--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The future. Space travel, or cosmology…" description: "\"The future. Space travel, or cosmology. Alternate universes. Time travel. Robots. Marvelous inventions. Immortality. Catastrophes. Aliens. Superman. Ot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/kate-wilhelm-55209_aliens_the-future-space-travel-or-cosmology-alt_553279.jpg" --- # The future. Space travel, or cosmology. Alternate… ![“The future. Space travel, or cosmology. Alternate universes. Time travel. Robots. Marvelous inventions. Immortality. Catastrophes. Aliens. Superman. Other dimensions. Inner space, or the psyche. These are the ideas that are essential to science fiction. The phenomena change, the basic ideas do…” quote by Kate Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/kate-wilhelm-55209_aliens_the-future-space-travel-or-cosmology-alt_553279.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/kate-wilhelm-55209_aliens_the-future-space-travel-or-cosmology-alt_553279.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/kate-wilhelm-55209_aliens_the-future-space-travel-or-cosmology-alt_553279.jpg) > “The future. Space travel, or cosmology. Alternate universes. Time travel. Robots. Marvelous inventions. Immortality. Catastrophes. Aliens. Superman. Other dimensions. Inner space, or the psyche. These are the ideas that are essential to science fiction. The phenomena change, the basic ideas do not. These ideas are the same philosophical concepts that have intrigued mankind throughout history.” [Kate Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wilhelm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science fiction repeatedly revisits core philosophical questions despite changing settings and technology. **In simple terms:** Science fiction returns to same big ideas. Key Takeaway Explore timeless themes in new worlds. Themes imagination philosophy future technology humanity Mood wonder curiosity inspired Type speculative philosophical When to use this quote - writing sci‑fi novels - teaching literature - designing games - discussing philosophy - creating speculative art Key Concepts cosmology alternate universes time travel robots immortality aliens dimensions psyche Questions to Reflect On - How do these ideas reflect human concerns? - What new perspective can you bring to these themes? A Different Perspective May overlook scientific accuracy for narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aliens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Cosmology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmology/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-travel/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-travel/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [“Yeah, and that alternate universes usually have the worst endings with the unhappiest conclusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/yeah-and-that-alternate-universes-usually-have-the-worst-endings-with/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [“The history of ideas, then, is the discipline of beginnings and ends, the description of obscure continuities and returns, the reconstitution of developments in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-history-of-ideas-then-is-the-discipline-of-beginnings-and-ends/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“As for the other aspect, creative or signed enunciation, it is clear that scientific propositions and their correlates are just as signed or created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-tomlinson-f-lix-guattari-graham-burchell-iii-gilles-deleuze/as-for-the-other-aspect-creative-or-signed-enunciation-it-is-clear/) Janis Tomlinson Félix Guattari Graham Burchell III Gilles Deleuze > [I am not by any means a philosopher, although I have worked with some talented people in the discipline. But certain philosophical concepts deeply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lonsdale/i-am-not-by-any-means-a-philosopher-although-i-have-worked-with-some/) [Joe Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lonsdale/) > [Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. There's more exploration to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichelle-nichols/space-travel-benefits-us-here-on-earth-and-we-ain-t-stopped-yet-there/) [Nichelle Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichelle-nichols/) > [I think that it's good for us to be able to travel in space and do research in space, and I emphasize the research,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glenn/i-think-that-it-s-good-for-us-to-be-able-to-travel-in-space-and-do/) [John Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glenn/) > [The Stone trembled and threw herself outward bound, toward Saturn. In her train followed hundreds and thousands and hundreds of thousands of thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-stone-trembled-and-threw-herself-outward-bound-toward-saturn-in/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Humanity had implemented space travel three hundred years ago, taking their place in the galactic government a mere hundred years later. They’d soon become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-grey/humanity-had-implemented-space-travel-three-hundred-years-ago-taking/) Jamie Grey > [“Sci-Fi, Space-Travel, Space-Opera, Chance-Encounters, Adventure-Reads, Speculative-Fiction, Book-Quotes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-nowaz/sci-fi-space-travel-space-opera-chance-encounters-adventure-reads/) [Max Nowaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-nowaz/) > [“Cultural criticism always attacks the mass media. I don't think that makes sense. We should look more closely at the work of deformation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/cultural-criticism-always-attacks-the-mass-media-i-don-t-think-that/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Most families have increased the speed of their lives and the number of their activities gradually--even unconsciously--over time. They realize that there are costs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-john-payne/most-families-have-increased-the-speed-of-their-lives-and-the-number/) [Kim John Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-john-payne/) > [“Quite a feeling, isn't it? I though I'd lost it forever." "Space travel?" "Hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-perlman/quite-a-feeling-isn-t-it-i-though-i-d-lost-it-forever-space-travel/) [Nicole Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-perlman/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Mars looks like Vegas without the casinos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-neill/mars-looks-like-vegas-without-the-casinos/) [Sam Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-neill/) ## More by Kate Wilhelm > [Metaphysics attempts to discover the ultimate nature of reality, and in this sense, the innerspace of science fiction is metaphysical fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-wilhelm/metaphysics-attempts-to-discover-the-ultimate-nature-of-reality-and/) [Kate Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wilhelm/) > [“Let's leave it for tonight. Is it a decent hour for two middle-aged people to go to bed?' He held out his hand for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-wilhelm/let-s-leave-it-for-tonight-is-it-a-decent-hour-for-two-middle-aged/) [Kate Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wilhelm/) > [“We're living on the top of a pyramid,' he had said, 'supported by the massive base, rising above it, above everything that has made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-wilhelm/we-re-living-on-the-top-of-a-pyramid-he-had-said-supported-by-the/) [Kate Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wilhelm/) > [PRIMAL TEARS is a novel of tremendous power. Passionate and erotic, at times tenderly lyrical, it confronts head-on, without flinching, brutal environmental and feminist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-wilhelm/primal-tears-is-a-novel-of-tremendous-power-passionate-and-erotic-at/) [Kate Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wilhelm/) > [There's a belief that wherever your Ancestors took shape from the sticks and stones that formed them, that's home. Ancestors from the coast leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-wilhelm/there-s-a-belief-that-wherever-your-ancestors-took-shape-from-the/) [Kate Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wilhelm/) [Explore all 6 Kate Wilhelm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wilhelm/) ## More Aliens quotes > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [Ay-firmative,' Eve said, and tried for a smile. 'Sorry. An Aliens reference always makes me feel better at times like this. Exept I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/ay-firmative-eve-said-and-tried-for-a-smile-sorry-an-aliens-reference/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I'm not a fan of any genre but am a fan of movies that are intelligent and/or funny. That goes across all genres: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-a-fan-of-any-genre-but-am-a-fan-of-movies-that-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The respect for human rights, essential if we are to use technology wisely, is not something alien that must be grafted onto science. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-respect-for-human-rights-essential-if-we-are-to-use-technology/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) Twe Stephens > [Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/robin-williams-was-an-airman-a-doctor-a-genie-a-nanny-a-president-a/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Evangelicals are distraught over the state of America because they have not been taught that we're aliens here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/evangelicals-are-distraught-over-the-state-of-america-because-they/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Even the Supreme Court, back when it used to makes sense, the Supreme Court has never ruled that a baby born to illegal aliens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/even-the-supreme-court-back-when-it-used-to-makes-sense-the-supreme/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 1,329 Aliens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The future. Space travel, or cosmology. Alternate universes. Time travel. Robots. Marvelous inventions. Immortality. Catastrophes. Aliens. Superman. Other dimensions. Inner space, or the psyche. These are the ideas that are essential to science fiction. The phenomena change, the basic ideas do not. 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