18th-century French literature classic example is "Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane" by Alain-René Lesage (1715). The novel of the imagination pictured life centuries in the future; "L'An 2440, rêve s'il en fut jamais" (The year 2440 - dream of all dreams) by Mercier (1771); or stories of fantasy "le Diable amoureux" (The Devil in Love) of Jacques Cazotte (1772). The libertine, or erotic novel, featured eroticism, seduction, manipulation, and social intrigue. Classic examples are "Les Liaisons dangereuses" ("Dangerous Liaisons") by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782); ("Justine ou les Malheurs de la vertu" ("Justine or the misfortunes of virtue") by Donatien Alphonse François
Characters in the Novels of the Company Characters in the Novels of the Company Dr. Zeus Inc., also known simply as the Company, is a fictional entity in a series of time travel science fiction stories by Kage Baker. Most of the characters in the novels are immortal cyborgs created by Company operatives throughout history and recruited to work on preserving art, artifacts, rare species and other valuable items which the Company can sell for huge profits in the 24th century. The cyborgs look forward to receiving their final reward when they reach the 24th century by living through all the preceding times, but some suspect that