#utopian sci-fi

[sharkface]

I have never enjoyed utopian fiction

[englishmagic]

Imagine a world where circumpolar relations result in a pan arctic anarchist free state informed by the values of interacting indigenous groups

[yamoksaucebodyshots]

I too spend about a quarter of the day on all fours.

[swimsauce]

Ugh gonna dump my thoughts here for a moment about robots.

I just watched Mars Express, I liked it overall. It felt like thematically it took alot of queues from Ghost in the Shell and evolved and updated alot of its ideas, as well as Blade Runner 2049 (with the stories wide variety of robot types and other world building tidbits). Those stories all have very nuanced presentations of robots, as the synthetic reproduction of life is shown to be just as sentient as human life throughout the story (regardless if it's ai or a robot or synthetic or some other combo of organic/inorganic parts), but the main conflict/narrarive actively shows how the old human order is bent of subjecting them as well as the already existing human population. And the stories aren't meant to be uplifting, they are most often very, very sad, and operate more as cautionary tales. With Blade Runner 2049 and Mars Express basically showing that old human ways (like capitalism, greed, and the inability to recognize each other's shared humanity) is the downfall of not only humans, but provides continual suffering to those on the outskirts of human civilization (human or robot). That's such a neat theme, it's one of my favorite explorations of human sentience, but I've kinda hit a bit of a roadblock. 1.) I'm getting a bit tired of it always ending so sad. Not that I cant handle sad or bittersweet endings. However I just feel like the nihilistic approach is the default currently. All these pieces bring up these issues and instead of even offering glimpses of a solution to the problems it proposes, the narrative does the equivalent of just laying down and dying, just accepting the fate of humanity and our descendants to be doomed by our current short comings. Its a fine message for your story, its just getting overplayed to the point of frustration. And 2.) I'm not agaisnt fictional cop stories but can any of these cyberpunk/future dystopia with ai/robots/synthetic humans or whatever please have a perspective that isn't cop drama. Like obviously law enforcement is gonna come into play if you wanna explore these fictional societies' rules and laws and where their morals fail or succeed,etc etc, but like. Can we see the robots/ai/synth perspective more? I'm sick of it being some meat head human who's like on stage 1 of scifi ideas still questioning robot sentience when the robots/cool humans are already addressing much more pressing issues like what it means to be alive or some shit. Like I'm sick of the audience POV protag being so basic.

Tldr I love these stories I brought up a lot, and the world's have so much potential for moral dilemmas and stories but it's always the same cop detective stuff that never fully adresses the common person's experience in that reality, which is the most interesting stuff in those stories, as well as always defaulting to the most nihilistic outlook.

[prokopetz]

Gritty sci-fi webcomic where partway through the third major arc the protagonists get trapped in some sort of utopian false reality by a mysterious godlike being, except they never escape and the comic just changes genres to quirky coffee-shop slice of life until it's unceremoniously cancelled six years later.

[hvacinth]

books i've read in 2024: Titan by Mado Nozaki

You don’t have to keep working if you don’t want to… You have the right to choose how you live your life.

[thumbsart]

In a world without copyright law, za/um's new owners would still be able to do exactly what they did, and are doing, in the exact same way. It would change literally nothing. What an absurd misunderstanding of both copyright law and what the fuck happened to za/um.

re the za/um shit while i understand the rhetorical value of calling haavel and kompus 'thieves' or saying that the DE creators have been 'cheated' out of their creation, i think it's really important to remember that this is copyright law and IP protection working as designed. it is not an abuse of the framework of intellectual property, it is the de facto standard use case of it. like it's very likely all this will go to court and it'll turn out that all of this is entirely legal because allowing corporate entities to forcefully enclose creative works--often with the creators on the other side of the fence--is not a perversion of copyright law, but its main purpose!

[droppedculture]

Imagine, if you will, living in a place where you can live the best life. No job. No bills. All of the alcohol, sex and drugs that you can might want. One caveat.... Your life is terminated on a trippy amusement ride at the age of thirty. Occasionally, there's a Runner, someone who selfishly doesn't want to release their life energy. That's where the Sandmen come in; they hunt down the runners. But what happens when the Sandman becomes the Runner? Come find out with Brock and Dan, as they take you on a whimsical yet in depth auditory journey through this Special Academy Award winning film! Fish, plankton, sea greens and protein from the sea! Do things on whatever social media or podcast/video vendor in the comments to elicit some manner of response! If you like websites and the like, here ya go: www.droppedculture.com ! Email your thing, Boom! droppedculturepodcast@gmail.com Carrier birds may be sent directly to one of the 8 fountains in Manitou Springs; we'll find them! Thanks for listening!

[domonicriley]

Do you believe in utopia? Could one ever be created that included the whole world?

[johannestevans]

it's honestly wild talking to like. random liberals about sci fi sometimes because they just don't... think about the ramifications of their random beliefs and what the end points of their ideologies are

"gene roddenberry's vision was that by the time of star trek, earth had moved on from the need for religion!"

and it's like. i get it. you forget that every religion exists except american christianity. or you think that all religion basically is american christianity.

but when you say to me, "hey, in my utopian future, jews and muslims and their cultures have simply been eradicated <3"

that. doesn't strike me as very utopian. it sounds very, funnily enough, christofascist

"it's the 24th century and these lads are literally doing bits from hamlet, but don't worry, jews have ceased to exist"

like there's constant quotes from shakespeare or dickens or conan doyle or countless other authors from the literary canon, and that literary canon is predominantly made up of white male christian authors, most of whom are british or american

and all of the human culture in star trek is predominantly defined by white american christian mores and cultural ideals, slightly modernised, but not by that much

it's a desire to treat an ultra modern culture as inherently homogenous because for a certain kind of xenophobic liberal, they genuinely internalise the idea that multiculturism is the cause of strife and conflict rather than lack of tolerance for other cultures, and frankly, they've never truly been comfortable in any sort of multicultural environment

and it's just. gross. and it's honestly wild to me that people will spend like. days and days thinking of the "ethical ramifications" of their like, transporter clone plot, but won't think for a second, "hey, i've created a world where jews, muslims, sikhs, hindus, buddhists, and countless other religious and ethnic groups No Longer Exist, and that's go-- um. wait a second--"

[yamoksaucebodyshots]

Guess I should introduce myself here.

I've been on tumblr since 2009 but this account is fairly new.

I'm a non-binary person(transmasc, about to start transition). Pronouns are he/they. I'm questioning whether I'm actually a trans man right now.

I'm 35, Autistic, learning disabled and have some other physical disabilities.

I'm a witch, not religious. I work in the spiritual realm as well. I'm an artist and artisan by trade and a certified EA though the latter isn't my career anymore.

Super into mainly utopian sci fi, star trek, and some older works like Planet of the Apes. I like historical fiction. I really really like the whole idea of aliens lmao.

Also really into metal, right now mainly doomgaze type stuff, as well as folk music, jazz, witchpop, etc...

I am a rock climber and mediocre classically trained vocalist.

I'm bisexual

I'm white

I'm anti- any form of bigotry, and very pro continually being educated on matters whether I am familiar with them or not. Terfs fuck off, especially if you're a transmisogynist. I'm not willing to talk discourse on this page.

I'm okay following and be followed by anyone who is an adult but prefer people over 30 to engage with.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: black science fiction

As february and black history month nears its end, if you're a reader let's not forget to read and appreciate books by black authors the rest of the year as well! If you're a sci-fi fan like me, perhaps this list can help find some good books to sink your teeth into.

Bleak dystopias, high tech space adventures, alien monsters, alternate dimensions, mash-ups of sci-fi and fantasy - this list features a little bit of everything for genre fiction fans!

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Something massive and alien crashes into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria. Three people, a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier, find themselves at the center of this presence, attempting to shepherd an alien ambassador as chaos spreads in the city. A strange novel that mixes the supernatural with the alien, shifts between many different POVs, and gives a one of a kind look at a possible first contact.

Nubia: The Awakening (Nubia series) by Omar Epps & Clarence A. Hayes

Young adult. Three teens living in the slums of an enviromentally ravaged New York find that something powerful is awakening within them. They’re all children of refugees of Nubia, a utopian African island nation that sank as the climate worsened, and realize now that their parents have been hiding aspects of their heritage from them. But as they come into their own, someone seeks to use their abilities to his own ends, against their own people.

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Novella. After having failed at establishing a new colony, starship Calypso fights to make it back to Earth. Acting captain Jacklyn Albright is already struggling against the threats of interstellar space and impending starvation when the ship throws her a new danger: something is hiding on the ship, picking off her crew one by one in bloody, gruesome ways. A quick, excellent read if you want some good Alien vibes.

Dawn (Xenogenesis trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devestating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on. Includes darker examinations of agency and consent, so enter with caution.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson*

Utterly unique in world-building, story, and prose, Midnight Robber follows young Tan-Tan and her father, inhabitants of the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint. When her father commits a terrible crime, he’s exiled to a parallel version of the same planet, home to strange aliens and other human exiles. Tan-Tan, not wanting to lose her father, follows with him. Trapped on this new planet, he becomes her worst nightmare. Enter this book with caution, as it contains graphic child sexual abuse.

Rosewater (The Wormwood trilogy) by Tade Thompson

In Nigeria lies Rosewater, a city bordering on a strange, alien biodome. Its motives are unknown, but it’s having an undeniable effect on the surrounding life. Kaaro, former criminal and current psychic agent for the government, is one of the people changed by it. When other psychics like him begin getting killed, Kaaro must take it upon himself to find out the truth about the biodome and its intentions.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh

Young adult. A century ago, an astronomer discovered a possibly Earth-like planet. Now, a team of veteran astronauts and carefully chosen teenagers are preparing to embark on a twenty-three year trip to get there. But space is dangerous, and the team has no one to rely on but each other if - or when - something goes wrong. An introspective slowburn of a story, this focuses more on character work than action.

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

After the planet Sadira is left uninhabitable, its few survivors are forced to move to a new world. On Cygnus Beta, they work to rebuild their society alongside their distant relatives of the planet, while trying to preserve what remains of their culture. Focused less on hard science or action, The Best of All Possible Worlds is more about culture, romance and the ethics and practicalities of telepathy.

Mirage (Mirage duology) by Somaiya Daud

Young adult. Eighteen-year-old Amani lives on an isolated moon under the oppressive occupation of the Valthek empire. When Amani is abducted, she finds herself someplace wholly unexpected: the royal palace. As it turns out, she's nearly identical to the half-Valthek, and widely hated, princess Maram, who is in need of a body double. If Amani ever wants to make it back home or see her people freed from oppression, she will have to play her role as princess perfectly. While sci-fi, this one more has the vibe of a fantasy.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Life on the lower decks of the generation ship HSS Matilda is hard for Aster, an outcast even among outcasts, trying to survive in a system not dissimilar to the old antebellum South. The ship’s leaders have imposed harsh restrictions on their darker skinned people, using them as an oppressed work force as they travel toward their supposed Promised Land. But as Aster finds a link between the death of the ship’s sovereign and the suicide of her own mother, she realizes there may be a way off the ship.

Where It Rains in Color by Denise Crittendon

The planet Swazembi is a utopia of color and beauty, the most beautiful of all its citizens being the Rare Indigo. Lileala was just named Rare Indigo, but her strict yet pampered life gets upended when her beautiful skin is struck by a mysterious sickness, leaving it covered in scars and scabs. Meanwhile, voices start to whisper in Lileala's mind, bringing to the surface a past long forgotten involving her entire society.

Eacaping Exodus (Escaping Exodus duology) by Nicky Drayden

Seske is the heir to the leader of a clan living inside a gigantic, spacefaring beast, of which they frequently need to catch a new one to reside in as their presence slowly kills the beast from the inside. While I found the ending rushed with regards to plot and character, the worldbuilding is very fresh and the overall plot of survival and class struggle an interesting one. It’s also sapphic!

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah*

In a near future America, inmates on death row or with life sentences in private prisons can choose to participate in death matches for entertainment. If they survive long enough - a rare case indeed - they regain their freedom. Among these prisoners are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker, partners behind the scenes and close to the deadline of a possible release - if only they can survive for long enough. As the game continues to be stacked against them and protests mount outside, two women fight for love, freedom, and their own humanity. Chain-Gang All-Stars is bleak and unflinching as well as genuinely hopeful in its portrayal of a dark but all to real possible future.

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed duology) by Octavia E. Butler*

In a bleak future, Lauren Olamina lives with her family in a gated community, one of few still safe places in a time of chaos. When her community falls, Lauren is forced on the run. As she makes her way toward possible safety, she picks up a following of other refugees, and sows the seeds of a new ideology which may one day be the saviour of mankind. Very bleak and scarily realistic, Parable of the Sower will make you both fear for mankind and regain your hope for humanity.

Binti (Binti trilogy) by Nnedi Okorafor

Young adult novella. Binti is the first of the Himba people to be accepted into the prestigious Oomza University, the finest place of higher learning in all the galaxy. But as she embarks on her interstellar journey, the unthinkable happens: her ship is attacked by the terrifying Meduse, an alien race at war with Oomza University.

War Girls (War Girls duology) by Tochi Onyebuchi

In an enviromentally fraught future, the Nigerian civil war has flared back up, utilizing cybernetics and mechs to enhance its soldiers. Two sisters, by bond if not by blood, are separated and end up on differing sides of the struggle. Brutal and dark, with themes of dehumanization of soldiers through cybernetics that turn them into weapons, and the effect and trauma this has on them.

The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds duology) by Micaiah Johnson

Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there’s a catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying. As such she has a very special job in traveling to these worlds, hoping to keep her position long enough to gain citizenship in the walled-off Wiley City, away from the wastes where she grew up. But her job is dangerous, especially when she gets on the tracks of a secret that threatens the entire multiverse. Really cool worldbuilding and characters, also featuring a sapphic lead!

The Fifth Season (The Broken Eart trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin*

In a world regularly torn apart by natural disasters, a big one finally strikes and society as we know it falls, leaving people floundering to survive in a post apocalyptic world, its secrets and past to be slowly revealed. We get to follow a mother as she races through this world to find and save her missing daughter. While mostly fantasy in genre, this series does have some sci-fi flavor, and is genuinely some of the best books I've ever read, please read them.

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings*

In an alternate version of our present, the witch hunt never ended. Women are constantly watched and expected to marry young so their husbands can keep an eye on them. When she was fourteen, Josephine's mother disappeared, leveling suspicions at both mother and daughter of possible witchcraft. Now, nearly a decade and a half later, Jo, in trying to finally accept her missing mother as dead, decides to follow up on a set of seemingly nonsensical instructions left in her will. Features a bisexual lead!

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson*

Young adult. Young artist June Costa lives in Palmares Tres, a beautiful, matriarchal city relying heavily on tradition, one of which is the Summer King. The most recent Summer King is Enki, a bold boy and fellow artist. With him at her side, June seeks to finally find fame and recognition through her art, breaking through the generational divide of her home. But growing close to Enki is dangerous, because he, like all Summer Kings, is destined to die.

The Blood Trials (The Blood Gifted duology) by N.E. Davenport

After Ikenna's grandfather is assasinated, she is convinced that only a member of the Praetorian guard, elite soldiers, could’ve killed him. Seeking to uncover his killer, Ikenna enrolls in a dangerous trial to join the Praetorians which only a quarter of applicants survive. For Ikenna, the stakes are even higher, as she's hiding forbidden blood magic which could cost her her life. Mix of fantasy and sci-fi. While I didn’t super vibe with this one, I suspect fans of action packed romantasy will enjoy it.

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

1960s classic. Rydra Wong is a space captain, linguist and poet who is set on learning to understand Babel-17, a language which is humanity's only clue at the enemy in an interstaller war. But Babel-17 is more than just a language, and studying it may change Rydra forever.

Pet (Pet duology) by Akwaeke Emezi

Young adult novella. Jam lives in a utopian future that has been freed of monsters and the systems which created and upheld them. But then she meets Pet, a dangerous creature claiming to be hunting a monster still among them, prepared to stop at nothing to find them. While I personally found the word-building in Pet lacking, it deftly handles dark subjects of what makes a human a monster.

Bonus AKA I haven’t read these yet but they seem really cool

Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes

Alternate history in which Africans colonized South America while vikings colonized the North. The vikings sell abducted Celts and Franks as slaves to the South, one of which is eleven-years-old Irish boy Aidan O'Dere, who was just bought by a Southern plantation owner.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Young adult dystopia. Ellie lives in a future where humanity is under the control of the alien Ilori. All art is forbidden, but Ellie keeps a secret library; when one of her books disappears, she fears discovery and execution. M0Rr1S, born in a lab and raised to be emotionless, finds her library, and though he should deliver her for execution, he finds himself obsessed with human music. Together the two embark on a roadtrip which may save humanity.

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Lelah lives in future Botswana, but despite money and fame she finds herself in an unhappy marriage, her body controlled via microchip by her husband. After burying the body of an accidental hit and run, Lelah's life gets worse when the ghost of her victim returns to enact bloody vengeance.

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

Young adult. Fen de la Guerre, living in a quarantined Gulf Coast left devestated by storms and sickness, is forced on the run with a newborn after her tribe is attacked. Hoping to get the child to safety, Fen seeks to get to the other side of the wall, she teams up with a scientist from the outside the quarantine zone.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

A neo-victorian alternate history, in which a part of Congo was kept safe from colonisation, becoming Everfair, a safe haven for both the people of Congo and former slaves returning from America. Here they must struggle to keep this home safe for them all.

The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Space opera. Enitan just wants to live a quiet life in the aftermath of a failed war of conquest, but when her lover is killed and her sister kidnapped, she's forced to leave her plans behind to save her sister.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: The City We Became (Great Cities duology) by N.K. Jemisin, The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

[songship]

I've been reading a really good LP lately & it's somewhat cemented my thoughts around this; out of all the fanfics I've read, the best have always been Fanfiction Outsider Art. Something about the milieu of Fandom makes 99% of works under that umbrella just absolutely unpalatable to me; conversely, the derivative works that stick in my brain & that I remember all very much fall outside that umbrella & are largely just made because they *really really really* like the ideas and foundation of this one particular thing and are having a ball building something new and cool on top of it. I have more thoughts about this that I'm too tired to articulate goodnight

[schlock-luster-video]

On March 28, 1956, Forbidden Planet debuted in Los Angeles.

[mmart23d]

Sunny futuristic cityscape - generative ai