List of science fiction themes

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
• Human fears: List of science fiction horror films
• Language
• *Alien languages
• *The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis
• *Universal translators
• Military/conflicts
• *Interstellar war
• *Weapons in science fiction
• Parallel worlds or universes
• Philosophies and philosophical ideas
• Political ideas
• Religious ideas
• Sex and sexuality
• *LGBT themes
• *Gender
• *Reproduction and pregnancy
• Simulated reality and consciousness
• Social science fiction
• Technological singularity
• Themes of fantasy fiction

  Beings

• Artificial intelligences
• *Androids and Gynoid
• *Artificial life
• *Biological robot
• *Cyborgs
• *Robots and humanoid robots
• *Replicants
• *Simulated consciousness
• Characters
• *The Absent-minded professor
• *The Golem
• *The Mad Scientist
• *Redshirt
• *Space Nazi
• *Space Pirate
• *Super Soldier
• *The Wedge
• Clones
• Dinosaurs
• Extraterrestrial life
• *Hypothetical types of biochemistry
• *Alien invasion
• *Astrobiology
• *God-like aliens
• **Principles of non-interference
• **Message from space
• Living planets
• 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
• *Progressor

  Body and mind alterations

• Biohacking/Amateur biotechnicians
• Artificial organs
• Additional or improved senses
• 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
• *Retrocognition
• *Telepathy
• *Telekinesis
• Parasitism
• Psychedelia
• Resizing
• Shapeshifting
• Teleportation
• Transhumanism and Posthumanism
• X-ray vision

  Habitats

• Artificial worlds
• Alien Zoo—a zoo where humans are kept as exhibits
• Arcologies—enormous habitats 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
• Seasteading and ocean colonization
• *Pirate utopia
• Reality Television
• Space colonization
• *Colonization of the Moon
• *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
• 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
• Total conversion as energy source
• 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, it often occurs in time travel stories as well.
• *Alternate future
• *Time loop
• Travel to the Earth's center
• *Hollow Earth