>[!abstract] >In utopian studies and science fiction theory, a *novum* (Latin for "new thing") is the speculative innovation that sets a fictional world apart from present reality and drives its difference. Coined by Darko Suvin, the term refers to a device, discovery, or social arrangement—technological, political, or cultural—that enables the narrative to explore alternative possibilities. The novum is not merely a novelty but a coherent alteration with explanatory power, lending plausibility to the imagined world while inviting critical reflection on existing society. In utopian literature, it provides the hinge for estrangement and the imaginative projection of change. >[!example] Examples >- Newspeak in Orwell's *1984* >- The anarchist moon society in Le Guin's *The Dispossessed* >- The reproductive control regime in Atwood's *The Handmaid's Tale* >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Utopian studies]] >- **West** (similar): [[Verfremdungseffekt]] >- **East** (different): [[Naturalism]] >- **South** (downstream): —