"The Hole Man" 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 by American writer

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are ''Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, ''The Mote in God's Eye'' ...

. It was first published in''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

''in January 1974. The story won the

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of ...

in 1975.

Plot summary

In this story, a team of explorers and scientists on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

encounter an alien base, in which there is a still-functional device, possibly for communication with gravity wave oscillation. One scientist (who previously made a silly and potentially fatal mistake with his space suit) believes at the center of the device is contained a micro (tiny with low mass)

black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...

, but his superior does not believe him and ridicules him at every opportunity. Tension mounts as the superior claims to not believe such black holes even exist and gleefully teases the scientist's flustered attempts to explain such things. During a heated argument with his superior, the scientist evidently turns off a containment field, releasing the black hole downward. The hole drops right through the superior, fatally injuring him with tidal forces and an incredibly small 'tunnel' it creates through his entire body as it falls towards the center of the planet. At a group meeting the scientist claims to have done so accidentally, not understanding the alien controls. Later privately, the scientist defends himself against talk of murdering the man with a most unusual murder weapon; several of the team including the superior had forcefully pronounced that the device could not possibly contain a black hole. Also that any conviction in a trial would require convincing the jury that such a thing could exist, that one was inside the machine, that the scientist understood the controls, that it was foreseeable that the black hole would be released and would harm the man, and intended murder. The story ends with scientist speculating the possibility whether the black hole will endanger the explorers as it consumes Mars, or whether danger will occur many years later, but possibly still during the lifetime of the scientist.

References

External links

The Hugo Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hole Man, The Short stories by Larry Niven Hugo Award for Best Short Story winning works 1975 short stories Science fiction short stories Short stories set on Mars