content: In reading the Parables I couldn't help but think that the science fiction label put on these novels is entirely inaccurate. Butler's "future" is already here -- the walled communities, the police harassing the homeless, the gangs of vigilantes, the cults in the hills, the Christian fundementalism spurring on reactionary conservatism... strip away your blinders and it's all sitting there in front of you. Thank you for giving me back my sight, Ms. Butler, my Shaper. Now, the question is, what will I do with what I've learned? <smile>