Encyclopedia Galactica

Last updated

Encyclopedia Galactica is the name of a number of fictional or hypothetical encyclopedias containing all the knowledge accumulated by a galaxy-spanning civilization, most notably in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. The concept of a "future encyclopedia" has become "something iconic among many lovers of the science fiction", and has been reused by numerous other writers. [1]

Contents

Asimov's Encyclopedia Galactica

Encyclopedia Galactica first appeared in Isaac Asimov's short story "Foundation" ( Astounding Science Fiction , May 1942), later republished as "The Encyclopedists" in the short-story collection Foundation (1951). Asimov's Encyclopedia Galactica was a compendium of all knowledge then available in the Galactic Empire, intended to preserve that knowledge in a remote region of the galaxy in the event of a foreseen galactic catastrophe. The Encyclopedia is later revealed to be an element in an act of misdirection, with its real purpose being to concentrate a group of knowledgeable scientists on a remote, resource-poor planet named Terminus, with the long-term aim of revitalizing the technologically stagnant and scientifically dormant empire. Originally published in a physical medium, it later becomes computerized and subject to continual change.

Asimov used the Encyclopedia Galactica as a literary device throughout his Foundation series, beginning many of the book sections or chapters with a short extract from the Encyclopedia as epigraphs, discussing a key character or event in the story. [1] [2] This provides the reader with a hazy idea of what is to come.

Theodore Wein considers the Encyclopedia Galactica as possibly inspired by a reference in H. G. Wells's The Shape of Things to Come (1933). The future world envisioned by Wells includes an "Encyclopaedic organization which centres upon Barcelona, with seventeen million active workers" and which is tasked with creating "the Fundamental Knowledge System which accumulates, sorts, keeps in order and renders available everything that is known". As pointed out by Wein, this Wells book was at its best-known and most influential in the late 1930s – coinciding with "the period of incubation" when the young Asimov became interested in science fiction, reading a lot of it and starting to formulate his own ideas. [3] [ verification needed ]

Patricio Manns analyzed the Encyclopedia Galactica as a paratextual element of Asimov's work, intended to contextualize the action, to bring the trilogy closer to the historical novel and to inform the reader about a possible palimpsestic reading. [1]

Later instances in fiction

Various authors have invoked the Encyclopedia Galactica in both science and science fiction. The first may have been author Frank Holby's short story "The Strange Case of the Missing Hero" in the July 1942 issue of Astounding Science Fiction which featured Sebastian Lelong, editor of the Encyclopedia. It was also a common fixture in previous incarnations of the Legion of Super-Heroes comic books, and has appeared in the Star Wars expanded universe [4] and Superman comics set in the future. [5] The "Encyclopedia Galactica" was also mentioned as being a collection of all the knowledge of a galactic Empire in the 1989 science fiction short story "The Originist" by American novelist Orson Scott Card, and took place in Isaac Asimov's fictional "Foundation" Universe.

In the comic science fiction series by Douglas Adams, the Galactica is frequently contrasted with the apparently more popular Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy : [1] [6]

In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker’s Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects. First, it is slightly cheaper; and second, it has the words "DON'T PANIC" inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.

— Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)

Robert A. Heinlein mentioned the Encyclopedia in chapter three of To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987): "... the computer that led the Lunar Revolution on time line three, code 'Neil Armstrong.' Let's skip the details; it's all in Encyclopedia Galacta (sic) and other books."

In Arthur C. Clarke's and Gentry Lee's novel Rama II (1989), Nicole des Jardins says to Richard Wakefield, "Just think, the sum of everything all human beings know or have ever known might be nothing more than an infinitesimal fraction of the Encyclopedia Galactica." [7]

"Encyclopedia Galactica" is mentioned by Charlie Sheen's character in The Arrival (1996), [8] and by Jodie Foster's character in Contact (1997). [9]

The Orion's Arm worldbuilding project uses a fictional database called the Encyclopaedia Galactica as its primary framing device, [10] each page presenting itself as an individual article of the Encyclopaedia and focusing on a specific aspect of the Orion's Arm universe.

Other uses

Encyclopaedia Galactica.jpg
Encyclopaedia Galactica 2.jpg
A vast alien encyclopedia was imagined in Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980), shown here opened to its entry about Earth and human civilization.

There was a series of five video documentaries in 1993, collectively called Encyclopædia Galactica, with the episode titles “The Inner Solar System”, “The Outer Solar System”, “Star Trekking”, “Discovery”, and “Astronomy and the Stars”. The videos were produced by York Films of England and distributed by Encyclopædia Britannica (Australia). [11] Other entities associated with the production of the video series were Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation, The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel Europe, S4C Wales, System TV France and Yleisradio Finland. [12]

There was an Encyclopedia Galactica: from the Fleet Library aboard the Battlestar Galactica published in 1978. Aimed at a juvenile audience, this was a tie in to the Battlestar Galactica television series being broadcast at the time. [13]

The term has been used in non-fictional contexts as well. One example is its use by Carl Sagan (1934–1996) in his 1980 book Cosmos , and the 12th episode of his documentary of the same name, to refer to a text where hypothetical extraterrestrial civilizations could store all of their information and knowledge. [1] [14] [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Asimov</span> American writer and biochemist (1920–1992)

Isaac Asimov was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction.

<i>Foundation</i> series Science-fiction books by Isaac Asimov

The Foundation series is a science fiction book series written by American author Isaac Asimov. First published as a series of short stories and novellas in 1942–50, and subsequently in three collections in 1951–53, for nearly thirty years the series was a trilogy: Foundation (1951); Foundation and Empire (1952); and Second Foundation (1953). It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov later added new volumes, with two sequels: Foundation's Edge (1982) and Foundation and Earth (1986), and two prequels: Prelude to Foundation (1988) and Forward the Foundation (1993).

The Galactic Empire series is a science fiction sequence of three of Isaac Asimov's earliest novels, and extended by one short story. They are connected by their early place in his published works and chronological placement within his overarching Foundation universe, set around the rise of Asimov's Galactic Empire, between the Robot and Foundation series to which they were linked in Asimov's later novels.

Galactic empires are a science fiction setting trope, in which most or all of the habitable planets in the setting's galaxy are ruled by a single centralized political entity. Galactic empires most frequently appear in works in the sub-genres of science fantasy and space opera, although they may appear in other sub-genres as well. Works featuring galactic empires may have them as the story's focus, chronicling the empire's growth and/or decline. Alternatively, they may merely serve as a backdrop against which the events of the story play out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hari Seldon</span> Fictional character from the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

Hari Seldon is a fictional character in the Foundation series of novels by Isaac Asimov. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on the planet Trantor, Seldon develops psychohistory, an algorithmic science that allows him to predict the future in probabilistic terms. On the basis of his psychohistory he is able to predict the eventual fall of the Galactic Empire and to develop a means to shorten the millennia of chaos to follow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth in science fiction</span>

An overwhelming majority of fiction is set on or features the Earth, as the only planet home to humans. This also holds true of science fiction, despite perceptions to the contrary. Works that focus specifically on Earth may do so holistically, treating the planet as one semi-biological entity. Counterfactual depictions of the shape of the Earth, be it flat or hollow, are occasionally featured. A personified, living Earth appears in a handful of works. In works set in the far future, Earth can be a center of space-faring human civilization, or just one of many inhabited planets of a galactic empire, and sometimes destroyed by ecological disaster or nuclear war or otherwise forgotten or lost.

<i>Foundation</i> (Asimov novel) 1951 science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov

Foundation is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov. It is the first published in his Foundation Trilogy. Foundation is a cycle of five interrelated short stories, first published as a single book by Gnome Press in 1951. Collectively they tell the early story of the Foundation, an institute founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon to preserve the best of galactic civilization after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.

<i>Foundation and Empire</i> 1952 novel by Isaac Asimov

Foundation and Empire is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov originally published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book in the Foundation series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology. It takes place in two parts, originally published as separate novellas. The second part, "The Mule," won a Retro Hugo Award in 1996.

"Blind Alley" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and later included in the collection The Early Asimov (1972).

Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire. It was first introduced in the four short stories (1942–1944) which would later be collected as the 1951 novel Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galactic Empire (Asimov)</span> Fictional interstellar empire

The Galactic Empire is an interstellar empire featured in Isaac Asimov's Robot, Galactic Empire, and Foundation series. The Empire is spread across the Milky Way galaxy and consists of almost 25 million planets settled exclusively by humans. For over 12 millennia the seat of imperial authority was located on the ecumenopolis of Trantor, whose population exceeded 40 billion, until it was sacked in the year 12,328. The official symbol of the empire is the Spaceship-and-Sun. Cleon II was the last Emperor to hold significant authority. The fall of the empire, modelled on the fall of the Roman Empire, is the subject of many of Asimov's novels.

This is a bibliography of the books written or edited by Isaac Asimov, arranged alphabetically. Asimov was a prolific author, and he engaged in many collaborations with other authors. This list may not yet be complete. The total number of books listed here is over 500. Asimov died in 1992 at age 72; a small number of his books were published posthumously.

A fictional book is a text created specifically for a work in an imaginary narrative that is referred to, depicted, or excerpted in a story, book, film, or other fictional work, and which exists only in one or more fictional works. A fictional book may be created to add realism or depth to a larger fictional work. For example, George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has excerpts from a book by Emmanuel Goldstein entitled The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism which provides background on concepts explored in the novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First contact (science fiction)</span> Science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life

First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient species' first encounter with another one, given they are from different planets or natural satellites. The theme allows writers to explore such topics such as xenophobia, transcendentalism, and basic linguistics by adapting the anthropological topic of first contact to extraterrestrial cultures.

The Golden Age of Science Fiction, often identified in the United States as the years 1938–1946, was a period in which a number of foundational works of science fiction literature appeared. In the history of science fiction, the Golden Age follows the "pulp era" of the 1920s and 1930s, and precedes New Wave science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1950s are, in this scheme, a transitional period. Robert Silverberg, who came of age in the 1950s, saw that decade as the true Golden Age.

Robert Thurston was a science fiction author well known for his works in popular shared world settings.

Isaac's Universe is a fictional universe created by Isaac Asimov for other science fiction writers to use as a setting. It introduces the collaborative science fiction universe created by Asimov which eventually resulted in five volumes: three short story collections and two novels. It was initiated by Martin H. Greenberg, who also edited and published its three short stories collection by Avon Books starting in 1990.

The Foundation universe is the future history of humanity's colonization of the galaxy, spanning nearly 25,000 years, created through the gradual fusion of the Robot, Galactic Empire, and Foundation book series written by American author Isaac Asimov.

In a writing career spanning 53 years (1939–1992), science fiction and popular science author Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) wrote and published 40 novels, 383 short stories, over 280 non-fiction books, and edited about 147 others.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Manns, Patricio (1997-12-31), "Impugnación de la Historia por la Nueva Novela Histórica. La Nueva Novela Histórica: una experiencia personal", La invención del pasado: La novela histórica en el marco de la posmodernidad, Iberoamericana Vervuert, pp. 230–236, doi:10.31819/9783964567215-023, ISBN   9783964567215 , retrieved 2022-04-05
  2. ↑ Wimmer, Josh; Wilkins, Alasdair (May 9, 2011). "Isaac Asimov's Foundation: The Little Idea That Became Science Fiction's Biggest Series". Gizmodo . Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  3. ↑ Wein, Theodore, "4", HG Wells and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, pp. 25–26
  4. ↑ "HoloNet News: Duros Dispute Encyclopedia" Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "The Secret Origin of the Golden Age Superman". p 2. Roy Thomas, Wayne Boring, and Jerry Ordway.
  6. ↑ Lomberg, Jon (February 8, 2019). "Encyclopedia Galactica: How Carl Sagan helped turn an alien obsession". Astronomy.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  7. ↑ Charles Clarke, Arthur; Lee, Gentry (1989). Rama II. Bantam Books. p. 305. ISBN   9780553057140 . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "The Arrival movie script". Subslikescript.
  9. ↑ "Contact movie script". Subslikescript.
  10. ↑ "Encyclopedia Galactica". www.orionsarm.com. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  11. ↑ Encyclopaedia galactica. National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ Encyclopedia galactica: the inner solar system [England]: York Films of England, 1993 at 21:09
  13. ↑ Kraus, Bruce (1979). Encyclopedia Galactica: from the Fleet Library aboard the Battlestar Galactica. New York: Windmill Books and E.P. Dutton. OCLC   5320694.
  14. ↑ Malone, Adrian; Haines-Stiles, Geoffrey (1980-12-14), Encyclopaedia Galactica, Carl Sagan, Alan Belod, Jean Charney, retrieved 2018-02-09
  15. ↑ Sagan, Carl (1980). "Encyclopaedia Galactica". Cosmos . Ballantine. ISBN   978-0-345-53943-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.