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It can be argued that every work of fiction generates a world of its own; Robert A. Heinlein coined the Neologism '' Ficton '' to refer to such a world. Most fictons are, naturally, similar to our own world; a fictional universe is a ficton possessing its own separate but broadly consistent history, geography, or physics. PROPERTIES Fictional universes are most common in, but not exclusive to, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Genre s. Many universes written in one or both of these genres feature Physical and Metaphysical laws different from our own that allow for Magical , Psychic and various other types of Paranormal Phenomena , or the hypothesis may be based in a Parallel Universe which have some scientific theoretical speculation like Multiverse . Although these laws may not be completely internally consistent, they do allow the Author to provide some textual explanation for how their imagined world differs from our own. A common method for illustrating fictional universes is for the creator to focus the majority of his or her attention on one small area, revealing the larger world through hints or exposition. '' Nineteen Eighty-Four '' takes place almost entirely in the city of London , but reveals the full extent of its totalitarian world through the reading of Goldstein's banned book and the memories of its protagonists. Most of the Television Series '' Buffy The Vampire Slayer '' is set in a single California n City , though the larger world, the " Buffyverse ", spans the entire world and indeed many separate universes and dimensions. Most of the action in the '' Harry Potter '' series occurs in and around a single School , though its Wizarding World comprises an entire distinct global society. On the other hand, fictional universes can also comprise multitudes of settings, thousands of characters and hundreds of interconnected plots. This is particularly true in media, such as television or comic books, where multiple authors can compose works in the same universe simultaneously. Many fictional universes, such as '' Star Trek '', have actually outlived their creators. It is difficult to determine what actually constitutes a "fictional universe." '' episode, " Mirror, Mirror ", which introduced the Mirror Universe in which the crew of the Starship ''Enterprise'' were brutal, rather than civilized, and in the mid-1980s comic book series, '' Crisis On Infinite Earths '', in which countless parallel universes were destroyed. '' The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy '', when considered as all 5 books together, flits back and forth between different universes, or perhaps it is more accurate to say, flits through different Timelines and different Dimension s involving different states of existence for the characters and for the earth itself. FORMAT A fictional universe can be contained in a single work, as in George Orwell 's '' Nineteen Eighty-Four '' or Aldous Huxley 's '' Brave New World '', but nowadays is more common in Serial ized, Series -based, open-ended or Round Robin -style fiction. A fictional universe may also be called a fictional realm, '''imaginary realm''', '''fictional world''', ''' Imaginary World ''' or '''imaginary universe'''. Most fictional universes are based directly or indirectly on Our Own Universe . A fictional universe is usually differentiated from the setting of, and the Cosmology established by, ancient or modern Legend s, Myth s and Religion s, although there are countless fictional universes that draw upon such sources for Inspiration . In most small-scale fictional universes, general properties and Timeline events fit into a consistently organized Continuity . However, in the case of universes or universes that are rewritten or revised by different Writer s, Editors or Producer s, this continuity may be violated, by accident or by design. The use of retroactive continuity ( Retcon ) often occurs due to this kind of revision or oversight. Members of Fandom often create a kind of fanmade canon ( Fanon ) to patch up such errors; fanon that becomes generally accepted sometimes becomes actual canon. Other fanmade additions to a universe ( Fan Fiction , Pastiche , Parody ) are usually not considered canonical unless they are Authorized . COLLABORATION Fictional universes are sometimes Shared By Multiple Authors , with each author's works in that universe being granted approximately equal Canonical status. Other universes are created by one or several authors but are intended to be used non-canonically by others, such as the fictional settings for Game s, particularly Role-playing Game s and Video Game s. Settings for the role-playing game '' Dungeons & Dragons '' are called Campaign Setting s; other games have also incorporated this term on occasion. Virtual World s are fictional worlds in which Online computer games, notably MMORPG s and MUD s, take place. A Fictional Crossover occurs when two or more Fictional Character s, series or universes cross over with one another, usually in the context of a character created by one author or owned by one Company meeting a character created or owned by another. In the case where two fictional universes covering entire ''actual'' universes cross over, physical travel from one universe to another may actually occur in the course of the story. Such crossovers are usually, but not always, considered non-canonical by their creators or by those in charge of the Properties involved. REFERENCES
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