Fiction is not a lie, but it is a variety of untruth

It's also a variety of truth, since it is impossible to invent something entirely unrelated to the reality you know. To say that fiction is enjoyable is half an answer to questions about why people engage with it..why did we evolve to enjoy it? Fiction is enjoyable,because we are wired to enjoy it, because it encapsulates and distills useful lessons, it is a means by which information is passed down generations. Likewise, we are wired up to enjoy play because it is a way of self-teaching practical skills.

The rationalist case against fiction seems to be based on its not being factually accurate, that is based on placing a higher value on facts than on values. Narratives aren't well optimised for transmitting facts, they are not replacements for encylopedias. Narratives are well optimised for general rules ("In situation X do Y") and values.

Rationalists seem to have a problem with human values, regarding them as more or less fixed, individualistic, and arbitrary, none of which is true. Nations and religions have their own narrative sot instill their own values.