One of the first fantastic civilizations on Earth were the countries visited by Lemuel Gulliver, hero of the books of Jonathan swift. In lilliput he communicated with very little people, in Brobdingnag - with the giants in the Sky - with scientists, Glubbdubdrib - with sorcerers and immortal struldbruggs, in the country of the Houyhnhnms - with reasonable and good horses.

Under the influence of "Gulliver's Travels", Voltaire wrote the story "Micromegas"where Earthmen visits the creature from the planet, revolving around Sirius. On switowski scheme were written "penguin Island" Anatole France, "In the country water" akutagavy ryunoske, "Notes on the cat's city" Lao she.

To find a new imaginary civilization on Earth is possible not only in the past but in the present. A little imagination, a little conspiracy yeast - and in our time there are invisible to ordinary people mysterious civilization, like the one described in a series of "Secret city" Vadim Panov or Other books by Sergei Lukyanenko about Light and Dark Patrols.

When the action is transferred into the future, there are absolutely new, unusual civilization, different in their characteristics.

First of all, it is our humanity, but living in a different environment, different laws, with another organization of society. Writers portrayed worlds for any taste: choose - don't want! However, some variants of development and we will likely never will. For example, a picture, which saw the Traveler in the time Machine by H. G. wells. The mankind divided into two opposite caste, one of which - Eloi is doing quite well, feeds on fruit and spends time in the games; and the second, dark - the Morlocks - lives and works under the ground, and at night is selected on the surface and devours the Eloi. But the author, in fact, did not want such a vision was liked by the readers. It was a warning wealthy classes, so they turned Eloi, and along the proletarians, whose descendants, wells, will turn into the Morlocks.

Much more interesting to consider the worlds, which, according to the authors, can serve as an ideal society. In domestic fiction, they are represented by Ivan Efremov and brothers Strugatskie. In the novel "the Andromeda Nebula" drawn widespread utopian picture of the distant future in which the inhabitants of the planet merged into a single global state. All people are healthy, strong and beautiful, life expectancy is more than 150 years. People active and friendly, behave yourself.

The book of Ephraim came out in 1957 and was undoubtedly a breakthrough in Soviet science fiction. However, young authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky world, "the Andromeda Nebula" seemed a bit cold and dull, and they in a series of works offered his vision of the World, "in Which I would Like to Live," World Noon, according to the name of one of the books, "Noon, XXII century". According to Strugatsky, this world would occupy the best of our contemporaries, the meaning of life which is creative work. And go to this world, we will be able, if established, High Theory of Upbringing, through which each person will find his main talent and the will to develop it.

Naturally, when the field of view of science fiction hit the boundless cosmic space, they immediately began to inhabit. The inhabitants of other planets amazing variety and uniqueness. The most simple cases when the alien in appearance similar to humans and only differ in some details (for example, the number of fingers and toes, skin color, some ability). Ivan Yefremov in the novel "Heart of a Snake" even proposed a hypothesis that "brothers in mind" will inevitably take humanoid form, as the most advanced media mind. Met in the story humanoid beings are different from people biochemistry (their lives based not on the water, and hydrogen fluoride), but the shape is similar to detail.

For all tastes and sizes

However, not everyone agreed with this idea, but because populated the universe and are far from human forms. In developed Igor and Vladislav Kovshami generic-definitive classification of extraterrestrial life forms, and extraterrestrial civilizations in addition to normal for the planet Earth animals and plants also takes into account the crystals, the fields, the energy clusters, liquids, dust creation, the stars, plasma, phantoms, clots thoughts, self embryos, soovite and similar phenotypes of living organisms.

Perhaps one of the most famous of intelligent beings was thinking of the ocean on the planet Solaris, invented by Stanislaw LEM. It's a very powerful body, almost divine, which can control the motion of a planet in the complex system of two suns to be in the most favorable position. When meeting with earthlings ocean was able to recreate the neutrino phantoms, guided only subliminal images in the minds of people.

Another example of unusual creatures intelligent Black cloud in the novel with Fred Hoyle. This gas-dust suspended complex organic and inorganic compounds, the size of the cloud is comparable with the orbit of Venus, and the mass is the mass of Jupiter. Imagine it, sending radio signals from one part to another. A cloud moves in space from star to star, stopping to recharge the internal energy. When it became clear that this creature may for a long time to shield the Earth from the Sun, humanity managed to establish contact with him and avoid the inevitable catastrophe.

More often in fiction meet creatures that are similar to earthly life forms, is a reasonable and unreasonable insects, birds, mammals. Or different kinds of chimeras-creatures composed of several inhabitants of our planet. For example, slidewalk with VEGA in books Cingov, swishy (analogues of centaurs) Forsake, two centaurs have Glade and Aventina, sklesi (flying cow) Pulichev etc. Finally, possible creatures that can change shape as gloomy in the story Rsely. The list of exotic creatures could be long, but much more interesting to see how they are organized in the community.

Similar otherness

No matter how eager the authors show unusual, non-standard, non-earthly structure of society, they still have to rely on familiar to readers picture. At least because in the literature, as elsewhere, the General rule of the Golden section, and if the author does not provide the reader with an opportunity to build on something that is known to him, then read it will just not interested.

And on the other hand, describing fantastic society on another planet, the author inevitably forced to get rid of vagueness, uncertainty another world. After all, if you are reading realistic works, we can easily conjecture surrounding characters environment, their living conditions similar to ours, the science fiction writer must visible and easier to imagine the world of which it is addressed.

That accounts for the authors to solve controversial task. In the addition to the main text appear map of the place, a planet or star system, around which the action takes place, different slovariki with a description of the specific expression, units of measurement, calendars, historical references, that is those attributes that help to submit a complete fantasy world, but as it is closer to reality.

Often the authors devote a separate worlds cycles of works, gradually expanding and complementing the data on an unusual civilization. Ivan Yefremov, for example, after "the Andromeda Nebula" wrote "Hour of the Bull", which shows the world of the far future of the Earth in comparison with inhabitants of the planet Tormance. Strugatsky brothers wrote about the World Noon over ten books that are frequently associated common heroes, give this world in development, it is constantly changing and plays all the new colors.

The most well-known and well-developed worlds presented in Hanscom cycle Ursula Le GUIN, in the stories of the planet dune Frank Herbert, "Saga of Vorkosigan" Lois McMaster Bujold, the trilogy "the Lord of the rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

And it happens that unusual world blogger needs only to solve a local problem: then we know only about the specific characteristics of the alien world, albeit unusual, as, for example, in the novel "Spectrum" of Sergey Lukyanenko or in loops "Detachment" and "Guard reality" Aleksey Evtushenko.

From war to help

Despite the abundance presented in fiction and fantasy worlds and civilizations, their relationships are being reduced to a very small number of cases that the authors borrow from reality.

A typical example is the star wars of all kinds. Although the idea of space conquest, frankly, very unlikely (primarily because of questionable economic benefits of such events), it is widespread in the literature. What a terrible weapons systems not peapreemia fiction writers! Radiators, disintegrators, eaters space, destabilizator stars... Often the authors themselves don't understand why all this is necessary, but bravely overcome obstacles and even logic, just to make colorful description intergalactic battle.

Much more like the truth another popular activity of different civilizations - a mutually enriching trade. If society substantially different from each other, they always have something to change. For example in the story of Clifford Simak "Vast yard" presents the highest category of trade - where the alien guests are offered for people to exchange ideas.

Finally, the brothers Strugatsky has formulated another option relations between different civilizations is inevitable in the case when they are at different levels of development. Putin suggested that the term "progressist", which assumes that a developed society can help a stranger standing on the lower level, painlessly as possible to leave on a new level. And although the idea of progressista not perfect (which showed Strugatsky and in his books), the undeniable fact is that there will always be people who will not be able to pass by, not trying to help.

Escape from reality or reality?

Why do people come up with unreal worlds? Why not do a story about the life in which there is no fiction? Sometimes I heard angry voices, accusing this type of literature in the escape from reality, in that it creates escapists. First, let us remember the words of John Ronald Ruel Tolkien, a big connoisseur of fairy tales: "the fact that opponents of Escape is called reality, Flight, as a rule, is more than appropriate, and sometimes, even heroic. And it is difficult to disagree with this opinion, carefully glanced surrounding reality with its wars, dictatorships, skyscrapers and petrol stink.

But access fiction there is another reason, no less important. Drawing pictures fictional worlds, the author deliberately or unwittingly gives us the opportunity to look at ourselves as if from the outside, to compare our world with possible other, to assess the reality, to see ideals to build.

Of course, not always desirable worlds stand the test of time. Now the world Utopia Thomas more, or the city of the Sun Tommaso Campanella look at all unattractive. Strugatsky well parodied old views: "the Device was extremely democratic, no coercion of citizens could not be and speeches (it several times with a special emphasis is underlined), all were rich and free from care, and even the last being a farmer had not less than three slaves". But who knows, not the least of humanity to escape from the middle Ages, if even then people do not dreamed of a different social structure? "The honour of a madman who plunges mankind sleep gold", wrote Berenger.

As for "mad men", describing probabilistic worlds, not only provoke a utopian films, but sometimes draw pictures unpleasant, warning, what steps should refrain dancing "the razor's edge" on the path of progress. This is the only way to balance the risks and chasms of development of society, we can reach any heights.

Finally, if you follow the increasingly growing number of supporters of the Multiverse hypothesis that our universe is just one of a huge number formed universes (scientist Andrei Linde estimates their number by the number 10 of 67-th degree). In many of these universes could be realized all those incredible and staggering worlds and civilizations, which describe the science fiction. And then it turns out that nothing fantastic it is impossible to imagine that everything exists in some of the realities around us, and the writers are just present us with their diversity.