Simulated reality in fiction - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Simulated reality

Simulated reality is the proposition that reality could be simulated—perhaps by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation....

is a theme that pre-dates science fiction

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...

. In Medieval and Renaissance religious theatre, the concept of the world as theater is frequent. Works, early and contemporary, include:

Literature

Title	Author	Year	Remarks
Accelerando	Charles Stross Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...	2005
The Algebraist The Algebraist The Algebraist, a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first appeared in print in 2004. It was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2005....	Iain M. Banks	2004	Posits a religion Religion Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to... according to which 'The Truth' is that our universe Universe The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature... is virtual.
Amnesia Moon Amnesia Moon Amnesia Moon is a 1995 novel by Jonathan Lethem. Lethem adapted the novel from several unpublished short stories he had written, all about catastrophic, apocalyptic events. In finished form Amnesia Moon bears homage to Philip K. Dick. In fact, during a party scene, one guest describes a battle of...	Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels...	1995	On a road trip, two characters set out from a post-apocalypse Wyoming Wyoming Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High... town and encounter a succession of alternate realities, including one shrouded in opaque green fog, another luck-based political system, and it is suggested that these divergent alternate realities emerged to obstruct an alien invasion Alien invasion The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial life invades Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether.The... of Earth. Homage to Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered... .
Breakfast of Champions	Kurt Vonnegut Jr.	1973	Kilgore Trout Kilgore Trout Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. He was originally created as a fictionalized version of author Theodore Sturgeon , although Trout's consistent presence in Vonnegut's works has also led critics to view him as the author's own alter ego... , an amateur science fiction writer, writes a story that mocks individualism by suggesting that there is only one human man and one God, and the rest of humanity are robots, made to test the man's reactions; hence, a kind of simulated reality.
The Circular Ruins The Circular Ruins "The Circular Ruins" is a fantasy short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. Published in the literary journal Sur in December 1940, it was included in the 1941 collection The Garden of Forking Paths and then in part one of the 1944 collection Ficciones...	Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...	1940	(not simulated reality, but subjective idealism/solipsism Solipsism Solipsism is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. The term comes from Latin solus and ipse . Solipsism as an epistemological position holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure. The external world and other minds cannot be known, and might not... ).
The Cookie Monster The Cookie Monster (novella) The Cookie Monster is a short story/novella by Vernor Vinge. It was first published in the October 2003 issue of Dell Magazines' anthology publication Analog, and has subsequently been collected in several science fiction anthology collections...	Vernor Vinge Vernor Vinge Vernor Steffen Vinge is a retired San Diego State University Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas A Fire Upon the Deep , A Deepness in the Sky , Rainbows End , Fast Times at Fairmont High ...	2004
Darwinia Darwinia (novel) Darwinia is a 1998 science fiction, alternate history novel written by Robert Charles Wilson. It won an Aurora Award for Best Long Form in 1999, and was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel that same year....	Robert Charles Wilson Robert Charles Wilson Robert Charles Wilson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.Wilson was born in the United States in California, but grew up near Toronto, Ontario. Apart from another short period in the early 1970s spent in Whittier, California, he has lived most of his life in Canada, and in 2007 he...	1998
Diaspora Diaspora (novel) Diaspora, a hard science fiction novel by the Australian writer Greg Egan, first appeared in print in 1997.-Plot introduction:This novel's setting is a posthuman future, in which transhumanism long ago became the default philosophy embraced by the vast majority of human cultures.The novel began as...	Greg Egan Greg Egan Greg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness...	1997
The Dueling Machine	Ben Bova Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova is an American science-fiction author and editor. He is the recipient of six Hugo Awards for Best Professional Editor for his work at Analog Science Fiction in the 1970's.-Personal life:...	1969
Discourse on Method Discourse on Method The Discourse on the Method is a philosophical and autobiographical treatise published by René Descartes in 1637. Its full name is Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences .The Discourse on Method is best known...	René Descartes René Descartes René Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...	1637
Electric Forest	Tanith Lee Tanith Lee Tanith Lee is a British writer of science fiction, horror and fantasy. She is the author of over 70 novels and 250 short stories, a children's picture book and many poems. She also wrote two episodes of BBC science fiction series Blake's 7...	1979
The Electric Ant The Electric Ant The Electric Ant is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. First published in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine in October 1969....	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1969
Eternity Eternity (novel) Eternity is a science fiction novel by Greg Bear. It is the second book in his The Way series, dealing largely with the aftermath of the decision to split Axis City and abandon the Way in the preceding book, Eon.-Plot summary:...	Greg Bear Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...	1988	In particular, his introduction of the Taylor algorithms as a means of determining the simulated nature of an artificial environment
Eye in the Sky (novel)	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1957	After a nuclear accident, seven victims successively pass a range of solipsist personalised alternate universes, including a geocentric, magic-based universe and a hardline marxist caricature of the contemporary United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Feersum Endjinn Feersum Endjinn Feersum Endjinn is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1994. It won a British Science Fiction Association Award in 1994.It was Banks' second science fiction novel not based or set within the Culture universe....	Iain M. Banks	1994	Describes a version of Earth Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets... with very extensive virtual reality capabilities.
Flight: a Quantum Fiction novel	Vanna Bonta Vanna Bonta Vanna Bonta is a novelist, poet and film actress best known as the author of Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel the story about parallel dimensions featuring an amnesiac girl with no navel...	1995	Posits that our universe is a virtual Virtual The term virtual is a concept applied in many fields with somewhat differing connotations, and also, differing denotations.The term has been defined in philosophy as "that which is not real" but may display the salient qualities of the real.... metaverse whereby collective Collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective... and individual Individual An individual is a person or any specific object or thing in a collection. Individuality is the state or quality of being an individual; a person separate from other persons and possessing his or her own needs, goals, and desires. Being self expressive... consciousness Consciousness Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind... creates reality Reality In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible... on the quantum Quantum In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized," referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete... level
Forever Free Forever Free (novel) Forever Free is a science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, the sequel to The Forever War. It was published in 1999.-Plot summary:...	Joe Haldeman Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...	1999
The Futurological Congress The Futurological Congress The Futurological Congress is a 1971 black humour science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem detailing the exploits of the hero of a number of his books, Ijon Tichy, as he visits the Eighth World Futurological Congress at a Hilton Hotel in Costa Rica...	Stanisław Lem	1971
Get Real: A Philosophical Adventure in Virtual Reality	Philip Zhai Philip Zhai Philip Zhai also known as Zhai Zhenming is a philosopher who writes in both English and Chinese.Zhai is the author of Get Real: A Philosophical Adventure in Virtual Reality , in which he argues that the logical extreme of virtual reality is ontologically equivalent to actual reality...	1998	A philosophical speculation on the ontological status of the extreme form of virtual reality that combines with teleoperation, in comparison with what we perceive as the "actual" or "physical" reality. An array of thought experiments is constructed for the purpose of philosophical investigations.
The Girl Who Was Plugged In The Girl Who Was Plugged In "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" is a science fiction novella by James Tiptree, Jr., a pen name used by writer Alice Sheldon. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1974.-Plot summary:...	James Tiptree Jr.	1974
Glasshouse Glasshouse (novel) Glasshouse is a science fiction novel by British author Charles Stross, first published in 2006. The novel is set in the twenty seventh century aboard a spacecraft adrift in interstellar space. Robin, the protagonist, has recently had his memory erased...	Charles Stross Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...	2006
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...	Douglas Adams Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...	1979–2009	Earth was designed by an alien supercomputer called Deep Thought to find the Ultimate Question to the Ultimate Answer of Life, the Universe, and Everything (the Ultimate Answer already established as 42), using organic life as part of its operational matrix. However, early on in the first book Earth was destroyed just before the critical moment of read-out, leading to the events of the rest of the series. Later, part of the action takes place in a synthetic universe.
Idlewild	Nick Sagan Nick Sagan Nick Sagan is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the science fiction novels Idlewild, Edenborn, and Everfree, and his screen credits include episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager...	2003	This novel contains a simulated school inside a simulated world.
Illusions Illusions (novel) Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah is a novel by writer and pilot Richard Bach. First published in 1977, the story questions the reader's view of reality, proposing that what we call reality is merely an illusion we create for learning and enjoyment...	Richard Bach Richard Bach Richard David Bach is an American writer. He is widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-sellers Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, and others. His books espouse his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely...	1977	A pilot on the Midwest summer barnstorming Barnstorming Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, either individually or in groups called a flying circus. Barnstorming was the first major form of civil aviation in the history of flight... circuit meets a messiah Messiah A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to... who shows him that the world is merely "like a movie" designed by "the Master" to entertain and enlighten humanity.
Irreversible Irreversible Irreversible may refer to:Irreversible process, in thermodynamics, a process that is not reversibleIrréversible, a 2002 film*Irréversible , soundtrack to the film Irréversible...	Liz Maverick	2008	A young woman relives the most perfect week of her life over and over without being conscious of it, the subject of a corporate experiment to create and maintain a time loop. The week is totally manufactured, with actors hired to play friends and colleagues, medication designed to keep her tranquil, and an entire set of "stage hands" working to keep up the authenticity of the sets as they change for various occasions.
Loop Loop (novel) is the third in the series of Ring novels by Koji Suzuki.The story revolves around a simulated reality, exactly the same as our own, known as the Loop: created to simulate the emergence and evolution of life...	Koji Suzuki Koji Suzuki Koji Suzuki is a Japanese writer, who was born in Hamamatsu and currently lives in Tokyo. Suzuki is the author of the Ring cycle of novels, which has been adapted into a manga series. He has written several books on the subject of fatherhood...	1998
The Man in the High Castle The Man in the High Castle The Man in the High Castle is a science fiction alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 and has since been translated into many languages....	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1962	Initially, it appears that Nazi Germany Nazi Germany Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by... and the Japanese Empire won the Second World War in an alternate, occupied United States. However, the I Ching I Ching The I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts... divinatory tool discloses this as an apparent illusion.
A Maze of Death A Maze of Death A Maze of Death is a 1970 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. Like many of Dick's novels, it portrays what appears to be a drab and harsh off-world human colony and explores the difference between reality and perception...	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1970
Moongazer	Marianne Mancusi	2007	A post-apocalyptic underground society pacifies its citizens by plugging them into a simulated version of New York City before the war, meanwhile telling the people that they are actually traveling to an alternate reality where they can escape their constricted lives.
Neuromancer Neuromancer Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...	William Gibson William Gibson William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...	1984	In this future, cyberspace has taken on the attributes of virtual reality.
Mona Lisa Overdrive Mona Lisa Overdrive Mona Lisa Overdrive is a cyberpunk novel by William Gibson published in 1988 and the final novel of the Sprawl trilogy, following Neuromancer and Count Zero. It takes place eight years after the events of Count Zero and is set, as were its predecessors, in The Sprawl...	William Gibson William Gibson William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...	1988
Old Twentieth	Joe Haldeman Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...	2005	A group of immortal humans sets off on a thousand year voyage to explore an Earth-type planet. To amuse themselves, they use virtual reality to take trips to the twentieth century; but when the trips start to go wrong, a virtual reality engineer discovers that the simulated world is ruled by a self-aware computer...who may be running a more complex simulation than they can ever imagine.
Otherland Otherland Otherland is a science fiction tetralogy written by Tad Williams and published between 1996 and 2001. The story is set on Earth near the end of the 21st century, probably between 2082 and 2089 , in a world in which...	Tad Williams Tad Williams Robert Paul "Tad" Williams, born in San Jose, California, is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchaser's Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers....	1998
Permutation City Permutation City Permutation City is a 1994 science fiction novel by Greg Egan that explores many concepts, including quantum ontology, via various philosophical aspects of artificial life and simulated reality. Sections of the story were adapted from Egan's 1992 short story "Dust" which dealt with many of the same...	Greg Egan Greg Egan Greg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness...	1994
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect	Roger Williams Roger Williams -People:* Roger Williams , Welsh soldier of fortune* Roger Williams , English theologian, co-founder of Rhode Island* Roger Williams , US actor...	1994
Ready Player One Ready Player One Ready Player One is a science fiction novel by Ernest Cline. The book was published by Random House on August 16, 2011. The audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton.Warner Bros. bought the rights to the film in June 2010....	Ernest Cline Ernest Cline -Spoken word:From 1997-2001, Cline performed his original work at the Austin Poetry Slam venues. He was the Austin Poetry Slam Champ in 1998 and 2001, and competed on the Austin Poetry Slam Teams at the 1998 Austin National Poetry Slam and the 2001 Seattle National Poetry Slam...	2011
The Reality Bug The Reality Bug The Reality Bug is the fourth book in the Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale. The world is all about peoples' imaginations. People create their own fantasy worlds and live inside their dreams...	D. J. MacHale	2003	Is set on a world destroyed by simulated reality.
Realtime Interrupt Realtime Interrupt Realtime Interrupt is a 1995 science fiction novel by James P. Hogan set in a near-future Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.It tells the story of Joe Corrigan, who awakens in a Pittsburgh hospital without memory...	James P. Hogan James P. Hogan (writer) James Patrick Hogan was a British science fiction author.-Biography:Hogan was born in London, England. He was raised in the Portobello Road area on the west side of London...	1995	Is set in the near future, a cyber reality with its creator trapped inside.
The Remnants series Remnants Remnants is a science fiction book series authored by K. A. Applegate between July 2001 and September 2003. It is the story of what happens to the survivors of a desperate mission to save a handful of human beings after an asteroid collides with the Earth...	K. A. Applegate K. A. Applegate Katherine Alice Applegate is an American author, best-known as the author of the Animorphs, Remnants, Everworld and other book series, although some of the books in these series are ghostwritten by other authors. Applegate's most popular books are science fiction, fantasy, and adventure novels...	2001	Set on a ship that creates virtual landscapes
Riverworld Riverworld Riverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer . Riverworld is an artificial environment where all humans are reconstructed. The books explore interactions of individuals from many different cultures and time periods...	Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....	1979
The Seventh Sally	Stanisław Lem	1965	from the Cyberiad
The Princess Ineffabelle	Stanisław Lem	1965	from the Cyberiad
Simulacron 3	Daniel F. Galouye Daniel F. Galouye Daniel Francis Galouye was an American science fiction writer. During the 1950s and 1960s, he contributed novelettes and short stories to various digest size science fiction magazines, sometimes writing under the pseudonym Louis G...	1964
Snow Crash Snow Crash Snow Crash is Neal Stephenson's third novel, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's other novels it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography, memetics, and philosophy....	Neal Stephenson Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...	1992
Sophie's World Sophie's World Sophie's World is a novel by Jostein Gaarder, published in 1991. It was originally written in Norwegian, but has since been translated into English and many other languages. It sold more than 30 million copies and is one of the most successful Norwegian novels outside of Norway...	Jostein Gaarder Jostein Gaarder Jostein Gaarder /ˈju:staɪn ˈgɔːrdər/ is a Norwegian intellectual and author of several novels, short stories and children's books. Gaarder often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world. He often uses metafiction in his works, writing stories within...	1991
They	Robert A. Heinlein Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...	1941	A short story that focuses on a man who believes the universe was created to deceive him
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is a 1965 novel by US science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965....	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1965	In this future, alternate states of consciousness are mediated by widespread and legal use of hallucinogens
The Trouble with Bubbles The Trouble with Bubbles "The Trouble With Bubbles" is a 1953 science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future where mankind has attempted to reach other intelligent lifeforms through space exploration, and found nothing...	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1953
Time Out of Joint Time out of Joint Time Out of Joint is a novel by Philip K. Dick, first published in novel form in the United States in 1959. An abridged version was also serialised in the British science fiction magazine New Worlds Science Fiction in several installments from December 1959 to February 1960, under the title...	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1959	Ragle Gumm is trapped within an artificial reality that resembles small town America in the late fifties. It is disclosed to be a strategic simulation run by a Terran government at war with its separatist lunar colony in 1998.
Ubik Ubik Ubik is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. Critic Lev Grossman described it as "a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from."-Plot synopsis:...	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1969	Several former corporate employees are killed but their consciousnesses remain sentient, albeit decaying, in a simulated shared hallucinatory experience.
Valis VALIS VALIS is a 1981 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. The title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, Dick's gnostic vision of one aspect of God....	Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1981	In this departure, it is our own world that is stated to be a hallucinatory overlay, produced from a gnostic demiurge Demiurge The demiurge is a concept from the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy for an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was subsequently adopted by the Gnostics... that is malignant- although it may also be a visual and auditory hallucination produced by authorial schizophrenia Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
The Veldt The Veldt "The Veldt" is a short story written by Ray Bradbury that was published originally as "The World the Children Made" in the September 23, 1950 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, later republished in the anthology The Illustrated Man in 1951...	Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...	1951	A short story from The Illustrated Man The Illustrated Man The Illustrated Man is a 1951 book of eighteen science fiction short stories by Ray Bradbury that explores the nature of mankind. While none of the stories has a plot or character connection with the next, a recurring theme is the conflict of the cold mechanics of technology and the psychology of...
Vurt Vurt Vurt is a 1993 science fiction novel written by British author Jeff Noon. Both Noon and small publishing house Ringpull's debut novel, it went on to win the 1994 Arthur C. Clarke Award and was later listed in The Best Novels of the Nineties....	Jeff Noon Jeff Noon Jeff Noon is a novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works make extensive use of word play and fantasy. Noon's speculative fiction books have ties to the works of writers such as Lewis Carroll and Jorge Luis Borges...	1993
The Wonderland Gambit	Jack L. Chalker Jack L. Chalker Jack Laurence Chalker was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring in 1978 to write full-time...	1995
Words Made Flesh	Ramsey Dukes	1987
You're Another You're Another "You're Another" is a science fiction short story written by Damon Knight. It first appeared in the June 1955 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and has been reprinted a number of times, including in the 1961 collection Far Out....	Damon Knight Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...	1955

Animation/anime/cartoons, film, television, & theater

Good Bye Lenin!
Good Bye Lenin!
Good Bye, Lenin! is a 2003 German tragicomedy film, released internationally in 2003. Directed by Wolfgang Becker, the cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon...

(2003), by Wolfgang Becker, a Berlin family tries to make the feeble mother believe that East Germany did not fall
Holodeck
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...

, a simulator aboard starships and other facilities used for training and recreation in the Star Trek fictional universe (particularly in and since the series Star Trek: The Next Generation)
La vida es sueño
La vida es sueño
Life is a Dream is a Spanish language play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. First published in 1635 , it is a philosophical allegory regarding the human situation and the mystery of life. Focusing on Segismundo, Prince of Poland, the central argument is the conflict between free will and fate...

(Life is a Dream, 1635), a Spanish play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681) that evolved from the legends of the early years of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
Possible Worlds
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Possible Worlds, written in 1990 by John Mighton, is part murder mystery, part science-fiction, and part mathematical philosophy, and follows the multiple parallel lives of the mysterious George Barber. At the play's beginning, George is found dead, with his brain missing...

(1990) and the 2000 film adaptation
Possible Worlds (film)
Possible Worlds is a 2000 Canadian film adaptation of the play of the same name. The film is directed by Robert Lepage, and stars Tom McCamus and Tilda Swinton...

Animation, anime, and cartoons

.hack//SIGN
.hack//SIGN
.hack//Sign is an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and produced by studio Bee Train and Bandai Visual, that makes up one of the four original storylines of the .hack franchise...

, an anime series about a person whose mind is trapped in an online computer role-playing game
12 oz. Mouse
12 oz. Mouse
12 oz. Mouse is an animated television series that aired on the American channel Cartoon Network as part of the Adult Swim late night programming block. The show centers on the antisocial actions of an alcoholic mouse known as "Mouse Fitzgerald", "Fitz," "Butch," or simply "Mouse"...

, an American surreal comedy/thriller minimalist cartoon
Aeon Flux (1991) took place in a cartoon world
Danger Room
Danger Room
The Danger Room is a fictional training facility built for the X-Men of Marvel Comics as part of the various incarnations of the X-Mansion.-Early designs:...

, a training simulator from the (X-Men) universe
Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street(2002)

Eternal Family
Eternal Family
is a 1997 OVA directed by Koji Morimoto and released by Japanese animation studio, Studio 4°C. The film is about the daily life of a group of six very different strangers who, for scientific purposes, are brainwashed into believing that they are a family...

(1997), surreal comedy anime OVA

Gantz
Gantz
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of Kei Kurono and his friend Masaru Kato who die in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens...

by Hiroya Oku

Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell
is a Japanese multimedia franchise composed of manga, animated films, anime series, video games and novels. It focuses on the activities of the counter-terrorist organization Public Security Section 9 in a futuristic, cyberpunk Japan ....

(1995), postcyberpunk anime film and series

Lyoko, the virtual world run by a super computer in the animated series Code Lyoko

Megazone 23
Megazone 23
is a four-part original video animation created by AIC, written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, and directed by Noboru Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai and Shinji Aramaki. The series was originally titled but the title was changed just before release....

(1985-9), an anime OVA series created by Noboru Ishiguro and Shinji Aramaki based on a simulated reality of Tokyo controlled by a super computer

Noein
Noein
, also known simply as Noein, is a science fiction anime television series directed by Kazuki Akane and Kenji Yasuda and produced by Satelight...

, an anime directed by Kazuki Akane and Kenji Yasuda where a simulated reality is created

Paranoia Agent
Paranoia Agent
is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger...

by Satoshi Kon

Robotech: The Movie
Robotech: The Movie
Robotech: The Movie is a 1986 American-Japanese science fiction animated film based on the Robotech TV series and Robotech franchise created by Harmony Gold USA...

(1986), anime adaptation of Megazone 23

Serial Experiments Lain
Serial Experiments Lain
Serial Experiments Lain is an anime series directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, original character design by Yoshitoshi ABe, screenplay written by Chiaki J. Konaka, and produced by Yasuyuki Ueda for Triangle Staff. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo from July to September 1998...

, anime series by Chiaki J. Konaka

Zegapain
Zegapain
is a Japanese anime television series created by Sunrise. The series premiered in Japan on April 6, 2006 on TV Tokyo and also later aired on BS Japan and AT-X. On October 2, 2007, Bandai Entertainment released the first Region 1 volume of Zegapain.-Plot:...

(2006), anime series

Film

Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) (1997), by Alejandro Amenábar (remade as Vanilla Sky, 2001)

Avalon
Avalon (2001 film)
is a 2001 science-fiction film by Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Oshii. The name of the film originates from the island Avalon in the legend of King Arthur.-Overview:...

(2001), by Mamoru Oshii

Avatar (2009), by James Cameron

Brainscan
Brainscan
Brainscan is a 1994 horror film starring Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, Amy Hargreaves, Jamie Marsh and T. Ryder Smith. Music was composed by movie composer George S...

(1994), by John Flynn

Brainstorm
Brainstorm
Brainstorm generally refers to brainstorming, a group or individual creativity exercise.Brainstorm may also refer to:-Film:* Brainstorm , directed by Douglas Trumbull* Brainstorm , directed by William Conrad...

(1983), science fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull and starring Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood

Cargo
Cargo (2009 film)
Cargo is a 2009 science fiction film, the first from Swiss production and the first major feature film by Ivan Engler.-Plot:It is the year 2267. After the earth has become uninhabitable due to an ecological collapse, the remaining people live on overcrowded space stations in Earth's orbit. The...

(2009), directed by Ivan Engler and Ralph Etter

Cube 2: Hypercube
Cube 2: Hypercube
Cube 2: Hypercube is a 2003 Canadian psychological thriller/horror film film and the sequel to the psychological thriller/horror film Cube. Released in 2002, Cube 2: Hypercube had a bigger budget than its predecessor, and a new director, Andrzej Sekuła...

(2002) written by Sean Hood

Dark City (1998) by Alex Proyas, in which the sim is halted every night at midnight, rearranged, and then restarted; people are given false memories of different lives than they led in the previous 24 hours, reminiscent of last Thursdayism

eXistenZ
EXistenZ
eXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....

(1999), by David Cronenberg, in which level switches occur so seamlessly and numerously that at the end of the movie it is difficult to tell whether the main characters are back in "reality"

Inception
Inception
Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...

(2010), by Christopher Nolan, where an extractor invades dreams to steal information and ideas, but is soon asked to implant an idea instead of stealing one.

Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder (film)
Jacob's Ladder is a 1990 American psychological thriller/horror film directed by Adrian Lyne, based on a screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin.-Plot:Jacob Singer is a U.S. soldier deployed in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War...

(1990), thriller directed by Adrian Lyne

Lost Highway (1997), by David Lynch

Surrogates (2009), by Jonathan Mostow

The Island
The Island (2005 film)
The Island is a 2005 American science fiction/thriller film directed by Michael Bay and starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. It was released on July 22, 2005 in the United States, and was nominated for three awards including the Teen Choice Award....

(2005), directed by Michael Bay

The Matrix series
The Matrix (franchise)
The Matrix is a science fiction action franchise created by Andy and Larry Wachowski and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the 1999 film The Matrix and later spawned two sequels; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003, thus forming a trilogy...

(1999–2003), by the Wachowski brothers

The Nines
The Nines
The Nines is a 2007 psychological thriller drama film, written, and directed by John August, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, Melissa McCarthy, and Elle Fanning. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and made $63,165 in the U.S...

(2007), unknowingly to the viewer, is focused completely on the subject of simulated reality

The Thirteenth Floor
The Thirteenth Floor
The Thirteenth Floor is a 1999 science fiction film directed by Josef Rusnak and loosely based upon Simulacron-3 , a novel by Daniel F. Galouye...

(1999), directed by Josef Rusnak

Total Recall
Total Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...

(1990), directed by Paul Verhoeven and based on the Philip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale"

Tron
Tron (film)
Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Lisberger, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Jeff Bridges as the protagonist Kevin Flynn; Bruce Boxleitner in a dual role as security program Tron and Tron's "User", computer programmer Alan Bradley; Cindy...

(1982), by Walt Disney Pictures

The Truman Show
The Truman Show
The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The cast includes Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, as well as Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone...

(1998), in which the titular character unknowingly lives his entire life in a false reality created to make a voyeur television show about him

Welt am Draht
Welt am Draht
Welt am Draht , is a 1973 science fiction film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Shot in 16 mm, it was made for German television and originally aired in 1973, as a two-part miniseries. Starring Klaus Löwitsch, it was based on the novel Simulacron-3 by Daniel F...

(1973), German film adaptation of the novel Simulacron-3 from Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed, co-produced and co-written by Cameron Crowe. The film is an English-language remake of the 1997 Spanish movie Abre los ojos , the screenplay for which was written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil...

(2001), by Cameron Crowe

Welcome to Blood City
Welcome to Blood City
Welcome to Blood City is a 1977 film directed by Peter Sasdy. It stars Jack Palance and Keir Dullea.-Cast:*Jack Palance as Frendlander*Keir Dullea as Lewis*Samantha Eggar as Katherine*Barry Morse as Supervisor*Hollis McLaren as Martine...

(1977), by Peter Sasdi

Television

The Big O
The Big O
is a Japanese animated television series created by director Kazuyoshi Katayama and designer Keiichi Sato for Sunrise Studios. The writing staff was assembled by the series' head writer, Chiaki J. Konaka....

, by Hajime Yatate and Chiaki J. Konaka, N.B. the reality in question has not been confirmed as simulated, but it is extremely likely

"The Cage
The Cage (TOS episode)
"The Cage" is the first pilot episode of the Star Trek: The Original Series science fiction series. It was completed in early 1965 , but not broadcast on television in its complete form until the autumn of 1988. The episode was written by Gene Roddenberry and directed by Robert Butler...

" and "The Menagerie", the unaired pilot and later episodes (respectively) of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

, screenplays by Gene Roddenberry

Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

episode "The Deadly Assassin
The Deadly Assassin
The Deadly Assassin is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 October to 20 November 1976...

", written by Robert Holmes
- Matrix
  Matrix (Doctor Who)
  The Matrix, in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a massive computer system on the planet Gallifrey that acts as the repository of the combined knowledge of the Time Lords....
  
  computer from the Doctor Who universe
Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

(2008) episode "Forest of the Dead
Forest of the Dead
"Forest of the Dead" is the ninth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast by BBC One on 7 June 2008...

", written by Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...

episode "John Quixote" (2002) places the lead character in a virtual reality game
Harsh Realm
Harsh Realm
Harsh Realm is a science fiction television series about humans trapped inside a virtual reality simulation. It was developed by Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files and Millennium, and began airing on the Fox Network on October 8, 1999. The series fared poorly in the ratings and was removed from...

(1999), took place in a virtual world
The Outer Limits episode "The Sentence" (1996)
The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...

(1967-8)
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...

episodes "Better Than Life
Better Than Life (Red Dwarf episode)
"Better Than Life" is the second episode from Red Dwarf series two, and the eighth in the series run. It was first broadcast on BBC2 on 13 September 1988...

" and "Back to Reality
Back to Reality (Red Dwarf episode)
"Back to Reality" is the sixth, and final, episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series V and the 30th in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 26 March 1992, written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor and directed by Juliet May & Grant Naylor. The episode...

", by Rob Grant
Rob Grant
Robert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....

and Doug Naylor
Doug Naylor
Douglas R. Naylor is a British comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer.Naylor was born in Manchester, England and studied at the University of Liverpool. In the mid-1980s, Naylor wrote two regular comedy sketch shows for BBC Radio 4 entitled Cliché and Son of Cliché...
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Ship in a Bottle
Ship in a Bottle (TNG episode)
"Ship in a Bottle" is the 138th episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Overview:The sentient holodeck character Professor James Moriarty puts the Enterprise in jeopardy in his quest to be freed to live outside the confines of a holographic environment.-Plot:Data and La...

" (1993), the fictional Professor Moriarty of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories is allowed to exist in a holodeck simulation of the world
Stargate SG-1 episode "The Gamekeeper
The Gamekeeper
The Gamekeeper can refer to:* The Gamekeeper , a 1980 British film directed by Ken Loach* The Gamekeeper, an episode of Stargate SG-1...

"
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...

(1959), features a number of episodes involving false or simulated realities of some sort
The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...

, features a number of episodes involving simulated realities of some sort

Computer and video games

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