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1.41783L252.467 2.47876L251.45 2.3637L251.707 0.60165C252.118 0.401088 252.563 0.253475 253.041 0.15797C253.519 0.0529708 253.958 1.99446e-05 254.359 0Z\"\n    fill=\"currentColor\" />\u003C/g>",{"id":13,"data":14,"type":15,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":23,"tiles":24},"0340cb5a-80c8-46de-8835-cce0912dac29",{"type":15,"title":16,"tagline":17,"description":17,"featureImageSquare":18,"baseColor":19,"emoji":20,"shapePreference":4,"allowContentSuspension":21,"allowContentEdits":21,"editorsChoice":21},8,"An Introduction to Science Fiction","A fusion-driven journey from Asimov to Le Guin, and beyond","9da999a7-530a-406f-bc3c-d1c188b81704","#B55CCB","🛸",true,3,6,[25,319,549,817,1058,1345,1569,1844],{"id":26,"data":27,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"orbs":32},"4488c35d-eec8-479d-8306-a998947e7f0b",{"type":28,"title":29,"tagline":30},9,"What Is Science Fiction?","Defining the genre and its development over time.",2,[33,90,204],{"id":34,"data":35,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":37,"introPage":46,"pages":53},"f193f192-ad3d-49b1-934c-6b8076533c0e",{"type":31,"title":36},"Understanding Science Fiction",{"id":38,"data":39,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"864e5fd0-84fb-4020-9359-17bb985e23d7",{"type":22,"summary":40},[41,42,43,44],"Isaac Asimov defined science fiction as reactions to changes in science and tech","Science fiction is the genre of 'what if?' exploring endless possibilities","Speculative fiction is a more accurate term than science fiction","Ursula K. Le Guin said sci-fi uses metaphors to explore human nature",1,{"id":47,"data":48,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"de3eea0f-68f9-44f0-aaa7-dd2abc703e92",{"type":49,"intro":50},10,[51,52],"What did Ursula K. Le Guin say about the deeper themes in science fiction?","Why did Sven Birkerts criticize science fiction as a genre?",[54,59,73],{"id":55,"data":56,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"bb55d750-e36a-4283-a9ce-2d753431db8f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":57,"audioMediaId":58},"Fifty years ago, Isaac Asimov said that science fiction was the branch of literature which 'deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.' This definition was useful at the time, but it fails to describe the genre as a whole. As well as science and technology, science fiction also deals with alien contact, dystopian societies, and hundreds of subjects besides.\n\n![Graph](image://db1b21a2-385f-449c-9d56-781601401cc3 \"A group of people witness an alien arrival\")\n\nA better definition is this one: science fiction is the genre of ‘what if?’ It wonders what would happen if we invented robots, or discovered an alien species. It wonders what would happen if all the books in the world were collected and burned, or the moon fell down from the sky.","d3b6239e-a82d-4431-8410-61b3703dd776",{"id":60,"data":61,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":64},"e3f836d3-838f-4894-bbf2-ec3e50de1e08",{"type":45,"markdownContent":62,"audioMediaId":63},"Another name for the genre is speculative fiction. ‘Science fiction’ is the more popular term, but ‘speculative fiction’ is more accurate. In literary circles, science fiction is often frowned upon. The American critic, Sven Birkerts, said the genre can never be proper literature, because it focuses too much on aliens and robots, as opposed to deep philosophical themes.\n\nHe is right that some of the ‘what if?’ stories in science fiction are relatively shallow tales – an easy escape to fun, alien worlds. A franchise like *Star Wars* is a good example, but this does not reflect science fiction as a whole.","58de97ae-265a-4369-859f-296a15ae98ef",[65],{"id":66,"data":67,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"8fa751c7-e4ef-4a5f-a319-dd8ca53700b1",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":69,"activeRecallAnswers":71},11,[70],"What is an alternative term for the science fiction genre?",[72],"Speculative fiction",{"id":74,"data":75,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":78},"9bb9d540-199c-42c7-bfc8-a31136bc0e27",{"type":45,"markdownContent":76,"audioMediaId":77},"Ursula K. Le Guin, one of the genre’s most respected writers, said the questions of ‘what if?’ in science fiction are metaphors for deeper themes. Meeting an alien is not really about aliens. Inventing a robot is not really about robots. Reading a work of science fiction is like holding a mirror to the world. Through the power of metaphor, these stories help us understand what it means to be human.\n\n![Graph](image://974be812-5b5f-49ec-bd6a-5941140d0d52 \"Ursula K. Le Guin sitting at her desk, surrounded by piles of books and papers\")","aec48582-30c9-413c-88e3-6f140c91e2f4",[79],{"id":80,"data":81,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"71fb9b0d-76a2-493d-a407-e4b09d9b831b",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":82,"multiChoiceCorrect":84,"multiChoiceIncorrect":86,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[83],"Which author said the questions of ‘what if?’ in science fiction are metaphors for deeper themes?",[85],"Ursula Le Guin",[87,88,89],"Sven Birkerts","Isaac Asimov","Robert Heinlein",{"id":91,"data":92,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":94,"introPage":102,"pages":108},"02e2c7dd-44aa-4af9-b333-d83d3656afc4",{"type":31,"title":93},"History of Science Fiction",{"id":95,"data":96,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"7f6f3b7f-a186-4d3f-bdb1-527d9b591d07",{"type":22,"summary":97},[98,99,100,101],"Lucian of Samosata's *A True Story* is one of the earliest works of science fiction","Francis Bacon's *New Atlantis* warned about the dangers of unchecked scientific discovery","Mary Shelley's *Frankenstein* introduced complex characters and themes to science fiction","*Frankenstein* is often compared to modern artificial intelligence debates",{"id":103,"data":104,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"d8c98b67-9dc9-456c-b89c-0ff31e357878",{"type":49,"intro":105},[106,107],"What was Lucian of Samosata's *A True Story* a metaphor for?","What warning did Francis Bacon's *New Atlantis* give about new technology?",[109,144,179],{"id":110,"data":111,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":114},"c008b52d-a1ec-4462-97ea-00ad3b3dc586",{"type":45,"markdownContent":112,"audioMediaId":113},"It is hard to pinpoint the first ever work of science fiction, but a popular candidate is *A True Story*. It was written by Lucian of Samosata, a Syrian satirist, in the 2nd century. This tale describes an incredible journey to the moon, where the narrator encounters bizarre extraterrestrial beings. The people of the moon are at war with another group of people on the sun, because both sides want to colonize Venus.\n\n![Graph](image://a7031f69-7016-4e9c-9bd2-5cd6de690d7f \"The narrator of 'A True Story' explores the moon\")\n\nJust like many modern stories, this ‘what if?’ scenario is a metaphor for deeper themes. Lucian wanted to parody historians who presented falsehoods as facts. The message of the book is clear: we cannot believe everything we read.","23dee3a3-1f1b-4f10-ad70-5f5c0154eb3f",[115,135],{"id":116,"data":117,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"32cc090e-ad4a-43e0-be66-26a241ae6f28",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":118,"multiChoiceQuestion":122,"multiChoiceCorrect":124,"multiChoiceIncorrect":126,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":130,"matchPairsPairs":132},[119,120,121],"a24a4f11-c901-4d6f-a051-50d1656c7b88","1aaefb66-8cda-4c6c-9cf7-edaec5a791d2","84d0be34-3dba-4606-a36a-24449dfe2266",[123],"Who was the author of arguably the earliest science fiction, in Ancient Syria?",[125],"Lucian of Samosata",[127,128,129],"Francis Bacon","Mary Shelley","Georges Méliès",[131],"Match the pairs below:",[133],{"left":125,"right":134,"direction":22},"Wrote arguably the first science fiction in Ancient Syria",{"id":136,"data":137,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"9273689f-a0a6-4ae6-9c0b-3ad15291153c",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":138,"binaryCorrect":140,"binaryIncorrect":142},[139],"Who wrote 'A True Story' in the 2nd century?",[141],"Lucian of Samotosa",[143],"Lucian of Santiago",{"id":145,"data":146,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":149},"7a0118ca-db99-4a0a-bcea-5ff3386c2fee",{"type":45,"markdownContent":147,"audioMediaId":148},"More than a thousand years after *A True Story*, a flurry of science fiction books were written in the 17th century. This coincided with the Scientific Revolution – a period of major scientific discovery.\n\n![Graph](image://8b206bf1-0f3a-4ad9-ab46-dfacf628dc10 \"Francis Bacon's New Atlantis\")\n\nFrancis Bacon's *New Atlantis* was published in 1626. It describes a utopian society – Bensalem – which exists on an uncharted island. This society is run by scientists, who only share their inventions with wider society if they think the inventions will have a positive impact. The story is a lesson in scientific responsibility. Bacon was trying to warn his contemporaries that some discoveries are more dangerous than others. The message of the book is clear: not every piece of new technology is safe to release into the world.","d17a034f-7c72-4f18-8e4e-6bdc65b66d44",[150,161,172],{"id":119,"data":151,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":152,"multiChoiceQuestion":153,"multiChoiceCorrect":155,"multiChoiceIncorrect":156,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":157,"matchPairsPairs":158},[116,120,121],[154],"Who was the author of 'New Atlantis'?",[127],[125,128,129],[131],[159],{"left":127,"right":160,"direction":22},"Wrote 'New Atlantis'",{"id":162,"data":163,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"26541576-992d-45fe-ba7f-274d1c0b334c",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":164,"multiChoiceCorrect":166,"multiChoiceIncorrect":168,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[165],"What was the title of Francis Bacon's utopian book?",[167],"New Atlantis",[169,170,171],"New Bensalem","New Jerusalem","New Megiddo",{"id":173,"data":174,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"381863e1-156e-4d9c-ab95-6431664c0c1d",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":175,"activeRecallAnswers":177},[176],"Which historical event coincided with a flurry of science fiction books in the 17th century?",[178],"The Scientific Revolution",{"id":180,"data":181,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":184},"2ce3095c-0158-4e02-9a2d-8f8df946fa7f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":182,"audioMediaId":183},"Books like *A True Story* and *New Atlantis* had little in the way of plot and characterization. They were more like thought experiments than novels. But this changed in the 19th century, when Mary Shelley wrote *Frankenstein*.\n\nThe story revolves around Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a body out of corpses, then imbues that body with life. The creation becomes known as Frankenstein’s monster, and seems tortured by his own existence.\n\n![Graph](image://8a8345b5-12fb-4605-84af-1aaafbe3003b \"Victor Frankenstein standing in a laboratory\")\n\nThis iconic work is rich with themes, and one of the only works of science fiction that literary critics take seriously. Some of these critics have compared the monster to modern artificial intelligence. The message of the book is clear: manufacturing intelligent life should not be taken lightly.","682ee290-84f8-495a-8993-58fa2b9d7db5",[185,196],{"id":120,"data":186,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":187,"multiChoiceQuestion":188,"multiChoiceCorrect":190,"multiChoiceIncorrect":191,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":192,"matchPairsPairs":193},[116,119,121],[189],"Who was the author of 'Frankenstein'?",[128],[125,127,129],[131],[194],{"left":128,"right":195,"direction":22},"Wrote 'Frankenstein'",{"id":197,"data":198,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"131cd269-0e42-4661-b3e5-63e63878c13f",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":200,"clozeWords":202},4,[201],"Some critics have compared Frankenstein's monster to modern artificial intelligence.",[203],"Frankenstein's",{"id":205,"data":206,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":208,"introPage":216,"pages":222},"20aa0a11-36e9-49ff-9eb0-e695e59974d2",{"type":31,"title":207},"Science Fiction in Different Media",{"id":209,"data":210,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"12b2d3ab-6326-402c-ade2-86824234e2ff",{"type":22,"summary":211},[212,213,214,215],"Georges Méliès' *A Trip to the Moon* (1902) is one of the first sci-fi films.","*Spacewar!* (1962) was the first sci-fi video game, developed by MIT.","*Cyberpunk 2077* (2020) explores ethical dilemmas in a tech-driven future.","Sci-fi subgenres like space opera and cyberpunk reflect real-world themes.",{"id":217,"data":218,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"e1890c25-3e06-4187-a71e-60eb7d5bf9d4",{"type":49,"intro":219},[220,221],"What is a key characteristic of space opera?","How does cyberpunk explore societal issues?",[223,228,265],{"id":224,"data":225,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"fdedf825-91fa-4afc-9fda-849964b2fdc4",{"type":45,"markdownContent":226,"audioMediaId":227},"![Graph](image://792813dd-07b8-4b63-b46d-023848b8e771 \"A scene from Georges Méliès' 'A Trip to the Moon'\")\n\nTowards the end of the 19th century, motion cameras were invented, and it did not take long for the first science fiction movie to emerge.\n\n*A Trip to the Moon* was directed by Georges Méliès in 1902. This silent film features a group of astronomers who embark on a lunar expedition. When they arrive on the moon, they find a culture of insectoid aliens, kill the king, then return to Earth.\n\nSome critics believe the film was made as a metaphor for European imperialism – something Méliès disapproved of. The astonomers encounter a foreign culture, murder its leader, then go home as celebrated heroes. It is a striking example of this genre being used as a metaphor for real-world themes.","8ba71760-de04-4027-a7f8-91dd281d11f4",{"id":229,"data":230,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":233},"06d8fcbb-0e5a-4fd4-83a7-670e7bb9e27e",{"type":45,"markdownContent":231,"audioMediaId":232},"In the 1960s, science fiction exploded, with the release of dozens of books and films including *Dune* and *2001: A Space Odyssey*. This decade also saw the release of the world’s first science fiction video game.\n\n![Graph](image://daa21dbb-669d-46d6-8b04-d349756b31ba \"Spacewar! video game (illustrated impression)\")\n\n*Spacewar!* was developed by MIT in 1962. It features two spaceships, each controlled by a player, which engage in a dogfight around a high-gravity star.\n\nThematically speaking, this game did not have a lot to say, but it set a precedent for modern science fiction video games. In 2020, *Cyberpunk 2077* was released. This game confronts players with ethical dilemmas against the backdrop of a future, technologically advanced society.","3b712dda-c2bd-42db-bc53-45760c9efff1",[234,245,256],{"id":121,"data":235,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":236,"multiChoiceQuestion":237,"multiChoiceCorrect":239,"multiChoiceIncorrect":240,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":241,"matchPairsPairs":242},[116,119,120],[238],"Who was the director of 'A Trip to the Moon'?",[129],[125,127,128],[131],[243],{"left":129,"right":244,"direction":22},"Directed 'A Trip to the Moon'",{"id":246,"data":247,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"c9755039-f43e-4abe-b063-2232257b8830",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":248,"multiChoiceCorrect":250,"multiChoiceIncorrect":252,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[249],"What was the name of the first science fiction movie?",[251],"A Trip to the Moon",[253,254,255],"Journey to the Center of the Earth","Frankenstein","The Time Machine",{"id":257,"data":258,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"7bb3a414-124d-4f5e-9bd2-8e86a3a31c08",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":259,"binaryCorrect":261,"binaryIncorrect":263},[260],"Spacewar! was released in which decade, along with Dune and 2001: A Space Odyssey?",[262],"1960s",[264],"1970s",{"id":266,"data":267,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":270},"ebd1b929-6827-47b4-9543-f0ec85dbc939",{"type":45,"markdownContent":268,"audioMediaId":269},"![Graph](image://a305a83a-d8a4-40b6-b0bd-db395a102c3d \"A group of space travellers approach a new planet\")\n\nFrom books and films, to video games, science fiction has come a long way since Lucian of Samotosa’s *A True Story*. The modern genre is so rich and varied that it can be divided into several subgenres.\n\nSpace opera, for example, focuses on grand adventures through space, with interstellar empires and faster-than-light travel. Examples include Isaac Asimov's *Foundation* series and the iconic *Star Wars* franchise.\n\nCyberpunk looks at near-future societies dominated by advanced technology and corporate control. Afrofuturism combines African culture with futuristic settings, often exploring themes like identity and racism.\n\nThere are plenty of other examples, but one thing unites them all. These stories use their questions of ‘what if?’ to hold a mirror to the world.","f49bd013-13f1-43ae-8e0f-6732124ae572",[271,289,308],{"id":272,"data":273,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"db326500-1159-4542-a4c7-fa14e38fa59d",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":274,"multiChoiceQuestion":278,"multiChoiceCorrect":280,"multiChoiceIncorrect":281,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":285,"matchPairsPairs":286},[275,276,277],"dad21d73-55df-4ee1-b2a0-ec80329922d3","9092c8dc-21c9-4c7e-91e4-0548f27a1709","b5c27cd8-6613-4063-a2e9-bda360252d86",[279],"Who is the author of the 'Foundation' series?",[88],[282,283,284],"Philip K. Dick","Samuel Butler","Karel Čapek",[131],[287],{"left":88,"right":288,"direction":22},"Foundation' series",{"id":290,"data":291,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"57d4c0ca-084e-4696-a029-61de64031887",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":292,"multiChoiceQuestion":296,"multiChoiceCorrect":298,"multiChoiceIncorrect":300,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":304,"matchPairsPairs":305},[293,294,295],"39fa87ff-2bbe-4a48-a84d-0420a8578c30","4a918f6a-a89d-43f8-973e-576f5e387024","7834062a-cd7f-4821-bc82-9580c2211643",[297],"Which of the following most closely applies to space opera?",[299],"Focuses on grand adventures through space",[301,302,303],"Looks at near-future societies dominated by technology","Represents the fear of robots among humans","Practice of imagining possible evolutionary paths",[131],[306],{"left":307,"right":299,"direction":22},"Space opera",{"id":293,"data":309,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":310,"multiChoiceQuestion":311,"multiChoiceCorrect":313,"multiChoiceIncorrect":314,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":315,"matchPairsPairs":316},[290,294,295],[312],"Which of the following most closely applies to Cyberpunk?",[301],[299,302,303],[131],[317],{"left":318,"right":301,"direction":22},"Cyberpunk",{"id":320,"data":321,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"orbs":324},"6951a92f-035e-4ad9-8101-f2ce0573be90",{"type":28,"title":322,"tagline":323},"Artificial Intelligence","How writers explore robots and intelligent machines.",[325,401,480],{"id":326,"data":327,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":329,"introPage":337,"pages":343},"79c6613e-ceb2-4e6a-a551-9d7e70f514bc",{"type":31,"title":328},"AI in Science Fiction",{"id":330,"data":331,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"144ac8be-7981-4895-87a7-873c835d5775",{"type":22,"summary":332},[333,334,335,336],"Sci-fi has explored AI for over a century, often as a metaphor for scientific risks.","Philip K. Dick's *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* questions what makes us human.","Samuel Butler's *Erewhon* introduced AI in 1872, inspired by Darwin and the industrial revolution.","Karel Čapek's *R.U.R.* coined 'robot' in 1920, reflecting fears of human redundancy.",{"id":338,"data":339,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"de912968-a2e0-405e-819b-0ffef54908aa",{"type":49,"intro":340},[341,342],"What inspired Samuel Butler to write about AI in *Erewhon*?","How does *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* challenge our idea of what it means to be human?",[344,349,385],{"id":345,"data":346,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"ad49ea31-9024-4919-9a57-7f50a1d7d68b",{"type":45,"markdownContent":347,"audioMediaId":348},"Science fiction writers have been exploring the topic of artificial intelligence for well over a century, delving into the potential consequences of creating sentient machines.\n\n![Graph](image://d116fc2a-cc3c-4fdf-a3ef-d3f6aed0f6b4 \"A scene from *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?*\")\n\nThe topic has often been used as a metaphor for scientific advancement in general. A dangerous robot, which starts attacking humans, might symbolize the risks of building technologies we do not fully understand.","880371b5-853e-4fdf-8cec-c4ee34d9d89d",{"id":350,"data":351,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":354},"57ce1f81-a1fc-4086-9499-da450e6cee0f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":352,"audioMediaId":353},"Artificial intelligence can also be used to explore what it means to be human. Philip K. Dick's *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* imagines a future world where robots are hard to tell apart from humans. If an artificial being looks like a human, and thinks like a human, does that not make it a human?\n\n![Graph](image://e09a68e4-6971-4ec2-96f4-752f11092748 \"Robot prototypes in a workshop\")\n\nSamuel Butler's *Erewhon* introduced the concept of artificial intelligence to science fiction literature. This book, written in 1872, describes machines evolving artificial intelligence through a process of natural selection.","b16c3436-c6ba-4f0f-a7c6-8c57b9d8d79c",[355,366,377],{"id":275,"data":356,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":357,"multiChoiceQuestion":358,"multiChoiceCorrect":360,"multiChoiceIncorrect":361,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":362,"matchPairsPairs":363},[272,276,277],[359],"Who is the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep??",[282],[88,283,284],[131],[364],{"left":282,"right":365,"direction":22},"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?",{"id":276,"data":367,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":368,"multiChoiceQuestion":369,"multiChoiceCorrect":371,"multiChoiceIncorrect":372,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":373,"matchPairsPairs":374},[272,275,277],[370],"Who is the author of Erewhon?",[283],[88,282,284],[131],[375],{"left":283,"right":376,"direction":22},"Erewhon",{"id":378,"data":379,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"bf36549b-04d1-4ba8-835b-d9d3c4e5584d",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":380,"binaryCorrect":382,"binaryIncorrect":383},[381],"Which book introduced the concept of AI to science fiction literature?",[376],[384],"R.U.R.",{"id":386,"data":387,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":390},"50c64422-98cc-4a52-a6d5-cc7492a12455",{"type":45,"markdownContent":388,"audioMediaId":389},"This idea grew out of two events that took place in Butler’s lifespan: the industrial revolution, where machines began replacing human workers, and the publication of Darwin’s *On the Origin of Species*.\n\nFifty years later, in 1920, Karel Čapek wrote *R.U.R.* (Rossum's Universal Robots). This play coined the term 'robot', derived from a Czech word meaning ‘forced labor’. The story revolves around robots created to serve humanity, who eventually lead an uprising against their creators.\n\nThese stories reflect the fears of human redundancy which were common around that time. If machines could replace us in certain jobs, could they one day replace us completely?","6dc9b37b-9277-4830-b4c0-dfa6bcfa0efe",[391],{"id":277,"data":392,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":393,"multiChoiceQuestion":394,"multiChoiceCorrect":396,"multiChoiceIncorrect":397,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":398,"matchPairsPairs":399},[272,275,276],[395],"Who is the author of R.U.R.?",[284],[88,282,283],[131],[400],{"left":284,"right":384,"direction":22},{"id":402,"data":403,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":405,"introPage":413,"pages":419},"414ec3fc-5bd8-4929-b039-dce98badab8f",{"type":31,"title":404},"AI and Ethics",{"id":406,"data":407,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"206c2735-1d26-417d-a384-098faed48b18",{"type":22,"summary":408},[409,410,411,412],"Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics aim to make robots a positive force in society","The Frankenstein Complex is the fear that robots will replace or attack humans","*The Matrix* and *With Folded Hands* show robots turning against humans","*I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream* questions the ethics of creating superintelligent AI",{"id":414,"data":415,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"7cf264b9-bff1-4753-bb45-136886527c87",{"type":49,"intro":416},[417,418],"What is the Zeroth Law of Robotics?","Why do humans fear robots according to Asimov's Frankenstein Complex?",[420,435,452,465],{"id":421,"data":422,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":425},"61e94da9-f93a-4da8-b6c0-9134099562e7",{"type":45,"markdownContent":423,"audioMediaId":424},"After the groundwork was set by writers like Butler and Čapek, the topic of artificial intelligence was taken up by Isaac Asimov – one of the most influential writers in all of science fiction – in the 1940s and 50s. In his *I, Robot* stories, he established the Three Laws of Robotics, which were later expanded to include the Zeroth Law. These laws were programmed into every robot to make sure they became a positive force in society.\n\n![Graph](image://da97d43b-01b2-495f-941e-79940ec50acc \"A robot and a human stand side by side\")\n\nThe Zeroth Law states that a robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.","4e32f691-88a8-4899-a84b-4908099d3ac8",[426],{"id":427,"data":428,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"aa1563c7-4db2-4067-ad0d-166b97bc577e",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":429,"multiChoiceCorrect":431,"multiChoiceIncorrect":432,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[430],"Which author established the Three Laws of Robotics?",[88],[433,434,282],"Arthur C. Clarke","H.G. Wells",{"id":436,"data":437,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":440},"300d3cc8-672b-41fb-84fd-0fbdb096c6d3",{"type":45,"markdownContent":438,"audioMediaId":439},"The First Law, now adjusted, states that a robot must never harm a human, unless it conflicts with the Zeroth Law. The Second Law states that a robot must always follow orders from humans, unless those orders conflict with the First or Zeroth Law. The Third Law states that a robot must preserve its own existence, unless that preservation conflicts with the First, Second, or Zeroth Law.\n\nAs well as his famous Laws of Robotics, Asimov also wrote about the Frankenstein Complex: the idea that humans are intrinsically scared of robots. Some people might fear that robots will replace them, making human beings redundant. Others might fear that robots will attack them, just like the monster in *Frankenstein*.","47a46246-3b1b-423f-9870-66911c478b00",[441],{"id":294,"data":442,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":443,"multiChoiceQuestion":444,"multiChoiceCorrect":446,"multiChoiceIncorrect":447,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":448,"matchPairsPairs":449},[290,293,295],[445],"Which of the following statements most closely applies to the Frankenstein Complex?",[302],[299,301,303],[131],[450],{"left":451,"right":302,"direction":22},"The Frankenstein Complex",{"id":453,"data":454,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":457},"786e6f3c-333c-4b01-b243-e83f6feab4a5",{"type":45,"markdownContent":455,"audioMediaId":456},"![Graph](image://0624e34d-25d6-4d96-9c45-2af3e6b995ea \"The monster from Frankenstein standing menacingly over a group of terrified humans\")\n\nOur innate fear of robots is common in science fiction works, such as *The Matrix* (1999). In this movie, humans are enslaved by robots, after our own creations turn against us.\n\nAn earlier example is Jack Williamson's story, *With Folded Hands*, first published in 1947. Williamson used robots as a metaphor for nuclear power. He said: 'Technological creations we had developed with the best intentions might have disastrous consequences in the long run.'","4416786c-1ca4-47f8-acb2-664276a29d8b",[458],{"id":459,"data":460,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"c9ea917a-c7ed-4bcd-867e-50d0611cda14",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":461,"activeRecallAnswers":463},[462],"What term refers to an intrinsic fear that humans have of robots?",[464],"Frankenstein Complex",{"id":466,"data":467,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":470},"b06c56f9-5f59-4b04-8768-b38bee91e30c",{"type":45,"markdownContent":468,"audioMediaId":469},"![Graph](image://e938e53d-bda4-4370-b357-754123793f96 \"The superintelligent artificial mind AM, tormenting its human captives\")\n\nIn 1967, Harlan Ellison wrote *I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream*. In the story, a superintelligent artificial mind is tortured by its own existence. It blames its creators, and seeks revenge, using its vast knowledge to inflict psychological torment upon five human captives.\n\nThe story is a horrifying vision of the future, and warns us of the dangers of creating a being more powerful and intelligent than we are. It also asks an ethical question: if an artificial intelligence cannot consent to its own creation, is it wrong to force these beings into existence?","0aa99ab1-459c-4d6a-8427-c841d3649dec",[471],{"id":472,"data":473,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"ed34717f-538d-4b51-989e-a9efed725e0a",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":474,"binaryCorrect":476,"binaryIncorrect":478},[475],"Who wrote I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a story about humans tormented by AI?",[477],"Harlan Ellison",[479],"Jack Williamson",{"id":481,"data":482,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":484,"introPage":492,"pages":498},"67f49d61-9e56-4f91-b404-58abe734d006",{"type":31,"title":483},"AI and Humanity",{"id":485,"data":486,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"7141b590-e431-43ee-a7af-11f5cc8ec5a8",{"type":22,"summary":487},[488,489,490,491],"C-3PO and R2-D2 are loyal robots who help the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars","The Voight-Kampff test in Blade Runner measures emotional responses to spot robots","Google’s AlphaGo beat the world’s best Go player in 2017","Stephen Hawking warned that creating AI might be humanity's last event",{"id":493,"data":494,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"d4fb5c5d-bb10-4b41-a398-0c634cba4059",{"type":49,"intro":495},[496,497],"How does the Voight-Kampff test distinguish robots from humans?","What did Stephen Hawking warn about creating AI?",[499,504,517,532],{"id":500,"data":501,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"2745f94e-31c3-411a-81a4-459563e3eebe",{"type":45,"markdownContent":502,"audioMediaId":503},"Science fiction writers have written stories about malevolent AI, but there are plenty of stories about benevolent robots too. These stories remind audiences that scientific advancement does not always need to be feared.\n\n![Graph](image://9b11f3f1-d6e0-4a96-9298-69c0e8ce838e \"C-3PO and R2-D2 helping the Rebel Alliance in a battle against the Empire\")\n\nIn *Star Wars*, C-3PO and R2-D2 are loyal and resourceful, and become integral members of the Rebel Alliance. In *Star Trek*, Data is a human-like android, and well-liked by other characters, despite lacking certain social skills.\n\nThese robots see the world differently to humans, and struggle to understand our irrational, emotion-driven lives. Their comments on human idiosyncrasies can make an audience more aware of their own oddities and quirks.","d52adae4-6243-4051-8573-6d9058df9f15",{"id":505,"data":506,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":509},"78725a30-9c65-4a3a-826d-34114f4395fd",{"type":45,"markdownContent":507,"audioMediaId":508},"Benevolent robots have also been used as a metaphor for deeper themes. In one *Star Trek* episode, a court rules that Data is nobody else’s property, and is deserving of human rights.\n\n![Graph](image://286cd0de-3318-49d1-a419-0d03b868928c \"Voight-Kampff test being administered to a replicant by a human administrator\")\n\nSome science fiction writers have blurred the line between robots and humans, and explored the ways we could tell the two groups apart.\n\nIn *Blade Runner* – the film based on Philip K. Dick's *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* – the Voight-Kampff test is used to distinguish robots from humans. This polygraph-like test measures emotional responses, as robots in the story have difficulty emulating genuine human emotions.\n\nIn the film, some robots do not know they are robots until the moment they fail the test. This unsettling idea invites members of the audience to question their own humanity. If their own mind was artificial, how would they even know it?","0ae32f5c-11ef-4157-b51b-092f68605c41",[510],{"id":511,"data":512,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"bbc682b3-ae91-4bfd-bad8-e6c834ac5932",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":513,"activeRecallAnswers":515},[514],"What test is used in Blade Runner to distinguish robots from humans?",[516],"Voight-Kampff test",{"id":518,"data":519,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":522},"bdbc6ba7-d088-4750-b8cc-9e77f6f0b791",{"type":45,"markdownContent":520,"audioMediaId":521},"Science fiction is rarely meant to be predictive. Its stories are metaphors, not forecasts. But occasionally, writers get things right, whether they were trying to predict them or not.\n\nIn the last few years, there has been a boom in artificial intelligence research, with companies releasing voice assistants, chatbots, and even humanoid robots.\n\nGoogle’s AlphaGo caused a major stir in 2017, when it defeated the world’s best Go player. In 2022, ChatGPT rose to prominence, with its advanced language generation.\n\nThese are both examples of ‘weak’ AI: an artificial intelligence that learns to perform a specialized task, but is incapable of general thought. We have a long way to go before creating a truly conscious AI, like the ones in science fiction literature.","198e93b2-645e-45b4-bba0-ec7876e040ec",[523],{"id":524,"data":525,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"71b5de25-1c95-4d7b-ba22-d58c6cc89877",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":526,"binaryCorrect":528,"binaryIncorrect":530},[527],"What type of AI is Google's AlphaGo?",[529],"Weak AI",[531],"Strong AI",{"id":533,"data":534,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":537},"9afa3405-eda0-48cf-894c-9375c285ae07",{"type":45,"markdownContent":535,"audioMediaId":536},"The future development of 'strong’ AI is a contentious topic. Some experts argue that strong AI is unachievable; a robot will never have a conscious, human-like mind.\n\nEven if it proves to be possible, many scientists have warned against it. In 2014, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking said: 'Creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last.'\n\nOther scientists believe that strong AI would massively improve our lives. These intelligent beings could develop solutions to cancer and climate change, and other problems which humans have struggled to solve.\n\nUltimately, there is no way to know how strong AI would affect the world. Science fiction has explored some possible futures, but only time will tell what really comes to pass.\n\n![Graph](image://24c06d86-abeb-4a2b-bff7-39a5704849ce \"Stephen Hawking in his wheelchair at Cambridge University\")","d856a9b0-d5d7-4c2a-9423-eb80fc42d7fd",[538],{"id":539,"data":540,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"25137a44-d1f9-4959-a952-1346568cd4c5",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":541,"multiChoiceCorrect":543,"multiChoiceIncorrect":545,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[542],"Who said: \"Creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last.\"",[544],"Stephen Hawking",[546,547,548],"Elon Musk","Steve Jobs","Bill Gates",{"id":550,"data":551,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"orbs":554},"563b69e3-7221-4706-83a2-0676df708af0",{"type":28,"title":552,"tagline":553},"Space Exploration","How writers explore interstellar travel and empires.",[555,645,702,763],{"id":556,"data":557,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":559,"introPage":567,"pages":573},"d80d48b4-52b7-4bb8-aaf0-a6bd9cade54d",{"type":31,"title":558},"Space in Fiction",{"id":560,"data":561,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"7ae2782b-fe5b-4102-b835-cd181904bcab",{"type":22,"summary":562},[563,564,565,566],"Space exploration in fiction often tackles real-world issues like wealth inequality and overpopulation.","Heinlein's *The Man Who Sold the Moon* imagines the moon as a giant billboard for advertisers.","*The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress* explores a lunar penal colony that revolts to form a libertarian society.","*The Martian* and Robinson's *Mars* trilogy dive into survival and terraforming on Mars.",{"id":568,"data":569,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"354a550d-dd8b-4dda-bca8-5c3d885858bc",{"type":49,"intro":570},[571,572],"How does *The Caves of Steel* use space exploration to highlight wealth inequality?","What real-world issue does *The Martian* explore through the protagonist's struggle on Mars?",[574,598,613,630],{"id":575,"data":576,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":579},"d8a96e38-6032-41fd-bd88-821971ef3f04",{"type":45,"markdownContent":577,"audioMediaId":578},"Since the earliest days of science fiction, the thought of leaving Earth, and colonizing other planets, has captivated readers and writers. Space exploration is a promise of adventure, and encountering brand new worlds.\n\n![Graph](image://b0c809de-7eb9-4148-892a-d824b73ed361 \"A group of wealthy individuals leave the planet in a spaceship\")\n\nThis topic is also used to explore some important, real-world themes. In Isaac Asimov’s *The Caves of Steel*, the Earth is overpopulated and impoverished. Colonies have sprung up on neighboring planets, but only the rich can afford to move there.","538eeeb1-7323-427f-bb3a-1b56210f05c6",[580],{"id":581,"data":582,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"ca2d8cce-a269-4563-8fc4-f8deebb8bc88",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":583,"multiChoiceQuestion":587,"multiChoiceCorrect":589,"multiChoiceIncorrect":591,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":594,"matchPairsPairs":595},[584,585,586],"ff41bee9-29d2-42ca-8fbc-462ac9633d42","290558f0-f69b-44c8-b638-beeba36843c3","62550835-a6c9-4af6-9959-18588556c9f8",[588],"Who is the author of the 'Mars Trilogy'?",[590],"Kim Stanley Robinson",[592,593,434],"Frank Herbert","Johannes Kepler",[131],[596],{"left":590,"right":597,"direction":22},"Mars' trilogy",{"id":599,"data":600,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":603},"3859094f-4bb9-4ea7-9864-4852ba3b46cd",{"type":45,"markdownContent":601,"audioMediaId":602},"A story like this uses space exploration to explore the theme of wealth inequality. It also forces readers to confront the issue of overpopulation: in real life, should we be working harder to control populations before the Earth runs out of resources?\n\nIn 1969, the first human beings set foot on the moon – an incredible moment in history. Before that, the idea of visiting the lunar surface was explored in science fiction.\n\nIn 1949, Robert Heinlein wrote *The Man Who Sold the Moon*. This story is about a businessman who wants to reach the moon, claim it as his own, then sell the land to bidders. The land could be used as advertising space, turning the moon into a giant billboard.","02f13876-9a46-49b8-8c10-0433d0d304e4",[604],{"id":605,"data":606,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"7188f142-1a62-4eac-8f66-e9752c2900f6",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":607,"binaryCorrect":609,"binaryIncorrect":611},[608],"In Isaac Asimov's 'The Caves of Steel', the Earth is suffering from:",[610],"Overpopulation",[612],"Global warming",{"id":614,"data":615,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":618},"25a566ec-013d-451e-b580-09b154420534",{"type":45,"markdownContent":616,"audioMediaId":617},"![Graph](image://b737945f-0e42-45e5-8213-260e241c5b29 \"Lunar surface being colonized by advertisers\")\n\nScience fiction writers have also explored the prospect of moon colonization. Heinlein wrote another story – *The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress* – about a penal colony established on the moon. The prisoners revolt, and found a libertarian society, which Heinlein compares to the more rigid societies on Earth.\n\nJourneys to Mars are a common trend in science fiction. A recent example – first a book, and then a film – was *The Martian*, by Andy Weir.","15cf174a-f553-4bb2-9dfc-7355382bd967",[619],{"id":620,"data":621,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"8ba0754b-c440-4934-9a12-1bd67ad54bfb",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":622,"multiChoiceCorrect":624,"multiChoiceIncorrect":626,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[623],"Robert Heinlein's 'The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress' takes place in which lunar setting?",[625],"Penal colony",[627,628,629],"Observatory","Amusement park","Army base",{"id":631,"data":632,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":635},"af47d28d-a82a-49b1-8d79-ec8951c96937",{"type":45,"markdownContent":633,"audioMediaId":634},"In this story, the protagonist is stranded on Mars after a mission goes awry. As he struggles to survive in an inhospitable environment, the story explores the theme of solitude, and perseverance against all odds.\n\nAnother example is Kim Stanley Robinson's *Mars* trilogy, which chronicles humanity's efforts to colonize and terraform the red planet. The narrative explores various methods for altering Mars' atmosphere and climate, such as melting ice caps using nuclear explosions, all to create a habitable world.\n\n![Graph](image://f476efe0-125e-4977-8034-947b8e8e1bea \"Mark Watney standing alone on the barren, dusty surface of Mars\")","cbd4b6b1-45e5-4445-b6d5-acc2db02042c",[636],{"id":637,"data":638,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"6fce8f00-24d2-4096-9781-3d9c7fcf8b7a",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":639,"binaryCorrect":641,"binaryIncorrect":643},[640],"What is the focus of Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Mars' trilogy?",[642],"The colonization of Mars",[644],"A rescue mission to Mars",{"id":646,"data":647,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":649,"introPage":657,"pages":663},"d103872f-5287-4943-8653-2e3caf57ff50",{"type":31,"title":648},"Interstellar Concepts",{"id":650,"data":651,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"a506f597-d601-434b-b7d9-ab3ce3aac177",{"type":22,"summary":652},[653,654,655,656],"Hyperdrives in Star Wars let spaceships travel almost instantly between stars","Generation ships take centuries to reach their destination while inhabitants live and die onboard","Ursula K. Le Guin's ansible allows instant communication across cosmic distances","In Dark Eden, a cut-off society regresses to an iron age state, treating electricity like magic",{"id":658,"data":659,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"8c4ca54b-c884-46ae-b448-e0196eeda654",{"type":49,"intro":660},[661,662],"What is a hyperdrive, and how does it change space travel in Star Wars?","How does the society in Dark Eden view electricity after being cut off from Earth?",[664,669,682,697],{"id":665,"data":666,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"33fa85f3-173a-4726-bf22-c8ab71e735ba",{"type":45,"markdownContent":667,"audioMediaId":668},"Some writers have imagined spacecraft travelling outside the solar system and visiting distant stars. Often, these spacecraft use faster-than-light engines, which let them jump through space and time.\n\n![Graph](image://d6942b69-3d49-473d-b9f9-7e5e17bbab24 \"A spaceship enters hyperdrive\")\n\nThe hyperdrive, in *Star Wars*, is the most famous example of this theoretical technology. It lets spaceships travel almost instantaneously between stars. Without faster-than-light travel, a similar journey might take several hundred years.","4a18365e-e545-4407-a962-8b6c6773b979",{"id":670,"data":671,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":674},"3948dc64-41ed-4651-8317-dda45a7b2534",{"type":45,"markdownContent":672,"audioMediaId":673},"Another approach to long distance travel is something called a generation ship. This is a giant ship, that takes centuries to reach its destination, while its inhabitants go through several generations onboard.\n\nIn Robert Heinlein's *Orphans of the Sky*, the people living on a generation ship have forgotten their origins, and believe their ship is the entire universe. The story explores cultural memory and the nature of human society.","79c3f619-d832-44e7-aaf9-3cb2592d38af",[675],{"id":676,"data":677,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"20bbfeb8-fa22-4783-be7d-f0cb106d204a",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":678,"clozeWords":680},[679],"A generation ship is a giant spaceship that takes centuries to reach its destination.",[681],"generation",{"id":683,"data":684,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":687},"abed0388-1ea3-426c-af24-0b133dcff6ba",{"type":45,"markdownContent":685,"audioMediaId":686},"If interstellar travel was ever accomplished, it would be hard to send messages back to Earth. A generation ship might send a signal through space, but it would still take centuries to arrive.\n\n![Graph](image://79d903c8-b79c-4b94-a1de-02f953fab500 \"Ursula K. Le Guin with her ansible device\")\n\nUrsula K. Le Guin imagined a device called an ansible, which let users communicate instantaneously over vast cosmic distances. This device would connect distant stars in a similar way that the internet connects distant countries on Earth.","a1680e69-3453-4efa-885b-08706b862543",[688],{"id":689,"data":690,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"9b95b02a-714f-4158-9e30-fbcbeb0768bd",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":691,"binaryCorrect":693,"binaryIncorrect":695},[692],"Which device imagined by Ursula Le Guin could be used to communicate over vast cosmic distances?",[694],"Ansible",[696],"Cosmophone",{"id":698,"data":699,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"077fe663-4348-4732-bb3d-c1a9b7ead2b6",{"type":45,"markdownContent":700,"audioMediaId":701},"Other authors imagined interstellar colonies that, unable to speak efficiently to Earth, decide to cut off contact, and build a new society in relative isolation. This scenario is an interesting thought experiment: how would a new society develop if it was disconnected from the outside world?\n\nIn Chris Beckett’s *Dark Eden*, a cut-off society descends into an iron age state. They still talk about electricity, but they treat it like a magical force that nobody remembers how to make.","1eec647c-e9ee-4c83-9fd2-de4d1ba7837a",{"id":703,"data":704,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":706,"introPage":714,"pages":720},"8c1b7563-56c5-4ad0-aba4-faebe275f3b0",{"type":31,"title":705},"Empires in Space",{"id":707,"data":708,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"6262e3bb-f5c5-4deb-a787-d02193790232",{"type":22,"summary":709},[710,711,712,713],"Intergalactic empires in sci-fi show humans colonizing distant stars.","Frank Herbert's *Dune* features noble houses fighting for control in a vast empire.","Isaac Asimov's *Foundation* series explores the fall of a Galactic Empire.","Even advanced empires face wars, rebellions, and eventual collapse.",{"id":715,"data":716,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"4d977542-b39d-4e78-a119-f9b71eccef53",{"type":49,"intro":717},[718,719],"What political structure is depicted in Frank Herbert's Dune?","How does Isaac Asimov's Foundation series portray the collapse of an intergalactic empire?",[721,735],{"id":722,"data":723,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":726},"f30e04c7-d690-45f4-b95c-cfb1915f9fd3",{"type":45,"markdownContent":724,"audioMediaId":725},"Intergalactic empires often serve as the backdrop for science fiction narratives. In these stories, humans have done more than just visit distant stars. They have colonized those stars, and built a vast, interconnected empire.\n\nFrank Herbert's *Dune* is a famous example. It describes a sprawling empire where noble houses vie for control. It is an intricate political landscape shaped by advanced technologies and interstellar travel.\\\n\n![Graph](image://18e5331b-62e2-4d2f-8686-2b8deabbcb90 \"Warriors on Frank Herbert's Arrakis\")\n\nIn order to exist, intergalactic empires must be hyper-advanced. But in most of these stories, wars and rebellions still take place. It raises an interesting question: even at the peak of human advancement, will we still take part in primitive, violent warfare?","0b275674-da87-41bc-9e3e-dc2a6b36ea9b",[727],{"id":728,"data":729,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"a6148ff1-012c-437b-9383-fc0ebe709e18",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":730,"multiChoiceCorrect":732,"multiChoiceIncorrect":733,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[731],"Who wrote Dune, a novel about a vast, intergalactic empire?",[592],[734,89,88],"Chris Beckett",{"id":736,"data":737,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":740},"27bfae7e-2287-4b72-b1a0-ad1e50c9181c",{"type":45,"markdownContent":738,"audioMediaId":739},"![Graph](image://9677e43e-f56b-4f60-8f8f-e42ab2197e1e \"A planet protecting the knowledge and culture of a collapsing intergalactic empire\")\n\nSome writers have explored the collapse of intergalactic empires. Throughout human history, even the greatest empires have collapsed eventually, and an intergalactic empire might suffer a similar fate.\n\nIsaac Asimov's *Foundation* series is a prime example. It charts the decline of the Galactic Empire, after overpopulation and social decay. One planet tries to protect the empire’s knowledge and culture, while the rest of the galaxy collapses into a primitive state. It is a clear allegory for the fall of Rome, and the way Constantinople managed to survive while the rest of the empire collapsed. It could also be read as a warning for the future: are our current societies also bound to collapse?","8bdbbff7-7daa-4911-bf7a-a898a3a139fd",[741,752],{"id":584,"data":742,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":743,"multiChoiceQuestion":744,"multiChoiceCorrect":746,"multiChoiceIncorrect":747,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":748,"matchPairsPairs":749},[581,585,586],[745],"Who is the author of the 'Dune' series?",[592],[590,593,434],[131],[750],{"left":592,"right":751,"direction":22},"Dune' series",{"id":753,"data":754,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"e14797da-3dd2-4d21-bebf-9e7d998c84f4",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":755,"multiChoiceCorrect":757,"multiChoiceIncorrect":759,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[756],"Which historical event is the Foundation series an allegory for?",[758],"Fall of Rome",[760,761,762],"French Revolution","World War II","Fall of Constantinople",{"id":764,"data":765,"type":31,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":767,"introPage":775,"pages":781},"934f47b5-8ad9-4730-ba26-f8da4938125b",{"type":31,"title":766},"Space Travel: Fiction vs Reality",{"id":768,"data":769,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"97b902e1-7846-40a6-bdb7-c7248c33b7c3",{"type":22,"summary":770},[771,772,773,774],"Kubrick's *2001: A Space Odyssey* predicted the moon landing accurately.","Probes have reached Mars, and a manned mission is expected by 2030.","Faster-than-light travel is dismissed by scientists; generation ships are more plausible.","Protecting Earth is crucial, as abandoning it often leads to regret in sci-fi stories.",{"id":776,"data":777,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"7b6368c4-bb87-468f-9c7c-5d89468041f4",{"type":49,"intro":778},[779,780],"How did Kubrick's *2001: A Space Odyssey* compare to the real Apollo 11 moon landing?","What are the challenges of building a generation ship for interstellar travel?",[782,797,812],{"id":783,"data":784,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":787},"e4db0c76-df4b-4b14-8c84-244eadf58ee0",{"type":45,"markdownContent":785,"audioMediaId":786},"![Graph](image://8eb4879f-87d8-4e33-bdc1-ce2ddb8bc666 \"The lunar surface depicted in Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey'\")\n\nWhen the first writers spoke about space travel, it was a purely hypothetical scenario. But in the last few decades, the situation has changed completely.\n\nIn 1968, Stanley Kubrick’s *2001: A Space Odyssey* depicted a realistic lunar landing. One year later, Apollo 11 actually landed on the moon. As it turned out, Kubrick’s fictional depiction of the lunar surface was relatively close to reality.\n","0c1f4d8a-ba55-4a70-8339-bae4cf8d3bdd",[788],{"id":789,"data":790,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"c0429bff-c9a0-44fb-8637-29d9ea6da002",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":791,"binaryCorrect":793,"binaryIncorrect":795},[792],"Which came first: the moon landing or 2001: A Space Odyssey?",[794],"2001: A Space Odyssey",[796],"The moon landing",{"id":798,"data":799,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":802},"8ab14e02-7a57-49c6-952e-3a3a3529170e",{"type":45,"markdownContent":800,"audioMediaId":801},"\nMeanwhile, probes have been sent to Mars, and the first manned mission to the red planet is expected to happen as soon as 2030. This mission could mirror stories like *The Martian*, and maybe, with time, we will try to colonize the planet, like in Kim Stanley Robinson’s *Mars* trilogy.\n\nIn the last few decades, we have made tentative steps towards exploring our solar system, but we are still a long way off interstellar travel.\n","5875318c-2026-42d7-86ed-4a6e10faf9f6",[803],{"id":804,"data":805,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"7ade9eec-d115-42cb-bd18-a155bb284c4f",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":806,"binaryCorrect":808,"binaryIncorrect":810},[807],"Which type of interstellar travel is more feasible in real life?",[809],"Generation ships",[811],"Faster-than-light travel",{"id":813,"data":814,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"d03ae0d3-063d-4bbd-90f4-f21d12c71985",{"type":45,"markdownContent":815,"audioMediaId":816},"\nThe scientific community generally dismisses the prospect of faster-than-light travel. Generation ships are more plausible, but building such a large, self-sustaining vessel is currently beyond our reach.\n\n![Graph](image://a8356e2b-2c29-4f88-8e68-cc567af0d122 \"A group of astronauts standing in front of a massive, self-sustaining generation ship\")\n\nIn the future, this might need to change. If climate change and overpopulation make the Earth uninhabitable, an alternative would need to be found. Astronomers have found potentially habitable exoplanets, with stable atmospheres and liquid water, but reaching those planets is another matter.\n\nAlternatively, we could do more to protect our current planet. It is a running theme in science fiction stories: when people are forced to abandon Earth, they find themselves wondering why no one did more to protect it.\n","de4a097c-be92-48b8-ab49-eb60bd94ce3f",{"id":818,"data":819,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"orbs":822},"62468047-3cbe-4118-a7c2-c05241819c9c",{"type":28,"title":820,"tagline":821},"Alien Contact","How writers explore encounters with extraterrestrials.",[823,911,1002],{"id":824,"data":825,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":827,"introPage":835,"pages":841},"a3ee838b-9495-4125-a9b6-1edd5f5c3d79",{"type":31,"title":826},"Alien Encounters",{"id":828,"data":829,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"d0d6e15b-e007-4a33-8c37-f7858a68eeaa",{"type":22,"summary":830},[831,832,833,834],"Johannes Kepler's *Somnium* (1608) was one of the first books to explore alien life.","H.G. Wells' *The War of the Worlds* (1898) set the stage for alien invasion stories.","In *Roadside Picnic*, aliens treat Earth like a pit stop and ignore humans.","In *Lilith's Brood*, the Oankali save humanity from nuclear war and treat us like children.",{"id":836,"data":837,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"5935bbfa-db7c-41e5-a021-142d3c18638c",{"type":49,"intro":838},[839,840],"Why did the Martians invade Earth in The War of the Worlds?","How do the Oankali in Lilith's Brood view humanity?",[842,868,885],{"id":843,"data":844,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":847},"65c21ce3-2286-43d1-89c6-dfa2d84f7cb7",{"type":45,"markdownContent":845,"audioMediaId":846},"Since the earliest days of science fiction, writers have wondered whether humans are alone in the universe. It is a question that captivates audiences, and links to important themes. Johannes Kepler's *Somnium*, a story written in 1608, was one of the earliest books to explore the possibility of alien life. In the story, a little boy goes on a dream-like journey, where he sees giant aliens living on the surface of the moon.\n\n![Graph](image://f331847d-bbaa-4691-85df-8269c5d291b0 \"Little boy encountering giant aliens on the surface of the moon in Johannes Kepler's Somnium\")\n\nWhen aliens and humans interact, in science fiction, it raises questions concerning colonization, cultural exchange, racism, language and identity. In some stories, aliens come to us. In others, we go to them.","9576bc64-564f-4f5a-8abf-42ecf38db9d9",[848,859],{"id":585,"data":849,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":850,"multiChoiceQuestion":851,"multiChoiceCorrect":853,"multiChoiceIncorrect":854,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":855,"matchPairsPairs":856},[581,584,586],[852],"Who is the author of 'Somnium'?",[593],[590,592,434],[131],[857],{"left":593,"right":858,"direction":22},"Somnium'",{"id":860,"data":861,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"52358463-a948-47c9-be88-34b4272fbb4d",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":862,"binaryCorrect":864,"binaryIncorrect":866},[863],"What is the title of Johannes Kepler's story about aliens living on the moon?",[865],"Somnium",[867],"Lunarium",{"id":869,"data":870,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":873},"a2f9e037-cd85-4575-bcb1-464971b4250d",{"type":45,"markdownContent":871,"audioMediaId":872},"![Graph](image://88b47279-96e0-4a59-95c5-1e7d0bf86caf \"Martian Tripod Machines attacking London\")\n\nThe earliest story about an alien invasion is probably *The War of the Worlds*. This book was published by H.G. Wells in 1898, and describes aggressive Martians coming to Earth after resources on their own planet dwindled. The story set a precedent for future stories about alien contact, especially the idea of humans finding themselves completely outgunned by a far superior species.\n\nIn 1938, the story was adapted into a radio play. Some listeners confused the play for an actual news story, and thought a Martian invasion was genuinely taking place.","c2438f89-b17a-4a46-a478-4cacaff0c392",[874],{"id":586,"data":875,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":876,"multiChoiceQuestion":877,"multiChoiceCorrect":879,"multiChoiceIncorrect":880,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":881,"matchPairsPairs":882},[581,584,585],[878],"Who is the author of The War of the Worlds?",[434],[590,592,593],[131],[883],{"left":434,"right":884,"direction":22},"The War of the Worlds'",{"id":886,"data":887,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":890},"eb793b53-74fa-4b7d-933b-856b5dbaa2ea",{"type":45,"markdownContent":888,"audioMediaId":889},"The idea of advanced aliens, whose level of technology far exceeds us, is common in science fiction. But unlike the Martians in *The War of the Worlds*, these aliens are not always aggressors. The Russian novel, *Roadside Picnic*, is about the arrival of aliens on Earth. These aliens do not communicate with humans, or even acknowledge we are here. They quickly move on, as though the Earth was just a pit stop on a longer journey, and humans are too primitive to notice.\n\nIn Octavia Butler's *Lilith's Brood*, the Oankali are an alien species who protect us from a nuclear war. They present themselves as humanity’s saviors, and treat us almost like children.\n\n![Graph](image://06a41c90-16cc-4731-9a51-bf798614d72c \"Lilith from Octavia Butler's 'Lilith's Brood'\")\n\nStories like these are humbling, and help us to keep our feet on the ground. We may feel advanced on our own planet, but are we advanced in the context of the universe?","7d482417-19dc-4e12-97f8-fe24d122cd88",[891,900],{"id":892,"data":893,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"6c638444-137c-4aa5-b665-12207d267c0e",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":894,"binaryCorrect":896,"binaryIncorrect":898},[895],"In the Russian novel 'Roadside Picnic', how do aliens treat the Earth?",[897],"As a pit stop",[899],"As a nature reserve",{"id":901,"data":902,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"4248f2b8-ab5e-4ae7-8665-86f633f8d2c6",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":903,"multiChoiceCorrect":905,"multiChoiceIncorrect":907,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[904],"What are the aliens called in Lilith's Brood?",[906],"Oankali",[908,909,910],"Hisa","Moties","Trisolarans",{"id":912,"data":913,"type":31,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":915,"introPage":923,"pages":929},"3b4c338c-cd5f-4ebe-875a-12412d65eb1d",{"type":31,"title":914},"Alien Societies",{"id":916,"data":917,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"08b2cab0-3ec9-4804-9060-e1d33f5f1f64",{"type":22,"summary":918},[919,920,921,922],"Aliens in *Downbelow Station* and *Avatar* highlight human colonization and greed.","The xenomorph in *Alien* is a terrifying predator with acid blood and needle-like teeth.","Speculative evolution creates scientifically realistic alien ecosystems, like in *Avatar*.","*Story of Your Life* features heptapods with a non-linear language that changes human perception of time.",{"id":924,"data":925,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"82b3c9bf-9dab-4a78-a372-f134efde4a44",{"type":49,"intro":926},[927,928],"How does the Hisa culture in *Downbelow Station* contrast with human behavior?","What drives humans to colonize Pandora in *Avatar*?",[930,935,948,976],{"id":931,"data":932,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"23738bdf-9929-42e8-968b-353532231059",{"type":45,"markdownContent":933,"audioMediaId":934},"When aliens visit Earth in science fiction, they are often more advanced than humans. But when humans visit other planets, they sometimes find aliens who are simple, primitive and pure. C.J. Cherryh's *Downbelow Station* was published in 1981. This story introduces the Hisa, an indigenous race living on a planet caught between human factions. Their peaceful culture contrasts sharply with the violence of human beings.\n\n![Graph](image://f23b3f05-e161-4279-bf39-3fe29e242f1e \"The Hisa peacefully tending to their crops\")\n\nA more recent example is James Cameron’s *Avatar*, first released in 2009. In the movie, humans try to colonize a lush, resource-rich planet, violently displacing the alien Na’vi on the way. Stories like these ask important questions about colonization and greed. If we really encountered a species like the Na’vi, how long would it be before we tried to seize their home?\n","a7d38ac7-dbd7-4e45-8482-5e82dabd3871",{"id":936,"data":937,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":940},"5a6a8dc8-6118-4e98-b29c-a5fc7c91fd1e",{"type":45,"markdownContent":938,"audioMediaId":939},"\nAlien horror is an important branch of science fiction, with ruthless predators arriving on Earth, or finding their way into a spaceship. These predators might not be as intelligent as humans, but that does not make them less terrifying. The definitive example is the xenomorph in Ridley Scott's *Alien* series. The xenomorph has needle-like teeth, acid for blood, and most horrifying of all, it lays its eggs in human beings.\n\nThe xenomorph embodies primal fears about the strange, alien unknown. It is frightening to think that human beings are alone in the universe, but the opposite is even scarier: what other species might be lurking out there in the endless, cosmic dark? The xenomorph in *Alien* is meant to be biologically feasible. The designers studied real animals, before trying to invent a convincing organism of their own.\n","68cb961d-e71b-4938-827c-342a0b10addd",[941],{"id":942,"data":943,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"2c4fe68c-1b87-47df-b634-f8a69aeff400",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":944,"clozeWords":946},[945],"In Ridley Scott's Alien films, the xenomorph has needle-like teeth, acid for blood, and lays its eggs in humans.",[947],"xenomorph",{"id":949,"data":950,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":953},"b7fc1fba-2a49-4151-98cd-2b058fa5dcd2",{"type":45,"markdownContent":951,"audioMediaId":952},"\nThis process is known as speculative evolution. Another famous example is the alien ecosystem in *Avatar*, which teems with flora and fauna. All of these species were carefully designed to feel scientifically realistic. Speculative evolution lends itself to eye-catching artwork. Wayne Barlowe's illustrated *Expedition* is one of the most visually striking science fiction books ever created. Looking at one of these alien images is a surefire way to spark curiosity – could these creatures actually exist?\n\n![Graph](image://c0f11a1e-960a-4a21-8602-db030e9fc453 \"Wayne Barlowe's alien ecosystem from *Expedition*\")\n\nConstructed languages, or ‘conlangs’, are alien languages invented by science fiction writers to give depth and color to their stories. A famous example is Klingon, a guttural conlang from the *Star Trek* universe, which was developed by linguist Marc Okrand. The language is full of hard, decisive verbs, to reflect the species’ action-driven culture.\n","8b2fc4cb-95fc-47e0-8770-5214fc9ad179",[954,965],{"id":295,"data":955,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":956,"multiChoiceQuestion":957,"multiChoiceCorrect":959,"multiChoiceIncorrect":960,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":961,"matchPairsPairs":962},[290,293,294],[958],"Which of the following most closely applies to speculative evolution?",[303],[299,301,302],[131],[963],{"left":964,"right":303,"direction":22},"Speculative evolution",{"id":966,"data":967,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"4c14c36b-d5ef-4ab7-bd78-70d1578bd8be",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":968,"multiChoiceCorrect":970,"multiChoiceIncorrect":972,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[969],"Who wrote Expedition, an iconic work of speculative evolution?",[971],"Wayne Barlowe",[973,974,975],"Ridley Scott","Dougal Dixon","H.R. Giger",{"id":977,"data":978,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":981},"66998de5-9a82-4511-83d9-595d3ff9cb50",{"type":45,"markdownContent":979,"audioMediaId":980},"\nOther writers have explored the idea of an alien language, so strange and unique, that humans barely recognize it as a language. The quintessential story about this is Ted Chiang’s *Story of Your Life*, which was adapted into a film, *Arrival*. This story introduces heptapods, an alien race with non-linear language – any spoken phrase is a swirl of information, with no clear beginning or end. When a human linguist starts to learn the language, it changes her perception of time.\n\n![Graph](image://3c1e56cc-d0f9-458d-b1ed-7bca1bcf8661 \"Heptapod language symbols hovering in mid-air\")\n","f58b9ce0-2c59-4c95-8605-605f3340bfc6",[982,993],{"id":983,"data":984,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"343709b5-e7da-4576-9285-d0347cf4622f",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":985,"multiChoiceCorrect":987,"multiChoiceIncorrect":989,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[986],"Which Ted Chiang story features heptapod aliens with a non-linear language?",[988],"Story of Your Life",[990,991,992],"Tower of Babylon","Exhalation","Arrival",{"id":994,"data":995,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"666cf3d2-6dc6-4bf7-a036-9086fd9a6de5",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":996,"binaryCorrect":998,"binaryIncorrect":1000},[997],"What are constructed languages also known as?",[999],"Conlangs",[1001],"Lingos",{"id":1003,"data":1004,"type":31,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1006,"introPage":1014,"pages":1020},"9ba0c05c-f22c-4b19-9ff0-56d3e66248a3",{"type":31,"title":1005},"Alien Contact in Reality",{"id":1007,"data":1008,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"86e7ee86-0779-43ba-a6c2-112be4ecede1",{"type":22,"summary":1009},[1010,1011,1012,1013],"Indigenous Americans had no idea Europe existed before the 15th century.","European invaders in America acted like Martians in The War of the Worlds.","The Drake Equation predicts many alien civilizations in our galaxy.","NASA's Perseverance rover is hunting for alien microbes on Mars.",{"id":1015,"data":1016,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"a8a9f488-3b7d-47d2-bfe0-e2513a82344f",{"type":49,"intro":1017},[1018,1019],"How did the arrival of Europeans in America resemble alien contact?","What does the Drake Equation predict about alien civilizations?",[1021,1034],{"id":1022,"data":1023,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":1026},"a60e97a2-682f-446b-97f3-8b2adec1c3f6",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1024,"audioMediaId":1025},"Outside the realms of science fiction, aliens have never been found. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is an ongoing project, but after several decades scanning the skies, we are yet to find so much as an alien amoeba. Having said that, there is a real-life period of history that certainly felt like alien contact from the perspective of the people involved.\n\nBefore the 15th century, the indigenous cultures on the American continent did not know that Europe existed. Then a fleet of ships arrived, and disgorged a strangely alien race of people with advanced weapons and technology. The European invaders behaved just like the Martians in *The War of the Worlds*. They laid claim to America, killing and repressing the indigenous peoples on the way.\n\n![Graph](image://e77c1acc-6a28-46f4-9177-5c8338b3160f \"Arrival of European Ships to the American Continent\")\n","dfeec64f-2688-49e4-9336-38dbe548f846",[1027],{"id":1028,"data":1029,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"dc1f89fd-9a38-436c-a014-f6bbc4849de9",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1030,"activeRecallAnswers":1032},[1031],"What does SETI stand for?",[1033],"Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence",{"id":1035,"data":1036,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":1039},"29827aba-bf73-4e3c-a0f6-02e9ebe02abc",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1037,"audioMediaId":1038},"\n![Graph](image://d556ce18-dceb-4161-995a-8b3c6f5237c4 \"A radar dish aiming to catch alien signals\")\n\nWe have not found any aliens yet, but at places like the SETI Institute, they firmly believe that alien contact is only a matter of time. In the 1960s, astrophysicist Frank Drake drew up the Drake Equation. This formula predicts the number of civilized alien races in our galaxy. It considers factors such as star formation, habitable planets, and the likelihood of life developing.\n\nThe Drake Equation is only an estimate, but it suggests that the chances of other civilized races is high. If these races ever put signals out into space, Earth could pick them up. Closer to home, NASA are hoping to find evidence of alien microbes on Mars. The *Perseverance* rover arrived to collect samples in 2021. The discovery of microbes would be less spectacular than an advanced civilization, but still a monumental moment in history.\n","c1900d47-d932-4320-90ce-a917df7465d4",[1040,1047],{"id":1041,"data":1042,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"93d40101-92ce-492a-8963-2fe6fea1db15",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":1043,"clozeWords":1045},[1044],"The Drake Equation predicts the number of civilized alien races in our galaxy.",[1046],"Drake",{"id":1048,"data":1049,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"49fd273c-ece2-4aab-833a-9977fcdaf5e2",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1050,"multiChoiceCorrect":1052,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1054,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1051],"Which NASA rover arrived on Mars in 2021?",[1053],"Perseverance",[1055,1056,1057],"Opportunity","Curiosity","Spirit",{"id":1059,"data":1060,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"orbs":1063},"19e01789-f7c3-4203-9364-6a98c8792d31",{"type":28,"title":1061,"tagline":1062},"Dystopian Societies","How writers explore dark visions of the future.",[1064,1146,1301],{"id":1065,"data":1066,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1068,"introPage":1076,"pages":1082},"097b5e1b-0d22-42b1-a808-aabf11f62148",{"type":31,"title":1067},"Understanding Dystopia",{"id":1069,"data":1070,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"bc33a2b2-5743-416f-a08d-e4ebf4d12172",{"type":22,"summary":1071},[1072,1073,1074,1075],"Dystopia means 'bad place' and often features oppressive regimes.","George Orwell's *1984* shows a world of constant surveillance and thought policing.","Yevgeny Zamyatin's *We* features a future society with glass buildings for total surveillance.","*Brave New World* by Aldous Huxley depicts a society where people are bred and brainwashed for specific jobs.",{"id":1077,"data":1078,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"2b9cc995-51e1-4ef6-a599-1c2ac72a2f0b",{"type":49,"intro":1079},[1080,1081],"What is the origin of the word 'dystopia'?","How does *Brave New World* depict an authoritarian regime?",[1083,1096,1101],{"id":1084,"data":1085,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1088},"f7acc09e-1f4a-49ab-ab55-3c8f231cc211",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1086,"audioMediaId":1087},"The word ‘dystopia’ comes from Ancient Greek, and roughly translates as ‘bad place’. It is a common theme in science fiction, as writers imagine future societies with cruel, oppressive regimes.\n\nThe most famous example is George Orwell's *1984*: a story about a totalitarian government using constant surveillance and thought policing to maintain authoritarian power. This chilling vision of the near future forces readers to confront real-world issues, like privacy invasion and dictatorship.\n\n![Graph](image://994b35ad-f417-4bbd-a176-ccd68b2a3df8 \"Winston Smith from '1984', with Big Brother watching him inside his apartment\")","0d5f48fd-75e0-4363-a397-5e4a72aa575f",[1089],{"id":1090,"data":1091,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"24cc7f60-e044-49c8-86af-a1992b8e3f41",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":1092,"clozeWords":1094},[1093],"The word \"dystopia\" comes from Ancient Greek, and translates as 'bad place'.",[1095],"bad place",{"id":1097,"data":1098,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"5729cc43-2f04-4ee0-8d7b-84e15aea4383",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1099,"audioMediaId":1100},"A related branch of science fiction is the apocalyptic subgenre. These stories are also about terrible, future worlds, often in the wake of a nuclear war or extreme climate change. These stories function as cautionary tales: if we do not take these problems seriously, we might lose the world as we know it. Dystopian novels have existed, in some form, since the 19th century. But the genre really came to life in the 20th century, beginning with Yevgeny Zamyatin's *We*.\n\nThis novel was published in Russia during the early 1920s. It is set in a future society called the One State, where citizens live in glass buildings to facilitate constant surveillance. It is a highly organized, mathematical culture, where the characters are named using symbols and numbers, like Д-503 and I-330.\n\n![Graph](image://066c71b0-585a-4d58-84a5-3fdd3e41a867 \"The One State from Yevgeny Zamyatin's 'We'\")","61d6bd29-a338-4772-98d6-28e50008a126",{"id":1102,"data":1103,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1106},"0e57c39a-5df6-42c0-84fc-d1622329f88e",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1104,"audioMediaId":1105},"To begin with, the protagonist is happy with life, because he does not know any different. But over time, he becomes dissatisfied. The book asks questions about freedom of expression and human rights. English writer Aldous Huxley wrote *Brave New World* a decade after Yevgeny Zamyatin’s *We*. The story was published in 1932, and is remembered as a dystopian classic.\n\n![Graph](image://eb612e10-8c82-4585-8ba1-0effdaf2fe8d \"A conveyor belt with identical human embryos passing through a glass tube\")\n\nIn *Brave New World*, an authoritarian regime uses reproductive control to manage society as a whole. People are treated like products on an assembly line, with every person bred and brainwashed to do a certain job.\n\nAnother decade later, George Orwell wrote *1984*. In this story, the Thought Police monitor people's thoughts and actions, punishing signs of dissent. The regime even designs a language – Newspeak – with a reduced vocabulary, and no volatile words that could be used to start a rebellion.\n\nThese books were written in the Mid-20th century, a time when the rise of Nazism and the USSR meant totalitarian regimes were at the forefront of people’s minds. They are unsettling visions of a future world where authoritarian regimes have taken root across the globe.","f436b413-c4b8-474f-b77a-644e02c8a74d",[1107,1126,1135],{"id":1108,"data":1109,"type":68,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22},"e079034b-1248-4f5d-8dae-410c2b6b7f2b",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1110,"multiChoiceQuestion":1114,"multiChoiceCorrect":1116,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1118,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1122,"matchPairsPairs":1123},[1111,1112,1113],"7f5f4de9-e0eb-4ff7-b36a-c28faaad544f","479c24f8-c8a8-4488-a4b0-169e80679179","9c4d64d9-7b18-41c1-9286-0ef9ee6654bb",[1115],"Which of the following was written by Aldous Huxley?",[1117],"Brave New World",[1119,1120,1121],"Utopia","The Diamond Age","I Am Legend",[131],[1124],{"left":1125,"right":1117,"direction":22},"Aldous Huxley",{"id":1127,"data":1128,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"21a74f36-7089-48e5-bf7f-c05ff0cc6976",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1129,"binaryCorrect":1131,"binaryIncorrect":1133},[1130],"In 1984, which police force monitors the population?",[1132],"Thought Police",[1134],"Mind Police",{"id":1136,"data":1137,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"93fa7ade-d8ce-4440-8cc7-1a873d8dcea0",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1138,"multiChoiceCorrect":1140,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1142,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1139],"Yevgeny Zamyatin's We is set in a future society called:",[1141],"The One State",[1143,1144,1145],"The World State","Oceania","Panem",{"id":1147,"data":1148,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1150,"introPage":1158,"pages":1164},"0b918dd3-0bc5-454b-8c29-e29e9f38461c",{"type":31,"title":1149},"Dystopia in Modern Literature",{"id":1151,"data":1152,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"6a948926-62fe-4a6d-80b9-e266b1637176",{"type":22,"summary":1153},[1154,1155,1156,1157],"The Hunger Games features a brutal death match controlled by an authoritarian regime","Utopian fiction like Thomas More's Utopia imagines ideal societies with shared ownership","Apocalyptic fiction often explores the aftermath of global catastrophes, like in I Am Legend","Climate fiction highlights the impact of global warming and resource scarcity, as seen in The Windup Girl",{"id":1159,"data":1160,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"31a32f75-cb00-4b48-b703-eba0fa521c80",{"type":49,"intro":1161},[1162,1163],"How does *The Hunger Games* serve as a warning about societal neglect?","What global catastrophe is depicted in *I Am Legend*?",[1165,1189,1256,1273],{"id":1166,"data":1167,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1170},"ac2db28b-30ca-49e3-8a3d-0405b5f5e253",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1168,"audioMediaId":1169},"In the 21st century, dystopian settings have sprung up in a number of science fiction novels aimed at young adult readers. The most popular example is *The Hunger Games*, published by Suzanne Collins in 2008. In this story, an authoritarian regime forces children to participate in a televised death match called the Hunger Games.\n\nThis brutal event serves as entertainment for the ruling class, and a reminder of their power over the oppressed districts. The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, becomes a symbol of rebellion against this cruel regime. It is an idea which resonates with teenagers, who often feel downtrodden by society, and dream of breaking free.\n\n![Graph](image://c81c45d6-6072-44f6-b25e-6cd91b99badd \"Katniss Everdeen\")","8ee27652-f683-4bbe-aa53-1c9456a18b05",[1171,1182],{"id":1111,"data":1172,"type":68,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1173,"multiChoiceQuestion":1174,"multiChoiceCorrect":1176,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1177,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1178,"matchPairsPairs":1179},[1108,1112,1113],[1175],"Which of these was written by Thomas More?",[1119],[1117,1120,1121],[131],[1180],{"left":1181,"right":1119,"direction":22},"Thomas More",{"id":1183,"data":1184,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"a67bec4f-71c5-4c70-af98-e66209df64c2",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1185,"activeRecallAnswers":1187},[1186],"Which young adult novel features a dystopian regime forcing children to fight to the death?",[1188],"The Hunger Games",{"id":1190,"data":1191,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1194},"fe1fffd3-9c88-43a1-b6b2-f98c37d71679",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1192,"audioMediaId":1193},"In stark contrast to dystopian stories, some writers have explored the idea of utopian futures. Thomas More's *Utopia* (1516) is the oldest example, describing an idealized society with shared ownership and a generous welfare state. More recently, post-scarcity novels like Neal Stephenson's *The Diamond Age* (1995) might be classed as utopian fiction. This story envisions a future world where nanotechnology has eliminated scarcity of resources, and any material can be manufactured at will.\n\n![Graph](image://92e75ad9-9edd-47fd-99ed-4261cd38193d \"Thomas More's 'Utopia'\")\n\nWhile utopian fiction is less common than dystopian stories, both genres serve as thought experiments which invite their readers to think about society. Even in a seemingly utopian world, the characters often have difficult lives – can we have too much of a good thing?","2245fcf3-e3e4-4526-bd53-821fd2e79dbc",[1195,1206,1219,1238,1249],{"id":1112,"data":1196,"type":68,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1197,"multiChoiceQuestion":1198,"multiChoiceCorrect":1200,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1201,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1202,"matchPairsPairs":1203},[1108,1111,1113],[1199],"Which of these was written by Neal Stephenson?",[1120],[1117,1119,1121],[131],[1204],{"left":1205,"right":1120,"direction":22},"Neal Stephenson",{"id":1113,"data":1207,"type":68,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1208,"multiChoiceQuestion":1209,"multiChoiceCorrect":1211,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1213,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1215,"matchPairsPairs":1216},[1108,1111,1112],[1210],"Which of these was written by Richard Matheson?",[1212],"I am Legend",[1212,1119,1214],"The Windup Girl",[131],[1217],{"left":1218,"right":1212,"direction":22},"Richard Matheson",{"id":1220,"data":1221,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"1d0c686c-e420-4660-a79f-f499f2de80b2",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1222,"multiChoiceQuestion":1226,"multiChoiceCorrect":1228,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1230,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1234,"matchPairsPairs":1235},[1223,1224,1225],"d0da988c-9986-4816-994c-7d0f8abe3392","e584a72d-72a7-4ed2-b8f4-6c010e8be2fe","a4e8c67b-462d-450f-a7f4-056adc0c8f87",[1227],"Which of the following most closely applies to dystopian fiction?",[1229],"Depicts oppressive, bleak futures",[1231,1232,1233],"Depicts idealized, perfect societies","Depicts aftermath of global catastrophes","Depicts impact of climate change",[131],[1236],{"left":1237,"right":1229,"direction":22},"Dystopian Fiction",{"id":1223,"data":1239,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1240,"multiChoiceQuestion":1241,"multiChoiceCorrect":1243,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1244,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1245,"matchPairsPairs":1246},[1220,1224,1225],[1242],"Which of the following most closely applies to Utopian fiction?",[1231],[1229,1232,1233],[131],[1247],{"left":1248,"right":1231,"direction":22},"Utopian Fiction",{"id":1250,"data":1251,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"82dacfda-3b85-49c8-a777-952754e35973",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1252,"multiChoiceCorrect":1254,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1255,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1253],"Which of these novels is set in a post-scarcity society?",[1120],[1212,1119,1214],{"id":1257,"data":1258,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1261},"6f569e10-7444-473a-b676-5f8d7886fa0b",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1259,"audioMediaId":1260},"Apocalyptic fiction imagines the aftermath of global catastrophes, like pandemics and nuclear wars. Richard Matheson's *I Am Legend* (1954) is a famous example. It explores a world ravaged by a devastating pandemic that transforms humans into vampires. The protagonist, Robert Neville, is the last uninfected human. This is a common trope in apocalyptic stories: the last person on Earth. It gives us a dark glimpse into absolute solitude, with characters often wondering whether it would be easier to just give up.\n\n![Graph](image://9be5cddd-cb2f-4626-98a6-4a8dad9ddfb5 \"A car drives through abandoned New York in 'I Am Legend'\")\n\nNuclear wastelands are another common setting, like the iconic *Fallout* video games. Players navigate landscapes filled with mutated creatures and hostile factions vying for power. Apocalyptic stories often feel like warnings. If we do not protect the world as we know it, society could descend into something barely recognizable.","139198f1-8668-4a5d-9f95-c9220b53540b",[1262],{"id":1263,"data":1264,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"d42b9dfb-6c68-41c3-893e-5cbd50e8fc6f",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1265,"multiChoiceCorrect":1267,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1269,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1266],"Richard Matheson's 'I Am Legend' takes place after what disaster?",[1268],"Global pandemic",[1270,1271,1272],"Nuclear war","Alien invasion","Meteor strike",{"id":1274,"data":1275,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1278},"be55eb01-66af-4a1b-ab71-071cf94ac773",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1276,"audioMediaId":1277},"Climate fiction is a branch of apocalyptic fiction that deals specifically with the impact of issues like global warming, pollution, and overpopulation. Paolo Bacigalupi's *The Windup Girl* (2009) is a prime example, set in a future Thailand where sea levels have risen and fossil fuels are running out.\n\n![Graph](image://3d6c2264-9187-417a-a51f-765e7940b393 \"A scene from Paolo Bacigalupi's 'The Windup Girl'\")\n\nAnother example is Emmi Itäranta's *Memory of Water* (2012) which explores the problem of water scarcity in the future. This story imagines an oppressive government seizing control of the dwindling water supply, and using it to maintain control. In the last few years, climate fiction has become more and more common, and more and more urgent. These stories emphasize the need for global action, before resources really run out.","de08c8f3-8197-410d-8247-8ad830fc9b89",[1279,1290],{"id":1224,"data":1280,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1281,"multiChoiceQuestion":1282,"multiChoiceCorrect":1284,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1285,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1286,"matchPairsPairs":1287},[1220,1223,1225],[1283],"Which of the following most closely applies to apocalyptic fiction?",[1232],[1229,1231,1233],[131],[1288],{"left":1289,"right":1232,"direction":22},"Apocalyptic Fiction",{"id":1225,"data":1291,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1292,"multiChoiceQuestion":1293,"multiChoiceCorrect":1295,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1296,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1297,"matchPairsPairs":1298},[1220,1223,1224],[1294],"Which of the following most closely applies to climate fiction?",[1233],[1229,1231,1232],[131],[1299],{"left":1300,"right":1233,"direction":22},"Climate Fiction",{"id":1302,"data":1303,"type":31,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1305,"introPage":1313,"pages":1319},"c34c1594-5e67-4e52-bfb9-6948c40457fd",{"type":31,"title":1304},"Dystopia in Reality",{"id":1306,"data":1307,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"84e8103b-0ebb-4783-8fac-bd66ebfbd89c",{"type":22,"summary":1308},[1309,1310,1311,1312],"CCTV cameras and apps track personal data, echoing *1984*'s surveillance state","Deepfake tech and AI voices make it hard to spot fake news, like Orwell's Thought Police","Global climate change is the biggest threat, with hurricanes and wildfires on the rise","Humanity can still avoid a dystopian future by tackling these challenges now",{"id":1314,"data":1315,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"af21c3be-0323-4a10-bbed-6b433e5ed094",{"type":49,"intro":1316},[1317,1318],"How does Facebook's data collection echo *1984*'s surveillance state?","Why is deepfake technology compared to Orwell's Thought Police?",[1320,1325,1340],{"id":1321,"data":1322,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"e1aff4a4-fdf8-40b2-8110-c7865a2fbbda",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1323,"audioMediaId":1324},"In the modern world, we see echoes of *1984*’s surveillance state in the widespread use of CCTV cameras, not to mention all the personal data tracked on apps and websites. Facebook has photos of almost three billion users, along with their interests, relationship history, and date of birth.\n\n![Graph](image://69293724-7003-4e1a-9aa2-7ef4ed25cbfc \"CCTV watches over a crowded street\")\n\nFake news also feels like something devised by Orwell’s Thought Police. With deepfake technology, and AI-generated voices, it will become harder and harder to tell the difference between real news stories and fake.\n","d08d79d3-7aca-41bf-8382-5957530afc1e",{"id":1326,"data":1327,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":1330},"a2ba203e-c828-4882-955d-bdfb498ce9cc",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1328,"audioMediaId":1329},"\nBut despite these seemingly dystopian elements, most modern societies encourage freedom of speech and thought.\n\nIn the coming decades, there is always a chance that humanity will face an apocalyptic event. In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic demonstrated the power of infectious diseases, and there will always be a threat of nuclear war unless countries decide to disarm.\n\nBut the most realistic threat that our planet faces is probably global climate change. In the last few years, hurricanes and wildfires have devastated communities. By 2025, more than two thirds of the world may be short of water, and by 2040, the Arctic circle could have melted completely away.\n","f3f796c3-fb7c-4647-9d12-062a08ffbda1",[1331],{"id":1332,"data":1333,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"b5a429ad-45d7-4420-855b-57ede77386ef",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1334,"binaryCorrect":1336,"binaryIncorrect":1338},[1335],"Some experts believe two thirds of the world will be short of water by which year?",[1337],"2025",[1339],"2040",{"id":1341,"data":1342,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"068b3779-fe26-4bc1-a283-38cf0b3f0418",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1343,"audioMediaId":1344},"\n![Graph](image://42576994-62e8-4694-b090-44bca281f4f8 \"A family flees a forest fire in California\")\n\nThat does not mean we should give up hope. By addressing these challenges proactively, humanity can still avert a future like the ones envisioned in science fiction literature. If those stories were written as cautionary tales, now is the time to listen.\n","7d5ce9f7-5c83-457b-a997-4ba2568d6407",{"id":1346,"data":1347,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"orbs":1350},"9d0ac5b8-c765-4852-bc3b-35efc6cbc45d",{"type":28,"title":1348,"tagline":1349},"Time Travel","How writers explore time and parallel universes.",[1351,1401,1479],{"id":1352,"data":1353,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1355,"introPage":1363,"pages":1369},"30faf878-ddb6-457e-b1f3-29c68b0d2d96",{"type":31,"title":1354},"Concepts and Debates in Time Travel",{"id":1356,"data":1357,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"0d7d452b-fe79-4684-af33-e577d154618f",{"type":22,"summary":1358},[1359,1360,1361,1362],"Time travel in fiction is a metaphor for exploring philosophical themes.","Time travel stories often debate free will versus determinism.","19th-century ghost stories can be seen as early time travel fiction.","In *A Christmas Carol*, Scrooge changes his future by changing his present.",{"id":1364,"data":1365,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"9f97fa86-405e-4f06-8547-de8588a4d964",{"type":49,"intro":1366},[1367,1368],"How does *A Christmas Carol* use time travel to change Scrooge's future?","What philosophical debate does time travel often explore?",[1370,1375,1388],{"id":1371,"data":1372,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"63560bff-5559-4b5b-a1c0-eab21ab14ba4",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1373,"audioMediaId":1374},"![Graph](image://73b9afa8-a229-4539-9b65-3d2249f65e72 \"The DeLorean time machine\")\n\nOf all the topics explored in science fiction, time travel is probably the least realistic, with modern scientists generally agreeing that travelling through time is impossible.\n\nBut stories about time travel are not supposed to be realistic. Just like other branches of the genre, they are usually used as metaphors and thought experiments, which challenge audiences to consider philosophical themes.","2628cf0a-d97f-4b17-8510-9cf8a734a6d9",{"id":1376,"data":1377,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1380},"ef9a53ce-a27e-4c0b-9dd8-9e4412b7fe0e",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1378,"audioMediaId":1379},"Free will versus determinism is a common debate in time travel narratives. If we had the power to travel back in time, would we be able to change anything? Or are our paths already chosen for us, whether we like those paths or not?\n\nWhen people think about time travel, they might not think of ghosts. But some literary critics have argued that the ghost stories written in the 19th century were an early form of time travel fiction.","847800ba-efdd-481c-8eb9-1248529ffd6d",[1381],{"id":1382,"data":1383,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"598121a1-9d7a-4f48-b89a-9b1992cb4e72",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":1384,"clozeWords":1386},[1385],"Free will versus determinism is a common debate in time travel narratives.",[1387],"determinism",{"id":1389,"data":1390,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1393},"e01b3a29-1d9e-4254-b304-0d0532f8847f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1391,"audioMediaId":1392},"In these stories, people in the present (the living) interact with people in the past (the dead). These interactions break the rules of time, and could be classified, loosely, as time travel.\n\nIn one of the world’s most famous ghost stories – *A Christmas Carol* – the time travel is actually explicit. In the novel, ghosts take Ebenezer Scrooge to visit the past and the future.\n\n![Graph](image://67c2b920-fe3b-43ba-8d4f-204db76ed31f \"Ebenezer Scrooge visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past\")\n\nScrooge’s future looks dark and bleak, and this inspires him to become a better person in the present. In this story, the future is not pre-determined – by changing his behavior, Scrooge is able to choose a different path.","deddeddc-ef6f-4cd3-a2cf-1270bc67552f",[1394],{"id":1395,"data":1396,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"c16ebafe-6e27-4084-8a74-1ee454afb85d",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1397,"activeRecallAnswers":1399},[1398],"Which Charles Dickens novel was an early example of time travel fiction?",[1400],"A Christmas Carol",{"id":1402,"data":1403,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1405,"introPage":1413,"pages":1419},"abcdb2e1-80c1-4a36-8c15-77147a4fd5f1",{"type":31,"title":1404},"Time Travel in Literature",{"id":1406,"data":1407,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"c57650d8-1ce1-4488-8e4c-743e6b3edec9",{"type":22,"summary":1408},[1409,1410,1411,1412],"H.G. Wells' *The Time Machine* was the first novel to feature a time travelling machine.","The *Back to the Future* series shows how actions in the past can reshape the future.","The grandfather paradox questions if a time traveller can exist if they alter their own past.","Connie Willis' *Oxford Time Travel* series explores the idea that the timeline is fixed and unchangeable.",{"id":1414,"data":1415,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"0b9c89ac-c970-4eca-94d7-c5ae974f4276",{"type":49,"intro":1416},[1417,1418],"How does H.G. Wells' *The Time Machine* comment on Victorian society?","What is the grandfather paradox in time travel stories?",[1420,1433,1438,1462],{"id":1421,"data":1422,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1425},"0750bbff-b64d-4dd1-83d3-a978dcf88cf9",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1423,"audioMediaId":1424},"![Graph](image://23b8a8ef-b075-42dd-a767-6562fc38d84b \"The Time Traveller in H.G. Wells's 'The Time Machine'\")\n\nApart from ghost stories, the earliest work of time travel fiction was H.G. Wells' groundbreaking novel: *The Time Machine*. This iconic story, published in 1895, included the first example of a time travelling machine – an idea adopted by hundreds of writers in the years since.\n\nIn the story, a time traveller visits the future, and finds a society where humans have evolved into two branches: the Morlocks and the Eloi. The Morlocks are brutal and industrious, living deep underground, while the Eloi are lazy and child-like, lounging about in the sun.","593b7f0d-c5ed-4cac-97eb-491ad18a32f9",[1426],{"id":1427,"data":1428,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"7de9974a-033d-456d-a3db-86278dae9ac5",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":1429,"clozeWords":1431},[1430],"In H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, humans have evolved into two branches: the Morlocks and the Eloi.",[1432],"Morlocks",{"id":1434,"data":1435,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31},"7840a8c1-5b80-40c0-8c30-ab7a33c5278a",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1436,"audioMediaId":1437},"The story was a commentary on Victorian society, where class distinctions were becoming more and more pronounced. The Morlocks were a possible future for the downtrodden working classes, while the Eloi were a possible future for wealthy, pampered elites.\n\nIn many stories about time travel, the writers explore the dangers of changing the timeline. The *Back to the Future* film series is full of examples, with actions in the past creating ripple effects that reshape the entire future.\n\n![Graph](image://cfd22454-7a93-48ee-9272-02cd5b0539db \"Marty McFly in front of his DeLorean\")","bb7becc8-0188-4dfb-92fb-5e462a52c9c8",{"id":1439,"data":1440,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1443},"1364a974-16cf-42f0-bcbf-86a9d525db09",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1441,"audioMediaId":1442},"Sometimes, these ripple effects create mind-bending paradoxes. The classic example is the grandfather paradox: if a time traveller went back and killed their grandfather, they would never be born in the future. But if the time traveller was never born, who killed the grandfather?\n\nTo make sure not to cause any ripple effects, characters will sometimes visit time periods under strict instructions not to change anything. This is often referred to as time tourism – the time travellers must only observe.\n\nInstead of imagining a changing timeline, some science fiction writers have explored the idea that the timeline is completely fixed. Even if someone travels to the past, they cannot change the future.","edf0675b-b661-4a49-9cdb-778afdf7eceb",[1444,1455],{"id":1445,"data":1446,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"8eb2ddb7-7add-46ba-b61a-d707526c28a5",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1447,"multiChoiceCorrect":1449,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1451,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1448],"Which of these is a classic paradox in time travel fiction?",[1450],"Grandfather paradox",[1452,1453,1454],"Ancestor paradox","Grandmother paradox","Family paradox",{"id":1456,"data":1457,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"9f79ba26-7a5f-4875-b8bb-1fefb7d1232d",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1458,"activeRecallAnswers":1460},[1459],"When time travellers only observe the past, and do not try to change it, it is often referred to as:",[1461],"Time tourism",{"id":1463,"data":1464,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1467},"f8f89786-a885-44de-a4ea-b5b059e15536",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1465,"audioMediaId":1466},"Connie Willis’ *Oxford Time Travel* series is about historians at a future Oxford University, who travel back in time to study historical eras firsthand. These historians might feel the urge to intervene – maybe they think they can stop a war – but their actions have no effect.\n\n![Graph](image://f6608ad5-554b-4b09-b890-fcd094b8da91 \"Historians from Oxford University observing Ancient Rome\")\n\nIn some stories, the characters’ actions might cause the future they thought they were trying to avoid. In their effort to stop the war, they actually ended up starting it. This raises questions about free will: if the future is fixed, do our choices matter?","eb769ecb-fcfe-4a6c-8464-df9fcd2f5776",[1468],{"id":1469,"data":1470,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"78804d74-0fb6-4685-a156-34312e0f98a4",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1471,"multiChoiceCorrect":1473,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1475,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1472],"Connie Willis wrote a series of books about time travelling historians from which university?",[1474],"Oxford",[1476,1477,1478],"Cambridge","Harvard","Yale",{"id":1480,"data":1481,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1483,"introPage":1491,"pages":1497},"775a6866-d2e0-4dd9-aa44-76c79968733c",{"type":31,"title":1482},"Time Travel in Popular Culture and Real Life",{"id":1484,"data":1485,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"a2582aea-f3e1-41a3-b51a-627aab1bd0c3",{"type":22,"summary":1486},[1487,1488,1489,1490],"Branching timelines create parallel universes with different outcomes.","Marvel's multiverse shows how changing events can create new timelines.","Time dilation means astronauts on the ISS age slightly faster.","Moving near a black hole slows time, as seen in *Interstellar*.",{"id":1492,"data":1493,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"e80e3b5e-b716-4fce-8f0c-3efbe0d8a9f1",{"type":49,"intro":1494},[1495,1496],"How did the Marvel Cinematic Universe explore the concept of branching timelines?","What real-world phenomenon causes astronauts on the ISS to experience time dilation?",[1498,1515,1530,1545],{"id":1499,"data":1500,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1503},"d5780308-3af6-48d2-b2f6-c43f89bb2b29",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1501,"audioMediaId":1502},"![Graph](image://146c1190-3c28-4e85-b4ad-a994cffc5c29 \"A group of characters stand in front of a time travel vortex\")\n\nInstead of a changeable timeline, or a fixed timeline, some writers have imagined a branching timeline: if we go back in time, and make a change, a parallel universe will split off from the first, and take a completely different path.\n\nThe original timeline will still exist, but the second timeline runs parallel to it. In other words, we cannot change the future, but we can create another path. It is an interesting thought: what if there are billions of timelines out there, each with a different version of ourselves moving down a different path?\n\nIn the last few years, this idea was explored in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The characters travelled back in time, changed events, and created a branching multiverse with lots of different timelines.","7ece6c6d-2b07-40d6-beb0-2fc0b1eef562",[1504],{"id":1505,"data":1506,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"34309b5c-0181-49ca-a428-47aee2df00b0",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1507,"multiChoiceCorrect":1509,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1511,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1508],"Which cinematic universe explores the idea of branching timelines?",[1510],"Marvel",[1512,1513,1514],"Harry Potter","Star Wars","Jurassic Park",{"id":1516,"data":1517,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1520},"f5add6bd-fe48-4d7c-8054-40ca0fd1be05",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1518,"audioMediaId":1519},"![Graph](image://204abac8-beba-4975-9205-df5fd91413f3 \"A group of legionaries from an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell\")\n\nSome writers have used the concept of branching, parallel timelines to explore alternate histories: how would the world have unfolded differently if a moment had gone another way?\n\nIn the 1930s, Murray Leinster wrote *Sidewise in Time*. In this story, characters from other timelines begin to arrive in our own, like a group of legionaries from an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell.\n\nIn the 1960s, Philip K. Dick's *The Man in the High Castle* imagined an alternate history where Axis powers won World War II, and the United States is divided up under Nazi and Japanese rule. It is a dark, dystopian vision, which reminds its reader what almost came to pass.","f3e4727e-ce7e-46ee-b61d-ad2696df2340",[1521],{"id":1522,"data":1523,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"e8475740-d6b9-4a5d-8841-33634ffd7ff1",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1524,"binaryCorrect":1526,"binaryIncorrect":1528},[1525],"Which book is set in an alternate history, where the Axis powers won World War II?",[1527],"The Man in the High Castle",[1529],"Sidewise in Time",{"id":1531,"data":1532,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1535},"1b8aa7c2-251c-4f42-be1d-8ca2d8a413f2",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1533,"audioMediaId":1534},"In the real world, time travel does exist. According to the theory of general relativity, time slows down or speeds up depending on an object's speed and its position within a gravitational field, in a concept known as time dilation.\n\nIt is an observable principle. Due to the combination of their high-speed orbit and distance from Earth's mass, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) experience time dilation.\n\nWhile their high speed would cause time to slow down, being farther from Earth's gravitational mass has the opposite effect, causing time to speed up. When these effects are combined, astronauts on the ISS age slightly faster, but the difference is minuscule.\n\n![Graph](image://f24e7c3c-c559-4769-8f97-c3d770c8a73b \"Astronauts aboard the International Space Station\")","a95ade2a-9738-4d11-ae8a-62a500fc4c98",[1536],{"id":1537,"data":1538,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"6e851215-48b2-4e8b-b4a9-f57cd43b6011",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1539,"binaryCorrect":1541,"binaryIncorrect":1543},[1540],"Do astronauts aboard the International Space Station age slower or faster than people on Earth?",[1542],"Slightly faster",[1544],"Slightly slower",{"id":1546,"data":1547,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1550},"26e566ea-2c1e-422d-a59f-bbc4681495f8",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1548,"audioMediaId":1549},"In theory, if an object moved close enough to the speed of light, significant time dilation would occur. Entire centuries could pass in one location while only days elapsed in another. Such an object would seem to be traveling into the future from the perspective of a stationary observer.\n\nGravity also results in time dilation. If a spaceship were to approach a black hole, time would slow significantly for the astronauts on board – an idea explored in Christopher Nolan’s *Interstellar*.\n\nTime dilation makes it theoretically possible for people to travel to the future. And according to the theory of general relativity, an object would start to move backward through time if it traveled faster than the speed of light.\n\nMost physicists think this level of speed is physically impossible, but some people disagree. Ronald Mallett, a theoretical physicist and science fiction fanatic, has devoted his life to time travel research. He aims to travel back in time and save his father’s life – he died when Mallett was 10.\n\nBut there is one piece of evidence working against Mallett. If backward time travel was theoretically possible, surely someone in the future would have invented it, and traveled back in time to meet us?","1ca627ca-be45-43dc-968f-b6e42d9bf560",[1551,1562],{"id":1552,"data":1553,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"8b526e03-7a3a-46d2-b656-989d379db15d",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1554,"multiChoiceCorrect":1556,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1558,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1555],"Which principle makes it theoretically possible for objects to travel to the future?",[1557],"Time dilation",[1559,1560,1561],"Time contraction","Time acceleration","Time warp",{"id":1563,"data":1564,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"2ff97ae7-59db-40d3-9b95-35d8685d8479",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1565,"activeRecallAnswers":1567},[1566],"Which theory suggests that an object would travel backwards in time if it exceeded the speed of light?",[1568],"General relativity",{"id":1570,"data":1571,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"orbs":1574},"2bd50a28-bc5e-4a22-86c6-4fbfe4812fe1",{"type":28,"title":1572,"tagline":1573},"Transhumanism","How writers explore the human body.",[1575,1657,1721,1780],{"id":1576,"data":1577,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1579,"introPage":1587,"pages":1593},"bb8d4953-d46d-4d8d-b436-978f5a0099cb",{"type":31,"title":1578},"Origins and Concepts of Transhumanism",{"id":1580,"data":1581,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"e785a584-ce2c-4b45-ab2c-59bf11e64d4d",{"type":22,"summary":1582},[1583,1584,1585,1586],"Transhumanism uses science and tech to enhance human bodies and minds","Julian Huxley popularized transhumanism in the 1950s with eugenic ideas","Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is an early transhumanist story","H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) warns of the dangers of biological tampering",{"id":1588,"data":1589,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"80349b3b-dd9c-4fff-be25-789e2445da91",{"type":49,"intro":1590},[1591,1592],"Who popularized the term transhumanism?","Which early novel explored the creation of an artificial human?",[1594,1626,1640],{"id":1595,"data":1596,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1599},"38615a32-a60b-4cf6-9700-d6b595c73c69",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1597,"audioMediaId":1598},"![Graph](image://107a7b8f-fe1b-4c1c-a88e-a3f262133fc6 \"A cybernetically enhanced soldier holding a plasma rifle\")\n\nTranshumanism is the idea that humans can use science and technology to enhance their bodies and minds. This includes genetic tweaking, prosthetic limbs, mind uploading, and other biology-altering techniques.\n\nThe term was popularized by Julian Huxley, a controversial biologist in the 1950s, who wanted to use a eugenic program to breed a stronger race. His brother, Aldous, wrote *Brave New World* – a story with similar themes.","995aea93-64b0-4922-a776-80601d12ac60",[1600,1619],{"id":1601,"data":1602,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"d7035440-47a1-4aed-aaca-33ca8e2b3a8d",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1603,"multiChoiceQuestion":1607,"multiChoiceCorrect":1609,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1611,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1615,"matchPairsPairs":1616},[1604,1605,1606],"cc75a1ed-26c0-4186-b9fe-a98398d7fa2c","5a4317b4-0147-4069-9655-ae64465797e2","9b928df8-e1ce-4122-98bc-6642f15f0eaf",[1608],"Which of the following most closely applies to Julian Huxley?",[1610],"Controversial biologist, active in the 1950s",[1612,1613,1614],"Fictional scientist who created bird-human hybrids","Character in Neuromancer whose mind is uploaded to a computer","Teenage son of a duke, character in 'Dune'",[131],[1617],{"left":1618,"right":1610,"direction":22},"Julian Huxley",{"id":1620,"data":1621,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"904ead1f-6552-4a4f-b0bd-68ea6cf87ce9",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1622,"binaryCorrect":1624,"binaryIncorrect":1625},[1623],"Which biologist popularized the term 'transhumanism'?",[1618],[1125],{"id":1627,"data":1628,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1631},"06e8301d-802c-40fa-8a0d-ce2e3a5d1de1",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1629,"audioMediaId":1630},"In science fiction, transhumanism often blurs the line between humans and machines, and challenges what it means to be human. It also raises questions about wealth inequality: would it be fair for the rich to enhance themselves, if the rest of society could not afford it? In Mary Shelley's *Frankenstein* (1818) the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, creates an artificial human by reanimating dead tissue. It was probably the earliest transhumanist story, as it explored the intersection between science and human biology.\n\n![Graph](image://96d74737-0704-4c09-842b-fd4b4484f5b5 \"Victor Frankenstein reanimating dead tissue to create an artificial human\")","4de99eb2-34c7-4358-833f-3841a33c99c8",[1632],{"id":1633,"data":1634,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"59e95e8b-f44e-4a92-875e-06ddeb1d2689",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1635,"binaryCorrect":1637,"binaryIncorrect":1638},[1636],"Which novel is often considered the earliest transhumanist story?",[254],[1639],"The Island of Doctor Moreau",{"id":1641,"data":1642,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1645},"be4492af-ece6-4dae-b117-66b2e16a288f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1643,"audioMediaId":1644},"Decades later, in 1896, H.G. Wells published *The Island of Doctor Moreau*. In this story, Doctor Moreau conducts gruesome experiments on animals, sewing them together into grotesque, human-like hybrids.\n\nBoth of these novels serve as cautionary tales: when a human interferes with biology, the consequences are dangerous and bizarre. It is a theme that writers have explored ever since. Should scientists be playing with nature?","6e56e92f-56dc-49ba-afe8-56899e71340d",[1646],{"id":1604,"data":1647,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1648,"multiChoiceQuestion":1649,"multiChoiceCorrect":1651,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1652,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1653,"matchPairsPairs":1654},[1601,1605,1606],[1650],"Which of the following most closely applies to Doctor Moreau?",[1612],[1610,1613,1614],[131],[1655],{"left":1656,"right":1612,"direction":22},"Doctor Moreau",{"id":1658,"data":1659,"type":31,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1661,"introPage":1669,"pages":1675},"b140ac91-6869-4e8e-bd79-22bf0d774ab9",{"type":31,"title":1660},"Genetic Modification and Transhumanism",{"id":1662,"data":1663,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"cc365966-98cf-46e1-9712-91511ce88086",{"type":22,"summary":1664},[1665,1666,1667,1668],"Genetic tweaking in sci-fi often explores making humans stronger, smarter, and longer living.","In *Old Man's War*, soldiers have photosynthetic skin and cat-like eyes for interstellar war.","*Uplift Universe* features humans modifying dolphins and chimps for greater intelligence.","Superheroes like Spider-Man and Hulk gain powers through sudden genetic mutations.",{"id":1670,"data":1671,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"bdd8ae59-f4f6-4dd3-ac7b-ce34c571d910",{"type":49,"intro":1672},[1673,1674],"How do genetic modifications in *Old Man's War* enhance soldiers?","Is it ethical to use genetic tweaks to turn animals into weapons, like in the *Uplift Universe*?",[1676,1693],{"id":1677,"data":1678,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":1681},"a0052d91-30dd-4e80-95db-e087169ccd2a",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1679,"audioMediaId":1680},"In modern science fiction, one of the most common avenues for transhumanist themes is the concept of genetic tweaking. Could humans alter their DNA to become stronger, smarter, and longer living? In John Scalzi's *Old Man's War*, soldiers are grown with genetic enhancements to prepare them for interstellar war. This includes photosynthetic skin, to boost energy, and cat-like eyes, to improve their sight.\n\n![Graph](image://3c46efec-e86d-472e-974b-54ac44db0d60 \"A soldier with photosynthetic skin and cat-like eyes\")\n","eb997b62-5587-4816-a018-6e6801b54f25",[1682],{"id":1683,"data":1684,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"d8c614c6-ab33-4e07-8fe2-44c0db3051e2",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1685,"multiChoiceCorrect":1687,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1689,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1686],"Which of these genetic enhancements do soldiers have in John Scalzi's Old Man's War?",[1688],"Cat eyes",[1690,1691,1692],"Artifician eyes","Laser vision","Prismatic spectacles",{"id":1694,"data":1695,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45,"reviews":1698},"a24c0782-1399-4307-b114-037a2c8a7eb0",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1696,"audioMediaId":1697},"\nOther stories have explored the idea of tweaking other species, such as the books in David Brin’s *Uplift Universe* series. In these stories, humans genetically modify dolphins and chimps to give these species greater intelligence. The dolphins are used as space pilots in interplanetary wars. Along with *Old Man’s War*, it asks a dangerous question: is it right to use transhumanist enhancements to turn humans and animals into weapons?\n\n![Graph](image://cd333e50-41c9-433f-86ae-57809589794f \"Bruce Banner receiving a dose of gamma radiation, turning into the Hulk\")\n\nIn some stories, genetic tweaking is a deliberate, scientific process. In others, it comes about through random events, like a sudden genetic mutation. This idea is common in superhero stories.\n\nIn the *Spider-Man* comics, Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider. This causes a reaction in his body, and he suddenly finds himself stronger and faster, and capable of climbing walls. In the *Incredible Hulk* comics, Bruce Banner receives a dose of gamma radiation, which alters his genetic makeup. He becomes unstable and dangerous, and in many ways, he echoes the story of *Frankenstein* – when a scientist pushes his research too far, he ends up creating a monster.\n","27b73b99-c7e9-4eeb-abfc-a5a5a4d3501e",[1699,1710],{"id":1700,"data":1701,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"551249cb-22aa-4893-9213-0f49b16d68a5",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1702,"multiChoiceCorrect":1704,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1706,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1703],"Which animals were genetically modified and used as pilots in David Brin's Uplift Universe series?",[1705],"Dolphins",[1707,1708,1709],"Dogs","Crows","Elephants",{"id":1711,"data":1712,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"4f71b3e0-76e1-41bc-bba1-b43f5a2cfe89",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1713,"multiChoiceCorrect":1715,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1717,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1714],"What type of radiation turned Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk?",[1716],"Gamma",[1718,1719,1720],"Alpha","Beta","X-ray",{"id":1722,"data":1723,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1725,"introPage":1733,"pages":1739},"fe31baaa-31bc-46f3-8b66-a0280d4196ba",{"type":31,"title":1724},"Prosthetics and Cyborgs in Transhumanism",{"id":1726,"data":1727,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"417b2fd5-6b6f-4f8c-9dc5-31f547d0cd69",{"type":22,"summary":1728},[1729,1730,1731,1732],"Cyborgs are beings with both organic and artificial parts, like Darth Vader.","Video games like *Deus Ex* let players enhance their bodies with tech upgrades.","Mind uploading could make humans immortal by storing minds in computers.","In *Altered Carbon*, minds can switch bodies, raising questions about identity.",{"id":1734,"data":1735,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"cbbf72e8-a117-432f-af40-168e757ace93",{"type":49,"intro":1736},[1737,1738],"What makes a person a cyborg?","How does mind uploading challenge our idea of identity?",[1740,1753],{"id":1741,"data":1742,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1745},"9baec7e4-248a-4ed9-944c-9e37ffb42ffe",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1743,"audioMediaId":1744},"Prosthetic enhancements have long been a staple in science fiction. From robotic arms, to infrared eyes, characters often use pieces of technology to augment their natural capabilities. When a person is made up of a combination of artificial and organic parts, they are sometimes called a cyborg – short for cybernetic organism. An iconic example is Darth Vader. After severe injuries, his character’s limbs were replaced by cybernetic prosthetics.\n\n![Graph](image://3ae28049-6400-4269-a7b1-51269e107ad4 \"Anakin Skywalker's wounded body is transformed into Darth Vader\")","7076ab34-901d-49f9-81ba-cd90ca3ebb80",[1746],{"id":1747,"data":1748,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"5ac28102-a453-40f2-9e51-64f2aae66d7d",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1749,"activeRecallAnswers":1751},[1750],"What is 'cyborg' short for?",[1752],"Cybernetic organism",{"id":1754,"data":1755,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1758},"aa8359a4-0918-46be-bbbb-1f579de62224",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1756,"audioMediaId":1757},"In video games, like *Deus Ex* and *Cyberpunk 2077*, characters are able to play as a cyborg, enhancing their bodies with technological upgrades that let them jump higher, move faster, and see further. Mind uploading is a common topic in transhumanist science fiction. This idea explores the possibility of transferring human minds into computers or other bodies.\n\nIn William Gibson’s *Neuromancer*, the character of Dixie Flatline is the uploaded mind of a man who died of a heart attack. In theory, an uploaded mind would be functionally immortal, as long as the host computer was never turned off.\n\n![Graph](image://8f432eb2-4785-436c-b034-1a40d23eea69 \"Dixie Flatline's mind being uploaded into a computer\")\n\nIn the television series, *Altered Carbon*, minds can be transferred between different bodies called ‘sleeves’. If a sleeve dies, the mind can be moved into a new body – another type of immortality. Stories like these ask questions about identity. If our mind was stored on a computer, or in another person’s body, would we still be the person we are now?","1d3004da-3b4b-4670-9a6e-1c06a58f8563",[1759,1770],{"id":1605,"data":1760,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1761,"multiChoiceQuestion":1762,"multiChoiceCorrect":1764,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1765,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1766,"matchPairsPairs":1767},[1601,1604,1606],[1763],"Which of the following statements most closely applies to Dixie Flatline?",[1613],[1610,1612,1614],[131],[1768],{"left":1769,"right":1613,"direction":22},"Dixie Flatline",{"id":1771,"data":1772,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"e0a979ad-68db-424c-bd75-5a78efa0671d",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1773,"multiChoiceCorrect":1775,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1776,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1774],"In William Gibson's Neuromancer, which character is the uploaded mind of a dead man?",[1769],[1777,1778,1779],"Henry Case","Tessier Ashpool","Lenny Lee",{"id":1781,"data":1782,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1784,"introPage":1792,"pages":1798},"a9b3542e-1949-4228-b73e-5b995a627c8e",{"type":31,"title":1783},"Cloning and the Future of Transhumanism",{"id":1785,"data":1786,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"1da5c417-f252-4d5d-9279-74dcedc12453",{"type":22,"summary":1787},[1788,1789,1790,1791],"Cloning creates organisms with identical DNA, as seen in *Orphan Black*.","*Jurassic Park* shows the dangers of cloning dinosaurs.","CRISPR gene editing can precisely tweak DNA sequences.","Prosthetic limbs like the DEKA arm respond to muscle signals.",{"id":1793,"data":1794,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"bc3091a8-e2ee-4f28-a310-ad1faa3eb5aa",{"type":49,"intro":1795},[1796,1797],"Why did scientists in *Orphan Black* create clones?","How could CRISPR gene editing change the future of transhumanism?",[1799,1816,1831],{"id":1800,"data":1801,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1804},"c0ca2b82-7122-4b46-963a-8aa7606fb7cf",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1802,"audioMediaId":1803},"Cloning is the process of creating organisms that both have the same DNA. For decades, science fiction has explored the implications of creating these genetic duplicates. In the television series *Orphan Black*, a woman discovers that she is one of many clones. She must grapple with questions of identity and self, while uncovering why these clones were made in the first place.\n\n![Graph](image://a4c1f222-e7f2-4bf1-829b-06c24aa713ad \"Sarah Manning discovering she is a clone\")\n\nAnimal cloning also plays a role in science fiction, most strikingly in Michael Crichton's *Jurassic Park*. In this story, scientists use cloning to resurrect dinosaur species, which leads to very dangerous consequences.\n\nJust like other transhumanist works, *Jurassic Park* is a warning: when humans try to meddle with nature, things rarely go to plan.","4957e31f-2510-44ae-a832-d98d8f05fa43",[1805],{"id":1806,"data":1807,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"b9aecaa0-ac3e-40b7-bef1-85ebba2ec4ef",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1808,"multiChoiceCorrect":1810,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1812,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1809],"In the TV series Orphan Black, what does the protagonist discover?",[1811],"She is a clone",[1813,1814,1815],"She is a time traveler","She is a robot","She is an alien",{"id":1817,"data":1818,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1821},"81dad5f8-eb6a-4fbe-8c74-c6ae2f3ae87a",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1819,"audioMediaId":1820},"![Graph](image://a6af76a9-53a0-46d1-be85-ff61ea807036 \"A scientist using CRISPR gene editing to modify DNA sequences in a lab\")\n\nIn recent years, gene tweaking has moved from the realm of fiction into scientific reality. CRISPR gene editing allows precise manipulation of DNA sequences, with one gene cut out and easily replaced with another. Meanwhile, prosthetic limbs are more mobile and functional than ever.\n\nThe DEKA arm is a robotic limb with a dextrous, robotic hand. It responds to electrical signals in the host’s muscles; when you try to move the hand, it moves.","0eb78917-460c-4e2b-b208-b1fcf8b96adf",[1822],{"id":1823,"data":1824,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"7301ab6a-99b3-4bca-a21c-eb8dc23ef910",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1825,"binaryCorrect":1827,"binaryIncorrect":1829},[1826],"What type of transhumanist technology does DEKA develop?",[1828],"Robotic arms",[1830],"Gene editing tools",{"id":1832,"data":1833,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1836},"6d3a86b9-e6b8-4625-beff-ccb51bca2f88",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1834,"audioMediaId":1835},"These developments have massive medical implications. Doctors could use gene editing to treat heritable diseases, while prosthetic limbs enable amputees to live a healthy, normal life.\n\n![Graph](image://37d47e9e-79bf-41a7-bd9c-5d4af25a4417 \"A scientist injecting a newborn baby with a genetic editing tool\")\n\nMoving forward, there is a danger that medical technology, like CRISPR and prosthetics, could be developed for other purposes. There is nothing to stop genetic tweaking from being used to develop stronger, smarter babies. There is nothing to stop prosthetic limbs from being used to enhance a human soldier into a military-grade machine.\n\nAlong with artificial intelligence and space exploration, the modern world is feeling more and more like a work of science fiction. Stories once written as metaphors for other topics are now hitting much closer to home. As we push into the future, it is important to treat scientific advancements with care and respect. It is the only way to make sure our trajectory leads up toward utopia, and not down in the other direction.","b8014018-e31e-481d-850f-7993b09d8591",[1837],{"id":1838,"data":1839,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"f9516a4b-b9d8-41a7-be24-99f85cf9191b",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1840,"activeRecallAnswers":1842},[1841],"Which gene editing technique could controversially be used to create stronger, smarter babies?",[1843],"CRISPR",{"id":1845,"data":1846,"type":28,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":22,"orbs":1849},"2fbb3dbb-76dc-4c8a-951f-1e1bfe116b29",{"type":28,"title":1847,"tagline":1848},"Reading List","Science fiction's most important books and films.",[1850,1923,1981,2031],{"id":1851,"data":1852,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1854,"introPage":1862,"pages":1868},"ef83672d-be5e-433e-b220-e76799ba5b11",{"type":31,"title":1853},"Classic Sci-Fi",{"id":1855,"data":1856,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"ecaa77fb-e7cb-4df6-a6c2-6afd5720d266",{"type":22,"summary":1857},[1858,1859,1860,1861],"Isaac Asimov's *Foundation* explores the clash between science and religion in a crumbling Galactic Empire.","Frank Herbert's *Dune* is set on the desert planet Arrakis, home to the life-extending spice.","Paul Atreides, a teenage duke's son, navigates political intrigue and trust issues on Arrakis.","*2001: A Space Odyssey* by Kubrick and Clarke features an alien monolith and a rogue AI on a mission to Jupiter.",{"id":1863,"data":1864,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"cbfade70-5270-4bdb-ab43-238aa8decf0f",{"type":49,"intro":1865},[1866,1867],"What is the main conflict in Isaac Asimov's Foundation?","Why is spice so important in Frank Herbert's Dune?",[1869,1884,1908],{"id":1870,"data":1871,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1874},"07725c3a-0557-47ea-b8b1-7b1cd9cae7f4",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1872,"audioMediaId":1873},"There have been many famous science fiction writers, but one of the most esteemed and prolific was Isaac Asimov. He was born in Russia in 1920, moved to America at the age of three, trained to be a chemist – then he started writing books.\n\n![Graph](image://12f9b8f7-1565-4684-a5ae-07f6d57a86f4 \"Scene from Isaac Asimov's Foundation\")\n\nIn 1951, he published *Foundation*. The story is about a 12,000-year-old Galactic Empire on the verge of complete collapse. A group of scientists set up a planet-sized encyclopedia, full of all the empire’s knowledge and science, in the hope of rebuilding advanced society in the future.\n\nThis process will not be easy. As other planets sink into a pre-modern state, they become dogmatically religious, and suspicious of science and technology. *Foundation* explores the clash between science and religion: will the scientific glory of the Galactic Empire ever rise again?","8ca5ca8e-c380-42a5-8bf6-72f60c8dd350",[1875],{"id":1876,"data":1877,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"e296cf99-87a4-467c-b157-b33ec12b4fc1",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1878,"binaryCorrect":1880,"binaryIncorrect":1882},[1879],"How old is the Galactic Empire in Isaac Asimov's Foundation?",[1881],"12,000 years",[1883],"6,000 years",{"id":1885,"data":1886,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1889},"ac7f529f-66f6-49a3-8e6a-26dfd7f28f38",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1887,"audioMediaId":1888},"Frank Herbert was born in 1920. He started writing *Dune* in his late thirties, but struggled to get it published. It was finally picked up by a tiny company better known for publishing automobile manuals – and the book was a massive hit.\n\n![Graph](image://864229bc-bbd3-4e97-8bd8-8f03173ef2fc \"Paul Atreides facing off against a sandworm on Arrakis\")\n\nThe story is set on a desert planet, Arrakis, which is home to a valuable resource: spice. This drug-like substance grants psychic abilities and extends the life of anyone who takes it. Arrakis is at the heart of a political struggle, as factions from all across the galaxy plot to claim the planet as their own.\n\nIn the middle of it all is Paul Atreides – the teenage son of a duke. Throughout the story, he must learn who to trust: his own family, his teacher and servants, or the strange natives who live on Arrakis, somewhere deep in the endless dunes.","7b93e6d7-ea61-4342-9f08-53fcb4e09b3a",[1890,1901],{"id":1606,"data":1891,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"collapsingSiblings":1892,"multiChoiceQuestion":1893,"multiChoiceCorrect":1895,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1896,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1897,"matchPairsPairs":1898},[1601,1604,1605],[1894],"Which of the following statements most closely applies to Paul Atreides?",[1614],[1610,1612,1613],[131],[1899],{"left":1900,"right":1614,"direction":22},"Paul Atreides",{"id":1902,"data":1903,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"d6795d3e-b0d5-4728-8ca3-41a903958662",{"type":68,"reviewType":199,"spacingBehaviour":45,"clozeQuestion":1904,"clozeWords":1906},[1905],"Dune is set on the desert planet Arrakis, which is home to a valuable resource: spice.",[1907],"Arrakis",{"id":1909,"data":1910,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1913},"5d7964fb-ced4-4549-90b9-bed8421a8e4f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1911,"audioMediaId":1912},"In the 1960s, renowned filmmaker Stanley Kubrick teamed up with science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. The result was *2001: A Space Odyssey*, which many people herald as the greatest science fiction film of all time.\n\n![Graph](image://25d604de-1bc2-4e0c-af6f-0a44d84ab97a \"A spacecraft approaching Jupiter with the planet in the background\")\n\nThe film revolves around the discovery of an alien monolith on the moon, which seems to be pointing toward the distant planet of Jupiter. An expedition is sent to the planet, but along the way, the artificially intelligent ship-computer starts to disobey the crew.\n\nThe film was ahead of its time. The themes of space exploration and artificial intelligence still strike a chord with modern audiences, while the practical effects look as good today as they did more than fifty years ago.","3ac48e93-42a8-457f-94e2-4e00cf10f998",[1914],{"id":1915,"data":1916,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"5003af08-f176-404b-868f-eba64301db96",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1917,"binaryCorrect":1919,"binaryIncorrect":1921},[1918],"In 2001: A Space Odyssey, what is discovered on the surface of the moon?",[1920],"An alien monolith",[1922],"A crashed spaceship",{"id":1924,"data":1925,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1927,"introPage":1935,"pages":1941},"f7a53f08-ac6a-4ec7-a042-2bf7ee9e7942",{"type":31,"title":1926},"Gender and Society",{"id":1928,"data":1929,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"7ba08d6e-55b5-4e49-9a95-053fb0b96ebd",{"type":22,"summary":1930},[1931,1932,1933,1934],"Ursula K. Le Guin's *The Left Hand of Darkness* imagines a society without gender","Gethenians are ambisexual, challenging traditional gender norms","The human ambassador on Gethen questions his own gender identity","William Gibson's *Neuromancer* explores gender and identity in a cyberpunk future",{"id":1936,"data":1937,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"512aa6c6-3a02-472e-ac92-a961a8e78380",{"type":49,"intro":1938},[1939,1940],"How does the ambisexual society in *The Left Hand of Darkness* challenge traditional gender roles?","What societal norms are critiqued through the character of Henry Case in *Neuromancer*?",[1942,1968],{"id":1943,"data":1944,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1947},"86601834-60df-4ac5-aabf-0e15ae6b66fb",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1945,"audioMediaId":1946},"In the first half of the 20th century, science fiction was a male-dominated genre. Then Ursula K. Le Guin came along, and became one of the most celebrated writers in the field. She is best known for her novel, *The Left Hand of Darkness*, first published in 1969.\n\nThe story is set on the planet Gethen, where inhabitants are ambisexual. Le Guin wanted to imagine a society without gender – how different would it be from our own?\n\n![Graph](image://78f1f07d-a7bb-48d3-a6dd-d63c429ab997 \"Genly Ai, the human ambassador, sitting at a table with Estraven, a Gethenian politician, in a dimly lit room\")\n\nWhen a human ambassador arrives on the planet, he must learn to navigate this genderless society, with its unique approach to politics and culture. Over time, he starts to question his own gender, and reevaluate his sense of self.","501f944b-1968-4ccb-8384-7e4fdce9e207",[1948,1959],{"id":1949,"data":1950,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"027d562f-ebbd-41e6-b252-7d53bdef619e",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":1951,"multiChoiceCorrect":1953,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1955,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1952],"What is the name of the planet in The Left Hand of Darkness?",[1954],"Gethen",[1956,1957,1958],"Earth","Hain","Urras",{"id":1960,"data":1961,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"b63a4c06-cf6b-4128-93e2-0f6c42a06bcf",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":1962,"binaryCorrect":1964,"binaryIncorrect":1966},[1963],"In The Left Hand of Darkness, what is unique about the planet's inhabitants?",[1965],"They are ambisexual",[1967],"They are telepathic",{"id":1969,"data":1970,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":1973},"92ee8080-c1cb-4e6c-8f9d-a1cfd7bf56c5",{"type":45,"markdownContent":1971,"audioMediaId":1972},"When William Gibson published *Neuromancer* in 1984, it was so influential that it is often cited as the definitive work of the entire cyberpunk subgenre. The story is set in near-future Japan, where people are able to connect their minds to a virtual reality cyberspace.\n\n![Graph](image://f044116d-9e2b-46eb-b8a1-ad174ba3b3dc \"Henry Case jacked into cyberspace, surrounded by neon lights and towering skyscrapers\")\n\nHenry Case is a washed-up computer hacker, who used to be the best in the business, until a vengeful employer damaged his spine to stop him from entering cyberspace. Out of nowhere, Case is hired for one last job. The mysterious client will fix his spine, on the condition he enters cyberspace again, and finds a way to hack an all-powerful artificial consciousness.","d1681231-2a14-4cd3-8bc0-3021e04f2e08",[1974],{"id":1975,"data":1976,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"094d2a60-6e21-4f13-9c04-dbd1d40d15c1",{"type":68,"reviewType":45,"spacingBehaviour":45,"activeRecallQuestion":1977,"activeRecallAnswers":1979},[1978],"Which novel, written by William Gibson, is the definitive work of the cyberpunk subgenre?",[1980],"Neuromancer",{"id":1982,"data":1983,"type":31,"version":31,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":1985,"introPage":1993,"pages":1999},"2eb55f2c-d209-40d5-a9f4-580098dcab77",{"type":31,"title":1984},"Dystopian Futures",{"id":1986,"data":1987,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"5d44017f-9853-4b7c-93d7-1fba479b7b8e",{"type":22,"summary":1988},[1989,1990,1991,1992],"Margaret Atwood's *The Handmaid’s Tale* is set in the totalitarian Republic of Gilead","Women in Gilead are judged on their reproductive abilities and assigned to men in power","Octavia E. Butler's *Dawn* features Lilith Iyapo waking up on an alien spacecraft after Earth's destruction","The aliens in *Dawn* want to merge genetically with humans to create a hybrid race",{"id":1994,"data":1995,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"ebbbe5c0-7084-4d91-a61b-10be315b1d8e",{"type":49,"intro":1996},[1997,1998],"What is the main role of women in the Republic of Gilead?","Why do the aliens want to merge genetically with humans in *Dawn*?",[2000,2017],{"id":2001,"data":2002,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":2005},"3996eef1-4090-4b01-805b-dded94717534",{"type":45,"markdownContent":2003,"audioMediaId":2004},"Margaret Atwood was born in Canada in 1939. Along with Ursula K. Le Guin, she was an early pioneer of feminist science fiction, with her most famous novel – *The Handmaid’s Tale* – first published in 1985. The story is set in the totalitarian Republic of Gilead, where women are judged on their reproductive abilities.\n\nThey are forcibly assigned to men in power, and expected to give birth to as many children as possible. One of these women is Offred. She still remembers her life before the Republic of Gilead came to power, when she was happily married and had a small daughter. But now she is trapped in sexual servitude – unless the Republic can be overthrown.\n\n![Graph](image://141636a9-50ed-4c2c-a94a-330491744985 \"Offred sitting alone in her room, staring at the red dress hanging in her closet\")","6c188b82-cefc-48cf-85af-7f2b92bd7f92",[2006],{"id":2007,"data":2008,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"01ac5b93-e193-4c2e-8a5f-e93421778456",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":2009,"multiChoiceCorrect":2011,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2013,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2010],"What is the name of the main character in The Handmaid's Tale?",[2012],"Offred",[2014,2015,2016],"Octavia","Gilead","Galatea",{"id":2018,"data":2019,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":31,"reviews":2022},"c7431bae-f197-445d-bea3-c3261c24a43f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":2020,"audioMediaId":2021},"When Octavia E. Butler started writing science fiction, she found the existing stories were dominated by white, male characters. She decided to try something different, and rose to prominence with her powerful approach to race, identity and colonialism. In 1987, she published *Dawn*. In the story, Lilith Iyapo wakes up on an alien spacecraft, centuries after the rest of Earth was destroyed by a nuclear war. Now, the aliens want Lilith to start a new society.\n\n![Graph](image://c06937bb-dabd-452e-8d94-ba9dc62a2a91 \"Lilith Iyapo on an alien spacecraft with Oankali aliens\")\n\nBut only on one condition. The aliens want to genetically merge with humankind, creating a new, hybrid race. The thought is terrible and shocking to Lilith – but does humanity have a choice?","8e74403e-e79c-4855-a414-bbd277977ba9",[2023],{"id":2024,"data":2025,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"653c5ee9-1efa-466b-bb7f-c23efc4a2e27",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":2026,"multiChoiceCorrect":2028,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2029,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2027],"In Octavia E. Butler's 'Dawn', what event destroyed the Earth?",[1270],[1268,1271,2030],"Climate change",{"id":2032,"data":2033,"type":31,"version":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"summaryPage":2035,"introPage":2043,"pages":2049},"2a6a61d0-2b2d-4c7e-8c04-60bdb2d72b0b",{"type":31,"title":2034},"Modern Sci-Fi",{"id":2036,"data":2037,"type":22,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"5e4f03b0-805e-4120-b74e-a3b569ec90ff",{"type":22,"summary":2038},[2039,2040,2041,2042],"Dan Simmons' *Hyperion* blends sci-fi, horror, and fantasy, inspired by Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales*","Liu Cixin's *The Three-Body Problem* is the only translated novel to win the Hugo Award","Arkady Martine's *A Memory Called Empire* explores cultural clash in the Teixcalaanli Empire","The last seven Hugo Awards have all been won by women",{"id":2044,"data":2045,"type":49,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":45},"03998126-61a2-4e0f-992e-453ecba497c5",{"type":49,"intro":2046},[2047,2048],"What unique narrative structure does Dan Simmons' *Hyperion* use?","What dilemma do Earth's inhabitants face in Liu Cixin's *The Three-Body Problem*?",[2050,2065,2082],{"id":2051,"data":2052,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":22,"reviews":2055},"040765dc-4fbf-4f28-9689-ddd77ea3e47a",{"type":45,"markdownContent":2053,"audioMediaId":2054},"Dan Simmons has written in several genres, including science fiction, horror, historical, crime and fantasy. His most notable work is *Hyperion*, a science fiction novel that also draws heavily from all of those other genres - as well as from the narrative structure of Geoffrey Chaucer's medieval *Canterbury Tales*.\n\n![Graph](image://db6def55-313f-422b-9358-3a7d03c13902 \"The seven pilgrims on their journey to meet the Shrike\")\n\nThe story is set on the planet Hyperion, at the edge of a galactic empire. On this planet lives the Shrike – a machine-like creature, which kills relentlessly, and has the power to move through time.\n\nSome people fear the Shrike. Others worship it. And seven pilgrims are on their way to meet it. During the long journey, each of them shares their life story. From a tortured priest, to a troubled father, they are all united by the desperate hope that the Shrike will grant them one single wish.","9a70e5c3-702c-4ae1-94d7-c01e579a6c31",[2056],{"id":2057,"data":2058,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"d7efc83c-5f7d-4636-8c47-6d63594b7247",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":2059,"binaryCorrect":2061,"binaryIncorrect":2063},[2060],"What is the Shrike in the story Hyperion?",[2062],"A killing machine",[2064],"A benevolent alien",{"id":2066,"data":2067,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":22,"reviews":2070},"f67d46cd-4820-42ac-bb59-4a7fd1a7569f",{"type":45,"markdownContent":2068,"audioMediaId":2069},"Liu Cixin is a Chinese author who gained international acclaim for his novel *The Three-Body Problem*. It is the only ever translated novel to win the Hugo Award – one of the most prestigious prizes in fiction.\n\nThe story is about a military project to make contact with aliens. They send a signal into space – and the signal is picked up by an alien race whose planet is on the brink of collapse.\n\n![Graph](image://0fa89fa6-b70e-4abe-859a-840a3fa67359 \"The alien race's planet on the brink of collapse, with their technology failing and the planet covered in red dust storms\")\n\nSensing an opportunity, the aliens make plans to move to Earth, but they will not arrive for more than a hundred years. In the meantime, the people of Earth must decide: do they welcome the aliens, or prepare to defend their home?","d1108d91-4c09-43ff-a857-eab3b8ecb969",[2071],{"id":2072,"data":2073,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"1d1d9109-e02b-48fb-a331-f0008086d355",{"type":68,"reviewType":22,"spacingBehaviour":45,"multiChoiceQuestion":2074,"multiChoiceCorrect":2076,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2078,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2075],"In 2015, The Three-Body Problem became the first translated novel to win:",[2077],"The Hugo Award",[2079,2080,2081],"The Nebula Award","The Pulitzer Prize","The Man Booker Prize",{"id":2083,"data":2084,"type":45,"maxContentLevel":22,"version":22,"reviews":2087},"11be9a98-1a6a-4b4f-b70c-c0458936893d",{"type":45,"markdownContent":2085,"audioMediaId":2086},"In the last few years, science fiction has celebrated dozens of new voices from under-represented groups. The last seven Hugo Awards have been won by women – and two of those by Arkady Martine.\n\n![Graph](image://ac52b77b-0202-46da-9112-a7b17c6e6a9e \"Mahit Dzmare standing before the Teixcalaanli throne, surrounded by courtiers\")\n\nIn 2019, she released her debut novel: *A Memory Called Empire*. Set in the intergalactic Teixcalaanli Empire, it follows Mahit Dzmare, an ambassador from a fiercely independent mining station floating outside the empire.\n\nWhen Ambassador Dzmare arrives in Teixcalaan, she finds herself entranced by the seductive, alien culture. She is forced to make a choice: stay true to her own culture, or let the ways of the empire engulf her?","2c4b01ea-c8b5-4503-a1ab-ab9bdd0cb8b9",[2088],{"id":2089,"data":2090,"type":68,"version":45,"maxContentLevel":22},"1dce7163-071c-46ba-8ec7-0a2a99dc00c1",{"type":68,"reviewType":31,"spacingBehaviour":45,"binaryQuestion":2091,"binaryCorrect":2093,"binaryIncorrect":2095},[2092],"What is the main character's role in A Memory Called Empire?",[2094],"Ambassador",[2096],"Scientist",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":2098,"height":2098,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":2099},24,"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"m9 18l6-6l-6-6\"/>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":2098,"height":2098,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":2101},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12.586 2.586A2 2 0 0 0 11.172 2H4a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v7.172a2 2 0 0 0 .586 1.414l8.704 8.704a2.426 2.426 0 0 0 3.42 0l6.58-6.58a2.426 2.426 0 0 0 0-3.42z\"/>\u003Ccircle cx=\"7.5\" cy=\"7.5\" r=\".5\" fill=\"currentColor\"/>\u003C/g>",1778228382881]