I just finished reading commentary that spoke of the losses people are experiencing--not only loss of homes and livelihood and loved ones, but also the loss of the familiar and commonplace. The sense of disruption and dissociation is very strong.

As I read the essay I was thinking, “Science fiction authors have already imagined a world changed so drastically—underwater or burnt out or frozen up—and tried to imagine what life would be like afterward. What’s scary is that maybe it isn’t science fiction any more.” Reading science fiction of this sort I think helps buffer some of the emotional impact delivered by drastic events. It’s as though someone has already envisioned it and seen a way through to continue being human and humane. We won’t lose ourselves, even if we lose our way of life.