…or probably the Epstein files. Not US-ian, so cannot confirm, but given the state of things my assumption makes sense.

It’s never either-or. Sometimes, it is neither.

IMHO, a good Sci-Fi story has a well built world against which a story will play. I loved the ‘Parable’ series by Octavia Butler. The science level is basically the sameas ours (heck, it even plays ‘now’) and is not particularly important to the story itself. However, this series is one of the best dystopian Sci-Fi series I have ever read.