"Aliens, future people, super humans, or anyone who feels the space-time continuum is a fantasy ... you are not alone." The slogan for the Sci-Fi Association at Shanghai's Fudan University is wordy, but it gets the point across. Its members are what you'd expect-bespectacled, pale, and serious in their consideration of other worlds and alternative futures-and their ranks are expanding. Similar groups have sprouted up in colleges across the country, coming together to read works from China and abroad, host author talks, and, on occasion, dress up like Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's a remarkable change from 30 years ago, when science fiction was effectively banned in China, declared a form of "spiritual pollution" (alongside pornography, individualism, and facial hair) by the communist government. The ban was short-lived, but sci-fi remained underground for years, stigmatized as childish and overly Western.
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