--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I stepped through the doors of the SA…" description: "\"“I stepped through the doors of the SA Café with a borrowed copy of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot in my hand, expecting to find more of the same, only to fin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/hal-duncan-11149_asimov_i-stepped-through-the-doors-of-the-sa-ca_3140426.png" --- # I stepped through the doors of the SA Café with a borrowed… ![“I stepped through the doors of the SA Café with a borrowed copy of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot in my hand, expecting to find more of the same, only to find Philip K. Dick sitting at a table, obsessing over Gnostic demiurges and ersatz realities, Robert A. Heinlein across from him, spouting libertarian…” quote by Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/hal-duncan-11149_asimov_i-stepped-through-the-doors-of-the-sa-ca_3140426.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/hal-duncan-11149_asimov_i-stepped-through-the-doors-of-the-sa-ca_3140426.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/hal-duncan-11149_asimov_i-stepped-through-the-doors-of-the-sa-ca_3140426.png) > ““I stepped through the doors of the SA Café with a borrowed copy of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot in my hand, expecting to find more of the same, only to find Philip K. Dick sitting at a table, obsessing over Gnostic demiurges and ersatz realities, Robert A. Heinlein across from him, spouting libertarian aphorisms but paying for Dick’s coffee.”” [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer discovers unexpected literary giants in a café, highlighting the clash of sci‑fi visions and philosophical debates. **In simple terms:** Unexpected meeting of sci‑fi icons sparks deep discussion. Key Takeaway Embrace chance encounters with diverse thinkers. Themes creativity philosophy literature dialogue Mood curious inquisitive Type anecdotal inspirational When to use this quote - coffee shop visits - book clubs - creative brainstorming - genre cross‑pollination Key Concepts science fiction gnosticism libertarianism Questions to Reflect On - How can differing sci‑fi perspectives enrich your own ideas? - What unexpected insights arise from chance encounters? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper commonalities in favor of novelty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asimov/) [Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heinlein/) [Robotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robotics/) ## Related quotes > [“He listed The Lord of the Rings, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, and Robert Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress as some of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/he-listed-the-lord-of-the-rings-isaac-asimov-s-foundation-series-and/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [There were four major 20th-century science fiction writers: Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. Of those four, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/there-were-four-major-20th-century-science-fiction-writers-arthur-c/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) > [“In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality." ~ By His Bootstraps / Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/in-wilson-s-scale-of-evaluations-breakfast-rated-just-after-life/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [For every SF reader of that period, Robert A. Heinlein was also a touchstone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-jon-williams/for-every-sf-reader-of-that-period-robert-a-heinlein-was-also-a/) [Walter Jon Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-jon-williams/) > [“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. – Robert Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-l-bevill/women-and-cats-will-do-as-they-please-and-men-and-dogs-should-relax-2/) [C.L. Bevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-l-bevill/) > [“A zest for living must include a willingness to die. —ROBERT A. HEINLEIN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-cameron/a-zest-for-living-must-include-a-willingness-to-die-robert-a-heinlein/) [Marc Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-cameron/) > [“The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in.   - Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/the-earth-is-just-too-small-and-fragile-a-basket-for-the-human-race-2/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [“the strategic situation foreseen by Robert Heinlein in the death dust story was like “a duel in a vestibule with flamethrowers,” anticipating mutual assured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/the-strategic-situation-foreseen-by-robert-heinlein-in-the-death-dust/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“All progress is made by a lazy person looking for an easier way Lazerous Long/Robert Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazerous-long-robert-heinlein/all-progress-is-made-by-a-lazy-person-looking-for-an-easier-way/) Lazerous Long Robert Heinlein > [Robert A. Heinlein has been an idol to me for more than 20 years. He can do no wrong, no matter how much he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/robert-a-heinlein-has-been-an-idol-to-me-for-more-than-20-years-he/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Science fiction is held in low regard as a branch of literature, and perhaps it deserves this critical contempt. But if we view it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/science-fiction-is-held-in-low-regard-as-a-branch-of-literature-and/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [Science fiction is a literary field crowded with strong opinions, and no SF novelist delivered himself more memorably of his views - on politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/science-fiction-is-a-literary-field-crowded-with-strong-opinions-and/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [It's very difficult for a black man to get out of South-Central Los Angeles, and get out civilized…The only men I know who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/it-s-very-difficult-for-a-black-man-to-get-out-of-south-central-los/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [And I repeat: if there is anything that can divert the land of my birth from its current stampede into the Stone Age, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/and-i-repeat-if-there-is-anything-that-can-divert-the-land-of-my/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [“Climate is what we expect. Weather is what we get." Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-blanton/climate-is-what-we-expect-weather-is-what-we-get-robert-a-heinlein/) [Brad Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-blanton/) ## More by Hal Duncan > [“Welcome to Erehwyna!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/welcome-to-erehwyna/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Susurrus whispers through the grass and gorse, godling of the Martian wind, gene-spliced tyke of Zephyros and Ares. His story needs no Ovid, tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/susurrus-whispers-through-the-grass-and-gorse-godling-of-the-martian/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“But the bigots always see those whom they hate as morally corrupt, as if they confuse their own aesthetics of disgust and fear with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/but-the-bigots-always-see-those-whom-they-hate-as-morally-corrupt-as/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Susurrus is a different kind of flirt though, fickle as a godling of wind can only be but light and warm as one father,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/susurrus-is-a-different-kind-of-flirt-though-fickle-as-a-godling-of/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [Where names of people or places would mean little to a contemporary reader, I figured "translation errors" could create interesting new meanings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/where-names-of-people-or-places-would-mean-little-to-a-contemporary/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“One can revise the rules, shift the goal posts, but to do so is just to conjure a chimera and mask it as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/one-can-revise-the-rules-shift-the-goal-posts-but-to-do-so-is-just-to/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [I'm sort of exploring where pacifism and socialism come into conflict. How do you reconcile a passionate rejection of might and violence with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/i-m-sort-of-exploring-where-pacifism-and-socialism-come-into-conflict/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [Prejudice validates itself as righteous abhorrence of the criminally deviant. So Christian homophobia is just a metonym of that abjection in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/prejudice-validates-itself-as-righteous-abhorrence-of-the-criminally/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Cause what do groanhuffs know? All’s they’ve done is heard our tales and passed em along in a game of Chinese Whispers, getting em…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/cause-what-do-groanhuffs-know-all-s-they-ve-done-is-heard-our-tales/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [The conflict between pacifism and socialism ultimately reflects a greater quandary of how one engages with such a system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/the-conflict-between-pacifism-and-socialism-ultimately-reflects-a/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“I kissed the boys and made them cry ... in ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/i-kissed-the-boys-and-made-them-cry-in-ecstasy/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“For many readers, writers, editors and agents ... pretty much the working (in)definition: SF is short for So Fuck? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/for-many-readers-writers-editors-and-agents-pretty-much-the-working/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“They say that nothing can stand against such a man, for the one gun – that marked Mutiny – deals instant death, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/they-say-that-nothing-can-stand-against-such-a-man-for-the-one-gun/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [Homophobia's just one form of abjection, and wherever you have a marker of deviance - skin colour, gender, gender identity, disability - you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/homophobia-s-just-one-form-of-abjection-and-wherever-you-have-a/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Losing maturity in one’s fiction for the sake of marvels and monsters can also mean losing propriety, and that’s not always a bad thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/losing-maturity-in-one-s-fiction-for-the-sake-of-marvels-and-monsters/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) [Explore all 61 Hal Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) ## More Asimov quotes > [“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." Isaac Asimov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohi-shetty/people-who-think-they-know-everything-are-a-great-annoyance-to-those/) Rohi Shetty > [I've read everything that Isaac Asimov ever wrote, for a start. I'm massively into my fantasy genre, anything by R.A. Salvatore or David Gemmell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kazinsky/i-ve-read-everything-that-isaac-asimov-ever-wrote-for-a-start-i-m/) [Robert Kazinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kazinsky/) > [Isaac Asimov is, in reality, based on something I had invented a few years previously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/isaac-asimov-is-in-reality-based-on-something-i-had-invented-a-few/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Asimov was the reason why we changed some rules in the SFWA, and I'm not convinced we changed it for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/asimov-was-the-reason-why-we-changed-some-rules-in-the-sfwa-and-i-m/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [My name is Bruce Feiler, and I'm an explainaholic. I first heard this word used to describe Isaac Asimov, and I knew instantly that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/my-name-is-bruce-feiler-and-i-m-an-explainaholic-i-first-heard-this/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [“Isaac Asimov’s remark about the infantilism of pseudoscience is just as applicable to religion: ‘Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/isaac-asimov-s-remark-about-the-infantilism-of-pseudoscience-is-just/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. -Issac Asimov-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keisha-v/people-who-think-they-know-everything-are-a-great-annoyance-to-those-2/) Keisha V > [For bedtime reading, I usually curl up with a good monograph on quantum physics or string theory, my specialty. But since I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/for-bedtime-reading-i-usually-curl-up-with-a-good-monograph-on/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“Far from disproving the existence of God, astronomers may be finding more circumstantial evidence that God exists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jastrow/far-from-disproving-the-existence-of-god-astronomers-may-be-finding/) [Robert Jastrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jastrow/) > [“Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy centers around the “Seldon Plan” to shorten a reversion period from 30,000 years to 1,000 years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/isaac-asimov-s-foundation-trilogy-centers-around-the-seldon-plan-to/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [A story in Asimov's is read by hundreds of thousands of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/a-story-in-asimov-s-is-read-by-hundreds-of-thousands-of-people/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [We never had books at home, but my dad, seeing how keen I was to read, took me to Islington Library when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kemp/we-never-had-books-at-home-but-my-dad-seeing-how-keen-i-was-to-read/) [Gary Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kemp/) > [It's hard not to like Asimov; he's a really likable guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/it-s-hard-not-to-like-asimov-he-s-a-really-likable-guy/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“They spoke as if this were settled science. We’ll discuss the three laws in chapter 1, but it’s enough to say for now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-barrat/they-spoke-as-if-this-were-settled-science-we-ll-discuss-the-three/) [James Barrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-barrat/) > [There were four major 20th-century science fiction writers: Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. Of those four, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/there-were-four-major-20th-century-science-fiction-writers-arthur-c/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) [Browse all 37 Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asimov/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I stepped through the doors of the SA Café with a borrowed copy of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot in my hand, expecting to find more of the same, only to find Philip K. 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