Which topics are common to sci-fi ? Which ones are shared with other forms of fiction (fairy-tales, mythology, fantasy, speculative fiction) ? Which topics distinguish it from other forms of fiction ?
notion of other worlds (continents, moon, planets, solar systems, flat worlds etc.)
there is often a technology allowing one to "translate" between these worlds (ships, spacesh...
time slow-down / time acceleration
time dilation
time machines and time loops
pre-cognition and post-cognition
reversal of 2nd Law of Thermodynamics / axis of time
mismatch...
new sources of energy / new access to known sources of energy (nuclear fusion, rain energy)
new means of storing energy
other forms of energy (e.g. Elan Vitale, Force, Kundali...
reactivated social forms already known from history (tribe-like communities, matriarchy, kingdom, empire, slavery)
extrapolations of existing trends (surveillance paranoia stat...
humans create something "to their image"
creation surpasses its creatorsomething (a glitch, a divine intervention, a spark of empathy) happensa conflict betw...