Science fiction has always provided fertile ground for firing up reader or viewers imagination. The writers have resorted to techniques of future society depictions or alien creature visits. The most common science fiction talks about unreal and imaginary scenarios. This fascinates readers because they can visualize the vivid description of the authors. "Star Wars" and "E.T" belong to this category of science fiction. Another category of science fiction is that of relating the current scenario to the future one. "Mirror Image", by Lena Coakley and "Test", by Theodore Thomas, both from the book Imprints 11, use science fiction to alert readers about the future. The authors of "Mirror Image" and "Test" are defining the future societies by extrapolating current societies established practices. Traumatic events, subtle characters and relating with present scenarios help re-enforce the under-lying message of the stories.
             The protagonists of both the stories go through traumatic events that affect their lives. Alice from "Mirror Image" goes through intense physical pain and suffering as well as emotional trauma. "At first the world seemed nothing but a mush of dark images, disconnected voices and prickly feelings all over her skin. ... When she tried to speak she bit her tongue. Which seemed enormous in her mouth and tasted funny"(13, Lena Coakley). Alice gets into a serious car accident and is so severely injured that she needs a new body. It is very stressful and hard for her to cope with. She also goes through emotional pain as people mistake her for Gail. " 'Gail,' he said in a soft mumble and then, "I'm sorry ... I mean Alice ... Do you know me?"(17, Lena Coakley). This proves Alice has to go through the same mental trauma every time someone mistakes her for Gail. She is constantly being reminded that she has
             ...