Science fiction is traditionally strong on plot and weak on developing its characters, Foote states, but science fiction as a whole has improved. A number of science fiction writers could write mainstream novels, Foote says, including Robinson. I can say what I want to say better in science fiction. Science fiction can transcend into mainstream fiction, says Dr. Kenneth Knoespel. Jurassic Park is a good example.
Environmental issues oftentimes today become components in discussions about science fiction.
The scene may be some exotic landscape in a far-off galaxy and the inhabitants may be as strange as they are remote, but don't be misled. Science fiction is often about the politics of the here and now. He makes the comparison to a computer simulation. You start at a given set of initial conditions, which are the present. You write a novel about that, and what you're doing is illuminating certain aspects of the initial conditions by exaggerating.