In science fiction, hyperspace is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel. Its use in science fiction originated in the magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1931 and within several decades it became one of the most popular tropes of science fiction, popularized by its use in the works of authors such as Isaac Asimov and E. C. Tubb, and media franchises such as Star Wars.
A piece of paper crumpled into a ball, representing a two-dimensional object distorted in the third dimension, making points that are far apart on its surface come close to each other or even touch
The earliest references to hyperspace in fiction appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories Quarterly (shown here is the Spring 1931 issue featuring John Campbell's Islands of Space).
Parallel universes in fiction
A parallel universe, also known as an alternate universe, parallel world, parallel dimension, alternate reality, or alternative dimension, is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own. The sum of all potential parallel universes that constitute reality is often called a "multiverse". While the six terms are generally synonymous and can be used interchangeably in most cases, there is sometimes an additional connotation implied with the term "alternate universe/reality" that implies that the reality is a variant of our own, with some overlap with the similarly named alternate history.
Edwin A. Abbott's Flatland is set in a world of two dimensions.
British author H. G. Wells' 1895 novel The Time Machine, an early example of time travel in modern fiction
Oz and its surroundings
Through the Looking-Glass – and the parallel universe Alice found there
