An Ark ship is a Science fiction construct used to overcome the vast distances of the Universe and the time taken to travel between stars.
There are two primary types:
- Generation—where human society continues as a living society just as it would on Earth with people living and dying through as many generations as it takes.
- Examples are Silo 18 in The Wool Trilogy and the ship in Wall-E
- Suspension—where humans are put into suspended animation for the duration of the story to revive at journey’s end.
- Examples are Gilgamesh in Children of Time and Silo 1 in The Wool Trilogy.