For the second concern i like the two Hainish Circle books i have read, “The dispossessed” and “The left hand of darkness”. They mention that something like earth exists, but it’s not even a plot point, it’s just another planet. But then again these books are social commentar / thought experiment first and foremost, they just happen to be in a Sci-Fi setting.
This is simply not true. I had so many issues with all sorts of different games (Xcom 2 and elden ring, just the latest two examples) that I just switched back to windows after using Linux for years.
Proton is great, and works great for smaller and less demanding games, but if you’re looking at AAA titles it’s not there yet.