The idea that certain things in life - and in the universe - don't yield up their secrets is something that requires a slightly more mature reader to accept.
Samuel R. DelanyThere is a hollow, holey cylinder running from hilt to point in my machete. When I blow across the mouthpiece in the handle, I make music with my blade. When all the holes are covered, the sound is sad, as rough as rough can be and be called smooth. When all the holes are open, the sound pipes about, bringing to the eye flakes of sun on water, crushed metal. There are twenty holes. And since I've been playing music, I've been called all different kinds of fool - more times than Lobey, which is my name.
Samuel R. DelanyScience fiction isnโt just thinking about the world out there. Itโs also thinking about how that world might beโa particularly important exercise for those who are oppressed, because if theyโre going to change the world we live in, theyโand all of usโhave to be able to think about a world that works differently.
Samuel R. DelanyAll too often, when creative people pick out someone else's creative work as an inspiration, what they end up with is very, very far from the original.
Samuel R. Delany