A fictional universe is a cohesive imaginary world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or (more commonly) multiple works of fiction. Fictional universes are most common in, but not exclusive to, the science fiction and fantasy genres. Many universes written in one or both of these genres feature physical and metaphysical laws different from our own that allow for magical, psychic and various other types of paranormal phenomena. Although these laws may not be completely internally consistent, they do allow the author to provide some textual explanation for how their imagined world differs from our own. This page is about the computer concept Cohesion, for the concept in chemistry see Cohesion (chemistry). ... An imaginary world is a setting, place or event or scenario at variance with objective reality, ranging from the voluntary suspension of disbelief of fictional universes and the socially constructed consensus reality of the Social Imaginary, to alternate realities resulting from disinformation, misinformation or imaginative speculation, and the subjective universe... In drama, the set (or setting) is the location of a storys action. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art, literature, film, television, and music that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of either plot, theme, setting, or all three. ... A genre is a division of a particular form of art according to criteria particular to that form. ... A Superconductor demonstrating the Meissner Effect Physics (from the Greek, φυσικός (physikos), natural, and φύσις (physis), nature) is the science of the natural world dealing with the fundamental constituents of the universe, the forces they exert on one another, and the results produced by these forces. ... Metaphysics (Greek words meta = after/beyond and physics = nature) is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of first principles and being (ontology). ... Magic or sorcery are terms referring to the alleged influencing of events and physical phenomena by supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... Parapsychology is the study of the evidence involving phenomena where a person seems to affect or gain information about something through a means not currently explainable within the framework of mainstream, conventional science. ... Anomalous phenomena are phenomena which are observed and for which there are no suitable explanations in the context of a specific body of scientific knowledge, e. ... A phenomenon (plural: phenomena) is an observable event, especially something special (literally something that can be seen from the Greek word phainomenon = observable). ... An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ...

A fictional universe can be contained in a single work, as in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, but nowadays is more common in serialized, series-based, open-ended or round robin-style fiction. A fictional universe may also be called a fictional realm, imaginary realm, fictional world, imaginary world or imaginary universe. Most fictional universes are based directly or indirectly on our own universe. A fictional universe is usually differentiated from the setting of, and the cosmology established by, ancient or modern legends, myths and religions, although there are countless fictional universes that draw upon such sources for inspiration. George Orwell on Time Magazine cover from 1983. ... A centennial edition of Nineteen Eighty-Four Nineteen Eighty-Four (or 1984) is an allegorical political novel written by George Orwell. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was a British writer who emigrated to the United States. ... Book cover of Brave New World. ... Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ... In a general sense, a series is a related set of things that occur one after the other or are otherwise connected one after the other. ... The term round-robin is used in several contexts and usually means that a number of things are taking turns at something, for example a round-robin-party where participants walk door to door for small parties at each participants habitat. ... An imaginary world is a setting, place or event or scenario at variance with objective reality, ranging from the voluntary suspension of disbelief of fictional universes and the socially constructed consensus reality of the Social Imaginary, to alternate realities resulting from disinformation, misinformation or imaginative speculation, and the subjective universe... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. ... Cosmology, from the Greek: κοσμολογία (cosmologia, κόσμος (cosmos) world + λογια (logia) discourse) is the study of the universe in its totality and by extension mans place in it. ... A legend (Latin, legenda, things to be read) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. ... In the academic fields of mythology, mythography, and folkloristics a myth is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to have their present form. ... There are several meanings of the word inspiration: The stimulating influence upon the intellect or emotions leading to creativity. ...

It can be argued that every work of fiction generates a world of its own; Robert A. Heinlein coined the neologism ficton to refer to such a world. A fictional universe is then a ficton that has an existence that goes beyond a single story, and becomes the basis either of other stories, or of games or other creations. It generally consists of a time and place that invoke a sense of a distinct world, one which is unique to the content and context of the tales that it is used to tell. Despite the name, a fictional universe does not necessarily concern an entire universe; for example, most of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is set in a single Californian city — the "Buffyverse", and most of the action in the Harry Potter series occurs in and around a single school. On the other hand, a fictional universe may concern itself with more than one interconnected universe through science fiction devices such as "parallel worlds" or universes, and a series of interconnected universes is called a multiverse. Such multiverses have been featured prominently in science fiction since at least the mid-20th century, notably in the classic Star Trek episode, "Mirror, Mirror", which introduced the mirror universe in which the crew of the Starship Enterprise were villains rather than heroes, and in the mid-1980s comic book series, Crisis on Infinite Earths, in which countless parallel universes were destroyed. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, when considered as all 5 books together, flits back and forth between different universes, or perhaps it is more accurate to say, flits through different time lines and different dimensions involving different states of existence for the characters and for the earth itself. Heinlein autographing at the 1976 Worldcon Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most influential and controversial authors in science fiction. ... A neologism is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created (coined) —often to apply to new concepts, or to reshape older terms in newer language form. ... A ficton is a fictional setting created by writing any fictional story or series of stories. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a U.S. television series loosely based on the 1992 movie of the same name. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... Sydney, Australia at Night. ... The Buffyverse is a term coined by fans of Joss Whedons first two television shows to refer to the shared fictional universe in which they are set. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series. ... American high school students in a school A school is most commonly a place designated for learning. ... // A multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise all of physical reality. ... Star Trek collectively refers to a science-fiction franchise spanning six unique television series, 726 episodes and ten feature films in addition to hundreds of novels, computer and video games, fan stories and other works of fiction all set within the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the... Mirror, Mirror was an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. ... The Mirror Universe is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place. ... The early Earth starship Enterprise (NX-01) The original Federation starship Enterprise (NCC-1701) The second Federation starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) The third Federation starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) The fourth Federation starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) The fifth Federation starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) The sixth Federation starship... Crisis on Infinite Earths was a twelve-issue comic book limited series (identified as a 12 part maxi-series) and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 in order to simplify their fifty-year-old continuity. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Dimension (from Latin measured out) is, in essence, the number of degrees of freedom available for movement in a space. ...

Fictional universes are sometimes shared by multiple authors, with each author's works in that universe being granted approximately equal canonical status. Other universes are created by one or several authors but are intended to be used non-canonically by others, such as the fictional settings for games, particularly role-playing games and video games. Settings for the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons are called campaign settings; other games have also incorporated this term on occasion. Virtual worlds are fictional worlds in which online computer games, notably MMORPGs and MUDs, take place. A fictional crossover occurs when two or more fictional characters, series or universes cross over with one another, usually in the context of a character created by one author or owned by one company meeting a character created or owned by another. In the case where two fictional universes covering entire actual universes cross over, physical travel from one universe to another may actually occur in the course of the story. Such crossovers are usually, but not always, considered non-canonical by their creators or by those in charge of the properties involved. A Shared universe is a literary technique in which several different authors share settings and characters which appear in their respective works of fiction, often referring to events taking place in the other writers stories. ... In the context of fiction, the canon of a fictional universe comprises those novels, stories, films, etc. ... This article is about a recreational activity. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) published by Wizards of the Coast. ... A campaign setting is a fictional fantasy world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame. ... A virtual world is a computer-simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact with via avatars. ... Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Players interacting in Ultima Online. ... In computer gaming, a MUD (multi-user dungeon, dimension, or sometimes domain) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash style computer games, and social instant messaging chat rooms. ... A fictional crossover occurs when otherwise separated fictional characters, stories, settings, universes, or media meet and interact with each other. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Intellectual property (IP) refers to a legal entitlement which sometimes attaches to the expressed form of an idea, or to some other intangible subject matter. ...

In most small-scale fictional universes, general properties and timeline events fit into a consistently organized continuity. However, in the case of universes or universes that are rewritten or revised by different writers, editors or producers, this continuity may be violated, by accident or by design. The use of retroactive continuity (retcon) often occurs due to this kind of revision or oversight. Members of fandom often create a kind of fanmade canon (fanon) to patch up such errors; fanon that becomes generally accepted sometimes becomes actual canon. Other fanmade additions to a universe (fan fiction, pastiche, parody) are usually not considered canonical unless they are authorized. Alternative meanings: Timeline is a 1999 science fiction novel by Michael Crichton Timeline is a 2003 film based on the novel. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... An Editor is a person who prepares text—typically language, but also images and sounds—for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. ... Retroactive continuity – commonly contracted to the blend retcon – is the adding of new information to historical material, or deliberately changing previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. ... Fandom (from the noun fan and the affix -dom, as in kingdom, dukedom, etc. ... Fanon is a fact or ongoing situation (mostly in fan fiction stories) related to a television program, book, movie, or video game that has been used so much by fan writers or among the fandom that it has been more or less established as having happened in the fictional world... Fan fiction (also spelled fanfiction and commonly abbreviated to fanfic) is fiction written by people who enjoy a film, novel, television show or other media work, using the characters and situations developed in it and developing new plots in which to use these characters. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ... In security engineering and computer security, authorization, is a part of the operating system that protects computer resources by only allowing those resources to be used by resource consumers that have been granted authority to use them. ...

See Category:Fictional universes for a list of fictional universes by name and list of fictional universes for a list of fictional universes by genre. This is a list of fictional universes, organized by genre and by sub-genre. ...

References

• Alberto Manguel & Gianni Guadalupi: The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
• Brian Stableford: The Dictionary of Science Fiction Places
• Diana Wynne Jones: The Tough Guide to Fantasyland explains and parodies the common features of a standard fantasy world
• George Ochoa and Jeffery Osier: Writer's Guide to Creating A Science Fiction Universe (Writer's Digest)

Alberto Manguel (born 1948) is an Canada. ... Brian Stableford (born July 25, 1948) is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 50 novels. ... Diana Wynne Jones (born London August 16, 1934) is a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction. ... Writers Digest, established in 1920, is a United States publication devoted to both beginning and established writers, offering interviews, classifieds, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and tips. ...

Related concepts

• Alternate history
• Parallel universe
• Imaginary world
• Index of fictional places
• Fantasy world
• Fictional city
• Fictional country
• Constructed world
• Future history
• Mythical place
• Planets in science fiction
• Virtual reality

Alternative history or alternate history is fiction that is set in a world in which history has diverged from history as it is generally known, or simply put What If?. While to some extent, all fiction can be classified as alternative history, this genre is used to denote fiction in... Parallel universe (fiction) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... An imaginary world is a setting, place or event or scenario at variance with objective reality, ranging from the voluntary suspension of disbelief of fictional universes and the socially constructed consensus reality of the Social Imaginary, to alternate realities resulting from disinformation, misinformation or imaginative speculation, and the subjective universe... Alternate history Campaign setting Fantasy world Fictional battlegrounds Fictional buildings Fictional city Fictional company Fictional counties Fictional country Fictional schools List of fictional Cambridge colleges List of fictional Oxford colleges Fictional universe List of fictional universes Future history Imaginary country Imaginary state Imaginary union Multiverse Mythical place Parallel universe Phantom... A fantasy world is a type of fictional universe in which magic or other similar powers work. ... This list is of fictional cities: villages, towns, and cities that do not exist in the world we know. ... Map of the Land of Oz, the fictional country in the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Map of the fictional island of Sodor used in the Thomas the Tank Engine stories Fictious countries used in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four A guidebook produced about the fictional country Molvanîa... A rendered conworld, as would be seen from space by an observer. ... A future history is a postulated history of the future that some science fiction authors construct as a common background for some of their stories. ... A mythical place is a place that does not really exist but is accepted folklore or speculation that it might exist or might have existed in earlier times but its actual location is now lost. ... The portrayal of other planets in science fiction is a recurring theme in science fiction. ... Virtual Reality (VR) is an environment that is simulated by a computer. ...

See also

List of fictional universes This is a list of fictional universes, organized by genre and by sub-genre. ...