 Science Fiction is a genre of literature that deals with imaginative settings  Sci-Fi also features some type of fantastic element that is based on real or imagined science › Space travel, futuristic technology, paranormal abilities, etc.  One of science fictions primary functions is to explore the consequences of scientific innovation

 Science Fiction developed over time into a genre that discusses mankind and what could potentially destroy it › Social commentary is the hallmark of great science fiction  Science Fiction has many sub-genres as well, because of the broad possibilities of the genre › Time travel, post-apocalyptic, space exploration

 The origins of science fiction are murky › Historians and scholars have trouble agreeing exactly what the first science fiction story is › Two authors have legitimate claims to the first science fiction story  Edgar Allan Poe  Mary Shelley

 American author Edgar Allan Poe wrote several short stories that are early examples of science fiction that were published in 1841  Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818

 The publication dates make clear that Mary Shelley is the first to publish a work of science fiction  The primary argument against this is Shelley’s book leans more toward fantasy in that it is based on folk-tales about a man/priest who builds his own monster and brings it to life

  Attended West Point › Was dishonorably discharged › Travelled under the name Edgar A. Perry to avoid debt collectors  Said to have been an alcoholic  Earned fame by writing poems and short stories  Very few facts exist about Poe’s life due to Rufus Griswold’s biography

 Considered the creator of Detective Fiction  Primarily wrote Horror stories  Only wrote one book-length story The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

 Themes include › Death › Revenge › Supernatural › Loss of a beautiful woman

 Poe’s short story “Some Words with a Mummy” is a satire › A satire is a novel, play, poem, or short story in which topical issues, folly, or evil are held up to scorn by means of ridicule and irony › The satire comes from the fact that Poe’s story seems to make a joke about the “Egyptmania” that was gripping the world during the 1840s

 The story also satirizes technological advancements of the time › Architecture, steam power, astronomy, railroads, and even clothing are jabbed at › Even the name of the mummy, Allamistakeo, suggests humor  The name contains the phrase “all a mistake”  What makes this story science fiction is the use of “modern” electrical equipment to revive the mummy and the discussion of the embalming process

 This story deals with a naturally occurring phenomenon known as a maelstrom › A maelstrom is a storm that occurs at sea that results in a massive whirlpool  The setting features a regularly occurring maelstrom that is easily predictable

 What makes this story science fiction is the description of the maelstrom and the explanation of the physics that allowed the narrator to survive the storm

 Poe tends to write stories that feature a narrator who tells an amazing, unbelievable story › The nature of these stories leads readers to believe that the narrator is simply making it all up › Sometimes the narrator goes to lengths to tell readers their stories are true, or admit that they don’t expect the reader to believe the tale  “A Descent into the Maelström” features such a narrator