"The Secret Sense" 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 uni ...

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 ...

by American writer Isaac Asimov published in ''

Cosmic Stories ''Cosmic Stories'' (also known as ''Cosmic Science-Fiction'') and ''Stirring Science Stories'' were two American pulp science fiction magazines that published a total of seven issues in 1941 and 1942. Both ''Cosmic'' and ''Stirring'' were edi ...

'' in March 1941. It takes place against the background of an ancient and highly developed culture living in large underground cities on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

Publication

Asimov wrote the story in 1939 and submitted to the magazine ''

Astounding SF ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', but was rejected by its editor John W. Campbell, Jr. It could not be placed by Asimov's agent, Frederik Pohl, and eventually it was taken for no payment by a new and short-lived magazine, ''

'' in March 1941, although Asimov did ask for a token payment of $5 from the editor,

Donald A. Wollheim Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearso ...

, or else for the story to be published under a pseudonym, before the story was published. This was requested on the grounds that "even though the story might be worth nothing, my name was worth something". Wollheim reluctantly agreed to a payment of $5, commenting that it was an effective word rate of $2.50 per word, since he was paying only for the use of Asimov's name. Asimov described the letter from Wollheim with the $5 payment as "needlessly nasty". He later commented to Damon Knight that he might have just given Wollheim the $5 back in cash after receiving the check, but that the option never occurred to him at the time. The story was reprinted in the collection ''The Early Asimov'' in 1972.

Plot summary

Lincoln Fields, a rich Earthling from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

living on Mars, is discussing the merits of the highly developed sense of sight and hearing that humans possess, which the Martians do not. Garth Jan, his Martian friend, counters with the merits of the senses that the Martians possess, and unintentionally lets slip that there is also one secret sense. Fields asks him to give it to him but Garth Jan refuses at that time. Six months later, using Martian social law in an unethical fashion, Fields forces him to let him feel this sense and Jan reluctantly agrees. Fields is injected by a Martian physician with a

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are require ...

extract that will activate the sense in him, but only for five minutes, after which it will be unusable ever again. Jan's music teacher commences playing a musical composition on a Martian instrument, the ''portwem''. After a few minutes, Fields starts to experience the wonders of the portwem, first with colours and sounds and odours all directly affecting the senses, which transition into a new, indescribable sense. He is devastated, as Jan knew he would be, when his time is up and he loses the ability to experience the secret sense.

References

External links

*
"The Secret Sense" etext on Archive.org.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Sense, The 1941 short stories Short stories by Isaac Asimov Science fiction short stories Works originally published in American magazines Works originally published in science fiction magazines Short stories set on Mars