ɪn flˈeɪm wˈɔːɹz, dˈɜːɹi wˈʌndɚz, ɪn ɐn ˈɛseɪ tˈaɪɾəld "blˈæk tə ðə fjˈuːtʃɚ," wˈaɪ "sˌoʊ fjˈuː ˈæfɹɪkənɐmˈɛɹɪkənz ɹˈaɪt sˈaɪəns fˈɪkʃən, ɐ ʒˈɑːnɹə hˌuːz klˈoʊs ɛŋkˈaʊntɚz wɪððɪ ˈʌðɚ ðə stɹˈeɪndʒɚɹ ɪn ɐ stɹˈeɪndʒ lˈænd wʊd sˈiːm juːnˈiːkli sˈuːɾᵻd tə ðə kənsˈɜːnz ʌv ˈæfɹɪkənɐmˈɛɹɪkən nˈɑːvɪlˌɪsts?"
In Flame Wars, Dery wonders, in an essay titled "Black to the Future," why "so few African-Americans write science fiction, a genre whose close encounters with the Other – the stranger in a strange land – would seem uniquely suited to the concerns of African-American novelists?"