Toronto’s venerable Bakka-Phoenix Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookstore is apparently staying closed for now even as the city allows some retailers to reopen. Assistant manager Rebecca Lovatt explained why to a local newspaper:

Science fiction and fantasy readers – and readers in general – are pretty astute and they’ve seen what can happen in the worst case scenarios…

For further explanation, the store posted this quote in their window:

Science fiction is important because it fights the natural notion that there’s something permanent about things the way they are right now.

Isaac Asimov

So not only does reading science fiction give you perspective, it also prepares you for change.

It’s not escapism, it’s survival training.