Science fiction is a dialogue, a tennis match, in which the Idea is volleyed from one side of the net to the other. Ridiculous to say that someone 'stole' an idea: no, no, a thousand times no. The point is the volley, and how it's carried, and what statement is made by the answering 'statement.' In other words — if Burroughs initiates a time-gate and says it works randomly, and then Norton has time gates confounded with the Perilous Seat, the Siege Perilous of the Round Table, and locates it in a bar on a rainy night — do you see both the humor and the volley in the tennis match? . C.J. Cherryh
About This Quote

In his essay, "Science Fiction is a Dialogue," Ray Bradbury explained that science fiction works in dialogue with its readers. The goal of the writer is to get an idea across to the reader, but the goal of the reader is to get it back across to the writer. The writer creates the idea, and the reader has an opportunity to respond or comment on that idea.

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