"Alien space bats" ("ASBs") is a neologism for plot devices used in alternate history to mean an implausible point of divergence.
"Alien space bats" originally was used as a sarcastic attack on poorly written alternate histories seen as being implausible. The attacks are usually phrased as the need for "alien space bats" or by saying that the alternate history has gone into "ASB territory". The term eventually evolved into a reference to deus ex machina to create an impossible point of divergence. [1] Examples include changes to the physical laws of nature, time travel, and advanced aliens interfering in human affairs. An example of the last change is Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series. [2]
The term "alien space bats" was coined and popularized in the Usenet group "soc.history.what-if" in 1998. [3] [4] Alison Brooks (1959–2002), credited as the creator of the term, used it to debunk the possibility of a successful Operation Sea Lion by saying that Nazi Germany could successfully invade the United Kingdom across the English Channel only if they had the help of alien space bats. [5] [3] Brooks regretted the use of the ASBs as a supernatural agency and preferred to restrict them to rhetoric. [1]
S. M. Stirling credited Brooks with creating the term in the acknowledgments section of Dies the Fire in which he changed the laws of physics [6] and also used the plot device to send Nantucket back in time in Island in the Sea of Time . [7] [8] One character throughout Dies the Fire and its sequels believes the change to the laws of nature to have been done by an advanced alien race because the changes were finely tailored and refers to the race as alien space bats. [9] [10] In a review of Dies the Fire, Dale Cozort addressed the perceived implausibility of the novel by saying, "Just say to yourself, 'The elder gods or alien space bats took our toys away and that’s all there is to it.'" [11] Paul Di Filippo often uses the term in reviewing the series. [8] [12] The term also appeared in John Birmingham's 2008 novel Without Warning . [13]
Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alternate history stories propose What if? scenarios about crucial events in human history, and present outcomes very different from the historical record. Some alternate histories are considered a subgenre of science fiction, or historical fiction.
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy.
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his PhD in Byzantine history. His dissertation was on the period 565–582. He lives in Southern California.
The Domination of the Draka is a dystopian science fiction alternate history series by American author S. M. Stirling.
Michael Lawson Bishop was an American author. Over five decades and in more than thirty books, he created what has been called a "body of work that stands among the most admired and influential in modern science fiction and fantasy literature."
ASB or asb may refer to:
In science-fiction criticism, a Jonbar hinge or Jonbar point is the fictional concept of a crucial point of divergence between two outcomes, especially in time-travel stories. It is sometimes referred to as a Jon Bar hinge or change-point.
Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoid creatures with green skin and sometimes with antennae on their heads. The term is also sometimes used to describe gremlins, mythical creatures said to cause problems in airplanes and mechanical devices.
The Peshawar Lancers is an alternate history, steampunk, post-apocalyptic fiction adventure novel by S. M. Stirling, with its point of divergence occurring in 1878 when the Earth is struck by a devastating meteor shower. The novel's plot takes place in 2025, when the British Empire has become the powerful Angrezi Raj and is gradually recolonizing the world, alongside other nations and empires that were able to survive. The novel was published in 2002, and was a Sidewise Award nominee for best long-form alternate history.
"What You Leave Behind" is the series finale of the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 175th and 176th episodes, the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. The episode was written by showrunner Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and directed by Allan Kroeker. It originally aired the week of May 31, 1999.
Mundane science fiction (MSF) is a niche literary movement within science fiction that developed in the early 2000s, with principles codified by the "Mundane Manifesto" in 2004, signed by author Geoff Ryman and the "2004 class" of the Clarion West Writers Workshop. The movement proposes "mundane science fiction" as its own subgenre of science fiction, typically characterized by its setting on Earth or within the Solar System; a lack of interstellar travel, intergalactic travel or human contact with extraterrestrials; and a believable use of technology and science as it exists at the time the story is written or a plausible extension of existing technology. There is debate over the boundaries of MSF and over which works can be considered canonical. Rudy Rucker has noted MSF's similarities to hard science fiction and Ritch Calvin has pointed out MSF's similarities to cyberpunk. Some commentators have identified science fiction films and television series which embody the MSF ethos of near-future realism.
Dies the Fire is a 2004 alternate history and post-apocalyptic novel by Canadian-American writer S. M. Stirling. It is the first installment of the Emberverse series and is a spin-off from S. M. Stirling's Nantucket series in which the Massachusetts island of Nantucket is thrown back in time from March 17, 1998, to the Bronze Age.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 alternate history science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling.
The Emberverse series—or Change World—is a series of post-apocalyptic alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling.
The Nantucket series is a set of alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling.
Alison Brooks, is a Canadian-British architect. She is the founder and creative director of Alison Brooks Architects, based in London. Her awards include the RIBA Stirling Prize, Manser Medal, Stephen Lawrence Prize, and RIBA House of the Year.
Speculative evolution is a subgenre of science fiction and an artistic movement focused on hypothetical scenarios in the evolution of life, and a significant form of fictional biology. It is also known as speculative biology and it is referred to as speculative zoology in regards to hypothetical animals. Works incorporating speculative evolution may have entirely conceptual species that evolve on a planet other than Earth, or they may be an alternate history focused on an alternate evolution of terrestrial life. Speculative evolution is often considered hard science fiction because of its strong connection to and basis in science, particularly biology.
This is the complete list of works by American science fiction author S. M. Stirling.
Shadow Captain, by British author Alastair Reynolds, is the second book in the Revenger trilogy that began with the novel Revenger, published in 2016.
Africanfuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophy of science that centers on the fusion of African culture, history, mythology, point of view, with technology based in Africa and not limiting to the diaspora. It was coined by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor in 2019 in a blog post as a single word. Nnedi Okorafor defines Africanfuturism as a sub-category of science fiction that is "directly rooted in African culture, history, mythology and point-of-view..and...does not privilege or center the West," is centered with optimistic "visions in the future," and is written by "people of African descent" while rooted in the African continent. As such its center is African, often does extend upon the continent of Africa, and includes the Black diaspora, including fantasy that is set in the future, making a narrative "more science fiction than fantasy" and typically has mystical elements. It is different from Afrofuturism, which focuses mainly on the African diaspora, particularly the United States. Works of Africanfuturism include science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror and magic realism.
[Alexis] A total coincidence. I was delighted.
