Science Fiction

Jules Verne

The first "Hard Science" fiction writer. Wrote high tech and futuristic stories. Wrote about inventions he thought were going to exist, he predicted subs, airplanes, bomber planes, atomic energy, space ships and blimps.

Science Fiction

The idea of the impact of science or science related ideas on our sense of the future.

Can't Kill Hitler

Theory that you can travel back but you can't change anything.

Three Laws of Robotics

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Zeroth Law

A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

Android

A robot usually in the shape or form of a human being.

The Stars My Destination

Alfred Bester, About a man who was stuck in a tool storage in space and a ship passes by him and doesn't pick him up. The story is based around him trying to get revenge and the idea of Jaunting. At the end of the book he finds out he can travel at any distance and time travel.

Robot

An A.I that is generally mobile and has independent action.

Cyborg

Any combination of human and robotic elements.

"The Light of Other Days"

Bob Shaw, Narrator is traveling Scotland with his wife and comes across a place that sells panes of slow glass. They meet Mr. Hagan and see his wife and child in the windows. It starts raining so the narrator's wife goes inside and realizes the people aren't there it is slow glass playing a trick on them.

Kin

Bruce McCallister, The story is about a small boy, ironically named Kim, in a futuristic United States, who the readers find out is talking to an Alien and discussing Kim's desire to have a man killed. It then proceeds to describe the Alien as a race known as the "Antalou" who hail from another planet, likewise noting that interplanetary travel is possible in this story/future. The Antalou was described as an awful creature, with a long neck, and talons, along with a tremendous skull and immense eyes.

Alien

Creatures from other worlds with reason and consciousness, thought and intelligence.

Arrival

Eric Heisseser, Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.

H.G Wells

Father of Modern Science fiction, he created time travel stories, alien invasions, lunar landings and invisibility. Wrote "The Time Machine" "The Invisible Man" "War of the Worlds" and "The First Men in the Moon"

The Last Man

First Apocalypse story, Mary Shelley.

Isaac Asimov

First to use the word "robotics". Wrote the three laws of robotics.

For a Breath I Tarry

For ten thousand years Frost sat at the North Pole of the Earth, aware of every snowflake that fell. He monitored and directed the activities of thousands of reconstruction and maintenance machines. He knew half the Earth, as gear knows gear, as electricity knows its conductor, as a vacuum knows its limits. At the South Pole, the Beta-Machine did the same for the southern hemisphere.

Mary Shelley

Frankenstein, First S.F. writer.

The Road Not Taken

Harry Turtledove, It is about a group of aliens that look like bears. They don't have much technology at all, but they can travel at the speed of light. They come to attack the earth and when they land and attacked, they were all killed but a few because they had flint lock guns. They only focused on one part of technology and it was traveling the speed of light.

Human Intelligence

Jeff Abbott, Jeff's short story "Human Intelligence" centers on a CIA operative who could play a key role in stopping a war between humanity and robots.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Jules Verne, man travels to the center of the earth.

Face Value

Karen Joy Fowler. A scientist an his wife are assigned to study mysterious creatures that human hands and can fly. At the end of the story, the wife's face is gone.

Man in the High Castle

Man in the High Castle is about if the Germans would have won WWII. It revolves around tapes that were found that show the U.S.A. winning the war. The Germans have control of the east coast over to the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains are free but from the west side of the Rocky Mountains over to the West coast is controlled by the Japanese.

Mars is Heaven

Ray Bradbury, It is 1960 and the third exploratory spaceship from Earth is landing on Mars. The crew are shocked to discover a Rockwellian small town, eerily similar to those they left on Earth. Crew members soon discover old friends and deceased relatives in the town. Those who had been ordered to stay behind and guard the rocket abandon their posts in order to join the reunions and festivities. The ship's doctor, remains skeptical, and realizes in the middle of the night that the entire situation may have been contrived by telepathic aliens to lower the Earthmen's guards. Before he can warn the others or reestablish a guard on the spaceship, he is proved right as he and the entire staff of the ship are killed by those who they think are their family members.

A Sound of Thunder

Ray Bradbury. A man signs up to time travel to the age of the dinosaurs to kill one. They have a rule to not mess anything up. The character ends up stepping on a butterfly in the world and when he comes back, they are reading a different language. Where the "butterfly effect" came from.

There Will Come Soft Rains

Ray Bradbury. This short story is about an artificial intelligence house after a nuclear bomb goes off. The house still continues to work after the people die and the story follows that house and what it goes through. This story is important because it is about A.I.

Blade Runner

Ridley Scott, Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by the police Boss (M. Emmet Walsh) to continue his old job as Replicant Hunter. His assignment: eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Before starting the job, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and he meets Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant girl he falls in love with.

Edge of Tomorrow

Tom Cruise. fights off aliens, every time he dies he wakes back up at the base camp and it all happens the exact same way. Ends up killing the alien "base" and saves the world.

Butterfly Effect

You can go back in time and change your time. Theory of you could step on a butterfly in one world and change yours.

Multiverse Theory

You can travel back in time but every time you create a new universe.