12 Truths Sci-Fi Fans Know Implicitly

You know the Three Laws of Robotics, you can name half a dozen alien races, and you're still holding out hope that your next vehicle will be a time machine. Hold that worn copy of Dune proudly over your head and embrace your fandom, because there is no shame of loving what has become know as "the last great literature of ideas."

I fell in love with science fiction when I was in elementary school and I first read Ender's Game . I was ready to sign up for Battle School, board a starship, and go hurtling through space faster than the speed of light. I devoured paperback after paperback, engineering robots alongside Isaac Asimov's Powell and Donovan, hitchhiking through the galaxy with Douglas Adams's Arthur and Ford, hacking computers with William Gibson's Henry Dorsett Case, and walking through the exhibits of Kurt Vonnegut's Tralfamadorian zoo. Page after page of expansive world building, adventure and terror, flashes of the future, drama, politics, and even the occasional love story, sci-fi has it all.

But after finishing a book like 1984, it's impossible not to walk down the street without looking over your shoulder. Science fiction is filled with grim predictions of the future, some of which have already come to pass, overbearing governments, morally depraved corporations, and intrusive technology. If the books aren't enough to give you the creeps, and the movie and t.v. adaptations certainly will. I still have nightmares of the gnarly and enormous bugs from Starship Troopers and the glaring eyes of Big Brother from the telescreens in 1984.

Whether you like to read hard science fiction about physics and chemistry, social science fiction about a dystopian alternate reality, satire or stories about space cowboys, there are certain things you know to be true about your favorite books, and the world around you. Not all of them are pretty, but you can't ignore facts like these.

Robots are people, too

Remember Andrew, the titular character of Isaac Asimov's Bicentennial Man? He taught us robots have the capacity creativity, personality, and emotions - all things that make them like people. Even the World Leader declared Andrew a man by law, so true sci-fi fans know to think twice before bad-mouthing the Roomba.

If you don't like your reality, there is always an alternate one out there

If you're miserable in your own world, science fiction has taught us that there are plenty of other options out there. Whether it is a different planet, a different time in history, or a different plane of reality, there is always another universe for you to try out.

Traveling first-class is nothing compared to traveling through space and time

Maybe you got bumped up to gold member on your last flight, but nothing can compare to traveling faster than the speed of light and conquering the aging problem. Who wants to go through TSA when you can skip the lines and board H. G. Wells's time machine instead?

An alien invasion is inevitable...

Martians will come to earth, and they will destroy the planet. Whether they take the form of the Fithp from Footfall or the martians from War of the Worlds, the fact remains the aliens are indeed coming...

...so is the Apocalypse, and only humans are to blame

Maybe it will be a nuclear holocaust or the accidental release of a ice-nine, but one thing is for sure: we're all doomed, and there is no one to blame but ourselves.

The world's population will likely be wiped out by a government-caused outbreak, and only those with mutant genes will survive

You know it and I know it: the government's plan to develop a weapon or control the population will surely blow up in their faces, and wipe out 99 percent of mankind. Let's hope we are one of the lucky survivors with superb genes and incredible fighting skills.

You probably have a clone out there... unless you are the clone

If you think you're one-in-a-million, think again. Maybe you were cloned for the purpose harvesting organs, or to serve out the narcissistic needs of your creator,but either way, you might want to think twice the next time you see a doppelganger on the train.

Science equals power

He who holds the Ph.D. holds the authority. In the realm of science fiction, the scientists, researchers, psychologists, doctors, and, computer engineers are the ones who run the show. The enemy might have a bigger spaceship, but the victor is always the one with a handle on the scientific. (Unless this power leads them to a life of corruption, which is often the case, too.)

God is probably an alien

Science fiction has taught us many things, mostly that we don't know as much about the world we live in as we think. There are other species, other climates, and other realities out there, so is it so far-fetched to think God is probably just an alien and we are probably living on the tip of his eyelash or something?

The corporation you work for is evil, and is definitely trying to take over the world

You think your boss is a jerk, but you have no idea how right you are. He is likely a cyborg planted by an greater evil to start a take over from the inside-out. Oh, and you know those newly designed cellphone ear pieces you've been working on? They're actually brainwashing devices, so its time find your sexy but mysterious coworker and try and take down the man.

Big Brother is definitely watching you

He probably goes by different names — data mining, the NSA, browser history — but rest assured, you are not alone. Ever. Any true science fiction fan knows that Big Brother is out there, tracking your exercise habits and listening in on your plans to stage a coup.

You have every right to be a paranoid freak, because nothing is as it seems

Truth.

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