Robots, intergalactic explorers, and orchestrated freaks of nature have all helped make science fiction grow from a small youngsters' niche to a grand entertainment cash cow in under a century. Having been born from a genre of innovation, science fiction characters have infiltrated the public consciousness in ways even their creaters couldn't anticipate. What follows are the top ten most famous science fiction characters of present day - plus a few runners up for good measure.

1) Frankenstein's Monster

Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein,' written almost two centuries ago, is claimed by many to be the world's first science fiction story. To summarize, Dr. Frankenstein created a body from pieces of dead people and zapped it with harnessed lighting to bring it to life. The monster then wandered, tortured by public rejection of his ugliness, in pursuit of just revenge: the murder of his creator.

While many consider this story horror rather than science fiction (the green, stitched, square-headed and bolt-necked monster is a Halloween staple, after all), it really isn't, just as Frankenstein's monster isn't actually a monster - at least at first. Shelley discusses scientific discovery, "playing god," and human nature to create this story, and that's what science fiction's all about.

2) Kirk and Spock

Star Trek, featuring Captain James T. Kirk and his co-adventurer Spock the Vulcan, was a television sci-fi milestone of the 1960s. Who hasn't met at least one person who can do a good Kirk impression, and what North American doesn't recognize Spock's pointy ears, bowl-cut bangs, and emotionally deadpan demeanor?

While the original series is now considered dated enough to be funny, in both its themes and its special effects, it cleared a revolutionary path for numerous films, novels, and television spin-offs that tout a hefty fan following, the size of which today only rivals that of Star Wars.

3) Mulder and Scully

The whistling theme song of the 1990s television show, The X-Files, can probably be evoked in your mind at will. In the show, Fox Mulder, a sensitive and determined FBI agent desperate to find supernatural answers, is partnered up with Dana Scully, a level-headed skeptic and autopsy performer extraordinaire, to oversee the X-Files: a division of the FBI devoted to investigations of the paranormal.

While The X-Files covered all sorts of weird stories, from ghosts to conspiracies to mythical creatures, it was mainly centered around aliens

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