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Friday 11 July 2025
Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Fourth Edition. Some sample entries appear below. Click here for the Introduction; here for what we mean by Science Fiction; here for the masthead; here for some Statistics; here for the Acknowledgments; here for the FAQ; here for advice on citations. Find entries via the search box above (more details here) or browse the menu categories in the grey bar at the top of this page.
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Quantum Computers
A still largely theoretical but eagerly researched breed of Computers which use quantum superposition to deal simultaneously with all possible values which can be represented as "qubits" (quantum bits, as opposed to conventional computer bits representing 0 or 1) in a quantum register. Experimental devices with small numbers of qubits have been tested; if workable on a larger scale, the technology should be capable of processing speeds vastly greater than normal ...
Vampire, The
Film (1957; vt Mark of the Vampire). Gramercy Pictures. Produced by Arthur Gardner, Arnold Laven, and Jules V Levy. Directed by Paul Landres. Written by Pat Fielder from her original story. Cast includes John Beal, Coleen Gray, Dabbs Greer (Dr Will Beaumont) and Kenneth Toby. 75 minutes. Black and white. / Small-town doctor Paul Beecher (Beal) is entrusted with an experimental Drug developed from the blood of vampire bats by a colleague, just before ...
Kneen, Krissy
(1968- ) Australian bookseller, film and television director, screenwriter and author. In An Uncertain Grace (2017) a young woman intensely focused on recreating the night she lost her virginity (see Sex) invents a Virtual Reality immersion device. Her seducer, a teacher who had made questionable use of the power of his position, is forced to wear this suit, and to come to a better understanding of ...
Everett, Frances
(? -? ) UK author who also wrote as by Edward Prince; her Dystopia, John Bull, Socialist (1909) [for further details see Checklist below], foresees dire consequences of any triumph of socialism in Britain, suggesting that the colonies will revolt (see Imperialism; Race in SF), pensioners will be left in penury, women (see ...
Supercar
UK tv series (1961-1962). AP Films/ATV/ITC. From an idea by Gerry Anderson and Reg Hill, produced by Anderson. Directors included David Elliott, Alan Pattillo, Desmond Saunders, Bill Harris. Writers were either Gerry and Sylvia Anderson or Hugh Woodhouse and his brother Martin Woodhouse. Two seasons, 39 25-minute episodes in all. Black and white. / This was the first of Anderson's ...
Clute, John
(1940- ) Canadian critic, editor and author, in the UK from 1969; married to Judith Clute from 1964, partner of Elizabeth Hand since 1996. He began to publish work of genre interest with an sf-tinged poem "Carcajou Lament" in Triquarterly for Winter 1960 [ie Autumn 1959]; he began consistently publishing sf reviews in his "New Fiction" column for the Toronto Star (1966-1967), and later in ...