An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but recent advances in robot technology now allow the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1968. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where Earth's life has been greatly damaged by a nuclear global war, leaving most animal species endangered or extinct. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who is tasked with "retiring" six escaped Nexus-6 model androids, while a secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-par IQ who aids the fugitive androids.
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1980 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 15 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup consisted of guitarists Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo, drummer Scott Rockenfield, bassist Eddie Jackson, and lead vocalist Geoff Tate.
Robot fetishism is a fetishistic attraction to humanoid robots; also to people acting like robots or people dressed in robot costumes. A less common fantasy involves transformation into a robot. In these ways it is similar to agalmatophilia, which involves attraction to or transformation into statues or mannequins.
Creed is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida, formed in 1994. For most of its existence, the band consisted of lead vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist and vocalist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips. Creed released two studio albums, My Own Prison in 1997 and Human Clay in 1999, before Marshall left the band in 2000. The band's third album, Weathered, was released in 2001, with Tremonti on bass guitar. Creed disbanded in 2004; Stapp pursued a solo career while Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips founded the band Alter Bridge with Myles Kennedy.
A mannequin is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window-dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Previously, the English term referred to human models and muses ; the meaning as a dummy dating from the start of World War II.
A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design.
Otherworld is an American science fiction television series that aired for eight episodes from January 26 to March 16, 1985 on CBS and was created by Roderick Taylor. Taylor gave himself a cameo role in each episode. The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel.
Despite the initial appearance of an action film, Blade Runner operates on an unusually rich number of dramatic levels. As with much of the cyberpunk genre, it owes a large debt to film noir, containing and exploring such conventions as the femme fatale, a Chandleresque first-person narration in the Theatrical Version, the questionable moral outlook of the hero—extended here to include even the literal humanity of the hero, as well as the usual dark and shadowy cinematography.
Rage for Order is the second studio album by the American progressive metal band Queensrÿche, released on June 27, 1986. The album was re-released on May 6, 2003 with four bonus tracks.
Enuff Z'Nuff is an American rock band from Blue Island, Illinois, founded by singer Donnie Vie and bassist Chip Z'Nuff. The Chicago-area band is best known for their charting singles "Fly High Michelle" and "New Thing".
Mind uploading, whole brain emulation, or substrate-independent minds, is a use of a computer or another substrate as an emulated human brain. The term "mind transfer" also refers to a hypothetical transfer of a mind from one biological brain to another. Uploaded minds and societies of minds, often in simulated realities, are recurring themes in science-fiction novels and films since the 1950s.
Wetware is a 1988 biopunk science fiction novel written by Rudy Rucker. It shared the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988 with Four Hundred Billion Stars by Paul J. McAuley. The novel is the second book in Rucker's Ware Tetralogy, preceded by Software in 1982 and followed by Freeware in 1997.
Artificial intelligence is a recurrent theme in science fiction, whether utopian, emphasising the potential benefits, or dystopian, emphasising the dangers.
Péter Zsoldos was a Hungarian science fiction author who largely wrote about themes common in US/UK science fiction like space travel and robots. His best known work is probably Ellenpont, which translates as Counterpoint. The book explores the attempts of artificial intelligences abandoned by Man to uncover their origins and, ultimately, to rediscover mankind.
Natasha Rhodes is an English-born author, best known for her contemporary fantasy book series starring supernatural crime-fighter Kayla Steele. She has also written many film novelizations of popular blockbuster movies such as Blade: Trinity and the Final Destination series of movies, as well as original books based on films such as the Nightmare On Elm Street series.
The Story of Martha is a BBC Books anthology with a framing device written by Dan Abnett. David Roden, Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis, Robert Shearman and Simon Jowett write the stories presented. It features the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. It was published on 26 December 2008, at the same time as Beautiful Chaos and The Eyeless. It takes place between "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords" and details Martha's journey around the world during the Master's reign over Earth.
Ex Machina is a 2014 science fiction film written and directed by Alex Garland in his directorial debut. There are four significant characters, played by Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno, and Oscar Isaac. Gleeson plays a computer programmer employed by a billionaire (Isaac) to assess whether a humanoid robot (Vikander) is sentient.
AI takeover—the idea that some kind of artificial intelligence may supplant humankind as the dominant intelligent species on the planet—is a common theme in science fiction. Famous cultural touchstones include Terminator and The Matrix.
