"The Hazing" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

. It was first published in the October 1942 issue of ''

Thrilling Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...

'' and reprinted in the 1972 collection ''

The Early Asimov ''The Early Asimov or, Eleven Years of Trying'' is a 1972 collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov. Each story is accompanied by commentary by the author, who gives details about his life and his literary achievements in the period in which he w ...

''. Discussing the story in ''The Early Asimov'', the author noted that it is set in the same fictional universe as his earlier stories "

Homo Sol "Homo Sol" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the September 1940 issue of '' Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the 1972 collection ''The Early Asimov''. It deals with the prop ...

" and " The Imaginary", but featured different characters. "The Hazing" was the thirtieth story written by Asimov, and the twenty-eighth to be published. Due to the peculiar workings of the science fiction magazine publishing industry, the story appeared a month before "The Imaginary". When putting together ''The Early Asimov'', Asimov confessed he was unable to remember writing "The Hazing, or any details of the story, even after reading it.

Plot summary

In the ''Homo Sol'' stories, the Galactic Federation has developed psychology into a

hard science Hard science and soft science are colloquial terms used to compare scientific fields on the basis of perceived methodological rigor, exactitude, and objectivity. Roughly speaking, the formal sciences & natural sciences are considered "hard", wher ...

, with quantitative equations and solutions for behavior. Consequently, master psychologists are important and highly regarded. A few years after the people of Homo Sol have joined the Galactic Federation, a group of students from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

arrive to study at

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of th ...

University. Shortly thereafter, they are kidnapped as an

upperclassman A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

's prank (

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

) and deposited on a planet inhabited only by primitive people, who are quarantined until they develop

hyperspace In science fiction, hyperspace (also known as nulspace, subspace, overspace, jumpspace and similar terms) is a concept relating to dimension#Additional dimensions, higher dimensions as well as parallel universes in fiction, parallel universe ...

travel. According to Federation psychology, the students should panic and embarrass themselves when they are captured. However, by the use of "primitive" psychology the Solarians persuade the natives that they are in fact gods from beyond the stars. When the kidnappers return, they are also captured by the natives, but are rescued by the Earth people.

References

Sources

*Asimov, Isaac, "The Hazing" in ''The Early Asimov'' .

External links

* Short stories by Isaac Asimov 1942 short stories Works originally published in Wonder Stories {{1940s-sf-story-stub