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Portal:Speculative fiction

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Speculative fiction is an umbrella phrase encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.

It has been around since humans began to speak. The earliest forms of speculative fiction were likely mythological tales told around the campfire. Speculative fiction deals with the "What if?" scenarios imagined by dreamers and thinkers worldwide. Journeys to other worlds through the vast reaches of distant space; magical quests to free worlds enslaved by terrible beings; malevolent supernatural powers seeking to increase their spheres of influence across multiple dimensions and times; all of these fall into the realm of speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction as a category ranges from ancient works to cutting edge, paradigm-changing, and neotraditional works of the 21st century. It can be recognized in works whose authors' intentions or the social contexts of the versions of stories they portrayed is now known. For example, Ancient Greek dramatists such as Euripides, whose play Medea (play) seemed to have offended Athenian audiences when he fictionally speculated that shamaness Medea killed her own children instead of their being killed by other Corinthians after her departure. The play Hippolytus, narratively introduced by Aphrodite, is suspected to have displeased contemporary audiences of the day because it portrayed Phaedra as too lusty.

In historiography, what is now called speculative fiction has previously been termed "historical invention", "historical fiction," and other similar names. It is extensively noted in the literary criticism of the works of William Shakespeare when he co-locates Athenian Duke Theseus and Amazonian Queen Hippolyta, English fairy Puck, and Roman god Cupid all together in the fairyland of its Merovingian Germanic sovereign Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In mythography it has been termed "mythopoesis" or mythopoeia, "fictional speculation", the creative design and generation of lore, regarding such works as J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Such supernatural, alternate history, and sexuality themes continue in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre.

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Selected profile

Farrell in 2025

Colin James Farrell (/ˈfærəl/; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various accolades, including three Golden Globe Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and one Volpi Cup in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Farrell began acting in the BBC drama series Ballykissangel (1998) and made his (first credited) film debut in the drama The War Zone (1999). His first lead film role was in the war drama Tigerland (2000), and he made his breakthrough in Steven Spielberg's science fiction film Minority Report (2002). He took on high-profile roles such as Bullseye in Daredevil (2003) and as Alexander the Great in Alexander (2004), with further starring roles in Phone Booth (2002), The Recruit (2003), S.W.A.T. (2003), and Miami Vice (2006). (Full article...)

Selected work

Single-player cabinet

Computer Space is a 1971 space combat arcade video game. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in partnership as Syzygy Engineering, it was the first arcade video game as well as the first commercially available video game. Computer Space is a derivative of the 1962 computer game Spacewar!, which is possibly the first video game to spread to multiple computer installations. It features a rocket controlled by the player engaged in a missile battle with a pair of hardware-controlled flying saucers set against a starfield background. The goal is to score more hits than the enemy spaceships within a set time period, which awards a free round of gameplay. The game is enclosed in a custom fiberglass cabinet, which Bushnell designed to look futuristic.

Bushnell and Dabney designed the game in 1970–71 to be a coin-operated version of Spacewar!. After the pair were unable to find a way to economically run the game on a minicomputer such as the Data General Nova, they hit upon the idea of instead replacing the central computer with custom-designed hardware created to run just that game. While they were working on an early proof of concept, Bushnell found a manufacturer for the game in Nutting Associates. Working in partnership with Nutting, the pair completed the game and ran their first location test in August 1971, a few months prior to the display of a similar prototype called Galaxy Game, also based on Spacewar!. It was first shown to industry press and distributors at the annual Music Operators of America (MOA) Expo in October. With encouraging initial interest, though mixed responses from distributors, Nutting ordered an initial production run of 1,500 units, anticipating a hit game. (Full article...)

Selected quote


Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), The Sands of Mars (1951).
More quotes from Wikiquote: science fiction, fantasy, alternate history

Selected picture

Thor and Útgarða-Loki
Thor and Útgarða-Loki
Credit: Artist: Louis Huard; Restoration: Adam Cuerden

A 1900 illustration of the Norse god Thor with the giant Útgarða-Loki. Giving his name as "Skrymir", the giant tricked Thor and his companions in several ways, such as challenging Thor's servant Þjálfi to a race against Thought, challenging Loki in an eating contest with Wildfire, and challenging Thor to a drinking contest where the drinking horn was connected to the ocean. In the end, Útgarða-Loki revealed his trickery and said that he had been truly afraid at their performance and would never again risk coming near the thunder god. Thor's dealings with giants make up most of the myths surrounding him. (POTD)

Did you know...

Annette Nelson as 'The Mountain Sylph'

Upcoming conventions

July:

August:

Dates can usually be found on the article page.


See also these convention lists: anime, comic book, furry, gaming, multigenre, and science fiction.

Selected article

Ezri Dax (/ˈɛzri ˈdæks/) is a fictional character who appears in the seventh and final season of the American science fiction TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Portrayed by Nicole de Boer, she is a counselor aboard the Bajoran space station Deep Space Nine. The character is a member of the Trill species, and is formed of both a host and a symbiont—referred to as Dax. Ezri was introduced to the series following the death of the previous Dax host, Jadzia (Terry Farrell) at the end of season six. The producers decided that the new symbiont bearer would be female in order to ensure that Nana Visitor (as Kira Nerys) was not the only female member of the main cast. There were initial difficulties in casting, and the character changed from one intended to be "spooky" to one struggling to deal with all her previous personalities, having taken on the Dax symbiont without the usual preparation. De Boer was not considered for the part until co-producer Hans Beimler suggested that she submit an audition tape, which resulted in her meeting the producers in Los Angeles and subsequently gaining the role. The character made her appearance in the first episode of the seventh season, "Image in the Sand". The character continued to appear throughout the final season of the series, with her final appearance in the series finale, "What You Leave Behind". Her character stepped into the void left by Jadzia amongst the crew, but found that she had to redevelop those previous relationships and learn to get along with Jadzia's widower, Worf (Michael Dorn). During the course of the season, Ezri becomes less nervous about her role with the crew. She learns from the Dax symbiont and becomes involved romantically with Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig). (Full article...)

On this day...

July 28:

Film releases

Television series

Possible futures

Possible events in the future as suggested by science fiction:

  • A race of moon dwarves searches for a route back to Earth through spiritual enlightenment during the 27th Century.
  • The planet Rubi-Ka is discovered in 28702 by the Omni-Tek Corporation.

Things you can do...

Here are ideas for how you can help improve the coverage of speculative fiction topics on Wikipedia:

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Note: If no articles are shown below, please work on those found in the Archive. This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.

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Speculative fiction topics

Creators: Artists (list· Authors (by nationality· Editors
Media: Animation · Anime and manga · Comics · Films (list· Games (board · role-playing · video· Literature (magazines (pulp· novels · poetry · stories· Opera · Radio · Television (films · list · sitcoms· Theatre
Subgenres: Alternate history · Apocalyptic · Biopunk · Comedy · Cyberpunk (derivatives· Dying Earth · Gothic · Hard · Human society · Military · Mundane · Planetary romance · Recursive · Social · Soft · Space opera · Spy-fi · Steampunk · Sword and planet · Tech-noir · Western (Space)
History: Films · Golden Age · New Wave · Scientific romance
Related genres: Fantasy (Science fantasy· Mystery · Horror · Slipstream · Speculative (Weird) · Superhero
Themes: Artificial intelligence · Extraterrestrials (First contact· Floating city · Hyperspace · Lost World · Planets · Politics (Libertarian · Utopia/Dystopia · World government) · Religion (Christian · ideas) · Resizing · Sex (Feminist · gender · homosexuality · reproduction· Simulated realities/Virtual worlds · Slipstream · Space warfare (weapons· Stock characters · Superpowers · Timeline (Alternate future · Future history · Parallel universes · Time travel)
Subculture: Fandom: By nationality · Conventions (list· OrganizationsStudies: Awards · Definitions · Journals · New Wave
By country: Australia · Bangladesh · Canada · China · Croatia · Czech Republic · France · Japan · Norway · Poland · Romania · Russia/Soviet Union · Serbia · Spain

Horror

Creators: Artists · Authors
Media: Anime and manga · Comics (US· Films (list· Games · Giallo · Grand Guignol · Magazines · Novels · Television
Subgenres: Body · Comedy (list · zombie comedy· Dark fantasy · Dark romanticism · Ero guro · Erotic · Ghost · Gothic · J-Horror · K-Horror · Lovecraftian · Monsters (Frankenstein · vampire · werewolf· Occult detective · Psychological · Religious (film) · Sci-fi (film) · Slasher (film) · Splatter/Gore (film) · Supernatural · Survival · Weird menace · Weird West · Zombie apocalypse
Related genres: Crime · Mystery · Speculative · Thriller
Others: Awards · Conventions · LGBT · Writers

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Science fiction

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