INTRODUCTION WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION? Stories which take place in the future or in which the contemporary setting1 is upset2 by an imaginary device, such as a new invention or the introduction of an alien being, are the main themes of a literary genre3 called Science Fiction. With the appearance of the novel in the early 18th century, the possible worlds of literature became more or less the same as those of the real world of the reader, as opposed to the fantastic and unrealistic style of traditional romance. In a way, science fiction makes use of the fantastic trend of literature. It creates a possible world based on logical principles which do not apply to our world. Sometimes even physical or biological laws may be different, as in the case of alien beings, whose physical aspect and movement can be very different from those of humans. Very often, science fiction refers to scientific laws which are imagined rather than real, but in any case they reflect the role of science in modern culture. The big difference between fantasy and science fiction is that while fantasy is usually set in a mythical past, science fiction is based on scientific and technological principles and takes place in a hypothetical future. HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION Although elements of science fiction appear in many stories of imaginary voyages, it was not until the 19th century that the advancement of science began to inspire a lot of work in this style. Mary Shelley s Frankenstein (1818) is a famous early example and science-fiction themes were also present in the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. In France, Jules Verne s adventure stories were great commercial successes and showed that an author could become very popular using this unusual material. In Britain, science fiction started towards the end of the century, when 1. setting: location. 2. upset: disturbed. 3. genre: particular style used in writing. 4