Science fiction has been defined in different ways over the years, although no clear definition has taken hold. There are many different aspects of science fiction and what it is about. The most popular and recognizable features are science, technology, time travel, scientific method, different worlds, and disasters. By including them, it helps the reader identify the story as a work of science fiction. Because the main focus of science fiction is science, it is natural that it becomes the main focus of the story. How an author decides to describe the use of science varies greatly from story to story. Some may choose to use science for good, while others may show the negative impacts that science could have. In Ursula Le Guin's "Nine Lives" and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter," each author shows how characters can be connected or separated by science. “Nine Lives” is a story set on the planet Libra, where two men, Pugh and Martin, go to work. There, they are joined by a Tenclone, a group of ten clones sent to aid them in their mission. They are created from the cells of a single human and are capable of completing tasks much more quickly and efficiently than humans. Ultimately, nine of the ten clones die, leaving Kaph the only clone remaining. Le Guin leads the reader to believe that the clones might have feelings, and ultimately she shows the connection between the three main characters. In "Nine Lives", the reader knows that the clones are not real, but a product of science. This makes the reader wonder whether this product of science is capable of feeling or not. Darko Suvin says that Le Guin's writing "lies in the quest and outline of a new collectivist system of non-alienation...... middle of paper ......awthorne, the important aspect of his story is for readers to understand that science, if misused, can destroy relationships. Works Cited Huntington, John. “Public and private imperatives in Le Guin's novels. » Science Fiction Studies 2.3 (1975): 237-243. JSTOR. Internet. November 3, 2011. Rosenberry, Edward H. “Hawthorne's Allegory of Science: “Rappaccini's Daughter.” » American Literature 32.1 (1960): 39-46. JSTOR. Internet. November 3, 2011. Suvin, Darko. “Parables of Disalienation: Le Guin’s Dance of the Widdershins.” » Science Fiction Studies 2.3 (1975): 265-274. JSTOR. Internet. November 3, 2011. Uroff, MD “The Doctors in “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” » Nineteenth-Century Fiction 27.1 (1972): 61-70. JSTOR. Internet. Nov. 3, 2011. Le Guin, Ursula. “Nine lives”. 2011. PDF file. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappaccini’s daughter.” Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia, nd Web. November 8. 2011.