This dissertation is a two-chapter extract from my science fiction novel, Alienated. The narrative follows three main characters – Lachesis Argyros, Kharon Gove and Icarus Hawkins – after an unknown disaster killed the crew of the scouting ship Helius, leaving ‘Lacy’ as its only survivor. After having been legally declared dead, Lacy is found stranded in space: following a year with no human company, only a medical AI and a non-corporeal autopilot. She is traumatised, malnourished, and unable to remember what happened to the Helius or its crew. Suspicions rise on their home planet, Vesta, with the population divided – some believing she killed the crew, and others citing her survival as the luck of the cosmos. When attempts are made at Lacy’s life, it’s up to her and the people she loves to find the answer.

The creative piece is followed by a critical essay, titled Alien in Our Culture: The Women Men Don’t See in Science Fiction. The focus of this essay is the apparent absence of women in science fiction, examining the evolution of the genre and looking in depth at the incredible work of James Tiptree Jr.