http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein There are alot of really great articles and websites devoted to Robert a. Heinlein. And there should be. Others may disagree, but MY big three Science Fiction authors would have to be Heinlein, Bradbury and Niven. Heinlein sparked an early outrage against any freedom snatchers out there wether they be in our government or another. I'm somewhere between Individualist Anarchist and Libertarian politically. In contrast to many who would like to share this label, I believe the Constituiton is a contract between the government and the American People. The development of this belief system was heavily influenced by books such as Starship Troopers, The Rolling Stones, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Farmer in the Sky, and Citizen of the Galaxy. Science fiction authors are vitally important to society. By writing about the future, especially in the Hard Science way Heinlein did, Inventions that might have been locked up with a sole provider or buried, never to surface again become part of the common property of us all. (An example, though somewhat mundane, is the water bed, written about in detail by Heinlein, thus now offered by anyone who wishes to make them). If you are reading this and have great ideas that you will probably never develop, write about them. Put them out there for someone else to pick up and run with. What good are they if they die with you? I am greatful that I was able to have free run of the library when I was young. I read so many things. Of course I had a note on file from my parents that I was allowed to read books from the "adult" section. Freedom is important, especially for young people. Go do something amazing. Mike