The author reviews the typical myths of science fiction, concerned with problems of space and time, the individual's sense of reality, prolonged isolation, etc. The transformation of man's view of the universe, and the imminence of its practical repercussions, has stimulated fears of unimagined physical dangers and psychological loss of identity. Science fiction reveals a regression to autistic levels and primitive defences unparalleled even in the stories of demigods and witches of former times. One basic contrast, for instance, is that the stories of science fiction are largely sexless.