--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing about science fiction is that…" description: "\"The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.\" — Octavia Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/octavia-butler-8606_conditional_the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that_560.jpg" --- # The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide… ![“The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.” quote by Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/octavia-butler-8606_conditional_the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that_560.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/octavia-butler-8606_conditional_the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that_560.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/octavia-butler-8606_conditional_the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that_560.jpg) > “The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.” [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science fiction offers limitless narrative possibilities, yet those possibilities are bounded by the story's internal logic and thematic constraints. **In simple terms:** Boundless yet rule‑bound storytelling. Key Takeaway Creative freedom operates within self‑imposed limits. Themes Imagination Constraints Narrative potential Genre World‑building Mood Curious Reflective Playful Type Philosophical Descriptive When to use this quote - Writing workshops - Concept development - Speculative design - Academic analysis Key Concepts Science fiction Conditional openness Storytelling rules Practical Applications - Guide writers to balance freedom and coherence - Explore speculative scenarios Questions to Reflect On - What are the hidden constraints that shape speculative worlds? - How does acknowledging limits enhance creative innovation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditional/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Totally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-totally-237992/) [Open Conditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-conditional-237993/) [Open Wide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-wide-237991/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wide/) [Wide Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wide-open/) ## Related quotes > [I love writing fiction because I can totally lose myself and I get to make up the rules of the world that I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-love-writing-fiction-because-i-can-totally-lose-myself-and-i-get-to/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [I'm not a fan of fiction that's totally hopeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/i-m-not-a-fan-of-fiction-that-s-totally-hopeless/) [Jeff Vandermeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Comedy is a shared experience, and I think it's great to open that to a wide demographic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-coulier/comedy-is-a-shared-experience-and-i-think-it-s-great-to-open-that-to/) [Dave Coulier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-coulier/) > [Open wide the windows of our spirits and fill us full of light; open wide the door of our hearts, that we may receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/open-wide-the-windows-of-our-spirits-and-fill-us-full-of-light-open/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [Let us open wide the windows of our hearts, that each family member may feel welcome and 'at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/let-us-open-wide-the-windows-of-our-hearts-that-each-family-member/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [“But there’s such a thing as too open. Too wide. Here in the dark, I’m nothing. I’m less than a smudge on the pages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-eagar/but-there-s-such-a-thing-as-too-open-too-wide-here-in-the-dark-i-m/) [Lindsay Eagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-eagar/) > [The wide open nature of any truly creative artistic endeavor is one of its most important virtues, and one of its harshest realities. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/the-wide-open-nature-of-any-truly-creative-artistic-endeavor-is-one/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [No other discipline has its portals so wide open to the general public as history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/no-other-discipline-has-its-portals-so-wide-open-to-the-general/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [I will ask questions that are so wide and open they will feel the need to speak for a week. Then from the information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murray/i-will-ask-questions-that-are-so-wide-and-open-they-will-feel-the/) [Chris Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murray/) > [Whoever has Heart's doors wide open, could see the Sun itself in every atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whoever-has-heart-s-doors-wide-open-could-see-the-sun-itself-in-every/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I keep my eyes wide open all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/i-keep-my-eyes-wide-open-all-the-time/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [When you're wide open, the world is a good place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/when-you-re-wide-open-the-world-is-a-good-place/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [That receiver was as wide open as Annabel Chong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/that-receiver-was-as-wide-open-as-annabel-chong/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [I'm very wide open for the right investment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/touker-suleyman/i-m-very-wide-open-for-the-right-investment/) [Touker Suleyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/touker-suleyman/) > [Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and halfway closed there after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/keep-your-eyes-wide-open-before-marriage-and-halfway-closed-there/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) ## More by Octavia Butler > [Life is getting better, but that won't stop a war if politicians and business people decide it's to their advantage to have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/life-is-getting-better-but-that-won-t-stop-a-war-if-politicians-and/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I talked to members of my family, and did some personal research that didn't really have anything to do with the time and place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-talked-to-members-of-my-family-and-did-some-personal-research-that/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/first-forget-inspiration-habit-is-more-dependable-habit-will-sustain/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Belief initiates and guides action - or it does nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/belief-initiates-and-guides-action-or-it-does-nothing/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Ignorance Protects itself, And protected, Ignorance grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/ignorance-protects-itself-and-protected-ignorance-grows/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [But my problem with fantasy, and horror, and related genres, is that sometimes the problems are illogical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/but-my-problem-with-fantasy-and-horror-and-related-genres-is-that/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [“In order to rise From its own ashes A phoenix First Must Burn. Earthseed: The Books of the Living Lauren Oya Olamina”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/in-order-to-rise-from-its-own-ashes-a-phoenix-first-must-burn/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-ten-year/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I'm me, and I'm here, and I'm writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-me-and-i-m-here-and-i-m-writing/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Most of what I do is science fiction. Some of the things I do are fantasy. I don't like the labels, they're marketing tools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/most-of-what-i-do-is-science-fiction-some-of-the-things-i-do-are/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [The only black people you found were occasional characters or characters who were so feeble-witted that they couldn't manage anything, anyway. I wrote myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-only-black-people-you-found-were-occasional-characters-or/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [He was like me - a kindred spirit crazy enough to keep on trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/he-was-like-me-a-kindred-spirit-crazy-enough-to-keep-on-trying/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/to-be-led-by-a-fool-is-to-be-led-by-the-opportunists-who-control-the/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Helpless lust and unreasoning anxiety were just part of growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/helpless-lust-and-unreasoning-anxiety-were-just-part-of-growing-up/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Change is the one unavoidable, irresistible, ongoing reality of the universe. To us, that makes it the most powerful reality, and just another word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/change-is-the-one-unavoidable-irresistible-ongoing-reality-of-the/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) [Explore all 79 Octavia Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## More Conditional quotes > [If my love is without sacrifice, it is selfish. Such a love is barter, for there is exchange of love and devotion in return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-my-love-is-without-sacrifice-it-is-selfish-such-a-love-is-barter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald-2/integrity-is-not-a-conditional-word-it-doesn-t-blow-in-the-wind-or/) [John D MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald-2/) > [And the reason is found in the first lie - the lie which you hold as the truth about God - that God cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/and-the-reason-is-found-in-the-first-lie-the-lie-which-you-hold-as/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [It would be really nice to be able to put out releases that wouldn't be conditional upon an album format, and just put out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-would-be-really-nice-to-be-able-to-put-out-releases-that-wouldn-t/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [“How did you deal with it? How do you stop loving someone?” “The Creator didn’t make love conditional,” Jona said. “Love is what makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-v-brett/how-did-you-deal-with-it-how-do-you-stop-loving-someone-the-creator/) [Peter V. Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-v-brett/) > [A money-lender--he serves you in the present tense; he lends you in the conditional mood; keeps you in the conjunctive; and ruins you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/a-money-lender-he-serves-you-in-the-present-tense-he-lends-you-in-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Victorian feminists made the mistake of making membership of the sisterhood conditional on signing up to a particular policy agenda. Marxist feminists made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/victorian-feminists-made-the-mistake-of-making-membership-of-the/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [A relationship is an imaginative act, it's an act of creation. Someone said to me the other day that a relationship between a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/a-relationship-is-an-imaginative-act-it-s-an-act-of-creation-someone/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [Computer mediation seems to bathe action in a more conditional light: perhaps it happened; perhaps it didn't. Without the layeredrichness of direct sensory engagement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoshana-zuboff/computer-mediation-seems-to-bathe-action-in-a-more-conditional-light/) [Shoshana Zuboff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoshana-zuboff/) > [All love is conditional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-love-is-conditional/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Devotion means your involvement with life is no more conditional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/devotion-means-your-involvement-with-life-is-no-more-conditional/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [Both love of mankind, and respect for their rights are duties; the former however is only a conditional, the latter an unconditional, purely imperative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/both-love-of-mankind-and-respect-for-their-rights-are-duties-the/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Sharon has subverted the whole process by turning it into something sequential and conditional and, of course, by making himself the interpreter of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanan-ashrawi/sharon-has-subverted-the-whole-process-by-turning-it-into-something/) [Hanan Ashrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanan-ashrawi/) > [“Conditional rejections are not rejections—they are discussions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-de-becker/conditional-rejections-are-not-rejections-they-are-discussions/) [Gavin de Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-de-becker/) > [“Without injustices, the name of justice would mean what?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/without-injustices-the-name-of-justice-would-mean-what/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) [Browse all 78 Conditional quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditional/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. 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