Science fiction has always been about humanity’s quest to understand itself. By creating ever-more-advanced technology, humans take on the roles of both creator and creation, remaking themselves until, pushed into perfectionism, they fail. Ancient Greek myths reflect this pattern: Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down each time, Icarus’s wings melting when he flies too close to the sun, and Prometheus stealing fire and being punished by the gods with eternal torment. Twentieth-century science fiction draws on these myths in its consideration of the risks associated with humanity’s use of technology to grasp at powers traditionally reserved for the divine, and the punishment for hubris often takes the form of retribution, justice, or simple irony.

In the mid-20th century, the most commercially successful and critically lauded science fiction writers—including the so-called “Big Three” consisting of Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke—were men, and their work often centered male protagonists while relegating women to roles as love interests, sidekicks, or plot devices. This aligns with the common 20th-century notion that technology is male centric and that the role of creator is inherently masculine.