List of science fiction themes

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

Overarching themes

• First contact with aliens
• Artificial intelligence
• Machine rule/Cybernetic revolt/AI takeover
• Extraterrestrials in fiction
• End of humanity: Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
• The future
• Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction: Apocalypses or worldwide disasters and new societies that develop after the event
• History
• Alternate history
• Scientific prediction of the future (e.g. psychohistory)
• Human fears: List of science fiction horror films
• Language
• Alien languages (e.g. Klingon, Huttese)
• The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis (e.g. Babel 17, The Languages of Pao)
• Universal translators (e.g. Babel fish)
• Military/conflicts
• Interstellar war
• Weapons in science fiction
• Parallel worlds or multiverse
• Philosophies and philosophical ideas
• Sex and sexuality
• LGBT themes
• Gender
• Reproduction and pregnancy
• Simulated reality and consciousness
• Social science fiction
• Technological singularity
• Themes of fantasy fiction

Beings and entities

• Artificial intelligences
• Androids and Gynoid
• Artificial life
• Biological robot
• Cyborgs
• Robots and humanoid robots
• Replicants
• Simulated consciousness
• Stock characters:
• The Absent-minded professor
• The Golem
• The Mad Scientist
• Redshirt
• Space Pirate
• Super Soldier
• Clones
• Dinosaurs
• Extraterrestrial life
• Hypothetical types of biochemistry
• Alien invasion
• Astrobiology
• God-like aliens
• Principles of non-interference (e.g. Prime Directive)
• Message from space
• Living planets (both sentient and non-sentient)
• Hive minds
• Infomorphs—memories, characters, and consciences of persons being uploaded to a computer or storage media
• Mutants
• Shapeshifters
• Superhumans
• Superorganisms
• Symbionts
• UFOs
• Uplifting—using technology to "raise" non-human animals to human evolutionary levels
• Ancient astronauts
• Progressorship

Body and mind alterations

• Biohacking/Amateur biotechnicians
• Artificial organs
• Additional or improved senses
• X-ray vision
• Cloning
• Exocortex
• Genetic engineering
• Super race
• Intelligence amplification
• Invisibility
• Life extension, Biological immortality, Universal immortalism and immortality
• Cryonics
• Digital immortality
• Mind uploading
• Organ transplantation
• Organlegging
• Prosthetics
• Memory
• Memory erasure/editing
• Memory sharing
• Group mind
• Mind control
• Mind swap
• Mind uploading
• Neural implants to directly interface with machinery
• Psi powers and psychic phenomena
• Clairvoyance
• Precognition
• Pyrokinesis
• Retrocognition
• Telepathy
• Telekinesis
• Parasitism
• Psychedelia
• Resizing (size-changing, miniaturization, magnification, shrinking, and enlargement)
• Shapeshifting
• Superhuman strength
• Teleportation
• Transhumanism and Posthumanism

Habitats

• Artificial worlds
• Alien Zoo—a zoo where humans are kept as exhibits
• Arcologies—enormous habitats (hyperstructures) of extremely high human population density
• Cyberspace—the new, virtual territory of societal interaction
• Domed city
• Floating city
• Future of the Earth
• Climate change—science fiction dealing with effects of anthropogenic climate change and global warming at the end of the Holocene era
• Megacity
• Pastoral science fiction—science fiction set in rural, bucolic, or agrarian worlds, either on Earth or on Earth-like planets, in which advanced technologies are downplayed.
• Seasteading and ocean colonization
• Pirate utopia
• Reality Television
• Space colonization
• Colonization of the Moon
• Ecumenopolis
• Pantropy
• Other planets
• Desert planet
• Mars
• Terraformed planets
• Space stations and habitats
• Underground city

Political themes

• Adhocracy
• Anarcho-capitalism
• Capitalism
• Evil corporation
• Megacorporation
• Neo-feudalism
• Cognitive liberty
• Dystopias and utopias
• Environmental pollution
• Overpopulation
• Technological utopianism
• Totalitarianism
• Galactic empires
• Government by algorithm
• Legal personality
• Libertarianism
• Mass surveillance
• Mind reading and mind control
• National security state
• Post-scarcity economy
• Socialism
• Nanosocialism
• Technoethics
• Bioethics
• Technophobia
• Techno-progressivism
• Terrorism
• Bio-terrorism
• Eco-terrorism
• Totalitarianism vs. Libertarianism

Technologies

• Artificial gravity
• Artificial intelligence
• Asteroid mining
• Astronomical engineering
• Brain–computer interface
• Cloaking device
• Emerging technologies
• Robots
• Self-replicating machines
• Simulated reality
• Star lifting and stellar engineering
• Stasis device
• Mecha
• Megascale engineering and planetary engineering
• Megastructures
• Dyson sphere
• Molecular manufacturing and Nanotechnology
• Molecular assembler
• Alien technology
• Virtual reality, mixed reality, augmented reality
• Infosphere
• Metaverse
• Weapons in science fiction

Travel

• Accidental travel
• Colonization of other planets, moons, asteroids, etc.
• Embryo space colonization
• Generation ship
• Interstellar ark
• Uploaded astronaut
• Terraforming
• Space exploration
• Interstellar travel/Starships
• Faster-than-light travel and communications
• Hyperspace
• Slipstream
• Warp drives
• Wormholes
• Ansibles
• Close to light speed
• Bussard ramjets
• Ursula K. Le Guin's NAFAL ships, and the Twin paradox
• Much slower than light
• Generation ship
• Sleeper ship
• Space stations
• Teleportation
• Teletransporter
• Time travel
• Alternate history: time travel can be used as a plot device to explore parallel universes. While alternate history has its own category (see above), it often occurs in time travel stories as well.
• Alternate future
• Time loop
• Travel to the Earth's center
• Hollow Earth

See also

• Biology in fiction
• Fantasy tropes
• Outline of science fiction
• Protoscience

References