列王若尘 (The Tsars Like Dust - Mandarin Translation)

虽说科幻拥有其它题材难以企及的辽阔空间可以让艺术家挥毫描画新的世界体系，但我们读到的作品往往落入最陈旧、最粗糙、最愚蠢、乃至最落后的政府形式之窠臼：君主制。

正值伊丽莎白二世女王陛下践祚七十载溥天同庆之祺，
本博客编创团队谨祈愿天下人主
（包括虚君如温莎王室者）
皆喜获废位。（图片来自IMDB.com)

这方面的例子不胜枚举：阿尔达拉公主（出自Buck Rogers 系列），灰色王子 (Jack Vance), 帝查卡国王（出自 Wakanda 瓦干达系列），“星帝”格蕾兰女皇 (John Scalzi), 六方位皇 (Arkady Martine), 火星公主德嘉·索丽丝 (Edgar Burroughs), 拜冷·阿巴萨克斯皇帝（出自《木星上行》），伊茹兰公主（出自《沙丘》系列），金星女王伊拉娜（出自 Queen of Outer Space 电影，见图），阿思查公主 （出自 Doctor Who），大巴札尔帝王（来自 Voltron 大陆译《战神金刚》，美版称Emperor Zarkon），“星火”科莉安公主（DC美漫人物），以及银河大帝革律翁二世（出自阿西莫夫《基地》系列）等等等等……遗憾的是，这里列举的作品大多既做不到批判性地运用君主制度这一概念，也没有努力探究这一政治制度在社会层面造成的后果，更未能拷问它所代言的精英主义哲学这一思想基础。因此，阅读这些作品时，读者应带有怀疑的精神。

考虑到当下除了其残余形态，仍在君主统治下的国度已寥寥无几，或许我们可以理解为什么几乎没有多少作者有意用批判性的态度面对自己笔下帝制造成的影响。毕竟，但凡未满244岁的美国人，以及对彼得卢惨案（1819年）前的社会没有个体记忆的英国人，已经无法通过切身经历来感知“星帝”统治下的生活该有多糟糕。（即使偶有格蕾兰般的明主现世，她们在守旧制度的沉疴之下也无力回天。）

创作者若要更准确地描写太空帝国的面貌，那就该参考当今世界少有的几个绝对君主制政体，例如阿曼苏丹国、斯威士兰（斯瓦帝尼）王国，以及北朝鲜金家王朝。说得直白点，现实世界里“有君权”和“无人权”是直接关联的。但科幻作品中却很少这样描写。

作者之所以对描写帝王趋之若鹜，有一些原因是很清楚的。首先，如果要突出某个人物的重要性和能动性，“称王”是条捷径。比如说，一旦某个人物提到“莉亚公主”，观众很容易领会到这是个“主要角色”。

同样，从故事叙事角度而言，要想解释某个政治决定，将其归为个人意志相对容易，而刻画其它政治体制下必须经历的决策过程就比较麻烦。

我们要看到，很不幸，作为人间现存持续时间最长的制度，有着“万岁”历史的君主制看来还要在未来很长时间内存续下去。

然而科幻题材作品太容易陷入对这种落后压迫制度不假批判的运用。例如，在早期《基地》系列小说中，即便谈起弊政多端、危机四伏的帝国可能的继承者，阿西莫夫也未曾主张任何比帝制更复杂、更富于内涵的治理体系。

《星战》中将奥德朗星描写成桃花源、乌托邦式的君主国。
然而，现实世界里，人权和君权是水火不容的。
（图片来自 StarWars.com）

在戴维·韦伯的“奥诺尔宇宙” (Honorverse) 系列中，曼堤戈耳（Manticore, 意为西方神话中的刺尾狮人）星际帝国的女王和女皇伊丽莎白三世在任何问题上无一例外必然站在正确的一面，而她果敢的领袖气质则反衬出该系列作品中诸个民主政府的昏聩和低能。至于洛易丝·麦马斯特·比约德虽然承认历史上曾经出现过昏君，她塑造的格里高尔·弗巴拉却基本上“是个好人”。因为这一类作品未能冲击“开明君主”这一不经之谈，它们实质上深化了这一思想的影响。

也许，星际殖民征服只有在暴虐贪婪的帝制下才有更大可能。帝国一旦无力持续扩张，往往也就走向了尽头。因此，民主政体可能更安于（或更可能被要求）将资源集中在创造或者增加公民的福祉上，而非在群星间开疆拓土。就像资本主义下“拟帝制”的公司集权一样，传统的君权也许同样贪得无厌。既然这样，虚构世界中各种奥加纳世家（见《星战》）及其翻版，就应该描写成贪欲无艺的一夫民贼，而非普施仁政的明君。

《星战》系列作品基本上未曾流露出任何涉猎深层次文化批判的企图。即使如此，我们也应注意到其中对各种政体越来越全无章法、有头无尾的描写。我们简直无法读出其中任何一个政府如何运转：既有元老院，又有皇帝，还有选举产生的公主，甚至有掌握着某种政治权力的贸易联盟。不过，有一点表现得很清楚：帝制无过，暴君有辜。进而言之：过在贼人窃据大宝，不在国体自新之亟。

所有的君主制政体都依赖一个假设，即某些特定血统的继承人有着内秉的优越性。在这一点上，它和制度性种族主义所依赖的是同一个哲学。《星战》后传在这一点上变本加厉。蕾伊能够执掌原力，无非是因为她是帕尔帕廷大帝的直系血亲。她的价值和力量来自血统。这样看来，多数来自被歧视、被种族主义压迫群体的科幻创作者，相比于坎贝尔时期以白人为主的科幻作者群体，更倾向在作品中针对帝制表现出健康的质疑精神，这也就不足为奇了。

值得注意的是，坎贝尔时代的两位科幻巨子罗伯特·海因莱因和弗雷德里克·波尔虽然处于政治方向的对立两极，但在同辈中两人可并称为对帝制观念的最强怀疑者。波尔对帝制着墨不多的描写充满了大不敬的调侃，而海因莱因笔下的君主政体要么全然异类，要么面目可憎，但他却塑造了各式各样为民主而英勇斗争的主角。

虽然整体上有细致而高格调的叙事风格，
但 Leprechaun In space 电影还是未能免俗于星际君主的套路。
（图片来自 IMDB）

不过我们还要专门提及另一类作品，它们直接用君主制当作观念上的主要题材，旨在拷问政治制度对其参与者的意义何在。这一类的突出代表是查尔士·斯特罗斯的《商战王朝》(Merchant Princes) 系列，可以说多少直面了承天之命的特权血统造成的后果和对公共社会整体的影响。

君主制是残酷可怖的政治体制，繁荣而进步的国家大多已将其扬弃。屈指一数，当今世界现存只有7个绝对君主政体，此外尚有一小部分有虚君残存的国家。在这样的条件下，科幻这一向往未来的创作题材中，有相当一部分作品仍然将这种弊政制度奉为主要设定。

我们呼吁，在畅想人类社会的未来时，科幻粉丝同人界能够对帝制抱有健康的怀疑。

（注：原标题 The Tsars Like Dust, 得名自阿西莫夫作品 The Stars, Like Dust)

本杂志编撰团队感谢雨果奖提名，并借此机会挑选了2022年度若干得意之作翻译成中文，以飨参加本年度世界科幻大会的中国友人。译者：Zoë C. Ma [https://zoe-translat.es/]

The Tsars Like Dust

For a genre that has an unparalleled canvas on which to sketch alternative systems, science fiction all too often falls back on the oldest, simplest, stupidest, and most regressive form of government: Monarchy.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary
of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's
ascent to the throne, the authors
and editors of this blog would like to
respectfully suggest that all monarchies
(even vestigial ones like the House of
Windsor) should be abolished.
(Image via IMDB.com)

It’s easy to think of examples: Princess Ardala, The Gray Prince, King T'Chaka, Emperox Grayland, Emperor Six Direction, Princess Dejah Thoris, Emperor Balem Abrasax, Princess Irulan, Queen Yllana, Princess Astra, Emperor Zarkon, Princess Koriand'r, and Emperor Cleon II to name just a handful. Unfortunately, many of these examples do not engage critically with the idea of monarchy, nor attempt to grapple with the societal consequences of this form of government, nor question the underlying elitist philosophy it represents. Readers should therefore approach such stories with skepticism.

Given that there are few places that are still governed by monarchs of anything other than a vestigial variety, it might seem reasonable that few authors choose to engage critically with the consequences of the monarchies they depict. Americans under the age of 244 and British people with no recollection of what things were like before Peterloo don’t have any direct experience with just how truly awful it would be to live in a polity governed by Emperoxes. (Even if there's a good ruler like Greyland once in a while, they end up being hamstrung by the weight of tradition.) 

Authors seeking to more accurately depict what a space empire might look like should probably look to the few modern-day examples of absolute monarchy that still exist, places like the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Eswatini, and the Kim Family Protectorate of North Korea. To put it bluntly, in the real world there is a strong correlation between the authority of monarchs, and a lack of human rights, and this is rarely depicted in science fiction.

There are obvious reasons why writing about monarchs might be enticing: It’s an easy signifier of a character’s relevance and agency. The moment that someone mentions Princess Leah, the audience knows that this is a character who is important.

Likewise, from a storytelling perspective it’s easier to explain policy decisions as the result of one person’s choice, rather than the deliberative process often necessary for other forms of government to act.

It should also be noted that as the longest surviving human institution, persisting for more than 10,000 years, it seems likely that some form of monarchy will unfortunately continue well into the future.

But all too often, the genre has engaged uncritically with this repressive and regressive form of governance. For example, even when talking about what might replace a flawed and failing empire in the early Foundation novels, Asimov didn’t suggest a form of governance more complex or nuanced than monarchy.

Alderaan is depicted as idyllic
and a near utopian monarchy,
while in the real world kings
and human rights are incompatible.
(Image via StarWars.com)

In the Honorverse novels by David Weber, Elizabeth III, Queen and Empress of Manticore is inevitably always on the right side of every issue — and her decisive leadership is a stark contrast to the incompetent and bumbling democratic governments in the series. Although Lois McMaster Bujold at least concedes that there have been terrible emperors in the past, Gregor Vorbarra is basically decent. By failing to challenge the myth of the benevolent despot, these works reinforce it.

Perhaps the colonization of the stars is more likely under the violent and rapacious system of monarchy. Often empires don’t survive if they aren’t expanding. So a democratic system might be happy (or forced) to focus on increasing (or achieving) the wellbeing of citizens instead of venturing to the stars. Like the corporate pseudo-monarchs of capitalism, a traditional monarchy might also feel compelled to reach for ever more. But then fiction's various versions of the Organas should be portrayed as violent and greedy instead of as compassionate rulers.

The Star Wars franchise has rarely made any pretense of being interested in deeper cultural criticism, but the increasingly incoherent and inchoate depiction of governance systems is worth noting. It’s almost impossible to parse out how any of their government works; there’s a senate, an emperor, elected princesses, and a trade federation that wields some sort of authority. What is made clear however, is that the problem isn’t with the institution of the monarchy: the problem is that the emperor is evil. Ergo: the problem is that the wrong people are in power, rather than a need for greater systemic reform.

Despite otherwise nuanced and
high-brow storytelling, Leprechaun
In Space fell back on the tired
trope of having an interstellar monarch.
(Image via IMDB)

All monarchy is based on a presumption that there is an inherent superiority to those within a specific lineage, and as such it is underpinned by the same philosophy that informs institutional racism. This is reinforced in the latest Star Wars trilogy; Rey is a force adept only because she is a direct descendant of Emperor Palpatine. Her worth and power results from her lineage. It should therefore be no surprise that many science fiction writers who belong to marginalized and racialized backgrounds have tended to depict monarchies with a healthier degree of suspicion than the mostly white writers of the Campbellian era of SFF.

It is interesting to note that despite being on opposite poles of the political spectrum, of the big-name Campbell-era authors, Robert Heinlein and Frederick Pohl were possibly the most skeptical of monarchy as a concept. Pohl’s few depictions of monarchy are irreverent, while Heinlein depicts monarchy as either alien or abhorrent, while offering protagonists who champion democratic systems of various sorts.

There however is something to be said for fiction that directly engages with the idea of monarchy, and does so in order to interrogate what that system of government actually means for those who participate in it. An excellent example of this would be Charles Stross’ Merchant Princes series, which somewhat unflinchingly depicts some of the consequences and externalities of having a privileged and chosen bloodline.

Monarchy is a brutal, awful system of government that has largely been abandoned in most prosperous progressive nations. At current count, the world has only seven absolute monarchies left, as well as a smattering of nations that have vestigial monarchs. It seems odd, therefore, that for significant portions of a genre that looks to the future this dreadful system seems to be the default.

When imagining futures for society, we would urge fandom to take an approach of healthy skepticism towards monarchies. 

Organized labour in science fiction

Organized labour in science fiction   LIST AS SORTABLE EXCEL DOCUMENT   Additional suggestions are welcome. This list is to supplement our blog posts on labour in SF: part one, part two, part three   Terminology: “Business union” is defined as an organization that is legally certified by the government to negotiate on behalf of a group of workers. “Solidarity union” is defined as a group of workers organizing themselves on a grassroots basis to seek concessions from an employer. “Guild union” is defined as a group of workers whose labour negotiating ability stems from their near-monopoly on a particular set of skills. “Primary depiction” is defined as union activity being the focus of the story. These are stories in which organizing workers or workers asserting their rights is crucial to the events depicted.  “Secondary depiction” is defined as union activity being important to the story, but not the primary focus. This is often an important plot point.  “Tertiary depiction” is defined as anything that is not substantive. This can range from a one-sentence reference, to a piece of world-building that is not crucial to the plot.   (Note: This list excludes inherently criminal organizations such as the Assassin's Guild from Discworld, the Guild of Thieves from Robert Silberberg and Randall Garrett's A Little Intelligence or the Traitor's Guild from James Blish's A Style in Treason.)
Year	Title / Author	Union Model	Qualitative Depiction	Extent of depiction
1877	The Commune in 1880, Downfall of a Republic	Business union (Railways and Manufacturing)	Negative depiction - Unions bring society to collapse.	Primary
1882	One Thousand Years Hence – Nensowe Green	Business unions (multiple)	Mixed depiction – Future depicted has many different unions and multiple strikes.	Secondary
1888	Looking Backward: 2000 – 1887 – Edward Bellamy	Business unions (all the unions everywhere)	Positive depiction – Unions are integral to the utopia that Bellamy envisions.	Primary – Worth noting how many novels in the next decades are responses to this book.
1890	Caesar’s Column – Ignatius Donnelly [Novel]	Business union – Manufacturing	Positive depiction – Union opposes monopolistic practices	Secondary
1890	News From Nowhere – William Morris [Novel]	Solidarity union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – worker organizing leads to utopia	Secondary
1890	Looking Further Forward – Richard C. Michaelis [Novel]	Business union (academic)	Negative depiction – Union forces professor to be fired. Concludes unfettered capitalism is better.	Primary
1891	Looking Beyond – L.A. Geissler [Novel]	Solidarity unions (multiple)	Positive depiction – Rebuttal to Looking Further Forward by Richard C. Michaelis.	Primary
1892	Philip Meyer’s Scheme: A Story of Trades Unionism  - Archibald McCowan [Novel]	Solidarity union (One Big Union)	Positive depiction – Worker organizing leads to utopia	Primary
1893	Looking Within – J.W. Roberts [Novel]	Solidarity unions (Multiple, including manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Unions described as despotic, unchristian, and generally evil.	Primary
1893	The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror – George Griffith [Novel]	Business union (multiple)	Negative depiction – labour movement depicted as breeding ground for terrorism	Primary
1893	Salome Shepard, Reformer - Helen M. Winslow [Novel]	Solidarity union (Mill workers)	Positive depiction – Utopian society born of labour union	Primary
1894	A Traveler from Altruria – William Dean Howell [Novel]	Business unions (past-tense)	Negative depiction – Future society used to need unions, but has moved beyond them.	Secondary
1897	The Invasion of New York or, How Hawaii was annexed – J.H. Palmer [Novel]	Business unions (multiple)	Negative depiction	Tertiary
1897	President John Smith: The Story of a Peaceful Revolution – Frederick Adams [Novel]	Business unions (multiple, including railroads)	Negative depiction – unions are depicted as equal to big business trusts that create monopolies	Secondary
1897	Log of the Flying Fish – Harry Collingwood [Novel]	Solidarity union – (shipbuilding)	Negative depiction – character complains at length about how unions impede production.	Tertiary
1898	The Co-Opolitan – Zebina Forbush [Novel]	Solidarity union (Industrial workers)	Positive depiction – Unions are basis of co-operative society.	Primary
1899	The Sleeper Awakes – H.G. Wells [Novel]	Business union – (aeronauts)	Mixed depiction – Unions have made great gains for workers in the future, but have become an institutional power that can be misused by union leadership.	Secondary
1902	Light Ahead For The Negro - E. A. Johnson [Novel]	Business unions – (multiple, including cotton and sciences)	Positive depiction – Labour unions in 2006 are integrated and help advance the place of marginalized populations.	Primary
1904	The Unpardonable War – John Barnes	Business unions (multiple, including manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Labour unions take over the USA and lead it to an unnecessary and costly war.	Primary
1904	Medical Union Number Six – William Harvey King [Novel]	Business union (Doctors)	Negative depiction – Satire of scope of work arguments in which union rules cause harm to patients.	Primary
1907	The Industrial Republic – Upton Sinclair [Novel / Futurist Essay]	Business union (Various)	Positive depiction – Projects the radical transformation of the United States with unions as a form of industrial self government.	Secondary
1908	The Last Generation – J.E. Fletcher [Novel]	Business unions (various)	Negative depiction – labour unions evolve into a death cult	Primary
1908	The Iron Heel – Jack London [Novel]	Business union (Various)	Negative depiction – unions end up siding with fascism.	Secondary
1909	Reciprocity – William Wonder [Novel]	Business union (one big union)	Positive depiction – Utopia premised on worker organizing	Secondary
1910	Newæra: A Socialist Romance, with a Chapter on Vaccination - Edward Geisler Herbert [Novel]	Business unions (various)	Negative depiction – socialist utopia collapses	Tertiary
1911	The Lord of Labour – George Griffith [Novel]	Business unions (various, but millworkers are prominent)	Mixed depiction – Unions work together to overthrow existing power structures.	Primary
1911	Moving the Mountain – Charlotte Perkins Gilman [Novel]	Business union – Social Services	Positive depiction – Gender equality	Tertiary
1911	The Quest for the Silver Fleece – W.E.B. Dubois [Novel]	Business union	Negative depiction – unions are white-dominated and non-inclusive	Tertiary
1912	Utopia Achieved – Herman Hines Brinsmade [Novel]	Business union – manufacturing	Positive depiction – Unions have provided benefits to workers in the future.	Tertiary
1913	The Coming Day: A Story of Inevitable Social and Industrial Progress – William T. Burkitt	Business union – One Big Union	Positive – Union is crucial in the evolution to utopia.	Primary
1913	Engineer Menni –Alexander Bogdanov [Novel]	Business unions in a workers’ state (engineering and mining)	Positive depiction – Union activism and industrial action act as catalysts of the revolutionary change in Martian society.	Secondary
1914	The Air Trust – George Allan England [Novel]	Business unions (multiple)	Positive depictions (multiple) - Unions are alternative to monopolies, and main character's prized posession is a union card.	Secondary
1914	The Five Years Of Silence – A.C. Michael [Short Story]	Business unions (manufacturing, resource extraction, construction)	Positive depiction – Union fights major battles for basic labour rights.	Primary
1914	The Dream of Debs – Jack London [Short Story]	Business union (General)	Negative depiction – organized labour depicted as ruinous and tyrannical	Primary
1916	Ourland - Charlotte Perkins Gilman   [Novel]	Business unions (multiple)	Positive depiction	Tertiary
1923	Nordenholt’s Million – J.J. Connington [Novel]	Solidarity union (General)	Mixed depiction – unions raise some objection to techno-fascism, but are crushed.	Tertiary
1925	Alice’s Egg Plant – Walter Elias Disney [Short movie]	Business union (Chickens)	Negative depiction – Union is depicted as irrational. Workers are easily fooled into scab labour.	Primary
1926	Posterity – Diane Boswell [Novel]	Business union (manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Union refuses to admit those who have more than two children as part of eugenic control.	Secondary
1928	Dark Princess: A Romance – W.E.B. DuBois [Novel]	Business union (Pullman porters)	Mixed depiction – Some unions are white-only, but others are important in class struggle for all workers	Secondary
1929	The Rebel Passion – Katherine Burdekin [Novel]	Guild Union (manufacturing)	Positive depiction	Secondary
1929	The Defeat of Jonathan Govers - Volodymyr Vladko [Short story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union is on strike for legitimate grievances.	Primary
1936	In the Second Year – Storm Jameson [Novel]	Business unions (various)	Mixed depiction – Fascist takeover of the UK involves the imprisonment of labour leaders. Without real unions, workers cannot strike or negotiate wages and conditions. Labour becomes subordinated to the needs of the authoritarian state.	Tertiary, but very interesting.
1937	The Company or the Weather – Miles J. Breuer [Short story]	Business union (Farmers)	Neutral depiction – Union just exists and works for members.	Secondary
1938	The Toys Go On Strike – Enid Byton [Children’s Book]	Solidarity union (Toys)	Positive depiction – Union stands up to mistreatment of workers.	Primary
1940	Robbie - Isaac Asimov   [Short Story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction - Antagonistic to progress.	Secondary
1940	The Roads Must Roll - Robert A. Heinlein   [Short Story]	Business union (Transportation)	Mixed - Union gained some big objectives in the past, but Some union members are conned into destroying the roads	Primary
1941	A Gnome There Was – Henry Kuttner [Short Story]	Solidarity union (mining)	Positive depiction – Union organizer shows gnomes that monarchy exploits them.	Primary
1942	We Print The Truth – Anthony Boucher [Short Story]	Business union (printing)	Neutral depiction – mentions existence of machinists union	Tertiary
1942	Breakdown – Jack Williamson [Short Story]	Business union (Engineers and spacemen)	Negative depiction – Union power is stifling and overreaching	Primary
1943	The Iron Standard - Lewis Padgett (Kuttner and Moore) [Short Story]	Business unions (Undersea Dredgers and Air Transport)	Mixed – Some unions described as “fulfilling a purpose,” while others are “graft-ridden”	Secondary
1944	Bread and Roses: An Utopian Survey and Blueprint – Ethel Mannin	Solidarity union  (watchmakers)	Positive – Unions are necessary as a step towards utopia	Secondary
1944	The Traders / The Wedge (Foundation) - Isaac Asimov   [Short Story]	Guild union (Atomic engineers)	Negative depiction - Nepotistic and anti-intellectual.	Secondary
1946	Slaves of the Lamp – Leo Zagat [Novel]	Business union (Psychoneers union)	Negative depiction	Secondary
1949	The Green Forest – A.E. Van Vogt [Short Story]	Business union (Spacement’s Union)	Negative depiction	Secondary
1950	Scanners Live In Vain – Cordwainer Smith [Short story]	Guild union (Space travel pilots)	Negative depiction – Union takes illegal and immoral action (attempted murder) to protect the scope of its work.	Primary
1950	The Masters of Sleep – L. Ron Hubbard   [Novel]	Business union (Friends of Russia Communist International Objectors Social Hall Lumberjacks Local No.261)	Negative depiction – union is working to advance the agenda of a foreign nation	Secondary
1951	The Man In The White Suit - Ealing Studios   [Movie]	Business union (Textiles)	Negative depiction - Antagonistic to progress.	Primary
1951	Day Of The Moron - H. Beam Piper   [Short Story]	Business union (Atomic engineers)	Negative depiction - Protects unqualified workers. Bureaucratic and obstructionist.	Primary
1952	Doomsday Color-Press- Raymond F. Jones [Short Story]	Business Union – Electronics	Negative depiction – Union is shown as easily manipulated	Secondary
1952	Another Kind – Anthony West [Novel]	Business union (Railways and Various)	Mixed depiction – Unions call a general strike over legitimate grievances, but this leads to civil war.	Secondary
1952	The Space Merchants - Frederick Pohl & Cyril Kornbluth   [Novel]	Business union (Agricultural)	Negative depiction - Labour union exploits worker.	Secondary
1952	Three Worlds in Shadow – Joe Gibson [Short Story]	Business union (Robot Operators Local 982)	Mixed depiction – Union war.	Primary
1952	The Hell Ship – Ray Palmer [Short Story]	Guild union (Spacers)	Mixed depiction – Union membership has benefits, but closed shop is protectionist.	Tertiary
1952	The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester   [Novel]	Business union (Unspecified)	Negative depiction - Corrupt union leadership.	Tertiary
1952	Robots of the World! Arise! – Mari Wolf   [Short story]	Solidarity union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Robotic workers strike unreasonably.	Primary
1953	Strike – Richard Wilson [Short story]	Business union (Space pilots, crewman, mechanics and maintenance workers)	Positive depiction – Strike is shown to be positive, while those who cross picket line are vilified.	Primary
1953	Exploiters End – James Causey [Short story]	Business union (spacecrafters union)	Positive depiction – Union prevents exploitation	Primary
1953	Cue for Quiet – T.L. Sherred [Short Story]	Business union (repair)	Positive depiction – Protagonist is concerned with the plight of unions	Tertiary
1953	The Troublemakers – Poul Anderson	Guild Union (Maintenance)	Negative depiction – part of an autocratic system to keep workers in line	Secondary
1953	Null ABC – H. Beam Piper [Novella]	Solidarity union (Reading)	Mixed depiction – Works to protect rights of skilled workers, but may be unnecessary.	Secondary
1953	The Syndic – Cyril Kornbluth [Novel]	Business union (General)	Mixed depiction – One union is equivalent to organized crime. Other helps revitalize America.	Secondary
1953	Starman Jones – Robert A. Heinlein   [Novel]	Guild union (Transportation)	Negative depiction – Union is anti-meritocratic.	Secondary
1954	The Holes and John Smith – Edward W. Ludwig [Short Story]	Business union (musicians)	Positive depiction – Union wages are better.	Tertiary
1954	Disqualified – Charles L. Fontenay [Short Story]	Business union (Colonists)	Negative depiction – Existence of union means workers are “paid too much”	Tertiary
1954	Backlash – Winston Marks [Short Story]	Business Unions (Multiple, implied that they are trades and arts unions)	Mixed depiction – union leadership is hypocritical, on one hand fighting against indentured servitude, but then using it themselves	Secondary
1954	An Earth Gone Mad – Roger Dee [Short Story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Union cares only about the power of cubes.	Secondary
1955	Job Analysis – Jonathan Burke [Short Story]	Business union (Spaceship construction)	Positive depiction - Although the union is officious, and rules-bound, it helps protect members. Story ends with "At times like these, unionists have to stand together"	Primary
1955	The Cartels Jungle – Irving E. Cox [Novelette]	Business union (General – All workers forced to join “Union of Free Workers.”)	Negative depiction – Union depicted as corrupt and authoritarian.	Primary
1955	One-Shot – James Blish [Short Story]	Business union (Longshoremen)	Negative description – Described as corrupt.	Tertiary
1955	Full Cycle - Clifford D. Simak [Novella]	Business union (General industrial)	Mixed depiction – Criticizes current state of labour, but suggests it might evolve into something better.	Primary
1955	Nine Men In Time – Noel Loomis [Novella]	Business union (Printers)	Mixed depiction	Secondary
1955	Meeting of the Board – Alan E. Nourse [Novelette]	Business union (Titanium manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Overly powerful unions act irrationally towards management prompting a crisis.	Primary
1956	Wyvernhold – L. Sprague de Camp	Business unions – multiple	Mixed depiction - Story deals with labour rights more generally, but specific class of worker excluded from union participation.	Secondary
1956	Dying To Live - E. C. Tubb [Novelette]	Business unions – Actors, and manufacturing	Mixed depiction – Union has protected workers from pain, and increased employment through scope-of-work arguments, but also can be callous towards individual workers.	Primary
1956	Worlds Without End – Clifford Simak	Business union (general labour)	Negative depiction – Union does not represent best interests of workers.	Primary
1957	Do It Yourself – Milton Lesser [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Farmers)	Positive depiction – Union is banned, but union organizer protagonist helps workers anyhow.	Primary
1957	Edge of the Knife – H. Beam Piper [Short Story]	Business union (academic)	Mixed depiction – union protects employee, but employee might not deserve protection	Teritary
1957	Strikebreaker - Isaac Asimov   [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Waste processing)	Negative depiction - Strike threatens survival of colony.	Primary
1957	The Lineman – Walter Miller Jr.   [Short Story]	Business union (Lavaworkers)	Negative depiction – Union described as “yellow-bellied obscenity.”	Tertiary
1959	Guardian Devil – Robert Silverberg [Novelette]	Business union (unspecified)	Negative depiction – Union leader corrupt and deliberately causes race riots.	Tertiary
1959	Hunter Patrol – H. Beam Piper [Short story]	Business union	Mixed depiction – Conversation between unionist and capitalist	Secondary
1960	Conditions of Employment – Clifford D. Simak	Business union (Space ship workers)	Mixed depiction – Underlying issues of capitalism cannot be solved by labour unions.	Primary
1960	Stress Pattern – Robert Silverberg [Short Story]	Business union (unspecified)	Positive depiction – Union protects jobs and helps people fulfill potential.	Primary
1960	Matchmaker – Charles L. Fontenay [Short Story]	Business union (“psycho-artists”)	Negative depiction – Union expulsion is used to coerce protagonist	Secondary
1960	Divvy Up – Milton Lesser [Short Story]	Business union (bus drivers and medical workers)	Negative depiction – Unions are corrupt and without ethics	Secondary
1960	A Few Miles – Phillip Jose Farmer	Business union	Negative depiction – Union causes headaches.	Tertiary
1960	The Apprentice - James White   [Short Story]	Business union (Department store)	Positive depiction - Employee has job protection	Secondary
1962	Subversive – Mack Reynolds [Short Story}	Business union  (Retail)	Mixed depiction – Reynolds critical of capitalism, including organizations like unions that sell labour	Tertiary
1962	Mercenary (As well as other Joe Mauser stories such as Sweet Dreams, Sweet Princes (1963) and The Earth War (1963)) – Mack Reynolds [Short story – Expanded to novel in 1968]	Business union (Mercenaries)	Negative depiction – Unions depicted as part of the capitalist status quo	Secondary
1962	Last Year’s Grave Undug – Chan Davis [Short Story]	Business unions (multiple)	Mixed depiction – Union is implied to have helped reduce inequality. But also corrupt former union president is brutal leader in post-apocalyptic.	Secondary
1963	Dune – Frank Herbert [Novel]	Guild Union (Space navigation)	Ambiguous depiction - Little is shown of the inner workings of the guild, or how the union protects the rights of its membership. It does maintain a monopoly on services, so it's uncertain if this is more of a labour union, or a cartel (I.E. OPEC)	Tertiary
1963	Stand By – Philip K. Dick [Short Story]	Business Union (civil servants)	Negative depiction – Union is corrupt and entrenched.	Secondary
1963	Omicron - Ugo Gregoretti [Movie]	Business union (Factory workers)	Positive depiction – Alien organises labour collective.	Primary
1964	What The Dead Men Say – Philip K. Dick [Novella]	Business union	Negative depiction	Secondary
1964	Decadence – Romain Gary [Short Story]	Business union (General)	Negative depiction – Union leader is a sadist and a serial killer.	Primary
1964	The Pushcart War – Jean Merrill [Novel]	Solidarity union (pushcart workers) Note: some describe this as a business association between worker-owned businesses, rather than a labour union.	Positive depiction – worker organizing helps defeat monopolistic practices	Primary
1964	Martian Time-Slip – Philip K. Dick   [Novel]	Business union (Plumbing)	Negative depiction – Corrupt union leadership.	Secondary
1964	No Vinism Like Chauvinism – John Jakes	Business union (Entertainment and War, which are the same in this future)	Mixed depiction	Secondary
1964	Sacheverell – Avram Davidson [Short Story]	Business union (Circus)	Positive depiction	Tertiary
1965	The Leader – Gillian Freeman [Novel]	Business unions (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Union members are depicted as first supporters of fascism.	Secondary
1965	Calling Dr. Clockwork – Ron Goulart	Business Union – (“Food Scenters”)	Positive depiction – Union ensures that protagonist maintains employment during illness.	Secondary
1965	Subspace Explorers – E.E. “Doc” Smith [Novel]	Business union (Copper mining)	Negative depiction - union is antagonist. Book promotes "Enlightened Self-Interest" which is at odds with collective action.	Secondary
1966	A Relic Of Empire – Larry Niven   [Short Story]	General statement about unions.	Positive depiction – Described as ‘necessary.’	Tertiary
1967	The Giantkiller – Chapman Pincher [Novel]	Business unions – Teachers, Scientists, Technical Workers	Negative depiction – Unions depicted as groups that can become politically radicalized, disruptive, or vulnerable to ideological influence	Primary
1967	The Rival Rigelians – Mack Reynolds [Novel]	Solidarity union vs. employer-dominated union (Colonial labour union)	Positive depiction – workers find solidarity in struggle for real worker representation	Secondary
1967	The Defector – Olga Larionova	Business union (writers)	Positive depiction	Secondary
1968	The Day of the Coastwatch – Philip McCutchen [Novel]	Business union – Various	Negative depiction – Labour movement is depicted as decadent and in-league with authoritarian government.	Secondary
1969	The Freak – PG Wyal [Short Story]	Solidarity union (beggars)	Positive depiction – striking workers seek equitable wages	Primary
1970	Alien Island – T.L. Sherred	Business Union (Machinists)	Positive depiction – protagonist is unionized worker	Tertiary
1971	Public Enemy (Episode of Doomwatch) Written by Patrick Alexander, Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler	Business union (Resource extraction)	Mixed depiction - Union protects workers' health, but caves when profits are at stake.	Primary
1971	Holdholtzer’s Box – David R. Bunch [Short Story]	Business union (manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Employer praises union shop because “happy workers make better workers.”	Tertiary
1972	Seventy Years of Decpop – Philip Jose Farmer [Short story]	Business union (Canners)	Negative depiction - union members vote against their own interests	Tertiary
1972	Merchant of Venus – Frederik Pohl [Short Story]	Business union (mining)	Negative depiction – Union collects excess fees	Tertiary
1972	Clone – Richard Cowper [Novel]	Business unions (multiple)	Negative depiction – Government uses union violence to reduce population.	Secondary
1973	Deaf Listener - Rachel Cosgrove Payes [Short story]	Guild union (telepaths)	Positive depiction – Union works to prevent genocide	Secondary
1974	Flow My Tears The Policeman Said – Philip K. Dick [Novel]	Business union (musicians)	Neutral depiction – Union simply exists (protagonist is a member)	Tertiary
1974	Family Program - J. A. Lawrence [Short story]	Business union (Engineering)	Mixed depiction	Secondary
1974	The Monster of Peladon – Dr. Who [Television Episode]	Business union (Resource extraction)	Mixed depiction – Workers have valid concerns, but are pawns in larger political game.	Secondary
1975	The Starcrossed – Ben Bova [Novel]	Business union (multiple)	Negative depiction – unions described as archaic	Tertiary
1975	Survivors – Terry Nation [Television Program]	Business union	Mixed depiction – In a post-apocalyptic setting a labour union leader tries to take over the world. But still stands for worker solidarity.	Secondary
1976	Galactic Medal of Honour – Mack Reynolds [Short Story]	One big union (copper miner, IWW, more)	Positive depiction	Secondary
1977	Exiles to Glory – Jerry Pournelle) [Novel]	Business union – (Engineering)	Positive depiction – union seen as a way out of poverty in the “welfare slums”	Secondary
1977	Wobblies From Space – Leslie Fish [Song]	Business union (Starship workers)	Negative depiction - Union rules make it impossible for starship to run efficiently.	Primary
1977	Salamander – Leigh Kennedy [Short Story]	Business union (lunar construction)	Positive depiction - worker wants union so that workplace problems are dealt with	Tertiary
1978	The Volunteers – Raymond Williams [novel]	Business union (Coal mining primarily, though factories also)	Positive depiction – Unions are part of a broader democratic movement.	Primary
1978	Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams   [Radio/Novel/Television]	Guild Union (Philosophers)	Negative depiction – Antagonistic towards progress, interested primarily in “gravy train.”	Tertiary
1978	Merry Christmas Ms. Minerva – Edmund Cooper [Novel]	Business union	Positive depiction – Protagonist is wife of trade union leader	Secondary
1978	1985 – Anthony Burgess [Novel]	Business Union (General)	Negative depiction – Unions depicted as oppressive and anti-freedom.	Primary
1979	Benefits – Zoe Fairbairns [Novel]	Business Union (multiple, general)	Negative depiction – Male-dominated trade unions undermine women’s rights.	Secondary
1979	The Kilohertz War – Alien Worlds   [Radio]	Business Union (Technicians)	Negative depiction – complaints about union striking.	Tertiary
1980	A Little Incorrectness – Richard D. Orr [Short Story]	Business union – manufacturing	Negative depiction – Protagonists don’t want union to find out about transmutation because then government will have monopoly.	Secondary
1980	The Lordly Ones – Keith Roberts   [Short Story]	Unions – Multiple	Negative depiction – Apocalypse caused by unions	Tertiary
1981	Land’s End – Peter Francis Browne [Novel]	Business unions (various)	Mixed / negative depiction – Unions hold protests against fascist government, but secretly labour leaders harbour sympathies.	Tertiary
1981	The Revolution from Rosinante – Alexis A. Gilliland [Short Story]	Business Union (Construction)	Negative depiction – Union officials are obstreperous and intransigent.	Secondary
1981	Highliner – C.J. Cherryh [Short Story]	Business Union (Construction)	Positive depiction – Union fights to protect worker safety	Primary
1983	Out of the Ashes – William W. Johnstone [Novel / Series]	Business Union (Multiple including government workers)	Negative depiction – Labour unions overthrow the government and bring in tyrannical bureaucracy	Secondary
1983	We, The People – Jack C. Haldeman [Short Story]	Business Union (Janitorial)	Positive depiction – Union has won benefits for its members	Primary
1984	Icehenge – Kim Stanley Robinson [Novel]	Union (general statement)	Positive depiction – theoretical statement in favour	Tertiary
1984	Manna – Lee Correy [Novel]	Union (general statement)	Positive depiction – theoretical statement in favour	Tertiary
1984	Silicon Muse – Hilbert Schenk [Novel]	Business union (academic)	Negative Depiction	Tertiary
1985	Five-Twelvthes of Heaven – Melissa Scott [Novel]	Business union (Pilots)	Negative depiction – Union makes it difficult for protagonist to reclaim possessions	Tertiary
1985	Brazil – Terry Gilliam [Movie]	Business union (HVAC)	Negative depiction – Union members are obstructionist and do poor work, while non-union worker (a “scab”) is the only competent worker.	Secondary
1985	Privateers – Ben Bova [Novel]	Business union (crew)	Positive depiction – valuable workers see union as a way to keep their jobs	Tertiary
1986	Deathwish World – Mack Reynolds and Dean Ing [Novel]	Solidarity union (Wobblies)	Positive depiction – In a world with universal basic income, most work is not necessary, but workers still need protections for safety.	Secondary
1986	Watchmen – Alan Moore   [Comic book]	Business Union (Police)	Mixed depiction – 1973 police strike causes violence, but may be justified.	Tertiary
1987	The Time Guardian - Brian Hannant [Movie]	Business Union (Evil Cyborgs)	Negative depiction – Evil Cyborg Trade Unionists try to destroy the last vestiges of humanity.	Secondary
1987	Robocop - Paul Verhoeven   [Movie]	Business Union (Police)	Negative depiction - Heroic characters cross picket line. Quote: "Police officers don't strike."	Primary
1988	Alien Nation - Graham Baker [Movie]	Business union (Police)	Negative depiction – Union is implied to be opposed to integration between differing races.	Tertiary
1988	Desolation Road – Ian McDonald [Novel]	Solidarity Union – (Steel workers)	Positive depiction- Union forms in response to company killing protesters.	Secondary
1988	The Long Orbit – Mick Farren [Novel]	Business Union	Positive Depiction – Union is key to fighting inequality	Secondary
1988	They Live – John Carpenter   [Movie]	Business Union (Construction)	Mixed depiction – Union is “closed shop” but hires itinerant protagonist anyway.	Tertiary
1989	Orbital Decay - Allen Steele   [Stories / Novel]	Business Union (Construction)	Positive depiction - Union helps ensure safer workplace.	Primary
1990	The Difference Engine – William Gibson and Bruce Sterling [Novel]	Business Union (Mining)	Mixed depiction – Union involved with assassination. But also helps build a better world.	Tertiary
1991	SEAQ and Destroy – Charles Stross [Short Story]	Business Union (Trades)	Mixed depiction – Union calls for general strike in opposition to Soviet Union. But hasty action contributes to global catastrophe.	Tertiary
1992	Heavy Time - CJ Cherryh   [Novel]	Business union (Mining)	Negative depiction - employer-dominated union.	Primary
1992	We Are Not Amused – Laura Resnick [Short Story]	Business union (Sex Workers)	Positive depiction – Helped advance rights of women	Primary
1992	Men At Arms – Terry Pratchett [Novel]	Business union (Sex workers and seamstresses)	Positive depiction – Protects marginalized workers from exploitation.	Secondary NOTE: There are numerous other guilds mentioned in passing in the Discworld novels. There is a full list at Discworld Fandom.
1994	By Any Means Necessary - Babylon 5   [Television]	Business union (Dockworkers)	Mixed depiction - Striking workers are violent, but achieve fairer wages.	Primary
1996	Night Sky Mine - Melissa Scott   [Novel]	Business union (Mining)	Positive depiction - Ensures equitable wages.	Secondary
1996	Bar Association - Deep Space Nine   [Television]	Solidarity union (Service industry)	Mixed depiction - Achieves fairer wages, but must be disbanded because it’s “no longer needed.”	Primary
1997	Canary Land – Tom Purdom [Short Story]	Business union (Music)	Positive depiction – Union provides better salary and benefit to immigrant workers	Primary
1998	Freefall - Mark Stanley   [Webcomic]	Business union (Technicians)	Positive depiction – Union membership brings wage benefits to worker.	Tertiary
1999	Against The Tide Of Years – S.M. Stirling   [Novel]	Business union (Dockworkers)	Positive depiction – Protagonist provides help to union trying to support fair wages.	Tertiary
2000	1632 - Eric Flint 1633 – Eric Flint and David Weber 1634: The Baltic War – Eric Flint and David Weber   [Novel / Series]	Business union (Mine workers)	Positive depiction - Organizing prosperous economy.	Secondary (becoming more prominent as the novel series continues.)
2000	Candle - John Barnes   [Novel]	Guild union (Combat)	Positive depiction - Union   provides health, dental and legal coverage.	Secondary
2000	Company Man – Robert Jackson Bennett   [Novel]	Solidarity union (General)	Positive depiction - Union   works to combat inequality.	Secondary
2000	Cosmonaut Keep – Ken MacLeod   [Novel]	Solidarity union (Online workers)	Positive depiction - Balances power of capital.	Secondary
2000	Midnight Robber – Nalo Hopkinson   [Novel]	Solidarity union (Transporation / pedicab drivers)	Positive depiction – fights for fair compensation	Secondary
2000	SimGen Sequence (AKA “Sims”) – F. Paul Wilson [Series of stories]	Solidarity union (manual labour)	Positive depiction – fights for the rights of non-human sentients.	Primary
2000	Perdido Street Station – China Mieville   [Novel]	Business union (Dock workers)	Positive depiction - Unions provide counterbalance to strength of capital.	Secondary
2000	Click, Clack, Moo - Doreen Cronin [Children’s Book]	Solidarity union (Cows)	Positive depiction - Union negotiates fair agreement between cows and farmer in which working conditions are improved (blankets provided to cows so they aren't as cold).	Primary
2001	Seven Times Never – Robert R. Chase [Short Story]	Business union – labourers	Negative depiction – Union pits human workers against chimpanzee workers.	Secondary
2001	Bendless Love – Futurama   [TV Episode]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction – protagonist is a scab worker. Union is mob-connected and corrupt.	Primary
2004	Star Trek Enterprise – “Storm Front”	Business Union (Construction)	Negative Depiction – Gangsters are tied to the labour movement	Tertiary
2004	Iron Council – China Mieville [Novel]	Business union (Railway workers)	Positive depiction	Primary
2005	War of the Worlds – directed by Steven Spielberg adapted from a novel by H.G. Wells [Movie]	Business union (Dockworkers)	Positive depiction – Protagonist able to refuse shift he doesn’t want.	Tertiary
2005	Old Man’s War – John Scalzi   [Novel]	Business union (Mining workers)	Negative depiction – Striking workers on the news portrayed as violent.	Tertiary
2006	Small Minded Giants - Oisín McGann [Novel]	Business union (Machinists)	Positive depiction	Secondary
2007	Andas Game – Cory Doctorow [Short Story]	Business union (video game players)	Positive depiction – protects workers from unfair employer abuses	Primary
2007	Safehold – David Weber [Novel series]	Business union (Foundries)	Positive depiction	Tertiary
2007	Dirty Hands - Battlestar Galactica   [Television]	Solidarity union (Mining workers)	Negative depiction - Heroic governor bargains in bad faith by holding gun to the head of a worker.	Primary
2009	The Wind-Up Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi   [Novel]	Guild Union (Animal handlers)	Negative depiction - antagonism towards entrepreneur protagonist.	Secondary
2010	For The Win - Cory Doctorow   [Novel]	Solidarity union (Online workers)	Positive depiction - ensuring workers’ rights.	Primary
2010	Damage Time - Colin Harvey   [Novel]	Guild Union (Sex trade workers)	Negative depiction - Union excludes vulnerable population.	Secondary
2010	Kraken - China Miéville [Novel]	Guild Union (Magical assistants)	Positive depiction	Secondary
2010	The Great Bay – Dale Pendell   [Novel]	Business Union (Electrical workers)	Mixed depiction	Tertiary
2011	The Expanse [Series of Novels] Leviathan Wakes (2011) Caliban’s War (2012) Abbadon’s Gate (2013) Cibola Burn (2014) Nemesis Games (2015) Babylon’s Ashes (2016) Persepolis Rising (2017) Tiamat’s Wrath (2019) Leviathan Falls (2021)	Multiple Business Unions (Resource extraction workers, transportation workers)	Positive depiction – Union integral in democratic governance. Help defend rights of oppressed workers. Provide legal counsel to workers in need.	Secondary
2011	Contagion   [Movie]	Business Union (Nursing)	Negative depiction - Union rules prevent adequate health care for major character.	Secondary
2012	Clean (Mindspace Series of Novels) – Alex Huges [Novel and sequels]	Business unions (Telepaths and police)	Mixed depiction – Union acts to protects its membership, but main character is treated badly.	Secondary
2012	Power Play – Ben Bova [Novel]	Business union (Teachers)	Negative depiction – offhand reference	Tertiary
2012	High Stakes – Naomi Kritzer [Short Story]	Solidarity Union (IWW)	Positive depiction – Union helps fight debt slavery.	Primary
2012	Existence - David Brin   [Novel]	Business Union (Child care workers)	Positive depiction - Union is part of positive and functional workplace.	Tertiary
2012	“The Doctor Is Sin” – Episode of Venture Brothers   [Television]	Business Unions (Machine Workers, Nuclear Engineering and Custodial Super Science Unions)	Mixed depiction – Union has legitimate grievances but are treated as joke.	Secondary
2013	Powder Mage – Brian McClellan [Novel / Series]	Guild union - Unclear	Positive depiction	Tertiary
2013	Phosphorus – Veronica Schanoes   [Short Story]	Solidarity Union & Business Union (Manufacturing, General Labourers)	Positive depiction – Union stands in opposition to unsafe work practices	Primary
2013	Burning Girls – Veronica Schanoes   [Novella]	Solidarity Union (Garment Workers)	Positive depiction – Union stands in opposition to unsafe work practices.	Secondary
2013	Fortune’s Pawn - Rachel Bach   [Novel]	Business Union (Merchants)	Positive depiction - Union provides information to employees.	Tertiary
2013	The Day The Crayons Quit – Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers [Children’s Book]	Solidarity Union (Crayons)	Positive depiction – Union helps improve the working conditions of labourers.	Primary
2014	Cycling to Asylum – Su J. Sokol [Novel]	Business Union (Teachers)	Positive depiction	Tertiary
2014	Unwrapped Sky - Rjurik Davidson [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Factory Workers)	Positive depiction – Unions work against economic inequality	Primary
2014	Climbing the Date Palm – Shira Glassman   [Short Story]	Business Union (Construction)	Positive depiction – Union fights against wage theft.	Primary
2014	Ancillary Sword – Ann Leckie   [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Agricultural)	Positive depiction – Union fights against indentured servitude in tea production operation.	Tertiary
2014	War & Mir Vol. 2: Darkold – Minister Faust   [Novel]	Business union (Teachers)	Positive depiction	Secondary
2014	The Goblin Emperor – Katherine Addison [Novel]	Guild Union (Clockmakers) and Business Union (Municipal Employees)	Positive depiction – Guild proposes  improvement to infrastructure. Business union used as scapegoat by villains.	Tertiary
2015	A Pocket Full of Murder – R.J. Anderson [Novel]	Guild Union (Magic)	Positive depiction – Union helps exonerate protagonist’s father	Secondary
2015	Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen – Lois McMaster Bujold [Novel]	Business Union (Sex Workers)	Positive depiction – Union is created to combat exploitation of vulnerable workers.	Tertiary
2015	C.O.W.L - Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel	Business union (Superheroes – “Chicago Organized Workers League”)	Mixed depiction – Union is scandal-ridden but well-intentioned.	Primary
2015	Windswept - Adam Rakunas   [Novel]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction - ensuring fair wages.	Primary
2015	Bangarang – Killjoys (Reappears throughout series) [TV Episode]	Business union (Resource extraction)	Mixed depiction – Union interferes with protagonists, but also helps vulnerable workers.	Tertiary
2015	All The Childhood You Can Afford - Daniel Suarez   [Short Story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction - Ensures gains of automation are shared more equitably.	Secondary
2016	Checkerboard Planet – Eleanor Arnason [Short Story]	Business union (Natural resource extraction)	Positive depiction – Labour organizer protagonist striving for better working conditions.	Primary
2016	Company Town - Madeline Ashby   [Novel]	Business union (Sex trade workers)	Positive depiction - Ensures workers’ safety and rights.	Secondary
2017	Little Witch Academia – S02E01 “Samhain Magic Festival” [Television Episode]	Business union (Janitorial services)	Negative depiction – Workers are pawns in the schemes of an evil capitalist.	Primary
2017	New York 2140 – Kim Stanley Robinson [Novel]	Multiple unions (housing, general labour, office workers)	Positive depiction – through co-ordinated action striking workers help reform democracy	Secondary
2017	Another Girl, Another Planet - Lou Antonelli   [Novel]	Business union (Duct workers)	Positive depiction - Ensures safety standards in construction.	Secondary
2017	Hunger Makes the Wolf / Blood Binds The Pack - Alex Wells   [Novel/Series]	Business union (Mining workers)	Positive depiction – Unionization drive is response to corporate exploitation.	Primary
2017	The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack - Nate Crowley [Novel]	Solidarity union (Undead labourers)	Positive depiction – Union fights against exploitation of labour	Primary
2017	Quirks – Marie Vibbert   [Short Story]	Business union (Carpenters)	Mixed depiction – Union uses memory uploads to share skills.	Primary
2018	Driving Ambition – Fiona Moore   [Novel]	Business union (Self-driving cars)	Positive depiction – Union helps protect the rights of artificially intelligent workers.	Primary
2018	Deep Rock Galactic – Coffee Stain Studios [Video Game]	Business union (Mining)	Positive depiction – Joining the union provides play benefits within the game	Secondary
2018	Sorry To Bother You - Boots Riley   [Movie]	Business union (Telemarketing)	Positive depiction - Balances power of capital.	Primary
2018	Unfulfilled/Bike Parade - South Park   [Television]	Solidarity union (Warehouse workers)	Positive depiction - Union   fights for safety standards and fair pay.	Primary
2019	The Great Faerie Strike – Spencer Ellsworth [Novel]	Solidarity union (manufacturing)	Positive depiction – union fights for worker rights in exploitative magical London	Primary
2019	Disco Elysium [Video Game]	Business union (dockworkers)	Negative depiction – Union is depicted as corrupt and involved in the drug trade. Union is compared to “crime syndicate.”	Primary
2019	The Town Meeting – Stephen Cox [Short Story]	Business union (Millworkers)	Positive depiction – Union leader speaks up for persecuted citizens	Primary
2019	The Future Of Another Timeline - Annalee Newitz   [Novel]	Multiple unions Industrial Workers Of The World, United Steelworkers and The Carpenters’ Union	Positive depiction – Unions are depicted as allies in the struggle for women’s rights. Steelworkers achieve fairer overtime compensation for workers.	Secondary
2019	Closed Shop – Kevin J. Phyland   [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Artificial Inteligence)	Positive depiction - Union fights for fair wages and public good.	Primary
2020	Hero Hours Contract 2 – Stephen O’Gorman [Video Game]	Business union (Magical Girls)	Positive depiction – Union heroically fights for better working conditions, pay, benefits, dental plan.	Primary
2020	Upload - S01E07 "Bring Your Dad To Work Day"	Business union (technology workers)	Positive depiction – Solution for workplace grievance.	Tertiary
2020	Hench – Natalie Zina Walschots [Novel]	Business union (henchmen)	Mixed depiction	Tertiary
2020	Lapsis   [Movie]	Solidarity union (Gig workers)	Positive depiction - Organizing in adverse conditions.	Primary
2020	The Factory Witches of Lowell – C.S. Malerich   [Novella]	Business union (mill workers)	Positive depiction – Union fights for better working conditions.	Primary
2020	The Salvage Crew – Yudhanjaya Wijeratne   [Novella]	Business union (Mining)	Positive depiction – Union secures better pay.	Tertiary
2020	The Fork – A. Parise [Novel]	Solidarity union (Workers’ Collective)	Positive depiction – Union protects citizenry	Primary
2020	The Ministry for the Future – Kim Stanley Robinson [Novel]	Business union (unspecified)	Positive depiction – Heroic protagonist is a former union lawyer who embodies the values of the labour movement.	Tertiary
2020 &2021	Hardspace: Shipbreaker –Blackbird Interactive   And expansion pack [Video Game]	Business union (salvage)	Positive depiction – Union protects vulnerable workers.	Primary
2021	All Rights Reserved - Xauri'EL Zwaan [Novella]	Solidarity union – (uploaded consciousnesses)	Positive depiction – Union resists indentured servitude	Primary
2021	The Hallowed Sky – Ken MacLeod [Novel]	Business union – (General labour)	Positive depiction – unions help take mankind to space	Secondary
2021	Committee on the Bounty – Keith W. Dickinson   [Short Story]	Business union – spaceship crewmembers	Negative depiction – union’s officiousness causes destruction of ship.	Primary
2021	Machinehood – S.B. Divya   [Novel]	Business union (construction)	Mixed depiction – Union funds antagonistic/violent protesters. Union also helps push back against erosion of human rights.	Secondary
2021	Heritage - Superman & Lois   [Television]	Business union (manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Fights for worker wages and safety at villain Morgan Edge’s factory.	Tertiary
2021	Orumai’s Choice – Gautam Bhatia [Short Story]	Solidarity union (General labour)	Positive depiction – Sentient robots assert their right to work-life balance.	Primary
2021	The Horizon – Gautam Bhatia [Novel]	Business union (Agricultural workers)	Positive depiction – union is central to revolution seeking to address inequity and inequality in society.	Primary
2021	Song of Slag – Louis Evans [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Foundry workers)	Positive depiction – union fights for fair compensation.	Primary
2021	The Association of Twelve Thousand Flowers - Ursula Whitcher [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Jade miners)	Positive depiction – Union counterbalances power of capital.	Primary
2021	The Revolution Will Not Be Served With Fries – Meg Elison [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Fast food workers and robots)	Positive depiction – Cross-species solidarity deals with severe workplace inequity.	Primary
2021	Z is for Zombies – TV series Evil (episode written by Patricia Ione Lloyd) [Television Episode]	Business union (Warehouse workers)	Positive depiction – Union provides voice for exploited workers (though formerly pro-union worker elevated to management becomes exploiter)	Primary
2021	C is for Cop – TV series Evil (episode written by Aurin Squire)	Business union (Police)	Negative depiction – Police union acts to intimidate witnesses to shooting.	Primary
2021	Forges of Mars – Graham McNeil [Novella]	Solidarity union (spaceship crew)	Positive depiction – Stands up to the Warhammer 40K universe filled with exploitation.	Secondary
2022	Unionized In The Butt And Now Everyone Is Safer, Happier And Better Paid – Chuck Tingle	Business union (Spaghetti Mug Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union fights for health and safety of workers as well as reasonable break times.	Primary
2022	Ogres – Adrian Tchaikovsky [Novella]	Solidarity union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union fights against exploitation and racism.	Secondary
2022	We Built This City – Marie Vibbert [Novelette]	Solidarity union (window washing)	Positive depiction – Fight for safer work environment	Primary
2022	Day Shift [Movie]	Business union (Supernatural pest control)	Negative depiction – Union is officious and bureaucratic.	Primary
2022	Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution – R.F. Kuang [Novel]	Guild union – (Translators)	Positive depiction – Important tool in promoting class solidarity.	Primary
2022	Witch Hunt – Louise Hughes	Guild union – (wise women / witches)	Positive depiction	Primary
2022	Tune in Tomorrow – Randee Dawn [Novel]	Solidarity union – Entertainment	Positive depiction – Union helps free magical beings from slavery	Primary
2022	When the Angels Left The Old Country - Sacha Lamb [Novel]	Business union – Garment workers	Positive depiction – Union helps immigrants find better life.	Secondary
2022	Star Trek: Picard “Watcher”	Business Union – Information Workers	Negative depiction – Brynner information Systems trying to prevent an organizing drive.	Tertiary
2022	No Return – Wide End No Return – The Steg No Return – The Orillian Regiment Author: Kier Zhou [Audio Drama]	Guild Unions (multiple) and Solidarity Unions	Mixed depiction – Some unions are employer dominated (exploit workers, prevent competition). Others are vehicles for emancipation.	Secondary
2022	Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy – Sam J. Miller	Business Union (Boxing)	Positive depiction – Helps improve lives of working people.	Primary
2022	City of Lost Chances – Adrian Tchaikovsky [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union fights against exploitation	Secondary
2022	Sporemageddon – Ravens Dagger [Novel]	Business union (industrial labourers)	Positive depiction – Works to secure better working conditions	Secondary
2023	Lockwood & Co S01E04 [Television Episode]	Business Union (Mystical protection)	Positive depiction – Exploited workers urged to form union	Tertiary
2023	The Keeper’s Six – Kate Elliott [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Municipal Workers in Dragon’s employ)	Positive depiction – Protagonist is a union organizer	Primary
2023	Last Act of the Revolution – Louise Hughes [Short Story]	Business union (factory workers)	Positive depiction – Union helps free people from forced labour.	Secondary
2023	Alloy Cooperative – K.J. Noakes [Novella]	Business union (blacksmithing)	Positive depiction – Union fights against nepotism and ensures fair distribution of wealth.	Primary
2023	Not pounded By The Physical Manifestation of My Own Screenwriting Because I’m On Strike And I Deserve To Be Compensated For My Labor While Studio CEOs Take Record Salaries – Chuck Tingle [Novelette]	Business union (screenwriters)	Positive depiction – Union fights for fair contract	Primary
2023	Station Six – S.J. Klapecki [Novel]	Business Union	Positive depiction – Union fights to keep workers employed.	Primary
2023	One Man’s Treasure – Sarah Pinkser [Short Story]	Solidarity Union (Magical waste collection)	Positive depiction – Union helps protect workers from unsafe waste.	Primary
2023	A Market of Dreams and Destiny – Trip Galey [Novel]	Solidarity union  (factory workers)	Positive depiction – union works to liberate children from exploitative labour practices	Primary
2023	Starter Villain – John Scalzi [Novel]	Soldiarity union (dolphins)	Positive-to-Mixed depiction - Union leadership and members depicted as antagonistic and obstreperous. But their grievances have merit. Boss gets to be the 'Hero.'	Secondary
2023	The Job At The End Of The World – Ray Nayler [Short Story[	Business union (first responders)	Positive – Passing reference to the union getting fair wages and health benefits.	Tertiary
2023	For All Mankind S04E01 “Glasnost” [Television Episode]	Business union (construction workers on Mars)	Negative – Passing reference to a strike disrupting Mars operations.	Tertiary
2023	Julia – Sandra Newman [Novel]	Business union (Agricultural and Manufacturing)	Negative – Unions complicit in the establishment of abusive totalitarian dictatorship.	Tertiary
2023	Any Percent – Andrew Dana Hudson   [Short Story]	Business union (Warehouse)	Positive – Unions provide solution to increasing inequality and abuse of workers.	Primary
2023	Liberty’s Daughter – Naomi Kritzer [Novel]	Solidarity union (IWW)	Positive – Unions provide solution to increasing inequality and abuse of workers.	Primary
2023	Warped State – Jo Miles [Novel]	Solidarity union (Several, but chemical workers prominent)	Positive – Unions provide the only counterbalance to an evil corporation.	Primary
2024	North Continent Ribbon – Ursula Whitcher [Novel]	Solidarity unions (multiple, including starships)	Positive – Protagonist helps organize exploited class of workers)	Secondary
2024	Floating Hotel – Grace Curtis [Novel]	Business union – Butchers	Negative – striking workers cause problems for protagonist	Tertiary
2024	Club Contago - Eliane Boey [Novel]	Business union – Port workers union.	Positive – Fighting gamification of work and worker replacement by automation.	Secondary
2024	The Sentence – Gautam Bhatia [Novel]	Solidarity union – mining (anarchist union that also includes other professions)	Positive – Union provides counterbalance to upper-class side of city	Secondary
2024	The Topeka Witches Coven Answers Questions about the Upcoming Union Vote to Join The United Auto Workers – Kathy Hays [Short story]	Business union - Professional magic practitioners (witches)	Positive - Union opposes exploitative labour practices, and encourages professional behaviour among its membership	Primary
2024	Megalopolis – Francis Ford Coppola [Movie]	Business union – construction	Negative – Offhand remarks about union getting in the way.	Tertiary
2024	Bury Your Gays – Chuck Tingle [Novel]	Business union – Entertainment	Positive – Labour unions provide integrity in creative pursuits	Tertiary
2024	The Sun Runners by James Bow [Novel]	Business union – Mining	Positive – Unions grievances are legitimate.	Tertiary
2024	Metal From Heaven – August Clarke [Novel]	Business union – Mining	Positive – Union protests against environmental degradation	Secondary
2024	Sargassa – Sophie Burnham [Novel]	Guild unions – Multiple	Neutral to positive – Unions are a fact of life, though probably making things better.	Tertiary
2025	Automatic Noodle – Annalee Newitz [Novella]	Business unions – Multiple	Mixed – Government does not allow some sentient beings to belong to labour unions.	Tertiary
2025	Paradise S01E03 - Dan Fogelman [TV Show]	Business union – Pilots	Positive – Union rules prevent unsafe pilot from flying a plane.	Tertiary
2025	Murderbot S01E10 – Martha Wells [TV Show]	Solidarity union – Unspecified	Positive – Labour strike being put down is used as example of why Corporation Rim is unethical.	Tertiary
2025	Two Songs Before The Airlock Cycles – R.K. Duncan [Short Story]	Business union – Ship building	Positive – Labour union provides social safety net and solidarity	Primary
2025	The Running Man [Movie]	Business union – Manufacturing	Positive – Labour union attempts to fight against unhealthy working conditions (protagonist is blacklisted by employer for going to the union with an OH&S complaint)	Secondary
2025	The Dream Hotel - Laila Lalami [Novel]	Solidarity union – Prison labour	Positive – Worker organizing helps undermine system of coercive labour	Primary
2026	The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing – Marshall J. Moore [Novel]	Solidarity union – Mad science and magical assistants	Positive depiction – Collective action mitigates negative societal impacts of employers and creates better working conditions.	Primary
2026	Linka’s Out – Rich Larson [Short Story]	Solidarity union – resource extraction	Mixed depiction – Union is only force standing up to corporate overreach, but mostly powerless.	Secondary
2026	I Love Boosters – Boots Riley [Movie]	Solidarity unions – Garment manufacturing and retail	Positive – Worker action is able to provide more equitable pay and better working conditions.	Primary

 

 

 

 

 

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