Summary

By the end of World War II, fears of communism and Russian invasion or nuclear attacks reached a peak. Many Americans believed that a communist revolution in the U.S. was possible with propaganda spread by artists, actors, writers, and professors. Zoboi describes a “Fourth world from the sun. Red reflecting back to us. This color of war With green aliens—
Deformed heads and long bodies. Martians we call them. Strange monsters from space. Send our brave astronauts to Conquer and destroy” (102).

In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin claimed more than 200 members of Congress were communists. He fueled another wave of paranoia among the American public, creating McCarthyism, another name for the second Red Scare.

Octavia’s interest in science fiction grew partly from the multitude of space-focused shows and movies she watched as a young girl. While the Red Scare formed...