J.G. Ballard

Dissembling was so large a part of middle-class life that honesty and frankness seemed the most devious stratagem of all. The most outright lie was the closest one came to truth.

The bourgeois novel is the greatest enemy of truth and honesty that was ever invented.

Even their insistence on educating their children, the last reflex of any exploited group before it sank into submission, marked the end of their resistance.

Once it gets off the ground into space, all science fiction is fantasy.

Kandinski looked up. 'Do you read science fiction?' he asked matter-of-factly.'Not as a rule,' Ward admitted. When Kandinski said nothing he went on: 'Perhaps I__ too skeptical, but I can__ take it too seriously.'Kandinski pulled at a blister on his palm. 'No one suggests you should. What you mean is that you take it too seriously.'Accepting the rebuke with a smile at himself, Ward pulled out one of the magazines and sat down at a table next to Kandinski. On the cover was a placid suburban setting of snugly eaved houses, yew trees, and children__ bicycles. Spreading slowly across the roof-tops was an enormous pulpy nightmare, blocking out the sun behind it and throwing a weird phosphorescent glow over the roofs and lawns. 'You__e probably right,' Ward said, showing the cover to Kandinski. 'I__ hate to want to take that seriously.'("The Venus Hunters")

These people were the first to master a new kind of late twentieth-century life. They thrived on the rapid turnover of acquaintances, the lack of involvement with others, and the total self-sufficiency of lives which, needing nothing, were never disappointed.

Unhappy parents teach you a lesson that lasts a lifetime.