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An overwhelming majority of fiction is set on or features the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. This also holds true of
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
, despite perceptions to the contrary. Counterfactual depictions of the
shape of the Earth Figure of the Earth is a term of art in geodesy that refers to the size and shape used to model Earth. The size and shape it refers to depend on context, including the precision needed for the model. A sphere is a well-known historical approxim ...
, be it
flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...
or
hollow Hollow may refer to: Natural phenomena *Hollow, a low, wooded area, such as a copse * Hollow (landform), a small vee-shaped, riverine type of valley *Tree hollow, a void in a branch or trunk, which may provide habitat for animals Places * Sleepy ...
, occasionally are featured. A personified, living Earth appears in a handful of works. In works set in the
far future While the future cannot be predicted with certainty, present understanding in various scientific fields allows for the prediction of some far-future events, if only in the broadest outline. These fields include astrophysics, which studies how ...
, Earth can be a center of space-faring human civilization, or just one of many inhabited planets of a
galactic empire Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of s ...
, and sometimes destroyed by
ecological disaster An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.Jared M. Diamond, '' Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'', 2005 This point disti ...
or
nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
or otherwise forgotten or lost.


Related vocabulary

In a number of works of science fiction, Earth's English name has become less popular, and the planet is instead known as Terra or Tellus, Latin words for Earth. Inhabitants of Earth can be referred to as Earthlings, Earthers, Earthborn, Earthfolk, Earthians, Earthies (this term being often seen as
derogatory A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
), Earthmen (and Earthwomen), Earthpersons, Earthsiders, Solarians, Tellurians, Terrestrials, Terrestrians, or Terrans. In addition, science fiction vocabulary includes terms like Earthfall for landing of a spaceship on planet Earth; or Earth-type, Earthlike, Earthnorm(al) and terrestrial for the concept of "resembling planet Earth or conditions on it". The concept of modifying planets to be more Earth-like is known as
terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
. The concept of terraforming developed from both
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
and actual
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
. In science,
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
, an
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
, proposed the
terraforming of Venus The terraforming of Venus or the terraformation of Venus is the hypothetical process of engineering the global environment of the planet Venus in such a way as to make it suitable for human habitation. Terraforming Venus was first proposed in a ...
in 1961, which is considered one of the first accounts of the concept. The term itself, however, was coined by
Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of t ...
in a science-fiction short story ("
Collision Orbit The ''Seetee'' series is a science fiction series by American writer Jack Williamson (writing under the pseudonym "Will Stewart.") It consists of several books and stories set in the late 22nd century, amid space-dwelling Asteroid Belt miners who ...
") published in 1942 in ''
Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'', although the concept of
terraforming in popular culture Terraforming is well represented in contemporary literature, usually in the form of science fiction, as well as in popular culture.. While many stories involving interstellar travel feature planets already suited to habitation by humans and suppo ...
predates this work; for example, the idea of turning the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
into a habitable environment with atmosphere was already present in ''La Journée d'un Parisien au XXIe siècle'' ("A Day of a Parisian in the 21st Century", 1910) by .


Themes

In general, the vast majority of fiction, including science fiction, takes place on Earth. To the extent that Earth is more than the obvious but forgettable background where the action of the story takes place, a number of themes have been identified.


Earth

Many works of science fiction focus on the
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
, but many others still take place on Earth; this distinction has been subject to debates among the science fiction authors, visible for example in
J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...
's 1962 essay ''Which Way to Inner Space?''. Some critics of the "outer space adventures" have pointed to the importance of "earthly" concepts and imagery closer to contemporary readers' everyday experience. While it has been argued that a planet can be considered "too large, and its lifetime too long, to be comfortably accommodated within fiction as a topic in its own right," this has not prevented some writers from engaging with said topic. Some works that focus on Earth as an entity have been influenced by
holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...
, "big picture" concepts such as the
Gaia hypothesis The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that help ...
,
noosphere The noosphere (alternate spelling noösphere) is a philosophical concept developed and popularized by the Russian-Ukrainian Soviet biogeochemist Vladimir Vernadsky, and the French philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Vernads ...
and the Omega Point, and the popularizing of the photography of Earth from space. Others works have addressed the concept of Earth as a Goddess
Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...
(from
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
; another prominent goddess of Earth whose name influenced science fiction was the Roman Terra or Tellus). Bridging these ideas, and treating Earth as a semi-biological or even sentient entity, are classic works like
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's ''When the World Screamed'' (1928) and Jack Williamson's ''Born of the Sun'' (1934).


Shape

Depictions of the Earth as being flat are uncommon in modern works, the sphericity of the planet having been proved around 200 B.C. by
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...
and
Eratosthenes Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; grc-gre, Ἐρατοσθένης ;  – ) was a Greek polymath: a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria ...
. Exceptions to this include
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...
's satirical ''
Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat pla ...
'' series—which was inspired by
Hindu cosmology Hindu cosmology is the description of the universe and its states of matter, cycles within time, physical structure, and effects on living entities according to Hindu texts. Hindu cosmology is also intertwined with the idea of a creator who allo ...
—and deliberately provocative works like
S. Fowler Wright Sydney Fowler Wright (6 January 1874 – 25 February 1965) was a British editor, poet, science fiction author, writer of screenplays, mystery fiction and works in other genres, as well as being an accountant and a conservative political activis ...
's novel '' Beyond the Rim'' from 1932. There have also been fictional accounts of a
hollow Earth The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...
, such as
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
's 1838 novel ''
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'' (1838) is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the ''Grampus' ...
'' inspired by John Cleves Symmes Jr.'s model featuring openings at the north and south poles whereby the interior can be accessed. A few writers have likewise engaged with another old
fringe theory A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint which differs from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of scholarship, such a ...
, that of
Counter-Earth The Counter-Earth is a hypothetical body of the Solar System that orbits on the other side of the solar system from Earth. A Counter-Earth or ''Antichthon'' ( el, Ἀντίχθων) was hypothesized by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Philola ...
– a hypothetical body of the Solar System that orbits on the other side of the solar system from Earth.


Planetary engineering

Large scale
planetary engineering Planetary engineering is the development and application of technology for the purpose of influencing the environment of a planet. Planetary engineering encompasses a variety of methods such as terraforming, seeding, and geoengineering. Widely ...
includes ideas such as adjusting the Earth's
axial tilt In astronomy, axial tilt, also known as obliquity, is the angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axis, which is the line perpendicular to its orbital plane; equivalently, it is the angle between its equatorial plane and orbi ...
, or
moving the Earth Moving Earth is a theoretical astroengineering concept that involves physically shifting Earth farther away from the Sun to protect the planet's biosphere from rising temperatures. These expected temperature increases derive from long-term impa ...
from its orbit. Some works deal with
geoengineering Climate engineering (also called geoengineering) is a term used for both carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM), also called solar geoengineering, when applied at a planetary scale.IPCC (2022Chapter 1: Introduction and F ...
, a term usually referred to large-scale projects attempting to deal with the problem of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
; a theme common in many works of
climate fiction Climate fiction (sometimes shortened as cli-fi) is literature that deals with climate change.Glass, Rodge (31 May 2013).Global Warning: The Rise of 'Cli-fi' retrieved 3 March 2016 Generally speculative in nature but scientifically-grounded, wor ...
. In the extreme case, Earth can be consumed in its entirety, all of its mass repurposed in construction of
megastructure A megastructure is a very large artificial object, although the limits of precisely how large vary considerably. Some apply the term to any especially large or tall building. Some sources define a megastructure as an enormous self-supporting a ...
s such as a
Dyson sphere A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its solar power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to explain how a spacefaring civilization would meet ...
.


The end of Earth

Various versions of the
future of Earth The biological and geological future of Earth can be extrapolated based on the estimated effects of several long-term influences. These include the chemistry at Earth's surface, the cooling rate of the planet's interior, the gravitational ...
have been imagined. Some works focus on the end of the planet; those have been written in all forms – some focused on "ostentatious mourning"; others more of a
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
comedy; yet others take this opportunity to explore themes of astronomy or sociology. The genre of climate fiction can often mix the themes of near and far future consequences of the climate change, whether
anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Counterintuitively, anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human im ...
or accidental. In other works, often found in the
apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astr ...
and the Dying Earth genres, Earth has been destroyed or at least ruined for generations to come; many such works are therefore set in the background of Earth changed into a wasteland. Some of the works in these genres overlap with the climate change genre, as climate change and resulting
ecological disaster An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.Jared M. Diamond, '' Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'', 2005 This point disti ...
s are a commonly used plot device for events that trigger the fall of human civilization (other plots involve the destruction of Earth from human
warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
,
alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...
s, or from various sorts of man-made incidents or accidental disasters). Many such works, set either during the disaster, or in its aftermath, are metaphors for environmental concerns or otherwise warnings about issues the writers think humanity needs to be concerned about.


One planet among many

For many works set in the
far future While the future cannot be predicted with certainty, present understanding in various scientific fields allows for the prediction of some far-future events, if only in the broadest outline. These fields include astrophysics, which studies how ...
, Earth is just one of many inhabited planets of a
galactic empire Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of s ...
,
federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
or larger civilization, and many similar planets have been found or created (common themes in
space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...
), all of which challenges the idea of Earth's uniqueness. In some works, Earth is still a center of the known universe, or at least a significant player on the galactic scene. In others, Earth has become of so little importance that it is a mostly forgotten backwards world. In
Clifford D. Simak Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Wr ...
's ''Cemetery World'' (1973) Earth is a planet-size cemetery and in
Gordon R. Dickson Gordon Rupert Dickson (November 1, 1923 – January 31, 2001) was a Canadian-American science fiction writer. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, ...
's ''
Call Him Lord "Call Him Lord" is a novelette by the American writer Gordon R. Dickson. It was first published in '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' in May 1966.. Retrieved February 2, 2019. In the story, the heir to a galactic empire tours a museum-like Earth ...
'' (1966), a museum. At its extreme, in some settings, knowledge of Earth has been simply lost, making it a mythological place, whose existence is questioned by the few who even know the legends about it. In some of these works, a major plotline can involve future civilizations or intrepid explorers seeking the "lost cradle" or Earth. Finally, some stories told from the perspective of aliens focus on their discovery of Earth.


A different history

Some works look backwards – or perhaps sideways, not to the future of Earth, but to its past; here, works of science fiction can overlap with historic fiction as well as
prehistoric fiction Prehistoric fiction is a literary genre in which the story is set in the period of time prior to the existence of written record, known as prehistory. As a fictional genre, the realistic description of the subject varies, without necessarily a c ...
. This can happen particularly through the genres of
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
as well as
time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
(where as
Gary Westfahl Gary Wesley Westfahl (born May 7, 1951) is an American scholar of science fiction. He has written reviews for the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' and Locus Online. He worked at the University of California, River ...
observed, most time travellers travel through time much more than space, visiting the past or future versions of Earth).


See also

*
Class M planet In the '' Star Trek'' universe, a Class M planet is one habitable by humans and similar life forms. Earth, Vulcan, Romulus, and Qo'noS are examples of Class M planets. The planet needs an atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen, should be close to a sta ...
*''
Earth Is Room Enough ''Earth Is Room Enough'' is a collection of fifteen short science fiction and fantasy stories and two pieces of comic verse by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1957. In his autobiography ''In Joy Still Felt'', Asimov wrote, "I was sti ...
'' *
Ecofiction Ecofiction (also "eco-fiction" or "eco fiction") is the branch of literature that encompasses nature-oriented (non-human) or environment-oriented ( human impacts on nature) works of fiction. While this super genre's roots are seen in classic, pasto ...
*
Moon in fiction The Moon has appeared in fiction as a setting since at least classical antiquity. Throughout most of literary history, a significant portion of works depicting lunar voyages has been satirical in nature. From the late 1800s onwards, science fict ...
*
Mythopoeia Mythopoeia ( grc, , , myth-making), or mythopoesis, is a narrative genre in modern literature and film where an artificial or fictionalized mythology is created by the writer of prose, poetry, or other literary forms. This meaning of the word fo ...
*
Near future in fiction The near future has been used as a setting in many works, usually but not limited to the genre of science fiction. It has become increasingly common in works from the 18th century onward, with some of the classic works in the genre being Jules Ver ...


Notes


References

{{Science fiction
Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
Fiction about terrestrial planets Science fiction themes