In Perelandra, an earth man is sent to Venus  on a mission from God to counsel the ‘Eve’ of that planet so she does not fall prey to the wiles of Satan’s agent. I, Robot is a collection of short stories that trace the development of robots until they take over running the world while humans remain blissfully ignorant of this fact.  What does a work like Perelandra by C.S. Lewis have in common with Isaac Asimov’s, I, Robot?  Both are considered science fiction. What defines this seemingly disparate genre and also separates it from its twin, fantasy? Let’s look at some classics to determine this. 

Time:  Most stories taking place in the future are considered science fiction.  This allows authors to play with new technology (like cloning) or explore the possible outcomes of today’s issues (like global warming). Future societies do not have to progress but can return to a more primitive state that resembles the medieval world of fantasy. Any magic is usually chalked up to the natural abilities, such as harnessing the force of the universe in the Star Wars series. If the inhabitants of an imaginary place that exists outside of our time uses magic more than machines, that denotes a fantasy, such as Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series.

Travel: Many of the early sci-fi novels dealt with travel to unimaginable places, such as the moon, which we have reached but not colonized. However, there is still a wealth of settings not yet visited by humans except in fiction including the center of the earth or the surface of other planets. Jules Verne said the goal of his work was to describe the world through a series of extraordinary voyages. He is definitely a science fiction author. Journeys that occur through time are a hallmark of this genre, so works may be set not only in the future but also in the distant past. 

Technology: Travel to distant times and solar systems requires technology that does not yet exist. Of course, there could also be a society just like ours, only with driverless cars and hoverboards in widespread use. Perhaps, the best way to flaunt convention and still write a science fiction novel set in the past is to create your own technology. Base the story on the history of an intriguing invention, which never really existed. Have it secretly possessed by a small research group or an ingenious inventor–such as in the play, The Water Engine  by David Mamet. 

Transformation: Science fiction changes the world as we know it. When I was younger radiation was a favorite cause for special powers, until it became obvious that radiation simply weakens and eventually kills organisms. However, this idea still shows up along with new microbes that change existing life into forms we have never seen. Technology can also include yet to be discovered advances in bioengineering  that lead to bizarre results, such as those found in the Island of Doctor Moreau, by H.G Wells. 

These four characteristics may define science fiction, but that is not all that is required. An imaginative environment needs an equally ingenious plot, and a protagonist with a problem to overcome–a problem that cannot be easily wiped away by the advances of science.  In fact, in the doomsday version of science fiction, the problem may even be caused by scientific advances.