You can also make explicit certain social problems which, again, would be prejudged or not encountered at all in real life, because people have set up defenses against it. Fantasy allows you to get past defenses.

I had, of course, no model for that sort of woman being married, but I can make that up as I go along.

No, but a cello is the perfect string bass for an accordion. Works with it beautifully.

People are people, messy and mutable, combining differently with one another from day to day - even hour to hour.

I regarded drugs as somewhat like rattlesnakes - it's possible to pick one up without getting bit, but why bother?

But in fantasy, you can make a complete break, and you can put people in a situation where they are confronted with things that they would not confront in the real world.

My personal feeling about science fiction is that it's always in some way connected to the real world, to our everyday world.