Most beloved sci-fi depicts a variety of aliens, whether they're hostile or friendly, but what if we are alone in the universe?
Science fiction is all about exploring the possibilities of speculative realities far beyond our own, but some concepts have remained more consistent than others. Stories about the depths of space are almost always packed with a wide variety of unique creatures, but some sci-fi stories boldly refuse to populate their universe.
The idea of removing one of the most central tenets of a genre seems silly, most sci-fi authors naturally mine content from the idea of extraterrestrial life. But, what is the unique merit to sci-fi stories that answer all the classic "are we alone in the universe" questions with a resounding no?
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Is it scary to imagine hostile beings that would be impossible here on Earth, but reign supreme over far-away worlds? Is it horrifying to conceive of a place that exists just outside our reach where we would be rendered insignificant by the scale or capabilities of its natural denizens? These ideas are terrifying. These are the go-to underpinnings of space horror and cosmic horror respectively. Either something out there could kill us all or everything out there is too big and important to care about us. But, is it even scarier to imagine that there isn't anything out there at all? Maybe we're the dominant species in the universe, but we only claim that victory by default. If the rest of the universe is cold, quiet, and dead, there's nothing but pitch-black misery beyond our atmosphere. Beyond that, what's so special about mankind that we'd be the only intelligent life in the universe? Sci-fi without aliens raises all these questions, but the most horrific aspect is the fact that it almost always leaves their answers as silent as the bitter void of space.
Many seminal sci-fi stories simply don't need aliens to populate their universe. Frank Herbert's Dune features no sentient alien life. There are extraterrestrial plants and animals, most notably the Shai-Hulud sandworms on Arrakis, but no humanoid or otherwise intelligent beings outside of mankind. Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and its beloved film adaptation Blade Runner don't feature any alien life either. Characters make it to space and interstellar conflicts are mentioned, but both sides of these battles are either humanoid or robotic. These stories don't include aliens, but not for any particular reason. They just don't need aliens to tell their story, so none show up.
A more interesting example comes in the works of Isaac Asimov. Asimov explored this concept most notably in the iconic Foundation franchise. From 1942 to 1950, Asimov's series of short stories became defining science fiction tomes that also established the universe which contains most of his other work. The story follows a mathematician who discovers a theory by which he can predict the actions of countless individuals and accurately chart the rise and fall of societies. The narrative features some humans with psychic capabilities, some that have artificially enhanced themselves through technology, and robots, but no alien contact. The series does mention aliens, but it offers a rather cynical answer as to why humanity has never experienced first contact. In the world of Foundation, all alien species rise to prominence and eliminate themselves via war or environmental collapse. Later stories would prove that life exists beyond the Milky Way, but the story's universe is inhabited by humans, thanks to the natural ending of all other species.
Oddly enough, the space western subgenre frequently eschews alien life in favor of an all-human universe. Joss Whedon's Firefly canonically takes place in a star system without even a microbe of alien life. Whedon has publicly confirmed the lack of alien life, while the show turned the concept into a gag once or twice. Shinichiro Watanabe's iconic anime series Cowboy Bebop also sees its characters explore new planets almost every episode without ever encountering intelligent life. There are alien animals and the gross mutant monster from "Toys in the Attic", but no sentient non-humans that weren't manmade. The planet Gunsmoke from Trigun is also free from intelligent non-human life. Like most other examples, the closest example is a man-made mutant. These series seemed to decide that human characters served the narrative better, rooting its characters and conflicts entirely within one species to fit the theme.
From Ad Astra to Interstellar, Killjoys to Red Dwarf, sci-fi stories without aliens are far less common than the alternative, but they're special when they come. The big empty void raises a ton of questions about the nature of life and the rules of the universe. Whether the writer simply decides that aliens aren't a necessary part of the story or seeks to mine the inherent horror of being alone, there's still a lot of room to explore in a lifeless universe. Aliens provide a ton of opportunities in storytelling, but outer space without alien life can also be just as interesting.
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Joshua is a lifelong film buff, D&D enthusiast, tournament winning Smash Bros. player and extremely passionate writer. He also has a BS in Psychology.