This very broad theme permeates large areas of sf, and is principally dealt with in this encyclopedia under the headingFuture War. The historicalWorld War One andWorld War Two have their own more specific entries, as does the dominant latter-twentieth-century nightmare that never in fact achieved reality, the nuclearHolocaust ofWorld War Three which is assumed as the basis of a great deal ofPost-Holocaust sf.Alternate History includes much ingenious playing with alternative war outcomes, a notable subgenre here beingHitler Wins.Military SF has also become a significant subgenre of sf as a whole, partly overlapping the traditional conflicts ofGalactic Empires andSpace Opera. Wars fought acrossTime instead of – or as well as – space are covered byChangewar and related entries (seeJonbar Point;Time Opera;Time Police).

Numerous sfGames are devoted to simulating futuristic war in a manner far less stylized thanChess; see in particularComputer Wargame andWargame. [DRL]

see also:Weapons.

further reading

• GeorgeSlusser and Eric SRabkin, editors.Fights of Fancy: Armed Conflict in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press,1993) [nonfiction: anth:Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]

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