DoCS Taxonomies
The DoCS Taxonomy Database is your gateway to understanding how we categorize and organize the vast array of speculative media. It provides a comprehensive look at the key themes and ideas that run through movies, books, games, and TV shows—such as time loops, parallel universes, and reality manipulation. Each taxonomy serves as a guidepost, helping you explore works that delve into specific concepts or philosophical questions. Whether you're interested in exploring time travel, simulation theory, or alternate realities, this section helps you navigate the depths of speculative fiction by linking you to the media that explores these big ideas.
Time Travel
The ability to move through time, whether to the past, future, or alternate timelines.
Temporal Paradox
A contradiction in the timeline, where actions taken in the past or future conflict with established events, leading to logical inconsistencies.
Fate vs. Free Will
The tension between predetermination and the ability to choose one's own path, often exploring whether events are inevitable or changeable.
Existentialism
Characters grapple with the meaning of existence, free will, and the nature of their reality, often in a universe that seems indifferent or absurd.
Alternate Timeline
Different branches of history exist simultaneously due to a point of divergence, allowing multiple potential realities.
AI Sentience
The emergence of self-awareness and consciousness in artificial intelligence, leading to questions about autonomy, morality, and the nature of life.
Identity Crisis
Characters struggle with understanding who they are, often due to changing circumstances, memory loss, or alternate realities.
Time Loop
Characters are trapped in a repetitive cycle of events, often reliving the same day or scenario multiple times with variations.
Reality Warping
The ability to reshape or alter the fundamental nature of reality, bending the rules of physics or existence.
Spatial Distortion
Physical space itself is warped or altered, leading to impossible geometry, unending corridors, or locations that defy normal laws of physics.
Moral Paradox
Characters face ethical dilemmas where every choice involves some moral compromise, often creating conflicting outcomes.
Perception Manipulation
Characters' perceptions of reality are altered, often creating confusion between what is real and what is imagined or constructed.
Present Day
Set in the modern era, reflecting current events, technology, and societal norms.
Dystopian Future
A setting where society has collapsed or is under authoritarian control, often reflecting critiques of current systems.
Distant Future
A far-off future setting, often featuring advanced technology, interstellar travel, and speculative societal structures.
Near Future
Set within the next few decades, often featuring plausible advancements in technology and society.
Post-Apocalyptic Earth
A world rebuilding after a major catastrophe, often focusing on survival and the remnants of civilization.
Mid-Century America
The period from the 1940s to 1970s, often reflecting Cold War tensions, the Space Race, or societal upheavals.
Alien Planet
A setting on a completely different world, featuring exotic landscapes, creatures, and ecosystems.
Starship
Ancient Civilizations
Set during the time of great ancient empires (e.g., Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, China).
Space Station
A self-contained, artificial environment orbiting a planet or in deep space, often a hub for interstellar travel or research.
Victorian England
A setting during the reign of Queen Victoria, known for industrialization, empire, and strict social codes.
Space Opera Galaxy
A vast, multi-planetary setting where politics, war, and adventure unfold across the stars.
TARDIS
Time Machine
H.G. Wells Time Machine
Gemstone/Jewel
Magic Mirror
Pocket Watch
flux capacitor
Shrinking Machine
Book/Journal
Diner
Antikythera Mechanism
Therapy Session