Cumulative Record. Chapter 24: The Flight from the Laboratory. Quote 19

We are living in an age in which science fiction is coming true. The thrilling spectacle of man-made satellites has turned our eyes toward outer space. What we shall find there only time will tell. Meanwhile, we are confronted by far more important problems on the surface of the earth. A possible solution is in the spirit of another kind of science fiction: the eighteenth-century utopian dream of Perfectionism with its basic contention that, if human nature is determined by environment and if environment can be changed, human nature can be changed. Like an artificial satellite or a rocket to the moon, this was once a foolish dream. But science moves forward at a breathless pace. (pp. 375-376)