far-fetched pseudo-scientific proposals. During the 1920s, science fiction author Hugo Gernsback speculated about floating cities of the future, suggesting that 10,000 years hence "the city the size of New York will float several miles above the surface of the earth, where the air is cleaner and purer and free from disease carrying bacteria." To stay in the air, "four gigantic generators will shoot earthward electric rays which by reaction with the earth produce the force to keep the city aloft." In 1960, the architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao proposed the construction of a thermal airship, which they called Cloud Nine. This megastructure would be a geodesic sphere that, once it was sufficiently heated by sunlight, would become airborne. Fuller and Sadao envisioned that Cloud Nine would float freely in the Earth's atmosphere, giving residents and passengers a migratory lifestyle. They believed that it might be a partial solution to the depletion of non-renewable resources. The "Triton City" – the work of the Triton Foundation whose principal members were Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao – was commissioned by Charles Haar, a Harvard professor and the director of HUD, to design a floating city to provide housing in urban areas located near the ocean. A tetrahedron shaped module holding 5,000 inhabitants was designed and a comprehensive engineering report was submitted together with a large model which is on display in the lobby of the Lyndon B. Johnson Center in Austin, Texas. Eric Vinicoff's "Maiden Flight" postulates a remarkably optimistic view of a post-nuclear apocalyptic world in which humanity has either retreated underground or taken to the skies in 'windriders', essentially large (approx. 1-mile diameter) tensigrity bubbles that employ a hot-air lift mechanism. These windriders may also qualify as arcologies as they are, for all practical purposes, self-sustaining. In Isaac Asimov's story Shah Guido G., the hereditary Secretary-General of the United Nations ("Sekjen") is a tyrant who rules the Earth from a Flying island called Atlantis. Venus. A design similar to Fuller's "Cloud Nine" might permit habitation in the upper atmosphere of Venus, where at ground level the temperature is too high and the atmospheric pressure too great. As proposed by Geoffrey A. Landis, the easiest planet (other than Earth) to place floating cities at this point would appear to be Venus. Because the thick carbon dioxide atmosphere is 50% denser than air, breathable air (21:79 Oxygen-Nitrogen mixture) is a lifting gas in the dense Venerean atmosphere, with over 60% of the lifting power that helium has on Earth. In effect, a balloon full of human-breathable air would sustain itself and extra weight (such as a habita) in midair. This means that any large structure filled with air would float on the carbon dioxide, with the air's natural buoyancy counteracting the weight of the structure itself. At an altitude of 50 km above the Venerean surface, the environment is the "most Earthlike in the solar system", with a pressure of approximately 1 bar and temperatures in the 0°C-50°C range. Because there is not a significant pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the breathable-air balloon, any rips or tears would cause gases to diffuse at normal atmospheric mixing rates, giving time to repair any such damage. In addition, humans would not require pressurized suits when outside, merely air to breathe and a protection from the acidic rain. Since such habitats would be viable in current Venerean conditions, this allows a dynamic approach to habitation instead of requiring extensive terraforming measures in advance. The main challenge would be using a substance resistant to sulfuric acid to serve as the structure's outer layer; ceramics or metal sulfates could possibly serve in this role. Other planets. In addition to Venus, floating cities have been proposed in science fiction on several other planets. For example, floating cities might also permit settlement of the outer three gas giants, as the gas giants lack solid surfaces. Jupiter is not promising for habitation due to its high gravity, escape velocity and radiation, but the solar system's other gas giants (Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) may be more practical. In 1978, the British Interplanetary Society's Project Daedalus envisioned floating factories in the atmospheres of Jupiter refining helium-3 to produce fuel for an interstellar probe. Michael McCollum notes that the "surface" gravity of Saturn (that is, at the visible cloud layer, where the atmospheric pressure is about the same as Earth's) is very close to that of Earth, and in his novel "The Clouds of Saturn", he envisioned cities floating in the Saturnian atmosphere, where the buoyancy is provided by envelopes of hydrogen heated by fusion reactors. Uranus and Neptune also have upper atmosphere gravities comparable to Earth's, and even lower escape velocities than Saturn. Cecelia Holland populated Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus with mutant humans, the Styth, in floating cities in her only SF novel, "Floating Worlds" (1975). Donald Moffitt's novel "Jovian" (2003) features floating cities forever floating in the Jovian atmosphere, a worthwhile enterprise due to their ability to extract useful gases. The book concentrates on the cultural differences (and political tensions) developing between "Jovian" humans and Earthbound ones.

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Energy being An energy being or astral being is a theoretical life form that is composed of energy rather than matter. They appear in myths/legends, paranormal/UFO accounts, and in various works of speculative fiction. Energy beings are typically rendered as a translucent glowing fluid or as a collection of flames or electrical sparks or bolts; somewhat in common with the representations of ghosts. Energy beings have a variety of capacities. The Taelons (from ') are barely more powerful than mortals, while others such as "Star Trek"s Q, "Stargate SG-1"s Ascended Ancients/Ori, 's Anodites, or the Meekrob from "Invader Zim" possess god-like powers.

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Technomancy In science fiction and fantasy, technomancy, also called technomagic, is a category of magical abilities that affect technology or magical powers that are gained through the use of technology. The word "technomancy". "Technomancy" is a portmanteau of "technology" and "-mancy", a suffix used in magical sciences to refer to specific types of specialization or divination ("-mancy" is derived from the Greek "manteia", meaning divination). Technomancy is also associated with the daily usage of computers, followed by the passage: "The future of computing is not in Data Processing, or Programming, or Information Systems, or Computer Science. It's in Technomancy." An early appearance of the term can be found in Steve Martindale's 1990 short story "Technomancy" in the magazine "Aboriginal Science Fiction". Theme. Technomancy is a common theme in certain subgenres of both science fiction and modern-day fantasy fiction, particularly fiction that crosses the sci-fi and fantasy genres, as well as role playing games that take place in similar settings. Strictly speaking, though, it belongs fully to the realm of fantasy since it can be magic that is used on technology that presently exists. It most commonly appears in science fantasy. The term technomancy has seen increased usage on webcomics on the internet, although it is used in a vague sense. It is also distinct from what is sometimes called "magitech" (technology that uses magic). Magitech considers magic and science to be two parts of one force, while technomancy has magic affecting science, notwithstanding. Non-mystical technomancy. In some settings, technomancy may be totally scientific in nature in accordance with Arthur C Clarke's third law of prediction: Examples of users of this type of technomancy are the Technomages of the "Babylon 5" universe; and in "Ilium/Olympos", where the supernatural powers of wizards and gods come from an advanced technology. In the "Mass Effect" video game series, many characters gain magic-like powers through technology. The 4th Edition of the "Shadowrun" role-playing game has characters who can interact with the Matrix (the Internet of that setting) without using technology and are referred to as "Technomancers", but their abilities stem from a mutation rather than magic. Shadowrun Technomancers are specifically unable to use magic. The term Technomancy can be descriptive of the skill of an engineer whose expertise allows him or her to diagnose mechanical problems by observing the machine behavior, in essence listening to the machine to let it tell him what is wrong. In "Overwatch" the character Sombra can instantly "hack" and control any piece of technology within seconds. She summons up a holographic keyboard that she types on that can "hack" health packs, other characters ultimates, or even their basic abilities. In the animated short Blizzard created introducing her, she can also be seen gaining control of a giant robotic arm. In both the game and the short she can render herself invisible or teleport. The DC Comics supervillain Abra Kadabra is from the 64th century, at a time when science is considered magic by 21st century standards. His "powers" come from his usage of futuristic technology to simulate magic. Non-scientific technology. Another form of technomancy, sometimes called 'industrial magic', has magical devices operating similarly to technological devices. The "Harry Potter" setting has owl familiars serving as a postal system, animated newspapers and fireplace embers serving as video screens, phantom quills and parchments as speech-recognition software, even flying brooms and orbs as athletic equipment, those embers can also be used like teleportation, and so on. The Eberron setting of "Dungeons & Dragons" has bound elemental spirits powering transportation vehicles. In "" for example, the crystal is a supernatural being, but his power was used like a computer program. In Dave the Barbarian, crystal balls and magic cauldrons were used like telephones, televisions and computers.

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Mind uploading in fiction Mind uploading, whole brain emulation, or substrate-independent minds is a use of a computer or another substrate as an emulated human brain. The term "mind transfer" also refers to a hypothetical transfer of a mind from one biological brain to another. Uploaded minds and societies of minds, often in simulated realities, are recurring themes in science-fiction novels and films since the 1950s. Early and particularly important examples. A story featuring an artificial brain that replicates the personality of a specific person is "The Infinite Brain" by John Scott Campbell, written under the name John C. Campbell, and published in the May 1930 issue of "Science Wonder Stories". The artificial brain is created by an inventor named Anton Des Roubles, who tells the narrator that "I am attempting to construct a mechanism exactly duplicating the mechanical and electrical processes occurring in the human brain and constituting the phenomena known as "thought"." The narrator later learns that Des Roubles has died, and on visiting his laboratory, finds a machine that can communicate with him via typed messages, and which tells him "I, Anton Des Roubles, am dead—my body is dead—but I still live. I am this machine. These racks of apparatus are my brains, which is thinking even as yours is. Anton Des Roubles is dead but he has built me, his exact mental duplicate, to carry on his life and work." The machine also tells him "He made my brain precisely like his, built three hundred thousand cells for my memory, and filled two hundred thousand of them with his own knowledge. I have his personality; it is my own through a process I will tell you of later. ... I think just as you do. I have a consciousness as have other men." He then explains his discovery that the electrical impulses in the brain create magnetic fields that can be detected by a device he built called a "Telepather", and that "[t]hrough this instrument any one's mental condition can be exactly duplicated." Later, he enlists the narrator's help in constructing a new type of artificial brain that will retain his memories but possess an expanded intellect, though the experiment does not go as planned, as the new intelligence has a radically different personality and soon sets out to conquer the world. An early story featuring technological transfer of memories and personality from one brain to another is "Intelligence Undying" by Edmond Hamilton, first published in the April 1936 issue of "Amazing Stories". In this story, an elderly scientist named John Hanley explains that when humans are first born, "our minds are a blank sheet except for certain reflexes which we all inherit. But from our birth onward, our minds are affected by all about us, our reflexes are conditioned, as the behaviorists say. All we experience is printed on the sheet of our minds. ... Everything a human being learns, therefore, simply establishes new connections between the nerve cells of the brain. ... As I said, a newborn child has no such knowledge connections in his cortex at all—he has not yet formed any. Now if I take that child immediately after birth and establish in his brain exactly the same web of intricate neurone connections I have built up in my own brain, he will have exactly the same mind, memories, knowledge, as I have ... his mind will be exactly identical with my mind!" He then explains he has developed a technique to do just this, saying "I've devised a way to "scan" my brain's intricate web of neurone connections by electrical impulses, and by means of those impulses to build up an exactly identical web of neurone connections in the infant's brain. Just as a television scanning-disk can break down a complicated picture into impulses that reproduce the picture elsewhere." He adds that the impulses scanning his brain will kill him, but the "counter-impulses" imprinting the same pattern on the baby's brain will not harm him. The story shows the successful transfer of John Hanley's mind to the baby, whom he describes as "John Hanley 2nd", and then skips forward to the year 3144 to depict "John Hanley, 21st" using his advanced technology to become the ruler of the Earth in order to end a war between the two great political powers of the time, and then further ahead to "John Hanley, 416th" helping to evacuate humanity to the planet Mercury in response to the Sun shrinking into a white dwarf. He chooses to remain on Earth awaiting death, so that people would "learn once more to do for themselves, would become again a strong a self-reliant race", with Hanley concluding that he "had been wrong in living as a single super-mind down through the ages. He saw that now, and now he was undoing that wrong." A story featuring human minds replicated in a computer is the novella "Izzard and the Membrane" by Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in May 1951. In this story, an American cyberneticist named Scott MacDonney is captured by Russians and made to work on an advanced computer, Izzard, which they plan to use to coordinate an attack on the United States. He has conversations with Izzard as he works on it, and when he asks it if it is self-aware, it says "answer indeterminate" and then asks "can human individual's self-awareness transor be mechanically duplicated?" MacDonney is unfamiliar with the concept of a self-awareness transor (it is later revealed that this information was loaded into Izzard by a mysterious entity who may nor may not be God), and Izzard defines it by saying "A self-awareness transor is the mathematical function which describes the specific consciousness pattern of one human individual." It is later found that this mathematical function can indeed be duplicated, although not by a detailed scan of the individual's brain as in later notions of mind uploading; instead, Donney just has to describe the individual verbally in sufficient detail, and Izzard uses this information to locate the transor in the appropriate "mathematical region". In Izzard's words, "to duplicate consciousness of deceased, it will be necessary for you to furnish anthropometric and psychic characteristics of the individual. These characteristics will not determine transor, but will only give its general form. Knowing its form, will enable me to sweep my circuit pattern through its mathematical region until the proper transor is reached. At that point, the consciousness will appear among the circuits." Using this method, MacDonney is able to recreate the mind of his dead wife in Izzard's memory, as well as create a virtual duplicate of himself, which seems to have a shared awareness with the biological MacDonney. In "The Altered Ego" by Jerry Sohl (1954), a person's mind can be "recorded" and used to create a "restoration" in the event of their death. In a restoration, the person's biological body is repaired and brought back to life, and their memories are restored to the last time that they had their minds recorded (what the story calls a 'brain record'), an early example of a story in which a person can create periodic backups of their own mind which are stored in an artificial medium. The recording process is not described in great detail, but it is mentioned that the recording is used to create a duplicate or "dupe" which is stored in the "restoration bank", and at one point a lecturer says that "The experience of the years, the neurograms, simple memory circuits—neurons, if you wish—stored among these nerve cells, are transferred to the dupe, a group of more than ten billion molecules in colloidal suspension. They are charged much as you would charge the plates of a battery, the small neuroelectrical impulses emanating from your brain during the recording session being duplicated on the molecular structure in the solution." During restoration, they take the dupe and "infuse it into an empty brain", and the plot turns on the fact that it is possible to install one person's dupe in the body of a completely different person. An early example featuring uploaded minds in robotic bodies can be found in Frederik Pohl's story "The Tunnel Under the World" from 1955. In this story, the protagonist Guy Burckhardt continually wakes up on the same date from a dream of dying in an explosion. Burckhardt is already familiar with the idea of putting human minds in robotic bodies, since this is what is done with the robot workers at the nearby Contro Chemical factory. As someone has once explained it to him, "each machine was controlled by a sort of computer which reproduced, in its electronic snarl, the actual memory and mind of a human being ... It was only a matter, he said, of transferring a man's habit patterns from brain cells to vacuum-tube cells." Later in the story, Pohl gives some additional description of the procedure: "Take a master petroleum chemist, infinitely skilled in the separation of crude oil into its fractions. Strap him down, probe into his brain with searching electronic needles. The machine scans the patterns of the mind, translates what it sees into charts and sine waves. Impress these same waves on a robot computer and you have your chemist. Or a thousand copies of your chemist, if you wish, with all of his knowledge and skill, and no human limitations at all." After some investigation, Burckhardt learns that his entire town had been killed in a chemical explosion, and the brains of the dead townspeople had been scanned and placed into miniature robotic bodies in a miniature replica of the town (as a character explains to him, 'It's as easy to transfer a pattern from a dead brain as a living one'), so that a businessman named Mr. Dorchin could charge companies to use the townspeople as test subjects for new products and advertisements. Something close to the notion of mind uploading is very briefly mentioned in Isaac Asimov's 1956 short story "The Last Question": "One by one Man fused with AC, each physical body losing its mental identity in a manner that was somehow not a loss but a gain." A more detailed exploration of the idea (and one in which individual identity is preserved, unlike in Asimov's story) can be found in Arthur C. Clarke's novel "The City and the Stars", also from 1956 (this novel was a revised and expanded version of Clarke's earlier story "Against the Fall of Night", but the earlier version did not contain the elements relating to mind uploading). The story is set in a city named Diaspar one billion years in the future, where the minds of inhabitants are stored as patterns of information in the city's Central Computer in between a series of 1000-year lives in cloned bodies. Various commentators identify this story as one of the first (if not the first) to deal with mind uploading, human-machine synthesis, and computerized immortality. Another of the "firsts" is the novel "Detta är verkligheten" (This is reality), 1968, by the renowned philosopher and logician Bertil Mårtensson, a novel in which he describes people living in an uploaded state as a means to control overpopulation. The uploaded people believe that they are "alive", but in reality they are playing elaborate and advanced fantasy games. In a twist at the end, the author changes everything into one of the best "multiverse" ideas of science fiction. In Robert Silverberg's "To Live Again" (1969), an entire worldwide economy is built up around the buying and selling of "souls" (personas that have been tape-recorded at six-month intervals), allowing well-heeled consumers the opportunity to spend tens of millions of dollars on a medical treatment that uploads the most recent recordings of archived personalities into the minds of the buyers. Federal law prevents people from buying a "personality recording" unless the possessor first had died; similarly, two or more buyers were not allowed to own a "share" of the persona. In this novel, the personality recording always went to the highest bidder. However, when one attempted to buy (and therefore possess) too many personalities, there was the risk that one of the personas would wrest control of the body from the possessor. In the 1982 novel "Software", part of the Ware Tetralogy by Rudy Rucker, one of the main characters, Cobb Anderson, has his mind downloaded and his body replaced with an extremely human-like android body. The robots who persuade Anderson into doing this sell the process to him as a way to become immortal. In William Gibson's award-winning "Neuromancer" (1984), which popularized the concept of "cyberspace", a hacking tool used by the main character is an artificial infomorph of a notorious cyber-criminal, "Dixie Flatline". The infomorph only assists in exchange for the promise that he be deleted after the mission is complete. The fiction of Greg Egan has explored many of the philosophical, ethical, legal, and identity aspects of mind transfer, as well as the financial and computing aspects (i.e. hardware, software, processing power) of maintaining "copies." In Egan's "Permutation City" (1994), "Diaspora" (1997) and "Zendegi" (2010), "copies" are made by computer simulation of scanned brain physiology. See also Egan's "jewelhead" stories, where the mind is transferred from the organic brain to a small, immortal backup computer at the base of the skull, the organic brain then being surgically removed. The movie The Matrix is commonly mistaken for a mind uploading movie, but with exception to suggestions in later movies, it is only about virtual reality and simulated reality, since the main character Neo's physical brain still is required for his mind to reside in. The mind (the information content of the brain) is not copied into an emulated brain in a computer. Neo's physical brain is connected into the Matrix via a brain-machine interface. Only the rest of the physical body is simulated. Neo is disconnected from and reconnected to this dreamworld. James Cameron's 2009 movie "Avatar" has so far been the commercially most successful example of a work of fiction that features a form of mind uploading. Throughout most of the movie, the hero's mind has not actually been uploaded and transferred to another body, but is simply controlling the body from a distance, a form of telepresence. However, at the end of the movie the hero's mind is uploaded into Eywa, the mind of the planet, and then back into his Avatar body. Further examples. Mind transfer is a theme in many other works of science fiction in a wide range of media. Specific examples include the following:

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Gynoid A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine gynomorphic humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design. Name. A gynoid is anything that resembles or pertains to the female human form. Though the term "android" has been used to refer to robotic humanoids regardless of apparent gender, the Greek prefix "andr-" refers to "man" in the masculine sense. Because of this prefix, "Android" can be read as referring specifically to male-styled robots. The term "gynoid" was first used by Isaac Asimov in a 1979 editorial, as a theoretical female equivalent of the word "android". Other possible names for feminine robots exist. The portmanteau "fembot" (feminine robot) was popularized by the television series "The Bionic Woman" in the episode "Kill Oscar" (1976) and later used in the Austin Powers films, among others. "Robotess" is the oldest female-specific term, originating in 1921 from "Rossum's Universal Robots", the same source as the term "robot." Feminine robots. Examples of feminine robots include: Researchers note the connection between the design of feminine robots and roboticists' assumptions about gendered appearance and labor. Fembots in Japan, for example, are designed with slenderness and grace in mind, and they are employed to help to maintain traditional family structures and politics in a nation of population decline. People also react to fembots attributable to gender stereotypes. This research is used to elucidate gender cues, clarifying which behaviors and aesthetics elicit a stronger gender-induced response. As sexual devices. Gynoids may be "eroticized", and some examples such as Aiko include sensitivity sensors in their breasts and genitals to facilitate sexual response. The fetishization of gynoids in real life is attributed to male desires for custom-made passive women, and is compared to life-size sex dolls. However, some science fiction works depict them as femmes fatales, fighting the establishment or being rebellious. Robot sex partners may become commonplace in the future. Female robots as sexual devices also appeared, with early constructions quite crude. The first was produced by Sex Objects Ltd, a Brit company, for use as a "sex aid." It was called simply "36C," from her chest measurement, and had a 16-bit microprocessor and voice synthesiser giving primitive responses to speech and push-button inputs. In 1983, a busty female robot named "Sweetheart" was removed from a display at the Lawrence Hall of Science after a petition was presented claiming it was insulting to women. The robot's creator, Clayton Bailey, a professor of art at California State University, Hayward called this "censorship" and "next to book burning." In fiction. Artificial women have been a common trope in fiction and mythology since the writings of the ancient Greeks (see the myth of Pygmalion). This has continued with modern fiction, particularly in the genre of science fiction. In science fiction, female-appearing robots are often produced for use as domestic servants and sexual slaves, as seen in the film "Westworld", Paul J. McAuley's novel "Fairyland" (1995), and Lester del Rey's short story "Helen O'Loy" (1938), and sometimes as warriors, killers, or laborers. The character of Annalee Call in "Alien Resurrection" is a rare example of a non-sexualized gynoid. The perfect woman. A long tradition exists in literature of the construction of an artificial embodiment of a certain type of ideal woman, and fictional gynoids have been seen as an extension of this theme. Examples include Hephaestus in the Iliad who created female servants of metal, and Ilmarinen in the Kalevala who created an artificial wife. Pygmalion, from Ovid's account, is one of the earliest conceptualizations of constructions similar to gynoids in literary history. In this myth a female statue is sculpted that is so beautiful that the creator falls in love with it, and after praying to Aphrodite, the goddess takes pity on him and converts the statue into a real woman, Galatea, with whom Pygmalion has children. The Maschinenmensch ("machine-human"), also called "Parody," "Futura," "Robotrix," or the "Maria impersonator," in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" is the first example of gynoid in film: a femininely shaped robot is given skin so that she is not known to be a robot and successfully impersonates the imprisoned Maria and works convincingly as an exotic dancer. Such gynoids are designed according to cultural stereotypes of a perfect woman, being "sexy, dumb, and obedient," and reflect the emotional and sexual desires of their creators. Fictional gynoids are often unique products made to fit a particular man's desire, as seen in the novel "Tomorrow's Eve" and films "The Perfect Woman", "The Stepford Wives", "Mannequin" and "Weird Science", and the creators are often male "mad scientists" such as the characters Rotwang in "Metropolis", Tyrell in "Blade Runner", and the husbands in "The Stepford Wives". Gynoids have been described as the "ultimate geek fantasy: a metal-and-plastic woman of your own." "The Bionic Woman" television series coined the word "fembot". These fembots were a line of powerful, lifelike gynoids with the faces of protagonist Jaime Sommers's best friends. They fought in two multi-part episodes of the series: "Kill Oscar" and "Fembots in Las Vegas," and despite the feminine prefix, there were also male versions, including some designed to impersonate particular individuals for the purpose of infiltration. While not truly artificially intelligent, the fembots still had extremely sophisticated programming that allowed them to pass for human in most situations. The term "fembot" was also used in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (referring to a robot duplicate of the title character, a.k.a. the Buffybot) and "Futurama". The 1987 science-fiction cult film "Cherry 2000" also portrayed a gynoid character which was described by the male protagonist as his "perfect partner". The 1964 TV series "My Living Doll" features a robot, portrayed by Julie Newmar, who is similarly described. The film Her (2013) depicts a Artificial Intelligence assistant called Samantha, whom the protagonist, Theodore, falls in love with until her intelligence surpasses human comprehension and she leaves to fulfil her higher purpose. More recently, the 2015 science-fiction film "Ex Machina" featured a genius inventor experimenting with gynoids in an effort to create the perfect companion. Gender. Fiction about gynoids or female cyborgs reinforce essentialist ideas of femininity, according to Margret Grebowicz. Such essentialist ideas may present as sexual or gender stereotypes. Among the few non-eroticized fictional gynoids include Rosie the Robot Maid from "The Jetsons". However, she still has some stereotypically feminine qualities, such as a matronly shape and a predisposition to cry. The stereotypical role of wifedom has also been explored through use of gynoids. In "The Stepford Wives", husbands are shown as desiring to restrict the independence of their wives, and obedient and stereotypical spouses are preferred. The husbands' technological method of obtaining this "perfect wife" is through the murder of their human wives and replacement with gynoid substitutes that are compliant and housework obsessed, resulting in a "picture-postcard" perfect suburban society. This has been seen as an allegory of male chauvinism of the period, by representing marriage as a master-slave relationship, and an attempt at raising feminist consciousness during the era of second wave feminism. In a parody of the fembots from "The Bionic Woman", attractive, blonde fembots in alluring baby-doll nightgowns were used as a lure for the fictional agent Austin Powers in the movie "". The film's sequels had cameo appearances of characters revealed as fembots. Jack Halberstam writes that these gynoids inform the viewer that femaleness does not indicate naturalness, and their exaggerated femininity and sexuality is used in a similar way to the title character's exaggerated masculinity, lampooning stereotypes. Sex objects. Some argue that gynoids have often been portrayed as sexual objects. Female cyborgs have been similarly used in fiction, in which natural bodies are modified to become objects of fantasy. The female robot in visual media has been described as "the most visible linkage of technology and sex" by Steven Heller. Feminist critic Patricia Melzer writes in "Alien Constructions: Science Fiction and Feminist Thought" that gynoids in Richard Calder's "Dead Girls" are inextricably linked to men's lust, and are mainly designed as sex objects, having no use beyond "pleasing men's violent sexual desires." The gynoid character Eve from the film "Eve of Destruction" has been described as "a literal sex bomb," with her subservience to patriarchal authority and a bomb in place of reproductive organs. In the 1949 film "The Perfect Woman", the titular robot, Olga, is described as having "no sex," but Steve Chibnall writes in his essay "Alien Women" in "British Science Fiction Cinema" that it is clear from her fetishistic underwear that she is produced as a toy for men, with an "implicit fantasy of a fully compliant sex machine." In the film "Westworld", female robots actually engaged in intercourse with human men as part of the make-believe vacation world human customers paid to attend. Sex with gynoids has been compared to necrophilia. Sexual interest in gynoids and fembots has been attributed to fetishisation of technology, and compared to sadomasochism in that it reorganizes the social risk of sex. The depiction of female robots minimizes the threat felt by men from female sexuality and allow the "erasure of any social interference in the spectator's erotic enjoyment of the image." Gynoid fantasies are produced and collected by online communities centered around chat rooms and web site galleries. Isaac Asimov writes that his robots were generally sexually neutral and that giving the majority masculine names was not an attempt to comment on gender. He first wrote about female-appearing robots at the request of editor Judy-Lynn del Rey. Asimov's short story "Feminine Intuition" (1969) is an early example that showed gynoids as being as capable and versatile as male robots, with no sexual connotations. Early models in "Feminine Intuition" were "female caricatures," used to highlight their human creators' reactions to the idea of female robots. Later models lost obviously feminine features, but retained "an air of femininity."

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Space stations and habitats in fiction The concepts of space stations and habitats are common in modern culture. While space stations have become reality, there are as yet no true space habitats. Writers, filmmakers, and other artists have produced vivid renditions of the idea of a space station or habitat, and these iterations can be categorized by some of the basic scientific concepts from which they are derived. Space stations. Space stations in science fiction can employ both existing and speculative technologies. One of the earliest images was the rotating wheel space station (such as the Stanford torus), the inertia and centripetal force of which would theoretically simulate the effects of gravity. Stations using artificial gravity are still purely speculative. Space stations allow characters a relatively constrained setting, serving either as plot site or as safe refuge to which one can retreat. Since they are literary devices, there is no scientific imperative for their evolution to have followed the logical succession of scientific progress as it exists in reality; they may contain any artifact or device demanded by the plot, and can be provided by design or mere happenstance. Space stations are often used as headquarters for organizations, which are thus linked to, but independent of, their place of formation, as research facilities in which experiments too dangerous for planetary settings can be carried out, and as the relics of lost civilizations, left behind when other things are removed. A space station (or "orbital station") is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew, which is designed to remain in space (most commonly in low Earth orbit) for an extended period of time and for other spacecraft to dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by lack of major propulsion or landing systems. Instead, other vehicles transport people and cargo to and from the station. Habitats. Spherical habitats. Bernal spheres. The Bernal sphere is a rotating sphere housing tens of thousands of people. Toroidal or annular habitats. Tori. A rotating torus sometimes quite large in diameter makes possible extensive artificial worlds. Bishop rings. The Bishop ring design is a ring in radius and thick, capable of supporting populations into the tens of billions. It requires mastery of carbon nanotubes. Cylindrical habitats. O'Neill cylinders. O'Neill's Island Three design, commonly called an "O'Neill cylinder", consists of a pair of counter-rotating cylinders, each in radius and long, housing a population of up to 10 million. McKendree cylinders. The McKendree cylinder design is a scaled-up O'Neill cylinder with a radius of and a length of , capable of supporting populations in excess of 100 billion. This design requires mastery of carbon nanotubes.

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Themes in Blade Runner Despite the initial appearance of an action film, "Blade Runner" operates on an unusually rich number of dramatic levels. As with much of the cyberpunk genre, it owes a large debt to film noir, containing and exploring such conventions as the femme fatale, a Chandleresque first-person narration in the Theatrical Version, the questionable moral outlook of the hero—extended here to include even the literal humanity of the hero, as well as the usual dark and shadowy cinematography. Overview. It has been argued that "Blade Runner" thematically enfolds moral philosophy and philosophy of mind implications of the increasing human mastery of genetic engineering, within the context of classical Greek drama and its notions of hubris—and linguistically, drawing on the poetry of William Blake and the Bible. This is a theme subtly reiterated by the chess game between J. F. Sebastian and Tyrell based on the famous Immortal Game of 1851 symbolizing the struggle against mortality imposed by God. The "Blade Runner" FAQ offers further interpretation of the chess game, saying that it "represents the struggle of the replicants against the humans: the humans consider the replicants pawns, to be removed one by one. The individual replicants (pawns) are attempting to become immortal (a queen). At another level, the game between Tyrell and Sebastian represents Batty stalking Tyrell. Tyrell makes a fatal mistake in the chess game, and another fatal mistake trying to reason with Batty." "Blade Runner" depicts a future whose fictional distance from present reality has grown sharply smaller to reality in 2020. The film delves into the future implications of technology on the environment and society by reaching into the past using literature, religious symbolism, classical dramatic themes and film noir. This tension between past, present and future is apparent in the retrofitted future of "Blade Runner", which is high-tech and gleaming in places but elsewhere decayed and old. A high level of paranoia is present throughout the film with the visual manifestation of corporate power, omnipresent police, probing lights; and in the power over the individual represented particularly by genetic programming of the replicants. Control over the environment is seen on a large scale but also with how animals are created as mere commodities. This oppressive backdrop clarifies why many people are going to the off-world colonies, which clearly parallels the migration to the Americas. The popular 1980s prediction of the United States being economically surpassed by Japan is reflected in the domination of Japanese culture and corporations in the advertising of LA 2019. The film also makes extensive use of eyes and manipulated images to call into question reality and our ability to perceive it. This provides an atmosphere of uncertainty for "Blade Runner's" central theme of examining humanity. In order to discover replicants, a psychological test is used with a number of questions intended to provoke emotion; making it the essential indicator of someone's "humanity". The replicants are juxtaposed with human characters who are unempathetic, and while the replicants show passion and concern for one another, the mass of humanity on the streets is cold and impersonal. The film goes so far as to put in doubt the nature of Rick Deckard and forces the audience to reevaluate what it means to be human. Genetic engineering and cloning. Personhood. Blade Runner raises the question of whether a constructed being should count as a person. In the movie, replicants lack legal rights and are not regarded as human. Similar questions are raised in later unrelated works such as "Her" and "Westworld". Some viewers speculate that the name "Deckard" may be a deliberate reference, by Philip K. Dick, to philosopher René Descartes; in any case, one of the replicants in the film, arguing for her own personhood, uses Descartes' famous quote, "I think therefore I am". While there is no scientific universal test for consciousness in the real world, the replicants' organic nature may make it difficult to reject the notion of their personhood. Artificial intelligence researcher Marcus Hutter asked in 2015, "How do I know that you (a fellow human) have feelings? I have no way of really knowing that. I just assume that because you are built up similarly to me and I know that I have emotions." Hutter argues that replicants are "built up similarly" to humans, and might therefore be more likely to be labeled as conscious than an inorganic intelligence would. Eyes. Eye symbolism appears repeatedly in "Blade Runner" and provides insight into themes and characters therein. The film opens with an extreme closeup of an eye which fills the screen reflecting the industrial landscape seen below. In Roy's quest to "meet his maker" he seeks out Chew, a genetic designer of eyes, who created the eyes of the Nexus-6. When told this, Roy quips, "Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes", ironic in that Roy's eyes "are" Chew's eyes since he created them, but it also emphasizes the importance of personal experience in the formation of self. Roy and Leon then intimidate Chew with disembodied eyes and he tells them about J. F. Sebastian. It is symbolic that the man who designed replicant eyes shows the replicants the way to Tyrell. Eyes are widely regarded as "windows to the soul", eye contact being a facet of body language that unconsciously demonstrates intent and emotion and this is used to great effect in "Blade Runner". The Voight-Kampff test that determines if you are human measures the emotions, specifically empathy through various biological responses such as fluctuation of the pupil and involuntary dilation of the iris. Tyrell's trifocal glasses are a reflection of his reliance on technology for his power and his myopic vision. Roy eye gouges Tyrell with his thumbs while killing him, a deeply intimate and brutal death that indicates judgement of Tyrell's soul. In some scenes, the glow in the pupils of replicants' eyes creates a sense of artificiality. This effect was produced by cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth shining a light along the optical axis of the camera. According to Ridley Scott, "that kickback you saw from the replicants' retinas was a bit of a design flaw. I was also trying to say that the eye is really the most important organ in the human body. It's like a two-way mirror; the eye doesn't only see a lot, the eye gives away a lot. A glowing human retina seemed one way of stating that". Scott considers the glow to be a stylistic device (non-diegetic); only visible to the viewers to help them understand that they are viewing a replicant, almost always occurring after the characters have assumed as much. The relationship between sight and memories is referenced several times in "Blade Runner". Rachael's visual recollection of her memories, Leon's "precious photos", Roy's discussion with Chew and soliloquy at the end, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe". However, just as prevalent is the concept that what the eyes see and the resulting memories are not to be trusted. This is a notion emphasized by Rachael's fabricated memories, Deckard's need to confirm a replicant based on more than appearance, and even the printout of Leon's photograph not matching the reality of the Esper visual. Also in the Director's Cut, when at the Tyrell corporation the owl's eye pupils glow with a red tint. This was derived from "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", in which real animals are rare and owls are very rare, since they were the first animals to start dying of the pollution which pushed humans Off-World. The red tint indicates that the owl is a replicant. Religious and philosophical symbolism. There is a subtext of Christian allegory in "Blade Runner", particularly in regard to the Roy Batty character. Given the replicants' superhuman abilities, their identity as created beings (by Tyrell) and "fall from the heavens" (off-world) makes them analogous to fallen angels. In this context, Roy Batty shares similarities with Lucifer as he prefers to "reign in hell" (Earth) rather than "serve in heaven". This connection is also apparent when Roy deliberately misquotes William Blake, "Fiery the angels fell..." (Blake wrote "Fiery the angels rose..." in "America a Prophecy"). Nearing the end of his life, Roy creates a stigmata by driving a nail into his hand, and becomes a Christ-like figure by sacrificing himself for Deckard. Upon his death a dove appears to symbolise Roy's soul ascending into the heavens. Zhora's gunshot wounds are both on her shoulder blades. The end result makes her look like an angel whose wings have been cut off. Zhora uses serpent that "once corrupted man" in her performance. A Nietzschean interpretation has also been argued for the film on several occasions. This is especially true for the Batty character, arguably a biased prototype for Nietzsche's Übermensch—not only due to his intrinsic characteristics, but also because of the outlook and demeanor he displays in many significant moments of the film. For instance: Environment and globalization. Orson Scott Card wrote of the film, "It takes place in Los Angeles. No aliens at all. But it isn't the L.A. we know ... things have changed. Lots of things, moving through the background of the film, give us a powerful sense of being in a strange new place". The climate of the city in A.D. 2019 is very different from today's. It is strongly implied that industrial pollution has adversely affected planet Earth's environment, i.e. global warming and global dimming. Real animals are rare in the Blade Runner world. In Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", animal extinction and human depopulation of the planet were consequent to the radioactive fallout of a nuclear war; Owls were the first species to become extinct. This ties in with Deckard's comment about Dr. Tyrell's artificial owl: "It must be expensive." "(cf. post-apocalyptic science fiction)" Given the many Asian peoples populating Los Angeles in A.D. 2019, and the cityspeak dialect policeman Gaff speaks to the Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, clearly indicates that much cultural mixing has happened. Globalization also is reflected in the name of the Shimata-Domínguez Corporation, whose slogan proclaims: "Helping America into the New World". This indicates that a mass migration is occurring, as there is a status quo that people want to escape. When Sebastian remarks of his downtown building "No housing shortage around here...plenty of room for everybody", it mirrors the late twentieth century problems of white flight, and the resulting urban decay in western cities, but on a worldwide scale. The cultural and religious mixing can also be verified at the scene where Deckard chases Zhora. In the streets, we can see people dressed traditionally as Jews, hare krishnas, as well as young boys dressed as punks. Deckard: human or replicant? In the Director's Cut and the Final Cut, there is a sequence in which Deckard daydreams about a unicorn; in the final scene, he finds an origami unicorn on the floor outside his apartment, left there by Gaff, suggesting that Gaff knows about Deckard's dream in the same manner that Deckard knows about Rachael's implanted memories. Scott confirmed this interpretation was his intent in the unicorn daydream. However, while memory implantation for replicants is established elsewhere in the movie, it is unclear if daydreams work in the same way. Even without considering this scene, there is other evidence and hints that allow for the possibility of Deckard being a replicant but does not eliminate the possibility of Deckard being human: Philip K. Dick wrote the character Deckard as a human in the original novel in order to explore the increasing similarity of humans and replicants. However, the film significantly diverges from the book, e.g. the book states explicitly that Deckard passed the Voight-Kampff test. Screenwriter Hampton Fancher has said that he wrote the character as a human, but wanted the film to suggest the possibility that he may be a replicant. When asked, "Is Deckard a replicant?", Fancher replied, "No. It wasn't like I had a tricky idea about Deckard that way." During a discussion panel with Ridley Scott to discuss "Blade Runner: The Final Cut", Fancher again stated that he believes Deckard is human (saying that "[Scott's] idea is too complex"), but also repeated that he prefers the film to remain ambiguous. Harrison Ford considers Deckard to be human. "That was the main area of contention between Ridley and myself at the time," Ford told an interviewer during a BBC One "Hollywood Greats" segment. "I thought the audience "deserved" one human being on screen that they could establish an emotional relationship with. I "thought" I had won Ridley's agreement to that, but in fact I think he had a little reservation about that. I think he really wanted to have it both ways." Scott suggests that Ford may have since changed his view, although "Blade Runner 2049" director Denis Villeneuve claimed that Ford and Scott argue about the issue to this day. Other people involved in the movie's production who have expressed the view that Deckard is human include: David Snyder (art director), M. Emmet Walsh (who portrayed Bryant) and Rutger Hauer (who portrayed Roy Batty). Ridley Scott stated in several interviews that he considers Deckard to be a replicant. Syd Mead, the film's visual futurist, agrees with Scott that Deckard is a replicant. The disagreement among the people involved in making "Blade Runner" raises interesting questions about authorial intent, including who, if anyone, can make authoritative pronouncements about a film's interpretation. The film's visual effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull stated that he doesn't know Deckard's true nature and that the issue is an enigma; similarly, Villeneuve also noted that in "2049", "Deckard [...] is unsure, as we are, of what his identity is".

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Simulated consciousness in fiction Simulated consciousness, synthetic consciousness, etc. is a theme of a number of works in science fiction. The theme is one step beyond the concept of the "brain in a vat"/"simulated reality" in that not only the perceived reality but the brain and its consciousness are simulations themselves. Stanislaw Lem's professor Corcoran (met by Ijon Tichy during his interstellar travels, first published by Lem in 1961) simulated conscious agents (personoids) to actually test the viability of the "simulation hypothesis" of the reality, i.e., the idea of solipsism. In the 1954 story "The Tunnel under the World" by Frederik Pohl, a whole city was simulated in order to run tests of the efficiency of advertising campaigns, and the plot evolves from the point when one "simulacrum" suddenly notices that every day is June 15. Pohl's idea was elaborated in "Simulacron-3" (1964) by Daniel F. Galouye (alternative title: "Counterfeit World"), which tells the story of a virtual city developed as a computer simulation for market research purposes. In this city the simulated inhabitants possess consciousness; all but one of the inhabitants are unaware of the true nature of their world. Furthermore, various novels by Greg Egan such as "Permutation City" (1994), "Diaspora" (1997) and "Schild's Ladder" (2002) explore the concept of simulated consciousness.

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List of science fiction themes The following is a list of articles about recurring themes in science fiction.

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Political ideas in science fiction The exploration of politics in science fiction is arguably older than the identification of the genre. One of the earliest works of modern science fiction, H. G. Wells’ "The Time Machine", is an extrapolation of the class structure of the United Kingdom of his time, an extreme form of social Darwinism; during tens of thousands of years, human beings have evolved into two different species based on their social class. Speculative societies. Most story and novel-length works of science fiction include speculation (directly or indirectly) on modes of life and behaviour. They are sometimes allegorical and often serious attempts to model possible future societies, political institutions and systems. Examples include Harry Harrison's novel "Make Room! Make Room!", "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin; and the "Hostile Takeover" Trilogy by S. Andrew Swann. Imagined societies may be based on very different assumptions. Often the future is modeled on historic forms - feudalism, or in the case of The Foundation series, the Roman Empire. A common theme is the integration of humanity into some greater interstellar society. A popular modern example is the "Uplift" series by David Brin where a species' status is defined based on the concept of biologically uplifting other species. Utopian societies. The term "utopia" was invented by Thomas More as the title of his Latin book "De Optimo Reipublicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia" (circa 1516), known more commonly as "Utopia". He created the word "utopia" to suggest two Greek neologisms simultaneously: outopia (no place) and eutopia (good place). More depicts a rationally organised society, through the narration of an explorer who discovers it—Raphael Hythlodaeus. Utopia is a republic where all property is held in common. In addition, it has few laws, no lawyers and rarely sends its citizens to war, but hires mercenaries from among its war-prone neighbours. Generally speaking, utopias are generally societies whose author believes either perfect, or as perfect as can be attainable. Ernest Callenbach's "Ecotopia" is a contemporary example. This can cause some confusion, in that some works generally recognized as “utopian”, such as Plato’s "Republic", can come across as much less than ideal to a modern reader. They are one of the smaller subsets of political science fiction, possibly because it is difficult to create dramatic tension in a world the author believes is perfect. Various authors get around this problem by postulating problems in the utopian society, such L. Neil Smith does. Other ways of presenting a utopian society in science fiction, is to send characters outside it to explore beyond its confines (ala "Star Trek"), or focus on an outsider character entering the society, as in Aldous Huxley’s "Brave New World". This last method is often used to show that the utopian society shown is actually a dystopia. Kim Stanley Robinson's approach in "The Mars Trilogy" involved exploring the creation of utopian and ecotopian societies on Mars. Another option for a Utopian society can be found in robotocracy, or the rule of Robots or Computers, with the theory that a programmed machine can dispassionately provide for the welfare of all. Examples of this include various works of Isaac Asimov and the planet of Sigma Draconis VI in the Star Trek episode "Spock's Brain". If the machine rule becomes harsh or oppressive, it may become a dystopia instead. Dystopian societies. Dystopias are societies where the author illustrates the worst that can happen. Usually this encompasses extrapolating trends the author sees as dangerous. During the 20th century many examples were written in reaction to the rise of Nazism, Communism and Religious Fundamentalism: It is important to keep in mind that scenarios which some would describe as dystopic, others would describe as utopian. Norman Spinrad's novel" The Iron Dream" was generally recognised to be a dystopic novel, but lauded by neo-Nazis as a utopia. Politics. Often the political focus of a science fiction novel is less on the social order, but how people maneuver and achieve their agendas within a given system. Many space operas rely on vast interstellar bureaucracies to drive their plots "(see: Galactic empire)". George Lucas's famous "Star Wars" saga features political science modeled after historic events. The Retief stories by Keith Laumer and the Chanur books by C. J. Cherryh have politics and political maneuverings as some of the main themes, and Frank Herbert's "Dune" books offer advanced explorations of human politics, including the dovetailing economics. Often this focus can descend into conspiracy and paranoia where the premise is that there are secret forces out to get the protagonists, the seminal example of which is the "Illuminatus! Trilogy". Most commonly, science fiction deals with the political fallout of its own premises. A story will posit some new event or technology and explore its political dimensions; this includes most techno-thrillers but also encompasses a large body of traditional science fiction. An example is the Philip K. Dick story "The Minority Report" (upon which the film starring Tom Cruise is based), which introduces the idea of perfectly predicting a crime of violence so the perpetrator can be arrested before the crime is committed, and the political and legal ramifications of actually using such a system.

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Multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The different universes within the multiverse are called "parallel universes", "other universes", "alternate universes", or "many worlds". History of the concept. Early recorded examples of the idea of infinite worlds existed in the philosophy of Ancient Greek Atomism, which proposed that infinite parallel worlds arose from the collision of atoms. In the third century BCE, the philosopher Chrysippus suggested that the world eternally expired and regenerated, effectively suggesting the existence of multiple universes across time. The concept of multiple universes became more defined in the Middle Ages. In Dublin in 1952, Erwin Schrödinger gave a lecture in which he jocularly warned his audience that what he was about to say might "seem lunatic". He said that when his equations seemed to describe several different histories, these were "not alternatives, but all really happen simultaneously". This sort of duality is called "superposition". The American philosopher and psychologist William James used the term "multiverse" in 1895, but in a different context. The term was first used in fiction and in its current physics context by Michael Moorcock in his 1963 SF Adventures novella "The Sundered Worlds" (part of his Eternal Champion series). Brief explanation. Multiple universes have been hypothesized in cosmology, physics, astronomy, religion, philosophy, transpersonal psychology, music, and all kinds of literature, particularly in science fiction, comic books and fantasy. In these contexts, parallel universes are also called "alternate universes", "quantum universes", "interpenetrating dimensions", "parallel universes", "parallel dimensions", "parallel worlds", "parallel realities", "quantum realities", "alternate realities", "alternate timelines", "alternate dimensions" and "dimensional planes". The physics community has debated the various multiverse theories over time. Prominent physicists are divided about whether any other universes exist outside of our own. Some physicists say the multiverse is not a legitimate topic of scientific inquiry. Concerns have been raised about whether attempts to exempt the multiverse from experimental verification could erode public confidence in science and ultimately damage the study of fundamental physics. Some have argued that the multiverse is a philosophical notion rather than a scientific hypothesis because it cannot be empirically falsified. The ability to disprove a theory by means of scientific experiment has always been part of the accepted scientific method. Paul Steinhardt has famously argued that no experiment can rule out a theory if the theory provides for all possible outcomes. In 2007, Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg suggested that if the multiverse existed, "the hope of finding a rational explanation for the precise values of quark masses and other constants of the standard model that we observe in our Big Bang is doomed, for their values would be an accident of the particular part of the multiverse in which we live." Search for evidence. Around 2010 scientists such as Stephen M. Feeney analyzed Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data and claimed to find evidence suggesting that our universe collided with other (parallel) universes in the distant past. However, a more thorough analysis of data from the WMAP and from the Planck satellite, which has a resolution three times higher than WMAP, did not reveal any statistically significant evidence of such a bubble universe collision. In addition, there was no evidence of any gravitational pull of other universes on ours. Proponents and skeptics. Modern proponents of one or more of the multiverse hypotheses include Hugh Everett, Don Page, Brian Greene, Max Tegmark, Alan Guth, Andrei Linde, Michio Kaku, David Deutsch, Leonard Susskind, Alexander Vilenkin, Yasunori Nomura, Raj Pathria, Laura Mersini-Houghton, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sean Carroll and Stephen Hawking. Scientists who are generally skeptical of the multiverse hypothesis include: David Gross, Paul Steinhardt, Anna Ijjas, Abraham Loeb, David Spergel, Neil Turok, Viatcheslav Mukhanov, Michael S. Turner, Roger Penrose, George Ellis, Joe Silk, Carlo Rovelli, Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser, Jim Baggott and Paul Davies. Arguments against multiverse theories. In his 2003 "New York Times" opinion piece, "A Brief History of the Multiverse", author and cosmologist Paul Davies offered a variety of arguments that multiverse theories are non-scientific: George Ellis, writing in August 2011, provided a criticism of the multiverse, and pointed out that it is not a traditional scientific theory. He accepts that the multiverse is thought to exist far beyond the cosmological horizon. He emphasized that it is theorized to be so far away that it is unlikely any evidence will ever be found. Ellis also explained that some theorists do not believe the lack of empirical testability falsifiability is a major concern, but he is opposed to that line of thinking: Ellis says that scientists have proposed the idea of the multiverse as a way of explaining the nature of existence. He points out that it ultimately leaves those questions unresolved because it is a metaphysical issue that cannot be resolved by empirical science. He argues that observational testing is at the core of science and should not be abandoned: Experts in probability have identified the inference of a multiverse to explain the apparent fine-tuning of the universe as an example of inverse gambler's fallacy. Classification schemes. Max Tegmark and Brian Greene have devised classification schemes for the various theoretical types of multiverses and universes that they might comprise. Max Tegmark's four levels. Cosmologist Max Tegmark has provided a taxonomy of universes beyond the familiar observable universe. The four levels of Tegmark's classification are arranged such that subsequent levels can be understood to encompass and expand upon previous levels. They are briefly described below. Level I: An extension of our universe. A prediction of cosmic inflation is the existence of an infinite ergodic universe, which, being infinite, must contain Hubble volumes realizing all initial conditions. Accordingly, an infinite universe will contain an infinite number of Hubble volumes, all having the same physical laws and physical constants. In regard to configurations such as the distribution of matter, almost all will differ from our Hubble volume. However, because there are infinitely many, far beyond the cosmological horizon, there will eventually be Hubble volumes with similar, and even identical, configurations. Tegmark estimates that an identical volume to ours should be about 1010115 meters away from us. Given infinite space, there would, in fact, be an infinite number of Hubble volumes identical to ours in the universe. This follows directly from the cosmological principle, wherein it is assumed that our Hubble volume is not special or unique. Level II: Universes with different physical constants. In the eternal inflation theory, which is a variant of the cosmic inflation theory, the multiverse or space as a whole is stretching and will continue doing so forever, but some regions of space stop stretching and form distinct bubbles (like gas pockets in a loaf of rising bread). Such bubbles are embryonic level I multiverses. Different bubbles may experience different spontaneous symmetry breaking, which results in different properties, such as different physical constants. Level II also includes John Archibald Wheeler's oscillatory universe theory and Lee Smolin's fecund universes theory. Level III: Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Hugh Everett III's many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is one of several mainstream interpretations of quantum mechanics. In brief, one aspect of quantum mechanics is that certain observations cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there is a range of possible observations, each with a different probability. According to the MWI, each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe. Suppose a six-sided die is thrown and that the result of the throw corresponds to quantum mechanics observable. All six possible ways the dice can fall correspond to six different universes. Tegmark argues that a Level III multiverse does not contain more possibilities in the Hubble volume than a Level I or Level II multiverse. In effect, all the different "worlds" created by "splits" in a Level III multiverse with the same physical constants can be found in some Hubble volume in a Level I multiverse. Tegmark writes that, "The only difference between Level I and Level III is where your doppelgängers reside. In Level I they live elsewhere in good old three-dimensional space. In Level III they live on another quantum branch in infinite-dimensional Hilbert space." Similarly, all Level II bubble universes with different physical constants can, in effect, be found as "worlds" created by "splits" at the moment of spontaneous symmetry breaking in a Level III multiverse. According to Yasunori Nomura, Raphael Bousso, and Leonard Susskind, this is because global spacetime appearing in the (eternally) inflating multiverse is a redundant concept. This implies that the multiverses of Levels I, II, and III are, in fact, the same thing. This hypothesis is referred to as "Multiverse = Quantum Many Worlds". According to Yasunori Nomura, this quantum multiverse is static, and time is a simple illusion. Another version of the many-worlds idea is H. Dieter Zeh's "many-minds" interpretation. Level IV: Ultimate ensemble. The ultimate mathematical universe hypothesis is Tegmark's own hypothesis. This level considers all universes to be equally real which can be described by different mathematical structures. Tegmark writes: He argues that this "implies that any conceivable parallel universe theory can be described at Level IV" and "subsumes all other ensembles, therefore brings closure to the hierarchy of multiverses, and there cannot be, say, a Level V." Jürgen Schmidhuber, however, says that the set of mathematical structures is not even well-defined and that it admits only universe representations describable by constructive mathematics—that is, computer programs. Schmidhuber explicitly includes universe representations describable by non-halting programs whose output bits converge after finite time, although the convergence time itself may not be predictable by a halting program, due to the undecidability of the halting problem. He also explicitly discusses the more restricted ensemble of quickly computable universes. Brian Greene's nine types. The American theoretical physicist and string theorist Brian Greene discussed nine types of multiverses: Cyclic theories. In several theories, there is a series of infinite, self-sustaining cycles (for example, an eternity of Big Bangs, Big Crunches, and/or Big Freezes). M-theory. A multiverse of a somewhat different kind has been envisaged within string theory and its higher-dimensional extension, M-theory. These theories require the presence of 10 or 11 spacetime dimensions respectively. The extra six or seven dimensions may either be compactified on a very small scale, or our universe may simply be localized on a dynamical (3+1)-dimensional object, a D3-brane. This opens up the possibility that there are other branes which could support other universes. Black-hole cosmology. Black-hole cosmology is a cosmological model in which the observable universe is the interior of a black hole existing as one of possibly many universes inside a larger universe. This includes the theory of white holes, which are on the opposite side of space-time. Anthropic principle. The concept of other universes has been proposed to explain how our own universe appears to be fine-tuned for conscious life as we experience it. If there were a large (possibly infinite) number of universes, each with possibly different physical laws (or different fundamental physical constants), then some of these universes (even if very few) would have the combination of laws and fundamental parameters that are suitable for the development of matter, astronomical structures, elemental diversity, stars, and planets that can exist long enough for life to emerge and evolve. The weak anthropic principle could then be applied to conclude that we (as conscious beings) would only exist in one of those few universes that happened to be finely tuned, permitting the existence of life with developed consciousness. Thus, while the probability might be extremely small that any particular universe would have the requisite conditions for life (as we understand life), those conditions do not require intelligent design as an explanation for the conditions in the Universe that promote our existence in it. An early form of this reasoning is evident in Arthur Schopenhauer's 1844 work "Von der Nichtigkeit und dem Leiden des Lebens", where he argues that our world must be the worst of all possible worlds, because if it were significantly worse in any respect it could not continue to exist. Occam's razor. Proponents and critics disagree about how to apply Occam's razor. Critics argue that to postulate an almost infinite number of unobservable universes, just to explain our own universe, is contrary to Occam's razor. However, proponents argue that in terms of Kolmogorov complexity the proposed multiverse is simpler than a single idiosyncratic universe. For example, multiverse proponent Max Tegmark argues: Modal realism. Possible worlds are a way of explaining probability and hypothetical statements. Some philosophers, such as David Lewis, believe that all possible worlds exist and that they are just as real as the world we live in (a position known as modal realism). References. Footnotes Citations

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Superhuman strength Superhuman strength is an ability commonly invoked in fiction and other literary works such as mythology. It is the power to exert force and lift weights beyond what is physically possible for an ordinary human being. It is a fictionalized representation of the phenomenon of hysterical strength. Alternate terms of superhuman strength have included "enhanced strength", "super-strength" and "increased strength". Superhuman strength is an amorphous ability, varying in potency depending on the writer or the context of the story in which it is depicted. Characters and deities with superhuman strength have been found in multiple ancient mythological accounts and religions. Superhuman strength is a common trope in fantasy and science fiction. This is generally by means of mechanisms such as cybernetic body parts, genetic modification, telekinetic fields in science fiction, or magical/supernatural sources within fantasy. A plethora of comic book superheroes and super-villains display some degree of super strength. Some films invoke a fictional substance or drug that gives the superpower. The level of strength portrayed can vary greatly, from just outside the "normal" human range of the strongest weightlifters (e.g. unarmored Master Chief or Captain America), to nearly unlimited strength (e.g. Hulk, Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Thor, Hercules or Goku). Humans are actively trying to achieve superhuman strength via technology and scientific experimentation. Athletes have turned to various methods to improve performance, such as blood doping or taking anabolic steroids. Other technologies being researched are robotic exoskeletons to be worn by humans to enhance movement and strength. History. Superhuman strength is a common ability of many gods and demigods in ancient mythology, such as Hercules/Heracles (Roman/Greek), Beowulf (Norse), Samson (the Bible), Bhima (Hindu) and Achilles (Greek). Attempts to modify the human body in order to gain extraordinary strength is common throughout history, as seen in fiction through characters such as Terminator, Robocop, Iron Man and Cyborg. Humans have tried to enhance their strength through the use of substances. Accordingly, “In Ancient Rome, gladiators would drink herbal infusions to strengthen them before chariot races.” Currently, drugs including stimulants, anabolic steroids, diuretics and β-blockers are ingested to enhance strength and other attributes. Humans have tried to use external devices to enhance their strength. The earliest device that was patented for this specific purpose can be credited to Nicholas Yagn, who filed the patent in 1890. The device was described to be an “apparatus for facilitating walking, running, and jumping” through the use of bags of compressed air. The United States Department of Defense is considering a variety of technologies to create an exoskeleton intended for military use to enhance soldier performance. Applications. In the real world, extraordinary strength can occur via science. A person can become stronger, tougher, and more physically powerful than would seem humanly possible when using enhancements such as doping, substances and training. Records describe instances of people going beyond "normal" strength in specific circumstances without taking any specific measures, as in the case of Tom Boyle, who was able to lift the front of a car in order to rescue a person trapped beneath it. Penn State professor of kinesiology Vladimir Zatsiorsky stated that extraordinary strength can occur when a person engages their muscles through the conscious “exertion of will”. Zatsiorsky claims that trained athletes can improve their strength under specific conditions of competition. Fear can also cause a person to exhibit enhanced human strength. (see hysterical strength) The term appears in weight-lifting and 'protein formula' commercials without proof of their efficacy. Weight lifters and other athletes routinely perform feats that appear to be superhuman to others. For examples, in 2016 Blaine Sumner achieved the heaviest single bench press of 401.5 kg (885 lbs 2 oz). At the same competition he squat-lifted 500 kg. In 2016, Eddie Hall of the United Kingdom won the world record for heaviest deadlift at 500 kilograms (1,102 lbs 5 oz). In fiction. Many fictional works involve superhuman strength, rooted in religious texts or in scientific form. The depiction of superhuman strength dates as far back as 900 BC to Greek mythology legends such as Hercules. Early legends portray characters gaining their superhuman strength from the gods and exhibiting characteristics of both heroic humans and gods. More recently superhuman strength is employed by characters called superheroes in comic books, which dates back to the 1930s. Characters such as Mr. Incredible, The Incredible Hulk, Superman, and Wonder Woman possess the strength to perform physical feats impossible for the human body. These characters and their powers draw from earlier myths. Wonder Woman ostensibly descended from the Amazons, a group of women possessing superhuman strength. In many of these fictional works, the dilemma and solution lies in the character's superhuman abilities. Having these powers alienates them from society but also aids them in their quest. Recurring adaptations of well-known characters are often employed, which continue to perpetuate the use of superhuman strength in fiction.

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Extraterrestrials in fiction An extraterrestrial or alien is any extraterrestrial lifeform; a lifeform that did not originate on Earth. The word "extraterrestrial" means "outside Earth". The first published use of "extraterrestrial" as a noun occurred in 1956, during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Extraterrestrials are a common theme in modern science-fiction, and also appeared in much earlier works such as the second-century parody "True History" by Lucian of Samosata. Gary Westfahl writes: History. Pre-modern. Cosmic pluralism, the assumption that there are many inhabited worlds beyond the human sphere predates modernity and the development of the heliocentric model and is common in mythologies worldwide. The 2nd century writer of satires, Lucian, in his "True History" claims to have visited the moon when his ship was sent up by a fountain, which was peopled and at war with the people of the Sun over colonisation of the Morning Star. Other worlds are depicted in such early works as the 10th-century Japanese narrative, "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", and the medieval Arabic "The Adventures of Bulukiya" (from the "One Thousand and One Nights"). Early modern. The assumption of extraterrestrial life in the narrow sense (as opposed to generic cosmic pluralism) becomes possible with the development of the heliocentric understanding of the solar system, and later the understanding of interstellar space, during the Early Modern period, and the topic was popular in the literature of the 17th and 18th century. In Johannes Kepler's Somnium, published in 1634, the character Duracotus is transported to the moon by demons. Even if much of the story is fantasy, the scientific facts about the moon and how the lunar environment has shaped its non-human inhabitants are science fiction. The didactic poet Henry More took up the classical theme of Cosmic pluralism of the Greek Democritus in "Democritus Platonissans, or an Essay Upon the Infinity of Worlds" (1647). With the new relative viewpoint that understood "our world's sunne / Becomes a starre elsewhere", More made the speculative leap to extrasolar planets, The possibility of extraterrestrial life was a commonplace of educated discourse in the 17th century, though in "Paradise Lost" (1667) John Milton cautiously employed the conditional when the angel suggests to Adam the possibility of life on the Moon: Fontanelle's "Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds" with its similar excursions on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, expanding rather than denying the creative sphere of a Maker, was translated into English in 1686. In "The Excursion" (1728) David Mallet exclaimed, "Ten thousand worlds blaze forth; each with his train / Of peopled worlds." In 1752 Voltaire published "Micromegas" that told of a giant that visits earth to impart knowledge and Washington Irving in his novel, "A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty", spoke of earth being visited by Lunarians. Camille Flammarion (1842-1925) who lived in a time where biological science had made further progress, made speculation about how life could have evolved on other planets in works such as "La pluralité des mondes habités" ("The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds") (1862) and "Recits de L'Infini" (1872), translated as "Stories of Infinity" in 1873. Stories written before the genre of science fiction had found its form. Closer to the modern age is J.-H. Rosny, who wrote the short story "Les Xipéhuz" (1887), about a human encounter with extraterrestrials who turn out to be a mineral life form impossible to communicate with. Modern. Late 19th century-early 20th century. Authors such as H. G. Wells, Olaf Stapledon and Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote both monitory and celebratory stories of encounting aliens in their science fiction and fantasies. Westfahl sums up: "To survey science fiction aliens, one can classify them by their physiology, character, and eventual relationships with humanity": Early works posited that aliens would be identical or similar to humans, as is true of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martians (see Mars; "A Princess of Mars"), with variations in skin color, size, and number of arms. ... Later writers realized that such humanoid aliens would not arise through parallel evolution and hence either avoided them or introduced the explanation of ancient races that populated the cosmos with similar beings. The notion surfaces in Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish novels (see "The Left Hand of Darkness"; "The Dispossessed") and was introduced to justify the humanoid aliens of "Star Trek" (who even intermarry and have children) in the ' episode ' (1993).Another common idea is aliens who closely resemble animals. Among the many fictional aliens who resemble Earth's animals, Westfahl lists: Westfahl continues, "However, Stanley G. Weinbaum's "A Martian Odyssey" (1934) encouraged writers to create genuinely unusual aliens, not merely humans or animals in disguise. Olaf Stapledon also populated the universe with disparate aliens, including sentient stars, in "Star Maker". Later, Hal Clement, a hard science fiction writer famed for strange but plausible worlds, also developed bizarre aliens in works like "Cycle of Fire" (1957)." See also. Articles related to the phenomenon of extraterrestrials in fiction and popular culture: Articles related to the purported or theorized existence of extraterrestrials:

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Holography in fiction Holography is often used as a plot device in science fiction, appearing in a wide range of books, films, television series, animation and video games. Probably the first reference is by Isaac Asimov in his sci-fi novel series “the Foundation Trilogy” in 1951. Holography has been widely referred to in movies, novels, and TV, usually in science fiction, starting in the late 1970s. Science fiction writers absorbed the urban legends surrounding holography that had been spread by overly-enthusiastic scientists and entrepreneurs trying to market the idea. This had the effect of giving the public overly high expectations of the capability of holography, due to the unrealistic depictions of it in most fiction, where they are fully three-dimensional computer projections (more like real-life volumetric displays) that are sometimes tactile through the use of force fields. Examples of this type of depiction include the hologram of Princess Leia in "Star Wars", Arnold Rimmer from "Red Dwarf", who was later converted to "hard light" to make him solid, and the Holodeck and from "Star Trek". Holography served as an inspiration for many video games with the science fiction elements. In many titles, fictional holographic technology has been used to reflect real life misrepresentations of potential military use of holograms, such as the "mirage tanks" in ' that can disguise themselves as trees. Player characters are able to use holographic decoys in games such as ' and "Crysis 2" to confuse and distract the enemy. "Starcraft" ghost agent Nova has access to "holo decoy" as one of her three primary abilities in "Heroes of the Storm." Fictional depictions of holograms have, however, inspired technological advances in other fields, such as augmented reality, that promise to fulfill the fictional depictions of holograms by other means.

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Size change in fiction Resizing (including miniaturization, growth, shrinking, and enlargement) is a recurring theme in fiction, in particular in fairy tales, fantasy, and science fiction. Resizing is often achieved through the consumption of mushrooms or toadstools, which might have been established due to their psychedelic properties, magic, freaks of nature, or size-changing rays of ambiguous properties.

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Fictional technology Fictional technology is technology that does not exist. It may be an idea or design that has not yet been developed, or it may be a fictional device used in a novel. Non-literary. Emerging technologies. Technical innovations which represent progressive developments within a field for competitive advantage. Exploratory engineering. Seeks to identify if a prospective technology can be designed in detail, and simulated, even if it cannot be built yet - this is often a prerequisite to venture capital funding, or investigation in weapons research. Propaganda. Often emphasizes a speculative potential of a specific technology in order to stimulate investment in it, or a counter-technology. This is a common motivation in any society dominated by a military-industrial complex. Advertising. Emphasizes some amazing potential of some technology that is "under development" (usually without any specific timelines) by a company that is seeking simply to present itself as being competent with technology. In science fiction. Many works of science fiction are centered around the use of fictional future innovations and technologies and their potential uses. This can sometimes result in inventors using these fictional technologies as inspiration for real-life devices and other emerging technologies. In fantasy. Fantasy genres like steampunk and dieselpunk explore the consequences of more advanced technology being developed earlier in history, while not necessarily entering into the realm of science fiction. Magic powered technology, colloquially known as "magitech", is also common in fantasy media, where it can be used as a substitute for modern technology while still giving the setting a fantasy atmosphere. Well-known examples are human-created golems and artificially levitating airships.

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Generation ship A generation ship, or generation starship, is a hypothetical type of interstellar ark starship that travels at sub-light speed. Since such a ship might take centuries to thousands of years to reach even nearby stars, the original occupants of a generation ship would grow old and die, leaving their descendants to continue traveling. Origin. Rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard was the first to write about long-duration interstellar journeys in his "The Ultimate Migration" (1918). In this he described the death of the Sun and the necessity of an "interstellar ark". The crew would travel for centuries in suspended animation and be awakened when they reached another star system. Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, father of astronautic theory, first described the need for multiple generations of passengers in his essay, "The Future of Earth and Mankind" (1928), a space colony equipped with engines that travels thousands of years which he called "Noah's Ark". Another early description of a generation ship is in the 1929 essay "The World, The Flesh, & The Devil" by J. D. Bernal. Bernal's essay was the first publication to reach the public and influence other writers. He wrote about the concept of human evolution and mankind's future in space through methods of living that we now describe as a generation starship, and which could be seen in the generic word "globes". Definition. According to Hein et al., a "generation ship" is a spacecraft on which a crew is living on-board for at least several decades, such that it comprises multiple generations. Several sub-categories of generation ships are distinguished: sprinter, slow boat, colony ship, world ship. The Enzmann starship is categorised as "slow boat" because of the "Astronomy Magazine" title “Slow Boat to Centauri” (1977). Gregory Matloff's concept is called a "colony ship" and Alan Bond called his concept a "world ship". These definitions are essentially based on the velocity of the ship and population size. Obstacles. Biosphere. Such a ship would have to be entirely self-sustaining, providing energy, food, air, and water for everyone on board. It must also have extraordinarily reliable systems that could be maintained by the ship's inhabitants over long periods of time. This would require testing whether thousands of humans could survive on their own before sending them beyond the reach of help. Small artificial closed ecosystems, such as the Biosphere 2, have been built in an attempt to work out the engineering difficulties in such a system, with mixed results. Biology and society. Generation ships would have to anticipate possible biological, social and morale problems, and would also need to deal with matters of self-worth and purpose for the various crews involved. Estimates of the minimum reasonable population for a generation ship vary. Anthropologist John Moore has estimated that, even in the absence of cryonics or sperm banks, a population capacity of 160 people would allow normal family life (with the average individual having ten potential marriage partners) throughout a 200-year space journey, with little loss of genetic diversity; social engineering can reduce this estimate to 80 people. In 2013 anthropologist Cameron Smith reviewed existing literature and created a new computer model to estimate a minimum reasonable population in the tens of thousands. Smith's numbers were much larger than previous estimates such as Moore's, in part because Smith takes the risk of accidents and disease into consideration, and assumes at least one severe population catastrophe over the course of a 150-year journey. In light of the multiple generations that it could take to reach even our nearest neighboring star systems such as Proxima Centauri, further issues on the viability of such interstellar arks include: Size. In order for a spacecraft to maintain a stable environment for multiple generations, it would have to be large enough to support a community of humans and a fully recycling ecosystem. However, a spacecraft of such a size would require a lot of energy to accelerate and decelerate. A smaller spacecraft, while able to accelerate more easily and thus make higher cruise velocities more practical, would reduce exposure to cosmic radiation and the time for malfunctions to develop in the craft, but would have challenges with resource metabolic flow and ecologic balance. Social breakdown. Generation ships travelling for long periods of time may see breakdowns in social structures. Changes in society (for example, mutiny) could occur over such periods and may prevent the ship from reaching its destination. This state was described by Algis Budrys in a 1966 book review: Robert A. Heinlein's "Orphans of the Sky" (the "impeccable statement of this theme", Budrys said) and Brian Aldiss's "Non-Stop" (U.S. title: "Starship") discussed such societies. Cosmic rays. The radiation environment of deep space is very different from that on the Earth's surface, or in low earth orbit, due to the much larger influx of high-energy galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). Like other ionizing radiation, high-energy cosmic rays can damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer, cataracts, and neurological disorders. One known practical solution to this problem is surrounding the crewed parts of the ship with a thick enough shielding such as a thick layer of maintained ice as proposed in "The Songs of Distant Earth", a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke (note: in this book the ship's mammoth ice shield is only in the forward part of the ship, preventing micrometeors from damaging the ship during its interstellar journey). Technological progress. If a generation ship is sent to a star system 20 light years away, and is expected to reach its destination in 200 years, a better ship may be later developed that can reach it in 50 years. Thus, the first generation ship may find a century-old human colony after its arrival at its destination. Ethical considerations. The success of a generation ship depends on children born aboard taking over the necessary duties, as well as having children themselves. Even if their quality of life might be better than, for example, that of people born into poverty on Earth, this raises the question of whether it is ethical to severely constrain life choices of individuals by locking them into a project they did not choose. A moral quandary exists regarding how intermediate generations, those destined to be born and die in transit without actually seeing tangible results of their efforts, might feel about their forced existence on such a ship. Project Hyperion. Project Hyperion, launched in December 2011 by Icarus Interstellar was to perform a preliminary study that defines integrated concepts for a crewed interstellar generation ship. This was a two-year study mainly based out of the WARR student group at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The study aimed to provide an assessment of the feasibility of crewed interstellar flight using current and near-future technologies. It also aimed to guide future research and technology development plans as well as to inform the public about crewed interstellar travel. Notable results of the project include an assessment of world ship system architectures and adequate population size. The core team members have transferred to the Initiative for Interstellar Studies's world ship project and a survey paper on generation ships has been presented at the ESA Interstellar Workshop in 2019 as well as in ESA's Acta Futura journal.

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Hypothetical types of biochemistry Hypothetical types of biochemistry are forms of biochemistry agreed to be scientifically viable but not proven to exist at this time. The kinds of living organisms currently known on Earth all use carbon compounds for basic structural and metabolic functions, water as a solvent, and DNA or RNA to define and control their form. If life exists on other planets or moons it may be chemically similar, though it is also possible that there are organisms with quite different chemistries for instance, involving other classes of carbon compounds, compounds of another element, or another solvent in place of water. The possibility of life-forms being based on "alternative" biochemistries is the topic of an ongoing scientific discussion, informed by what is known about extraterrestrial environments and about the chemical behaviour of various elements and compounds. It is of interest in synthetic biology and is also a common subject in science fiction. The element silicon has been much discussed as a hypothetical alternative to carbon. Silicon is in the same group as carbon on the periodic table and, like carbon, it is tetravalent. Hypothetical alternatives to water include ammonia, which, like water, is a polar molecule, and cosmically abundant; and non-polar hydrocarbon solvents such as methane and ethane, which are known to exist in liquid form on the surface of Titan. Shadow biosphere. A shadow biosphere is a hypothetical microbial biosphere of Earth that uses radically different biochemical and molecular processes than currently known life. Although life on Earth is relatively well-studied, the shadow biosphere may still remain unnoticed because the exploration of the microbial world targets primarily the biochemistry of the macro-organisms. Alternative-chirality biomolecules. Perhaps the least unusual alternative biochemistry would be one with differing chirality of its biomolecules. In known Earth-based life, amino acids are almost universally of the form and sugars are of the form. Molecules using amino acids or sugars may be possible; molecules of such a chirality, however, would be incompatible with organisms using the opposing chirality molecules. Amino acids whose chirality is opposite to the norm are found on Earth, and these substances are generally thought to result from decay of organisms of normal chirality. However, physicist Paul Davies speculates that some of them might be products of "anti-chiral" life. It is questionable, however, whether such a biochemistry would be truly alien. Although it would certainly be an alternative stereochemistry, molecules that are overwhelmingly found in one enantiomer throughout the vast majority of organisms can nonetheless often be found in another enantiomer in different (often basal) organisms such as in comparisons between members of Archaea and other domains, making it an open topic whether an alternative stereochemistry is truly novel. Non-carbon-based biochemistries. On Earth, all known living things have a carbon-based structure and system. Scientists have speculated about the pros and cons of using atoms other than carbon to form the molecular structures necessary for life, but no one has proposed a theory employing such atoms to form all the necessary structures. However, as Carl Sagan argued, it is very difficult to be certain whether a statement that applies to all life on Earth will turn out to apply to all life throughout the universe. Sagan used the term "carbon chauvinism" for such an assumption. He regarded silicon and germanium as conceivable alternatives to carbon (other plausible elements include but are not limited to palladium and titanium); but, on the other hand, he noted that carbon does seem more chemically versatile and is more abundant in the cosmos. Norman Horowitz devised the experiments to determine whether life might exist on Mars that were carried out by the Viking Lander of 1976, the first U.S. mission to successfully land an unmanned probe on the surface of Mars. Horowitz argued that the great versatility of the carbon atom makes it the element most likely to provide solutions, even exotic solutions, to the problems of survival on other planets. He considered that there was only a remote possibility that non-carbon life forms could exist with genetic information systems capable of self-replication and the ability to evolve and adapt. Silicon biochemistry. The silicon atom has been much discussed as the basis for an alternative biochemical system, because silicon has many chemical properties similar to those of carbon and is in the same group of the periodic table, the carbon group. Like carbon, silicon can create molecules that are sufficiently large to carry biological information. However, silicon has several drawbacks as an alternative to carbon. Silicon, unlike carbon, lacks the ability to form chemical bonds with diverse types of atoms as is necessary for the chemical versatility required for metabolism, and yet this precise inability is what makes silicon less susceptible to bond with all sorts of impurities from which carbon, in comparison, is not shielded. Elements creating organic functional groups with carbon include hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and metals such as iron, magnesium, and zinc. Silicon, on the other hand, interacts with very few other types of atoms. Moreover, where it does interact with other atoms, silicon creates molecules that have been described as "monotonous compared with the combinatorial universe of organic macromolecules". This is because silicon atoms are much bigger, having a larger mass and atomic radius, and so have difficulty forming double bonds (the double-bonded carbon is part of the carbonyl group, a fundamental motif of carbon-based bio-organic chemistry). Silanes, which are chemical compounds of hydrogen and silicon that are analogous to the alkane hydrocarbons, are highly reactive with water, and long-chain silanes spontaneously decompose. Molecules incorporating polymers of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms instead of direct bonds between silicon, known collectively as silicones, are much more stable. It has been suggested that silicone-based chemicals would be more stable than equivalent hydrocarbons in a sulfuric-acid-rich environment, as is found in some extraterrestrial locations. Of the varieties of molecules identified in the interstellar medium , 84 are based on carbon, while only 8 are based on silicon. Moreover, of those 8 compounds, 4 also include carbon within them. The cosmic abundance of carbon to silicon is roughly 10 to 1. This may suggest a greater variety of complex carbon compounds throughout the cosmos, providing less of a foundation on which to build silicon-based biologies, at least under the conditions prevalent on the surface of planets. Also, even though Earth and other terrestrial planets are exceptionally silicon-rich and carbon-poor (the relative abundance of silicon to carbon in Earth's crust is roughly 925:1), terrestrial life is carbon-based. The fact that carbon is used instead of silicon may be evidence that silicon is poorly suited for biochemistry on Earth-like planets. Reasons for which this may be that silicon is less versatile than carbon in forming compounds, that the compounds formed by silicon are unstable, and that it blocks the flow of heat. Even so, biogenic silica is used by some Earth life, such as the silicate skeletal structure of diatoms. According to the clay hypothesis of A. G. Cairns-Smith, silicate minerals in water played a crucial role in abiogenesis: they replicated their crystal structures, interacted with carbon compounds, and were the precursors of carbon-based life. Although not observed in nature, carbon–silicon bonds have been added to biochemistry by using directed evolution (artificial selection). A heme containing cytochrome "c" protein from "Rhodothermus marinus" has been engineered using directed evolution to catalyze the formation of new carbon–silicon bonds between hydrosilanes and diazo compounds. Silicon compounds may possibly be biologically useful under temperatures or pressures different from the surface of a terrestrial planet, either in conjunction with or in a role less directly analogous to carbon. Polysilanols, the silicon compounds corresponding to sugars, are soluble in liquid nitrogen, suggesting that they could play a role in very-low-temperature biochemistry. In cinematic and literary science fiction, at a moment when man-made machines cross from nonliving to living, it is often posited, this new form would be the first example of non-carbon-based life. Since the advent of the microprocessor in the late 1960s, these machines are often classed as computers (or computer-guided robots) and filed under "silicon-based life", even though the silicon backing matrix of these processors is not nearly as fundamental to their operation as carbon is for "wet life". Arsenic as an alternative to phosphorus. Arsenic, which is chemically similar to phosphorus, while poisonous for most life forms on Earth, is incorporated into the biochemistry of some organisms. Some marine algae incorporate arsenic into complex organic molecules such as arsenosugars and arsenobetaines. Fungi and bacteria can produce volatile methylated arsenic compounds. Arsenate reduction and arsenite oxidation have been observed in microbes ("Chrysiogenes arsenatis"). Additionally, some prokaryotes can use arsenate as a terminal electron acceptor during anaerobic growth and some can utilize arsenite as an electron donor to generate energy. It has been speculated that the earliest life forms on Earth may have used arsenic biochemistry in place of phosphorus in the structure of their DNA. A common objection to this scenario is that arsenate esters are so much less stable to hydrolysis than corresponding phosphate esters that arsenic is poorly suited for this function. The authors of a 2010 geomicrobiology study, supported in part by NASA, have postulated that a bacterium, named GFAJ-1, collected in the sediments of Mono Lake in eastern California, can employ such 'arsenic DNA' when cultured without phosphorus. They proposed that the bacterium may employ high levels of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate or other means to reduce the effective concentration of water and stabilize its arsenate esters. This claim was heavily criticized almost immediately after publication for the perceived lack of appropriate controls. Science writer Carl Zimmer contacted several scientists for an assessment: "I reached out to a dozen experts ... Almost unanimously, they think the NASA scientists have failed to make their case". Other authors were unable to reproduce their results and showed that the study had issues with phosphate contamination, suggesting that the low amounts present could sustain extremophile lifeforms. Alternatively, it was suggested that GFAJ-1 cells grow by recycling phosphate from degraded ribosomes, rather than by replacing it with arsenate. Non-water solvents. In addition to carbon compounds, all currently known terrestrial life also requires water as a solvent. This has led to discussions about whether water is the only liquid capable of filling that role. The idea that an extraterrestrial life-form might be based on a solvent other than water has been taken seriously in recent scientific literature by the biochemist Steven Benner, and by the astrobiological committee chaired by John A. Baross. Solvents discussed by the Baross committee include ammonia, sulfuric acid, formamide, hydrocarbons, and (at temperatures much lower than Earth's) liquid nitrogen, or hydrogen in the form of a supercritical fluid. Carl Sagan once described himself as both a carbon chauvinist and a water chauvinist; however, on another occasion he said that he was a carbon chauvinist but "not that much of a water chauvinist". He speculated on hydrocarbons, hydrofluoric acid, and ammonia as possible alternatives to water. Some of the properties of water that are important for life processes include: Water as a compound is cosmically abundant, although much of it is in the form of vapour or ice. Subsurface liquid water is considered likely or possible on several of the outer moons: Enceladus (where geysers have been observed), Europa, Titan, and Ganymede. Earth and Titan are the only worlds currently known to have stable bodies of liquid on their surfaces. Not all properties of water are necessarily advantageous for life, however. For instance, water ice has a high albedo, meaning that it reflects a significant quantity of light and heat from the Sun. During ice ages, as reflective ice builds up over the surface of the water, the effects of global cooling are increased. There are some properties that make certain compounds and elements much more favorable than others as solvents in a successful biosphere. The solvent must be able to exist in liquid equilibrium over a range of temperatures the planetary object would normally encounter. Because boiling points vary with the pressure, the question tends not to be "does" the prospective solvent remain liquid, but "at what pressure". For example, hydrogen cyanide has a narrow liquid-phase temperature range at 1 atmosphere, but in an atmosphere with the pressure of Venus, with of pressure, it can indeed exist in liquid form over a wide temperature range. Ammonia. The ammonia molecule (NH3), like the water molecule, is abundant in the universe, being a compound of hydrogen (the simplest and most common element) with another very common element, nitrogen. The possible role of liquid ammonia as an alternative solvent for life is an idea that goes back at least to 1954, when J. B. S. Haldane raised the topic at a symposium about life's origin. Numerous chemical reactions are possible in an ammonia solution, and liquid ammonia has chemical similarities with water. Ammonia can dissolve most organic molecules at least as well as water does and, in addition, it is capable of dissolving many elemental metals. Haldane made the point that various common water-related organic compounds have ammonia-related analogs; for instance the ammonia-related amine group (−NH2) is analogous to the water-related hydroxyl group (−OH). Ammonia, like water, can either accept or donate an H+ ion. When ammonia accepts an H+, it forms the ammonium cation (NH4+), analogous to hydronium (H3O+). When it donates an H+ ion, it forms the amide anion (NH2−), analogous to the hydroxide anion (OH−). Compared to water, however, ammonia is more inclined to accept an H+ ion, and less inclined to donate one; it is a stronger nucleophile. Ammonia added to water functions as Arrhenius base: it increases the concentration of the anion hydroxide. Conversely, using a solvent system definition of acidity and basicity, water added to liquid ammonia functions as an acid, because it increases the concentration of the cation ammonium. The carbonyl group (C=O), which is much used in terrestrial biochemistry, would not be stable in ammonia solution, but the analogous imine group (C=NH) could be used instead. However, ammonia has some problems as a basis for life. The hydrogen bonds between ammonia molecules are weaker than those in water, causing ammonia's heat of vaporization to be half that of water, its surface tension to be a third, and reducing its ability to concentrate non-polar molecules through a hydrophobic effect. Gerald Feinberg and Robert Shapiro have questioned whether ammonia could hold prebiotic molecules together well enough to allow the emergence of a self-reproducing system. Ammonia is also flammable in oxygen and could not exist sustainably in an environment suitable for aerobic metabolism. A biosphere based on ammonia would likely exist at temperatures or air pressures that are extremely unusual in relation to life on Earth. Life on Earth usually exists within the melting point and boiling point of water at normal pressure, between 0 °C (273 K) and 100 °C (373 K); at normal pressure ammonia's melting and boiling points are between −78 °C (195 K) and −33 °C (240 K). Chemical reactions generally proceed more slowly at a lower temperature. Therefore, ammonia-based life, if it exists, might metabolize more slowly and evolve more slowly than life on Earth. On the other hand, lower temperatures could also enable living systems to use chemical species that would be too unstable at Earth temperatures to be useful. Ammonia could be a liquid at Earth-like temperatures, but at much higher pressures; for example, at 60 atm, ammonia melts at −77 °C (196 K) and boils at 98 °C (371 K). Ammonia and ammonia–water mixtures remain liquid at temperatures far below the freezing point of pure water, so such biochemistries might be well suited to planets and moons orbiting outside the water-based habitability zone. Such conditions could exist, for example, under the surface of Saturn's largest moon Titan. Methane and other hydrocarbons. Methane (CH4) is a simple hydrocarbon: that is, a compound of two of the most common elements in the cosmos: hydrogen and carbon. It has a cosmic abundance comparable with ammonia. Hydrocarbons could act as a solvent over a wide range of temperatures, but would lack polarity. Isaac Asimov, the biochemist and science fiction writer, suggested in 1981 that poly-lipids could form a substitute for proteins in a non-polar solvent such as methane. Lakes composed of a mixture of hydrocarbons, including methane and ethane, have been detected on the surface of Titan by the "Cassini" spacecraft. There is debate about the effectiveness of methane and other hydrocarbons as a solvent for life compared to water or ammonia. Water is a stronger solvent than the hydrocarbons, enabling easier transport of substances in a cell. However, water is also more chemically reactive and can break down large organic molecules through hydrolysis. A life-form whose solvent was a hydrocarbon would not face the threat of its biomolecules being destroyed in this way. Also, the water molecule's tendency to form strong hydrogen bonds can interfere with internal hydrogen bonding in complex organic molecules. Life with a hydrocarbon solvent could make more use of hydrogen bonds within its biomolecules. Moreover, the strength of hydrogen bonds within biomolecules would be appropriate to a low-temperature biochemistry. Astrobiologist Chris McKay has argued, on thermodynamic grounds, that if life does exist on Titan's surface, using hydrocarbons as a solvent, it is likely also to use the more complex hydrocarbons as an energy source by reacting them with hydrogen, reducing ethane and acetylene to methane. Possible evidence for this form of life on Titan was identified in 2010 by Darrell Strobel of Johns Hopkins University; a greater abundance of molecular hydrogen in the upper atmospheric layers of Titan compared to the lower layers, arguing for a downward diffusion at a rate of roughly 1025 molecules per second and disappearance of hydrogen near Titan's surface. As Strobel noted, his findings were in line with the effects Chris McKay had predicted if methanogenic life-forms were present. The same year, another study showed low levels of acetylene on Titan's surface, which were interpreted by Chris McKay as consistent with the hypothesis of organisms reducing acetylene to methane. While restating the biological hypothesis, McKay cautioned that other explanations for the hydrogen and acetylene findings are to be considered more likely: the possibilities of yet unidentified physical or chemical processes (e.g. a non-living surface catalyst enabling acetylene to react with hydrogen), or flaws in the current models of material flow. He noted that even a non-biological catalyst effective at 95 K would in itself be a startling discovery. Azotosome. A hypothetical cell membrane termed an "azotosome" capable of functioning in liquid methane in Titan conditions was computer-modeled in an article published in February 2015. Composed of acrylonitrile, a small molecule containing carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, it is predicted to have stability and flexibility in liquid methane comparable to that of a phospholipid bilayer (the type of cell membrane possessed by all life on Earth) in liquid water. An analysis of data obtained using the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA), completed in 2017, confirmed substantial amounts of acrylonitrile in Titan's atmosphere. Hydrogen fluoride. Hydrogen fluoride (HF), like water, is a polar molecule, and due to its polarity it can dissolve many ionic compounds. Its melting point is −84 °C, and its boiling point is 19.54 °C (at atmospheric pressure); the difference between the two is a little more than 100 K. HF also makes hydrogen bonds with its neighbor molecules, as do water and ammonia. It has been considered as a possible solvent for life by scientists such as Peter Sneath and Carl Sagan. HF is dangerous to the systems of molecules that Earth-life is made of, but certain other organic compounds, such as paraffin waxes, are stable with it. Like water and ammonia, liquid hydrogen fluoride supports an acid–base chemistry. Using a solvent system definition of acidity and basicity, nitric acid functions as a base when it is added to liquid HF. However, hydrogen fluoride is cosmically rare, unlike water, ammonia, and methane. Hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is the closest chemical analog to water, but is less polar and a weaker inorganic solvent. Hydrogen sulfide is quite plentiful on Jupiter's moon Io and may be in liquid form a short distance below the surface; astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch has suggested it as a possible solvent for life there. On a planet with hydrogen-sulfide oceans the source of the hydrogen sulfide could come from volcanos, in which case it could be mixed in with a bit of hydrogen fluoride, which could help dissolve minerals. Hydrogen-sulfide life might use a mixture of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide as their carbon source. They might produce and live on sulfur monoxide, which is analogous to oxygen (O2). Hydrogen sulfide, like hydrogen cyanide and ammonia, suffers from the small temperature range where it is liquid, though that, like that of hydrogen cyanide and ammonia, increases with increasing pressure. Silicon dioxide and silicates. Silicon dioxide, also known as silica and quartz, is very abundant in the universe and has a large temperature range where it is liquid. However, its melting point is , so it would be impossible to make organic compounds in that temperature, because all of them would decompose. Silicates are similar to silicon dioxide and some have lower melting points than silica. Gerald Feinberg and Robert Shapiro have suggested that molten silicate rock could serve as a liquid medium for organisms with a chemistry based on silicon, oxygen, and other elements such as aluminium. Other solvents or cosolvents. Other solvents sometimes proposed: Sulfuric acid in liquid form is strongly polar. It remains liquid at higher temperatures than water, its liquid range being 10 °C to 337 °C at a pressure of 1 atm, although above 300 °C it slowly decomposes. Sulfuric acid is known to be abundant in the clouds of Venus, in the form of aerosol droplets. In a biochemistry that used sulfuric acid as a solvent, the alkene group (C=C), with two carbon atoms joined by a double bond, could function analogously to the carbonyl group (C=O) in water-based biochemistry. A proposal has been made that life on Mars may exist and be using a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide as its solvent. A 61.2% (by mass) mix of water and hydrogen peroxide has a freezing point of −56.5 °C and tends to super-cool rather than crystallize. It is also hygroscopic, an advantage in a water-scarce environment. Supercritical carbon dioxide has been proposed as a candidate for alternative biochemistry due to its ability to selectively dissolve organic compounds and assist the functioning of enzymes and because "super-Earth"- or "super-Venus"-type planets with dense high-pressure atmospheres may be common. Other speculations. Non-green photosynthesizers. Physicists have noted that, although photosynthesis on Earth generally involves green plants, a variety of other-colored plants could also support photosynthesis, essential for most life on Earth, and that other colors might be preferred in places that receive a different mix of stellar radiation than Earth. These studies indicate that blue plants would be unlikely; however yellow or red plants may be relatively common. Variable environments. Many Earth plants and animals undergo major biochemical changes during their life cycles as a response to changing environmental conditions, for example, by having a spore or hibernation state that can be sustained for years or even millennia between more active life stages. Thus, it would be biochemically possible to sustain life in environments that are only periodically consistent with life as we know it. For example, frogs in cold climates can survive for extended periods of time with most of their body water in a frozen state, whereas desert frogs in Australia can become inactive and dehydrate in dry periods, losing up to 75% of their fluids, yet return to life by rapidly rehydrating in wet periods. Either type of frog would appear biochemically inactive (i.e. not living) during dormant periods to anyone lacking a sensitive means of detecting low levels of metabolism. Alanine world and hypothetical alternatives. The genetic code evolved during the transition from the RNA world to a protein world. The Alanine World Hypothesis postulates that the evolution of the genetic code (the so-called GC phase) started with only four basic amino acids: alanine, glycine, proline and ornithine (now arginine). The evolution of the genetic code ended with 20 proteinogenic amino acids. From a chemical point of view, most of them are Alanine-derivatives particularly suitable for the construction of α-helices and β-sheets basic secondary structural elements of modern proteins. Direct evidence of this is an experimental procedure in molecular biology known as alanine scanning. The hypothetical "Proline World" would create a possible alternative life with the genetic code based on the proline chemical scaffold as the protein backbone. Similarly, "Glycine" and "Ornithine" worlds are also conceivable, but nature has chosen none of them. Evolution of life with Glycine, Proline or Ornithine as the basic structure for protein-like polymers (foldamers) would lead to parallel biological worlds. They would have morphologically radically different body plans and genetics from the living organisms of the known biosphere. Nonplanetary life. Dust and plasma-based. In 2007, Vadim N. Tsytovich and colleagues proposed that lifelike behaviors could be exhibited by dust particles suspended in a plasma, under conditions that might exist in space. Computer models showed that, when the dust became charged, the particles could self-organize into microscopic helical structures, and the authors offer "a rough sketch of a possible model of...helical grain structure reproduction". Life on a Neutron Star. Frank Drake suggested in 1973 that intelligent life could inhabit neutron stars. Physical models in 1973 implied that Drake's creatures would be microscopic. In 1980, Robert L Forward wrote the science fiction novel Dragon's Egg using Drake's suggestion as a thesis. Scientists who have published on this topic. Scientists who have considered possible alternatives to carbon-water biochemistry include:

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Anti-gravity Anti-gravity (also known as "non-gravitational field") is a hypothetical phenomenon of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift. Anti-gravity is a recurring concept in science fiction, particularly in the context of spacecraft propulsion. Examples are the gravity blocking substance "Cavorite" in H. G. Wells's "The First Men in the Moon" and the Spindizzy machines in James Blish's "Cities in Flight". "Anti-gravity" is often used to refer to devices that look as if they reverse gravity even though they operate through other means, such as lifters, which fly in the air by moving air with electromagnetic fields. What's commonly misconstrued is that while anti-gravity is the nullification of gravity, it is not repulsive gravity or negative gravity. Gravity plates and compensators as envisioned in contemporary science fiction also are not anti-gravity. Historical attempts at understanding gravity. The possibility of creating anti-gravity depends upon the detection and description of gravity at the quantum dimension; as of 2020 physicists have yet to discover the quantum nature of gravity. During the summer of 1666, Isaac Newton observed an apple (variety "Flower of Kent") falling from the tree in his garden, thus realizing the principle of universal gravitation. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) conceived of gravity occurring specifically in the physical situation of matter and space being together, where gravity occurs as a consequence of matter causing deformation geometrically of outer (astronomical) space which is shaped flat, in Grundgedanken der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie und Anwendung dieser Theorie in der Astronomie and Zur allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie, both published 1915. Einstein, both independently, and with Walther Mayer, attempted to unify Einstein's theory of gravity, the general theory of relativity, with electromagnetism, using the work of Theodor Kaluza (published 1921), and James Clerk Maxwell, in an attempt to include gravity with quantum field theory. Theoretical quantum physicists have postulated the existence of a quantum gravity particle, the graviton. Various theoretical explanations of the reality of quantum gravity include the Superstring theory (Gabriele Veneziano 1968, et al.), the Asymptotic safety theory (Steven Weinberg, 1976) a quantum field theory of gravity, the Non-commutative geometry theory (Connes 1990), the theory of Causal fermion systems (Finster 2006; Holland 1998 Nikolić 2003), the E8 theory (Lisi 2007), and Emergence theory (Verlinde 2010). Various theoretical addresses to the subject of quantum gravitation include, A Macias and H Dehnen, authors of a 1991 classical and quantum gravity paper in which they rejected the particulate 1/2 spin of the Kaluza–Klein theory. Stephane Collion and Michel Vaugon are authors of a 2017 paper proposing a new approach to the Kaluza–Klein idea of a five dimensional space-time unifying gravitation and electromagnetism as an extension to higher-dimensional space-time. Hypothetical solutions. In Newton's law of universal gravitation, gravity was an external force transmitted by unknown means. In the 20th century, Newton's model was replaced by general relativity where gravity is not a force but the result of the geometry of spacetime. Under general relativity, anti-gravity is impossible except under contrived circumstances. Gravity shields. In 1948 businessman Roger Babson (founder of Babson College) formed the Gravity Research Foundation to study ways to reduce the effects of gravity. Their efforts were initially somewhat "crankish", but they held occasional conferences that drew such people as Clarence Birdseye, known for his frozen-food products, and Igor Sikorsky, inventor of the helicopter. Over time the Foundation turned its attention away from trying to control gravity, to simply better understanding it. The Foundation nearly disappeared after Babson's death in 1967. However, it continues to run an essay award, offering prizes of up to $4,000. As of 2017, it is still administered out of Wellesley, Massachusetts, by George Rideout Jr., son of the foundation's original director. Winners include California astrophysicist George F. Smoot, who later won the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics. General relativity research in the 1950s. General relativity was introduced in the 1910s, but development of the theory was greatly slowed by a lack of suitable mathematical tools. It appeared that anti-gravity was outlawed under general relativity. It is claimed the US Air Force also ran a study effort throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Former Lieutenant Colonel Ansel Talbert wrote two series of newspaper articles claiming that most of the major aviation firms had started gravity control propulsion research in the 1950s. However, there is little outside confirmation of these stories, and since they take place in the midst of the policy by press release era, it is not clear how much weight these stories should be given. It is known that there were serious efforts underway at the Glenn L. Martin Company, who formed the Research Institute for Advanced Study. Major newspapers announced the contract that had been made between theoretical physicist Burkhard Heim and the Glenn L. Martin Company. Another effort in the private sector to master understanding of gravitation was the creation of the Institute for Field Physics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1956, by Gravity Research Foundation trustee Agnew H. Bahnson. Military support for anti-gravity projects was terminated by the Mansfield Amendment of 1973, which restricted Department of Defense spending to only the areas of scientific research with explicit military applications. The Mansfield Amendment was passed specifically to end long-running projects that had little to show for their efforts. Under general relativity, gravity is the result of following spatial geometry (change in the normal shape of space) caused by local mass-energy. This theory holds that it is the altered shape of space, deformed by massive objects, that causes gravity, which is actually a property of deformed space rather than being a true force. Although the equations cannot normally produce a "negative geometry", it is possible to do so by using "negative mass". The same equations do not, of themselves, rule out the existence of negative mass. Both general relativity and Newtonian gravity appear to predict that negative mass would produce a repulsive gravitational field. In particular, Sir Hermann Bondi proposed in 1957 that negative gravitational mass, combined with negative inertial mass, would comply with the strong equivalence principle of general relativity theory and the Newtonian laws of conservation of linear momentum and energy. Bondi's proof yielded singularity-free solutions for the relativity equations. In July 1988, Robert L. Forward presented a paper at the AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE 24th Joint Propulsion Conference that proposed a Bondi negative gravitational mass propulsion system. Bondi pointed out that a negative mass will fall toward (and not away from) "normal" matter, since although the gravitational force is repulsive, the negative mass (according to Newton's law, F=ma) responds by accelerating in the opposite of the direction of the force. Normal mass, on the other hand, will fall away from the negative matter. He noted that two identical masses, one positive and one negative, placed near each other will therefore self-accelerate in the direction of the line between them, with the negative mass chasing after the positive mass. Notice that because the negative mass acquires negative kinetic energy, the total energy of the accelerating masses remains at zero. Forward pointed out that the self-acceleration effect is due to the negative inertial mass, and could be seen induced without the gravitational forces between the particles. The Standard Model of particle physics, which describes all currently known forms of matter, does not include negative mass. Although cosmological dark matter may consist of particles outside the Standard Model whose nature is unknown, their mass is ostensibly known – since they were postulated from their gravitational effects on surrounding objects, which implies their mass is positive. The proposed cosmological dark energy, on the other hand, is more complicated, since according to general relativity the effects of both its energy density and its negative pressure contribute to its gravitational effect. Unique force. Under general relativity any form of energy couples with spacetime to create the geometries that cause gravity. A longstanding question was whether or not these same equations applied to antimatter. The issue was considered solved in 1960 with the development of CPT symmetry, which demonstrated that antimatter follows the same laws of physics as "normal" matter, and therefore has positive energy content and also causes (and reacts to) gravity like normal matter (see gravitational interaction of antimatter). For much of the last quarter of the 20th century, the physics community was involved in attempts to produce a unified field theory, a single physical theory that explains the four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Scientists have made progress in unifying the three quantum forces, but gravity has remained "the problem" in every attempt. This has not stopped any number of such attempts from being made, however. Generally these attempts tried to "quantize gravity" by positing a particle, the graviton, that carried gravity in the same way that photons (light) carry electromagnetism. Simple attempts along this direction all failed, however, leading to more complex examples that attempted to account for these problems. Two of these, supersymmetry and the relativity related supergravity, both required the existence of an extremely weak "fifth force" carried by a graviphoton, which coupled together several "loose ends" in quantum field theory, in an organized manner. As a side effect, both theories also all but required that antimatter be affected by this fifth force in a way similar to anti-gravity, dictating repulsion away from mass. Several experiments were carried out in the 1990s to measure this effect, but none yielded positive results. In 2013 CERN looked for an antigravity effect in an experiment designed to study the energy levels within antihydrogen. The antigravity measurement was just an "interesting sideshow" and was inconclusive. General-relativistic "warp drives". There are solutions of the field equations of general relativity which describe "warp drives" (such as the Alcubierre metric) and stable, traversable wormholes. This by itself is not significant, since "any" spacetime geometry is a solution of the field equations for some configuration of the stress–energy tensor field (see exact solutions in general relativity). General relativity does not constrain the geometry of spacetime unless outside constraints are placed on the stress–energy tensor. Warp-drive and traversable-wormhole geometries are well-behaved in most areas, but require regions of exotic matter; thus they are excluded as solutions if the stress–energy tensor is limited to known forms of matter. Dark matter and dark energy are not understood enough at this present time to make general statements regarding their applicability to a warp-drive. Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program. During the close of the twentieth century NASA provided funding for the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program (BPP) from 1996 through 2002. This program studied a number of "far out" designs for space propulsion that were not receiving funding through normal university or commercial channels. Anti-gravity-like concepts were investigated under the name "diametric drive". The work of the BPP program continues in the independent, non-NASA affiliated Tau Zero Foundation. Empirical claims and commercial efforts. There have been a number of attempts to build anti-gravity devices, and a small number of reports of anti-gravity-like effects in the scientific literature. None of the examples that follow are accepted as reproducible examples of anti-gravity. Gyroscopic devices. Gyroscopes produce a force when twisted that operates "out of plane" and can appear to lift themselves against gravity. Although this force is well understood to be illusory, even under Newtonian models, it has nevertheless generated numerous claims of anti-gravity devices and any number of patented devices. None of these devices have ever been demonstrated to work under controlled conditions, and have often become the subject of conspiracy theories as a result. Another "rotating device" example is shown in a series of patents granted to Henry Wallace between 1968 and 1974. His devices consist of rapidly spinning disks of brass, a material made up largely of elements with a total half-integer nuclear spin. He claimed that by rapidly rotating a disk of such material, the nuclear spin became aligned, and as a result created a "gravitomagnetic" field in a fashion similar to the magnetic field created by the Barnett effect. No independent testing or public demonstration of these devices is known. In 1989, it was reported that a weight decreases along the axis of a right spinning gyroscope. A test of this claim a year later yielded null results. A recommendation was made to conduct further tests at a 1999 AIP conference. Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitator. In 1921, while still in high school, Thomas Townsend Brown found that a high-voltage Coolidge tube seemed to change mass depending on its orientation on a balance scale. Through the 1920s Brown developed this into devices that combined high voltages with materials with high dielectric constants (essentially large capacitors); he called such a device a "gravitator". Brown made the claim to observers and in the media that his experiments were showing anti-gravity effects. Brown would continue his work and produced a series of high-voltage devices in the following years in attempts to sell his ideas to aircraft companies and the military. He coined the names Biefeld–Brown effect and electrogravitics in conjunction with his devices. Brown tested his asymmetrical capacitor devices in a vacuum, supposedly showing it was not a more down-to-earth electrohydrodynamic effect generated by high voltage ion flow in air. Electrogravitics is a popular topic in ufology, anti-gravity, free energy, with government conspiracy theorists and related websites, in books and publications with claims that the technology became highly classified in the early 1960s and that it is used to power UFOs and the B-2 bomber. There is also research and videos on the internet purported to show lifter-style capacitor devices working in a vacuum, therefore not receiving propulsion from ion drift or ion wind being generated in air. Follow-up studies on Brown's work and other claims have been conducted by R. L. Talley in a 1990 US Air Force study, NASA scientist Jonathan Campbell in a 2003 experiment, and Martin Tajmar in a 2004 paper. They have found that no thrust could be observed in a vacuum and that Brown's and other ion lifter devices produce thrust along their axis regardless of the direction of gravity consistent with electrohydrodynamic effects. Gravitoelectric coupling. In 1992, the Russian researcher Eugene Podkletnov claimed to have discovered, whilst experimenting with superconductors, that a fast rotating superconductor reduces the gravitational effect. Many studies have attempted to reproduce Podkletnov's experiment, always to negative results. Ning Li and Douglas Torr, of the University of Alabama in Huntsville proposed how a time dependent magnetic field could cause the spins of the lattice ions in a superconductor to generate detectable gravitomagnetic and gravitoelectric fields in a series of papers published between 1991 and 1993. In 1999, Li and her team appeared in "Popular Mechanics", claiming to have constructed a working prototype to generate what she described as "AC Gravity." No further evidence of this prototype has been offered. Douglas Torr and Timir Datta were involved in the development of a "gravity generator" at the University of South Carolina. According to a leaked document from the Office of Technology Transfer at the University of South Carolina and confirmed to "Wired" reporter Charles Platt in 1998, the device would create a "force beam" in any desired direction and that the university planned to patent and license this device. No further information about this university research project or the "Gravity Generator" device was ever made public. Göde Award. The Institute for Gravity Research of the Göde Scientific Foundation has tried to reproduce many of the different experiments which claim any "anti-gravity" effects. All attempts by this group to observe an anti-gravity effect by reproducing past experiments have been unsuccessful thus far. The foundation has offered a reward of one million euros for a reproducible anti-gravity experiment. In fiction. The existence of anti-gravity is a common theme in fantasy and science fiction. Apergy. Apergy is a fictitious form of anti-gravitational energy first described by Percy Greg in his 1880 sword and planet novel "Across the Zodiac". It is also used by John Jacob Astor IV in his 1894 science fiction novel, "A Journey in Other Worlds". Apergy can also be found in an 1896 article by Clara Jessup Bloomfield-Moore, called "Some Truths About Keely". In it, apergy is used to describe the latent force John Keely harnessed, by using frequency to release the latent force found within all atomic matter. In an 1897, ostensibly non-fictitious, article in "The San Francisco Call" titled "The Secret of Aerial Flight Revealed", science correspondent Frank M. Close, D. Sc., visits an unnamed Hindu man masquerading as a viticulturist somewhere on the Pacific coast who claims to have invented a flying boat that uses an "apergent"—a rare metal called "radlum"—to produce controlled apergic force, allowing the vessel to ascend and descend. The inventor describes apergy as "a force obtained by blending positive and negative electricity with ultheic, the third element or state of electric energy" and calls apergy a "second phase of gravity", hinting at a third phase as well. In S. P. Meek's short story "Cold Light", which appeared in "Astounding Stories of Super-Science", March 1930, apergy is mentioned as the opposite force of gravity. In Chris Roberson's short story "Annus Mirabilis" from the 2006 second volume of "Tales of the Shadowmen", Doctor Omega and Albert Einstein investigate apergy. Apergy is also mentioned in the Warren Ellis comic "Aetheric Mechanics", as being generated by Cavorite technology from "The First Men in the Moon". Bibliography. Criteria:

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Catastrophes in popular culture Catastrophes in popular culture includes real and fictional disasters, as depicted by the media, and are considered social events. Disaster movies made in Hollywood are part of the American pop culture. Catastrophe types can include hostile aliens, climate change/global warming, environmental disasters, financial crises, natural disaster, nuclear apocalypse, pandemics, super heros, terrorist attacks, zombies and other technological meltdowns. History. One of the earliest cultural catastrophic narratives is the flood myth, found among many civilizations in human history. Theories. There are different theories why audiences consume apocalyptic films, according to filmmaker Roland Emmerich, "They are somewhat cathartic. You see all this destruction and everything but at the end the right people save the day." Wheeler Winston Dixon notes, "I think they’re sort of preparing us for something that’s going to happen in the future." According to , "What makes today’s obsession different from previous epochs’ is the sense of a “catastrophe without event,” a stealthily creeping process of disintegration. Ultimately, Horn argues, imagined catastrophes offer us intellectual tools that can render a future shadowed with apocalyptic possibilities affectively, epistemologically, and politically accessible."

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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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Message from space (science fiction) For other uses, see "Message from Space (disambiguation)". "Message from space" is a type of "first contact" theme in science fiction . Stories of this type involve receiving an interstellar message which reveals the existence of other intelligent life in the universe. History. An early short story, "A Message from Space" (Joseph Schlossel, "Weird Tales", March 1926) tells of an amateur who builds a ham TV set and suddenly sees an alien on the screen. The alien realises it is being watched and tells its soap opera story. The verdict of Everett Franklin Bleiler: "original ideas, but clumsy handling". While the use of this trope does predate the scientific Search for extraterrestrial intelligence ("SETI"), initiated with Project Ozma in 1960, the use of this as a plot element in science fiction greatly increased with the publicity given by various the SETI projects. Classic examples of this trope include the 1961 television script and a novel "A for Andromeda" by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot, the 1968 novel "His Master's Voice" by Stanislaw Lem, "The Listeners" by James E. Gunn and Carl Sagan's novel and subsequent film "Contact".

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Artificial world Artificial worlds or artificial planets have been created by writers in the fields of science speculation, speculative fiction and fiction. Such megastructures could have a variety of advantages over natural planets, such as efficient use of solar energy and immense living space, but their construction and/or maintenance would require technologies much in advance than that of 21st-century Earth. It was often stated, that it is more possible to build a 2-gigaton Dyson sphere than a laser rifle, but still ringworlds etc. are treated in sci-fi as symbol of immense power, often relic of Precursor civilization or symbol of all-powerful future empire. Examples of artificial worlds include: In Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, an advanced race referred to as the Magratheans designed and built planets for the wealthy inhabitants of the galaxy, and the book went on to theorize that the Magratheans also designed and built Earth. In Star Wars Legends continuity, a race called the Celestials (not to be confused with the Celestials of Marvel Comics) using Centerpoint Station, built the Corellian System.

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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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Evil empire An evil empire is a speculative fiction trope in which a major antagonist of the story is a technologically advanced nation, typically ruled by an evil emperor or empress, that aims to control the world or conquer some specific group. They are opposed by a hero from more common origins who uses their guile or the help of an underground resistance to fight them. Well-known examples are the Galactic Empire in "Star Wars", which forms upon the collapse of the more benevolent Galactic Republic and is opposed by Luke Skywalker, as well as the Galactic Empire in "Dune", whose Emperor plots the downfall of House Atreides, and is opposed by Paul Atreides. The theme also often appears in video games, such as the "Final Fantasy" series, starting with "Final Fantasy II", which was inspired by "Star Wars", and becoming a major part of "Final Fantasy VI" in the form of the Gestahl Empire. Characteristics. Fantastical evil empires typically make heavy use of technology and mechanization, refusing to coexist with nature and destroying or exploiting it instead. The hero or heroes of the story often make use of these natural elements to fight the empire, such as the Ewoks of Endor or the Sandworms of Arrakis. When the empire is defeated, the world returns to its natural state. This is often a metaphor for modern environmental problems caused by the negligence of global superpowers. Use in politics. The concept of an "evil empire" was appropriated from "Star Wars" by Ronald Reagan, who used it in his 1983 Evil Empire speech to describe the Soviet Union, dramatically raising the stakes in the arms race between it and the United States.

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Mindwipe A mindwipe is a fictional memory erasure procedure in which the subject's memories and sometimes personality are erased. Often those are replaced by new memories more useful to those who are carrying out the mindwiping. It is a more thorough form of brainwashing. It is sometimes used as an alternative to capital punishment, or to make the subject more useful to the system. The mindwipe can be performed by a hypnotic or magical ability, or by an electronic device. It is often coupled with stories where the characters have amnesia, although the latter concept includes cases that occur naturally or by accident instead of the result of a deliberate procedure.

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Shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ability. The idea of shapeshifting is in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existent literature and epic poems such as the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and the "Iliad". The concept remains a common trope in modern fantasy, children's literature and popular culture. Folklore and mythology. Popular shapeshifting creatures in folklore are werewolves and vampires (mostly of European, Canadian, and Native American/early American origin), the huli jing of East Asia (including the Japanese kitsune and Korean kumiho), and the gods, goddesses, and demons of numerous mythologies, such as the Norse Loki or the Greek Proteus. Shapeshifting to the form of a wolf is specifically known as lycanthropy, and such creatures who undergo such change are called lycanthropes. Therianthropy is the more general term for human-animal shifts, but it is rarely used in that capacity. It was also common for deities to transform mortals into animals and plants. Other terms for shapeshifters include metamorph, the Navajo skin-walker, mimic, and therianthrope. The prefix "were-," coming from the Old English word for "man" (masculine rather than generic), is also used to designate shapeshifters; despite its root, it is used to indicate female shapeshifters as well. While the popular idea of a shapeshifter is of a human being who turns into something else, there are numerous stories about animals that can transform themselves as well. Greco-Roman. Examples of shapeshifting in classical literature include many examples in Ovid's "Metamorphoses", Circe's transforming of Odysseus' men to pigs in Homer's "The Odyssey", and Apuleius's Lucius becoming a donkey in "The Golden Ass". Proteus was noted among the gods for his shapeshifting; both Menelaus and Aristaeus seized him to win information from him, and succeeded only because they held on during his various changes. Nereus told Heracles where to find the Apples of the Hesperides for the same reason. The Titan Metis, the first wife of Zeus and the mother of the goddess Athena, was believed to be able to change her appearance into anything she wanted. In one story, she was so proud, that her husband, Zeus, tricked her into changing into a fly. He then swallowed her because he feared that he and Metis would have a son who would be more powerful than Zeus himself. Metis, however, was already pregnant. She stayed alive inside his head and built armor for her daughter. The banging of her metalworking made Zeus have a headache, so Hephaestus clove his head with an axe. Athena sprang from her father's head, fully grown, and in battle armor. In Greek mythology, the transformation is often a punishment from the gods to humans who crossed them. While the Greek gods could use transformation punitively – such as Medusa, turned to a monster for having sexual intercourse (raped in Ovid's version) with Poseidon in Athena's temple – even more frequently, the tales using it are of amorous adventure. Zeus repeatedly transformed himself to approach mortals as a means of gaining access: Vertumnus transformed himself into an old woman to gain entry to Pomona's orchard; there, he persuaded her to marry him. In other tales, the woman appealed to other gods to protect her from rape, and was transformed (Daphne into laurel, Cornix into a crow). Unlike Zeus and other gods' shapeshifting, these women were permanently metamorphosed. In one tale, Demeter transformed herself into a mare to escape Poseidon, but Poseidon counter-transformed himself into a stallion to pursue her, and succeeded in the rape. Caenis, having been raped by Poseidon, demanded of him that she be changed to a man. He agreed, and she became Caeneus, a form he never lost, except, in some versions, upon death. As a final reward from the gods for their hospitality, Baucis and Philemon were transformed, at their deaths, into a pair of trees. In some variants of the tale of Narcissus, he is turned into a narcissus flower. Sometimes metamorphoses transformed objects into humans. In the myths of both Jason and Cadmus, one task set to the hero was to sow dragon's teeth; on being sown, they would metamorphose into belligerent warriors, and both heroes had to throw a rock to trick them into fighting each other to survive. Deucalion and Pyrrha repopulated the world after a flood by throwing stones behind them; they were transformed into people. Cadmus is also often known to have transformed into a dragon or serpent towards the end of his life. Pygmalion fell in love with Galatea, a statue he had made. Aphrodite had pity on him and transformed the stone to a living woman. British and Irish. Fairies, witches, and wizards were all noted for their shapeshifting ability. Not all fairies could shapeshift, and some were limited to changing their size, as with the spriggans, and others to a few forms and other fairies might have only the appearance of shapeshifting, through their power, called "glamour," to create illusions. But others, such as the Hedley Kow, could change to many forms, and both human and supernatural wizards were capable of both such changes, and inflicting them on others. Witches could turn into hares and in that form steal milk and butter. Many British fairy tales, such as "Jack the Giant Killer" and "The Black Bull of Norroway", feature shapeshifting. Celtic mythology. Pwyll was transformed by Arawn into Arawn's own shape, and Arawn transformed himself into Pwyll's, so that they could trade places for a year and a day. Llwyd ap Cil Coed transformed his wife and attendants into mice to attack a crop in revenge; when his wife is captured, he turned himself into three clergymen in succession to try to pay a ransom. Math fab Mathonwy and Gwydion transform flowers into a woman named Blodeuwedd, and when she betrays her husband Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who is transformed into an eagle, they transform her again, into an owl. Gilfaethwy committed rape on Goewin, Math fab Mathonwy's virgin footholder, with help from his brother Gwydion. Both were transformed into animals, for one year each. Gwydion was transformed into a stag, sow and wolf, and Gilfaethwy into a hind, boar and she-wolf. Each year, they had a child. Math turned the three young animals into boys. Gwion, having accidentally taken some of the wisdom potion that Ceridwen was brewing for her son, fled from her through a succession of changes that she answered with changes of her own, ending with his being eaten, a grain of corn, by her as a hen. She became pregnant, and he was reborn in a new form, as Taliesin. Tales abound about the selkie, a seal that can remove its skin to make contact with humans for only a short amount of time before it must return to the sea. Clan MacColdrum of Uist's foundation myths include a union between the founder of the clan and a shapeshifting selkie. Another such creature is the Scottish selkie, which needs its sealskin to regain its form. In "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry" the (male) selkie seduces a human woman. Such stories surrounding these creatures are usually romantic tragedies. Scottish mythology features shapeshifters, which allows the various creatures to trick, deceive, hunt, and kill humans. Water spirits such as the each-uisge, which inhabit lochs and waterways in Scotland, were said to appear as a horse or a young man. Other tales include kelpies who emerge from lochs and rivers in the disguise of a horse or woman in order to ensnare and kill weary travelers. Tam Lin, a man captured by the Queen of the Fairies is changed into all manner of beasts before being rescued. He finally turned into a burning coal and was thrown into a well, whereupon he reappeared in his human form. The motif of capturing a person by holding him through all forms of transformation is a common thread in folktales. Perhaps the best-known Irish myth is that of Aoife who turned her stepchildren, the Children of Lir, into swans to be rid of them. Likewise, in the "Tochmarc Étaíne", Fuamnach jealously turns Étaín into a butterfly. The most dramatic example of shapeshifting in Irish myth is that of Tuan mac Cairill, the only survivor of Partholón's settlement of Ireland. In his centuries long life he became successively a stag, a wild boar, a hawk and finally a salmon prior to being eaten and (as in the Wooing of Étaín) reborn as a human. The Púca is a Celtic faery, and also a deft shapeshifter. He can transform into many different, terrifying forms. Sadhbh, the wife of the famous hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, was changed into a deer by the druid Fer Doirich when she spurned his amorous interests. Norse. There is a significant amount of literature about shapeshifters that appear in a variety of Norse tales. In the Lokasenna, Odin and Loki taunt each other with having taken the form of females and nursing offspring to which they had given birth. A 13th-century Edda relates Loki taking the form of a mare to bear Odin's steed Sleipnir which was the fastest horse ever to exist, and also the form of a she-wolf to bear Fenrir. Svipdagr angered Odin, who turned him into a dragon. Despite his monstrous appearance, his lover, the goddess Freyja, refused to leave his side. When the warrior Hadding found and slew Svipdagr, Freyja cursed him to be tormented by a tempest and shunned like the plague wherever he went. In the "Hyndluljóð", Freyja transformed her protégé Óttar into a boar to conceal him. She also possessed a cloak of falcon feathers that allowed her to transform into a falcon, which Loki borrowed on occasion. The Volsunga saga contains many shapeshifting characters. Siggeir's mother changed into a wolf to help torture his defeated brothers-in-law with slow and ignominious deaths. When one, Sigmund, survived, he and his nephew and son Sinfjötli killed men wearing wolfskins; when they donned the skins themselves, they were cursed to become werewolves. The dwarf Andvari is described as being able to magically turn into a pike. Alberich, his counterpart in Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen", using the Tarnhelm, takes on many forms, including a giant serpent and a toad, in a failed attempt to impress or intimidate Loki and Odin/Wotan. Fafnir was originally a dwarf, a giant or even a human, depending on the exact myth, but in all variants he transformed into a dragon—a symbol of greed—while guarding his ill-gotten hoard. His brother, Ótr, enjoyed spending time as an otter, which led to his accidental slaying by Loki. In Scandinavia, there existed, for example, the famous race of she-werewolves known with a name of Maras, women who took on the appearance of the night looking for huge half-human and half-wolf monsters. If a female at midnight stretches the membrane which envelopes the foal when it is brought forth, between four sticks and creeps through it, naked, she will bear children without pain; but all the boys will be shamans, and all the girls Maras. The Nisse is sometimes said to be a shapeshifter. This trait also is attributed to Huldra. Gunnhild, Mother of Kings ("Gunnhild konungamóðir") (c. 910  –  c. 980), a quasi-historical figure who appears in the Icelandic Sagas, according to which she was the wife of Eric Bloodaxe, was credited with magic powers - including the power of shapeshifting and turning at will into a bird. She is the central character of the novel "Mother of Kings" by Poul Anderson, which considerably elaborates on her shapeshifting abilities. Other lore. Armenian. In Armenian mythology, shapeshifters include the "Nhang", a serpentine river monster than can transform itself into a woman or seal, and will drown humans and then drink their blood; or the beneficial "Shahapet", a guardian spirit that can appear either as a man or a snake. Indian. Ancient Indian mythology tells of Nāga, snakes that can sometimes assume human form. Scriptures describe shapeshifting Rakshasa (demons) assuming animal forms to deceive humans. The "Ramayana" also includes the Vanara, a group of apelike humanoids who possessed supernatural powers and could change their shapes. Yoginis were associated with the power of shapeshifting into female animals. In the Indian fable "The Dog Bride" from "Folklore of the Santal Parganas" by Cecil Henry Bompas, a buffalo herder falls in love with a dog that has the power to turn into a woman when she bathes. In Kerala, there was a legend about the "Odiyan" clan, who in Kerala folklore are men believed to possess shapeshifting abilities and can assume animal forms.Odiyans are said to have inhabited the Malabar region of Kerala before the widespread use of electricity. Philippines. Philippine mythology includes the Aswang, a vampiric monster capable of transforming into a bat, a large black dog, a black cat, a black boar or some other form in order to stalk humans at night. The folklore also mentions other beings such as the Kapre, the Tikbalang and the Engkanto, which change their appearances to woo beautiful maidens. Also, talismans (called ""anting-anting" or "birtud"" in the local dialect), can give their owners the ability to shapeshift. In one tale, "Chonguita the Monkey Wife", a woman is turned into a monkey, only becoming human again if she can marry a handsome man. Tatar. Tatar folklore includes Yuxa, a hundred-year-old snake that can transform itself into a beautiful young woman, and seeks to marry men in order to have children. Chinese. Chinese mythology contains many tales of animal shapeshifters, capable of taking on human form. The most common such shapeshifter is the huli jing, a fox spirit which usually appears as a beautiful young woman; most are dangerous, but some feature as the heroines of love stories. "Madame White Snake" is one such legend; a snake falls in love with a man, and the story recounts the trials that she and her husband faced. Japanese. In Japanese folklore ōbake are a type of yōkai with the ability to shapeshift. The fox, or kitsune is among the most commonly known, but other such creatures include the bakeneko, the mujina and the tanuki. Korean. Korean mythology also contains a fox with the ability to shapeshift. Unlike its Chinese and Japanese counterparts, the kumiho is always malevolent. Usually its form is of a beautiful young woman; one tale recounts a man, a would-be seducer, revealed as a kumiho. The kumiho has nine tails and as she desires to be a full human, she uses her beauty to seduce men and eat their hearts (or in some cases livers where the belief is that 100 livers would turn her into a real human). Somali. In Somali mythology "Qori ismaris" ("One who rubs himself with a stick") was a man who could transform himself into a "Hyena-man" by rubbing himself with a magic stick at nightfall and by repeating this process could return to his human state before dawn. Southern Africa. ǀKaggen is Mantis, a demi-urge and folk hero of the ǀXam people of southern Africa. He is a trickster god who can shape shift, usually taking the form of a praying mantis but also a bull eland, a louse, a snake, and a caterpillar. Trinidad and Tobago. The Ligahoo or loup-garou is the shapeshifter of Trinidad and Tobago's folklore. This unique ability is believed to be handed down in some old creole families, and is usually associated with witch-doctors and practitioners of African magic. Mapuche (Argentina and Chile). The name of the Nahuel Huapi Lake in Argentina derives from the toponym of its major island in Mapudungun (Mapuche language): "Island of the Jaguar (or Puma)", from "nahuel", "puma (or jaguar)", and "huapí", "island". There is, however, more to the word "Nahuel" - it can also signify "a man who by sorcery has been transformed into a puma" (or jaguar). Slavic Mythology. In Slavic Mythology, one of the main gods Veles was a shapeshifting god of animals, magic and the underworld. He was often represented as a bear, wolf, snake or owl. He also became a dragon while fighting Perun, the Slavic storm god. Themes. Shapeshifting may be used as a plot device, such as when Puss in Boots in the fairy tales tricks the ogre into becoming a mouse to be eaten. Shapeshifting may also include symbolic significance, like the Beast's transformation in "Beauty and the Beast" indicates Belle's ability to accept him despite his appearance. When a form is taken on involuntarily, the thematic effect can be one of confinement and restraint; the person is "bound" to the new form. In extreme cases, such as petrifaction, the character is entirely disabled. On the other hand, voluntary shapeshifting can be a means of escape and liberation. Even when the form is not undertaken to resemble a literal escape, the abilities specific to the form allow the character to act in a manner that was previously impossible. Examples of this are in fairy tales. A prince who is forced into a bear's shape (as in "East of the Sun and West of the Moon") is a prisoner, but a princess who takes on a bear's shape voluntarily to flee a situation (as in "The She-Bear") escapes with her new shape. In the Earthsea books, Ursula K. Le Guin depicts an animal form as slowly transforming the wizard's mind, so that the dolphin, bear or other creature forgets it was human, making it impossible to change back. This makes an example for a voluntary shapeshifting becoming an imprisoning metamorphosis. Beyond this, the uses of shapeshifting, transformation, and metamorphosis in fiction are as protean as the forms the characters take on. Some are rare, such as Italo Calvino's "The Canary Prince" is a Rapunzel variant in which shapeshifting is used to gain access to the tower. Punitive changes. In many cases, imposed forms are punitive in nature. This may be a just punishment, the nature of the transformation matching the crime for which it occurs; in other cases, the form is unjustly imposed by an angry and powerful person. In fairy tales, such transformations are usually temporary, but they commonly appear as the resolution of myths (as in many of the Metamorphoses) or produce origin myths. Transformation chase. In many fairy tales and ballads, as in Child Ballad #44, "The Twa Magicians" or "Farmer Weathersky", a magical chase occurs where the pursued endlessly takes on forms in an effort to shake off the pursuer, and the pursuer answers with shapeshifting, as, a dove is answered with a hawk, and a hare with a greyhound. The pursued may finally succeed in escape or the pursuer in capturing. The Grimm Brothers fairy tale "Foundling-Bird" contains this as the bulk of the plot. In the Italian Campania Fables collection of "Pentamerone" by Gianbattista Basile, tells of a Neapolitan princess who, to escape from her father who had imprisoned her, becomes a huge she-bear. The magic happens due to a potion given to her by an old witch. The girl, once gone, can regain her human aspect. In other variants, the pursued may transform various objects into obstacles, as in the fairy tale "The Master Maid", where the Master Maid transforms a wooden comb into a forest, a lump of salt into a mountain, and a flask of water into a sea. In these tales, the pursued normally escapes after overcoming three obstacles. This obstacle chase is literally found worldwide, in many variants in every region. In fairy tales of the Aarne–Thompson type 313A, The Girl Helps the Hero Flee, such a chase is an integral part of the tale. It can be either a transformation chase (as in "The Grateful Prince", "King Kojata", "Foundling-Bird", "Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter", or "The Two Kings' Children") or an obstacle chase (as in "The Battle of the Birds", "The White Dove", or "The Master Maid"). In a similar effect, a captive may shapeshift in order to break a hold on him. Proteus and Nereus's shapeshifting was to prevent heroes such as Menelaus and Heracles from forcing information from them. Tam Lin, once seized by Janet, was transformed by the faeries to keep Janet from taking him, but as he had advised her, she did not let go, and so freed him. The motif of capturing a person by holding him through many transformations is found in folktales throughout Europe, and Patricia A. McKillip references it in her "Riddle-Master trilogy": a shapeshifting Earthmaster finally wins its freedom by startling the man holding it. Powers. One motif is a shape change in order to obtain abilities in the new form. Berserkers were held to change into wolves and bears in order to fight more effectively. In many cultures, evil magicians could transform into animal shapes and thus skulk about. In many fairy tales, the hero's talking animal helper proves to be a shapeshifted human being, able to help him in its animal form. In one variation, featured in "The Three Enchanted Princes" and "The Death of Koschei the Deathless", the hero's three sisters have been married to animals. These prove to be shapeshifted men, who aid their brother-in-law in a variant of tale types. In an early Mayan text, the Shapeshifter, or Mestaclocan, has the ability to change his appearance and to manipulate the minds of animals. In one tale, the Mestaclocan finds a dying eagle. Changing into the form of an eagle, he convinces the dying bird that it is, in fact, not dying. As the story goes they both soar into the heavens, and lived together for eternity. Bildungsroman. "Beauty and the Beast" has been interpreted as a young woman's coming-of-age, in which she changes from being repulsed by sexual activity and regarding a husband therefore bestial, to a mature woman who can marry. Needed items. Some shapeshifters are able to change form only if they have some item, usually an article of clothing. In "Bisclavret" by Marie de France, a werewolf cannot regain human form without his clothing, but in wolf form does no harm to anyone. The most common use of this motif, however, is in tales where a man steals the article and forces the shapeshifter, trapped in human form, to become his bride. This lasts until she discovers where he has hidden the article, and she can flee. Selkies feature in these tales. Others include swan maidens and the Japanese "tennin". Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, in "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils", included a version of the story with the typical elements (fisherman sees mermaids dancing on an island and steals the sealskin of one of them, preventing her from becoming a seal again so that he could marry her) and linked it to the founding of the city of Stockholm Inner conflict. The power to externally transform can symbolize an internal savagery; a central theme in many strands of werewolf mythology, and the inversion of the "liberation" theme, as in Dr Jekyll's transformation into Mr. Hyde. Usurpation. Some transformations are performed to remove the victim from his place, so that the transformer can usurp it. Bisclaveret's wife steals his clothing and traps him in wolf form because she has a lover. A witch, in "The Wonderful Birch", changed a mother into a sheep to take her place, and had the mother slaughtered; when her stepdaughter married the king, the witch transformed her into a reindeer so as to put her daughter in the queen's place. In the Korean "Transformation of the Kumiho", a kumiho, a fox with magical powers, transformed itself into an image of the bride, only being detected when her clothing is removed. In "Brother and Sister", when two children flee from their cruel stepmother, she enchants the streams along the way to transform them. While the brother refrains from the first two, which threaten to turn them into tigers and wolves, he is too thirsty at the third, which turns him into a deer. "The Six Swans" are transformed into swans by their stepmother, as are the Children of Lir in Irish mythology. Ill-advised wishes. Many fairy-tale characters have expressed ill-advised wishes to have any child at all, even one that has another form, and had such children born to them. At the end of the fairy tale, normally after marriage, such children metamorphose into human form. "Hans My Hedgehog" was born when his father wished for a child, even a hedgehog. Even stranger forms are possible: Giambattista Basile included in his "Pentamerone" the tale of a girl born as a sprig of myrtle, and Italo Calvino, in his "Italian Folktales", a girl born as an apple. Sometimes, the parent who wishes for a child is told how to gain one, but does not obey the directions perfectly, resulting in the transformed birth. In "Prince Lindworm", the woman eats two onions, but does not peel one, resulting in her first child being a lindworm. In "Tatterhood", a woman magically produces two flowers, but disobeys the directions to eat only the beautiful one, resulting her having a beautiful and sweet daughter, but only after a disgusting and hideous one. Less commonly, ill-advised wishes can transform a person after birth. "The Seven Ravens" are transformed when their father thinks his sons are playing instead of fetching water to christen their newborn and sickly sister, and curses them. In "Puddocky", when three princes start to quarrel over the beautiful heroine, a witch curses her because of the noise. Monstrous bride/bridegroom. Such wished-for children may become monstrous brides or bridegrooms. These tales have often been interpreted as symbolically representing arranged marriages; the bride's revulsion to marrying a stranger being symbolized by his bestial form. The heroine must fall in love with the transformed groom. The hero or heroine must marry, as promised, and the monstrous form is removed by the wedding. Sir Gawain thus transformed the Loathly lady; although he was told that this was half-way, she could at his choice be beautiful by day and hideous by night, or vice versa, he told her that he would choose what she preferred, which broke the spell entirely. In "Tatterhood", Tatterhood is transformed by her asking her bridegroom why he didn't ask her why she rode a goat, why she carried a spoon, and why she was so ugly, and when he asked her, denying it and therefore transforming her goat into a horse, her spoon into a fan, and herself into a beauty. Puddocky is transformed when her prince, after she had helped him with two other tasks, tells him that his father has sent him for a bride. A similar effect is found in Child ballad 34, "Kemp Owyne", where the hero can transform a dragon back into a maiden by kissing her three times. Sometimes the bridegroom removes his animal skin for the wedding night, whereupon it can be burned. "Hans My Hedgehog", "The Donkey" and "The Pig King" fall under this grouping. At an extreme, in "Prince Lindworm", the bride who avoids being eaten by the lindworm bridegroom arrives at her wedding wearing every gown she owns, and she tells the bridegroom she will remove one of hers if he removes one of his; only when her last gown comes off has he removed his last skin, and become a white shape that she can form into a man. In some tales, the hero or heroine must obey a prohibition; the bride must spend a period of time not seeing the transformed groom in human shape (as in "East of the Sun and West of the Moon"), or the bridegroom must not burn the animals' skins. In "The Brown Bear of Norway", "The Golden Crab", "The Enchanted Snake" and some variants of "The Frog Princess", burning the skin is a catastrophe, putting the transformed bride or bridegroom in danger. In these tales, the prohibition is broken, invariably, resulting in a separation and a search by one spouse for the other. Death. Ghosts sometimes appear in animal form. In "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men", the heroine's murdered husband appears to the king as a white dove, lamenting her fate over his own grave. In "The White and the Black Bride" and "The Three Little Men in the Wood", the murdered – drowned – true bride reappears as a white duck. In "The Rose Tree" and "The Juniper Tree", the murdered children become birds who avenge their own deaths. There are African folk tales of murder victims avenging themselves in the form of crocodiles that can shapeshift into human form. In some fairy tales, the character can reveal himself in every new form, and so a usurper repeatedly kills the victim in every new form, as in "Beauty and Pock Face", "A String of Pearls Twined with Golden Flowers", and "The Boys with the Golden Stars". This eventually leads to a form in which the character (or characters) can reveal the truth to someone able to stop the villain. Similarly, the transformation back may be acts that would be fatal. In "The Wounded Lion", the prescription for turning the lion back into a prince was to kill him, chop him to pieces, burn the pieces, and throw the ash into water. Less drastic but no less apparently fatal, the fox in "The Golden Bird", the foals in "The Seven Foals", and the cats in "Lord Peter" and "The White Cat" tell the heroes of those stories to cut off their heads; this restores them to human shape. In the Greek tale of Scylla, Scylla's father Nisus turns into an eagle after death and drowns her daughter for betraying her father.