Science Fiction and Science History

Again I am faced by my own limitation in wondering 'what am I supposed to do with this?'  This time it is centered around fictional works and what they might mean for my history of science.  As we have seen they can incorporate science into the gritty corners of society, far away from any ivory tower, and make the scientist excruciatingly human (Cannery Row).  They can also use science as the substrate of a cultural mirror, in which the reversal of the image yields a subtle and subversive cutting social commentary (Sur).  Finally, they can weave stories of internal and external metamorphosis with new possibilities for change (Indra's Web).  Now having thought about these stories, I think I get it...