thumb|right|220px|While science fiction stories have many themes, exploration and discovery in space is a recurring focus.
The following is a list of articles about recurring themes in science fiction.
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 (e.g. psychohistory)
- Human fears: List of science fiction horror films
- Language
- Alien languages (e.g. Klingon, Huttese)
- The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis (e.g. Babel 17, The Languages of Pao)
- Universal translators (e.g. Babel fish)
- Military/conflicts
- Interstellar war
- Weapons in science fiction
- Parallel worlds or multiverse
- Philosophies and philosophical ideas
- Sex and sexuality
- LGBT themes
- Gender
- Reproduction and pregnancy
- Simulated reality and consciousness
- Social science fiction
- Technological singularity
- Themes of fantasy fiction
Beings and entities
- Artificial intelligences
- Androids and Gynoid
- Artificial life
- Biological robot
- Cyborgs
- Robots and humanoid robots
- Replicants
- Simulated consciousness
- Stock characters:
- The Absent-minded professor
- The Golem
- The Mad Scientist
- Redshirt
- Space Pirate
- Super Soldier
- Clones
- Dinosaurs
- Extraterrestrial life
- Hypothetical types of biochemistry
- Alien invasion
- Astrobiology
- God-like aliens
- Principles of non-interference (e.g. Prime Directive)
- Message from space
- Living planets (both sentient and non-sentient)
- 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
- Progressorship
Body and mind alterations
- Biohacking/Amateur biotechnicians
- Artificial organs
- Additional or improved senses
- X-ray vision
- 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
- Pyrokinesis
- Retrocognition
- Telepathy
- Telekinesis
- Parasitism
- Psychedelia
- Resizing (size-changing, miniaturization, magnification, shrinking, and enlargement)
- Shapeshifting
- Superhuman strength
- Teleportation
- Transhumanism and Posthumanism
Habitats
thumb|right|200px|A domed city
- Artificial worlds
- Alien Zoo—a zoo where humans are kept as exhibits
- Arcologies—enormous habitats (hyperstructures) 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
- Pastoral science fiction—science fiction set in rural, bucolic, or agrarian worlds, either on Earth or on Earth-like planets, in which advanced technologies are downplayed.
- Seasteading and ocean colonization
- Pirate utopia
- Reality Television
- Space colonization
- Colonization of the Moon
- Ecumenopolis
- 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
- Government by algorithm
- 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
- 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 (see above), it often occurs in time travel stories as well.
- Alternate future
- Time loop
- Travel to the Earth's center
- Hollow Earth
See also
- Biology in fiction
- Fantasy tropes
- Outline of science fiction
- Protoscience