Mwa ha ha haaa. I have been initiated into the mysteries of Codex. 
Actually, despite the nefarious connotations, “Codex” is an online forum for “pro-level speculative fiction writers in the early stages of their careers who are actively writing.” Aside from the forum, they’re also a critique group. I recognize some of the members already. The specfic writing world is indeed a small one.
This has the potential to be an excellent writing development opportunity. Rah!
Ok, so what’s speculative fiction? I thought fiction was fiction…
Science fiction, fantasy, etc. etc. etc.
So it’s… fiction?
No, it’s not. And since it’s not fiction, it obviously must be fact. “Speculative fiction” is simply a longwinded way of saying “non-fiction.”
“Speculative Fiction” was, if I’ve got my facts straight, first coined by Harlan Ellison to replace “Sci-Fi” (a much abhorred moniker by the classicists) as well as “Science Fiction” as it encompasses Fantasy and Horror. See? It’s still all abbreviateable with “SF”. It hasn’t really caught on as much as I’m sure Mr. Ellison hoped it would, but it’s not an uncommon descriptor to clump SF/F/DF/H together.
Basically, the premise is that it’s any fiction which is “speculative” in nature. That is, anything which asks the question “what if?”. It’s considered to be in a different category than mainstream fiction and other genres.
Make sense?
Jawohl. 🙂
The whole “science fiction sometimes becomes science fact” part of it.