Alternate future
Encyclopedia
In science fiction
stories involving time travel
, an alternative future or alternate future is a possible future
which never comes to pass, typically because someone travels back into the past
and alters it so that the events of the alternative future cannot occur.
An alternative future differs from alternative history
in that alternative history usually speculates on what might have happened in the past if some events in the past had occurred differently, while an alternative future usually speculates on what might happen in the future. Also, alternative histories commonly forgo time travel, while alternative futures do not.
An alternative future should not be confused with a possible future. Many science fiction stories are set in the future and treat it as if it were the only future within the context of the story; an alternative future story is specifically set in an alternative one, that is, one that, within the context of the story, does not come about to pass.
Examples of fictional works which show alternative futures include:
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
stories involving time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
, an alternative future or alternate future is a possible future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
which never comes to pass, typically because someone travels back into the past
Past
Most generally, the past is a term used to indicate the totality of events which occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience time, and is...
and alters it so that the events of the alternative future cannot occur.
An alternative future differs from alternative history
Alternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
in that alternative history usually speculates on what might have happened in the past if some events in the past had occurred differently, while an alternative future usually speculates on what might happen in the future. Also, alternative histories commonly forgo time travel, while alternative futures do not.
An alternative future should not be confused with a possible future. Many science fiction stories are set in the future and treat it as if it were the only future within the context of the story; an alternative future story is specifically set in an alternative one, that is, one that, within the context of the story, does not come about to pass.
Examples of fictional works which show alternative futures include:
- Back to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...
- It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
- The Butterfly EffectThe Butterfly EffectThe Butterfly Effect is a 2004 American sci-fi psychological thriller film that is written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber and starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart...
- A Sound of ThunderA Sound of Thunder“A Sound of Thunder” is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury, first published in Collier’s magazine in 1952. As of 1984 it was the most re-published science fiction story up to the present time...
- Samurai JackSamurai JackSamurai Jack is an American animated television series created by animator Genndy Tartakovsky that aired on both Cartoon Network and Toonami from 2001 to 2004. It is noted for its highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation, as well as for its cinematic style and pacing...
- In Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
:- Days of Future PastDays of Future Past"Days of Future Past" is a popular storyline in the Marvel Comics comic book The Uncanny X-Men issues #141 and #142, published in 1981. It deals with a dystopian alternate future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps...
- CableCable (comics)Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
's future timeline dominated by ApocalypseApocalypse (comics)Apocalypse is a fictional character who is an ancient mutant that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Factor #5 , created by writer Louise Simonson and designed by artist Walter Simonson...
and StryfeStryfeStryfe is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . The character was created by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld, and first appears in The New Mutants #87... - Age of ApocalypseAge of Apocalypse"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
- Days of Future Past
- The Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
ends up as an alternative future in the Marvel comics continuity - Danny PhantomDanny PhantomDanny Phantom is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. The show was about a teenage half-ghost boy, who frequently saves his town and the world from ghost attacks, while attempting to keep his ghost half a secret...
- Dragon Ball Z
- HeroesHeroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
- TimeslipTimeslipTimeslip is a British children's science fiction television series made by ATV for the ITV network and broadcast between 1970 and 1971. The series centres around two children, Simon Randall and Liz Skinner who discover the existence of a strange anomaly, known as the “Time Barrier”, that enables...
See also
- Parallel universe (fiction)Parallel universe (fiction)A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
- Future historyFuture historyA future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors in the subgenre of speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction...