Are you looking for unique and mesmerizing futuristic story ideas? Here’s a list of them to tickle the minds of any middle-schoolers, high school students, NaNoWriMo warriors or any seasoned writers alike!
Read on for prompts like aliens posing as cosplayers, a robot dog gaining sentience, a smart home holding its inhabitants hostage, and many more!
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The Definition of Futuristic Story
Futuristic story is a story that revolves around the themes of technology or concept that is so far advanced that it appears to be from the future. Futuristic narratives, also known as science-fiction, is a popular and influential genre that has been referred to as “literature of ideas.”
Consider this quote in the matter of the definition of futuristic story or science-fiction:
Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible.
– Red Serling
Elements of a Futuristic Story
Futuristic fiction frequently investigate the probable ramifications of scientific, social, and technological advancements, is meant to arouse a “feeling of wonder,” and entertains while critiquing present society and researching alternatives. Here are some elements commonly found in futuristic stories:
– Fictional aspects in biology including human evolution, enhanced/mutant humans with supernatural/superhuman abilities and alien entities.
– Speculative technologies including time travel, space travel, advanced weaponry, advanced means of communication and transportation.
– Set in the future or alternate history in societies with revolutionary social and/or political systems to include Utopian, dystopian and post-apocalyptical or post-scarcity societies.
Why Write Futuristic Stories?
Writing futuristic stories or science fiction frees the mind to ask, “what if?” Do you know that it was science fiction that first extrapolated the existence of atomic bomb, robots, and borazon?
The enduring popularity of science fiction theme in various entertainment medium from The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to The Martian also tells us that this genre is here to stay. Also, when it comes to science fiction, there’s absolutely no limit of where you could go, so why not do it?
Futuristic Story Ideas
Without further ado, here are some edgy story ideas that hopefully will spark that creative zest in you. Please note that the genders in this list of prompts are just placeholders.
AI-Related
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is something that’s inseparable from almost any futuristic stories. Here are some futuristic plot ideas centered around AI:
1. All the artificial intelligence in Heaven, Michigan start to contract a vastly spreading virus and turn against humans. Then, the only option seems to be to lock the entire town and jeopardize the safety of all the town’s inhabitants.
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2. A special force agent whose job security lies in hunting rogue androids for extermination must face the fact that one of them hosts the conscience of his/her late human lover.
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3. When a family with young children moves into a smart home and causes various damages to the house, the intelligent home launches counterattacks by cutting all utilities and holding the family hostage.
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4. An AI designed to protect humanity concludes that the only way to do so is by subjugating it. Its logic-driven pursuit of control turns it into a formidable adversary. (Also appeared in my post 50+ Most Intriguing Villain Origin Story Ideas (2023))
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Animal-Related
In most sci-fi stories, animals often take the backseats, but there’s something endearing about animals and how their lives are interconnected with us, and therefore, let’s bring them into the spotlight. Here are some sci-fi story ideas related to animals:
4. A young adult tracks down his childhood companion, a robot dog, only to find that it has gained sentience. Moreover, it is now the leader of a group of robot dogs attempting to take over the world.
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5. An ape named Abe deliberately misleads a group of researchers who try to crack the code for interspecies communication. You can title it Dishonest Abe, for an added gag!
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Alien-Related
It would be incomplete to talk about sci-fi without mentioning aliens. If you’re interested to learn more about this genre, head to my post 15 Imaginative Alien Writing Prompts! Meanwhile, here are some alien-related futuristic writing prompts:
6. When a group of teenagers attends Comic Con, they find that a kooky group of cosplayers is, in fact, aliens planning to take over the world. Now, they must use their collective wits, largely drawn from comic books, to foil the invasion attempt!
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7. When aliens turn all hearing devices all over the world into mind-controlling devices, a hard of hearing teen must attempt to save the world by learning to live independently without the device, or to create a suitable replacement technology altogether.
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Others
Futuristic stories can also incorporate speculations about the future. After all, it was sci-fi writers who invented the terms atomic bomb and robot far before such things existed. Here are a few futuristic plot ideas about some random things:
8. A writer who is famous for putting his characters through shitty plot twists gets sucked inside a Virtual Reality game housing all the characters he created, and they all have a beef with him.
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9. After the world recovers from a fatal virus that decimates worldwide economy, a new virus emerges: a software that permanently disables the global internet connection.
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10. What happens when a freak natural phenomenon in the far future causes all iron to disappear from Earth?
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More!
If you need more ideas, feel free to browse this web to find posts such as these ones:
Or browse our Story Ideas & Writing Prompts category for more ideas. If you have any questions or feedback, then please don’t hesitate to let me know at the Contact Us page! Until next time!
