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"Loophole" is a 2,500-word short story by Arthur C. Clarke, about a confrontation between humans and Martians. The story was first published in the April, 1946 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

Plot

The story is told in the form of a series of official, bureaucratic memos, the first of which were written by the Martians. The Martians have detected a-bombs on Earth, and are alarmed. They become even more alarmed some time later when they detect rocket experiments. They send a fleet to the moon, and issue Earth an ultimatum—all rocket experiments must cease immediately, or the Martian fleet will destroy Earth's cities. Earth agrees to the demand, and all rocket experiments on Earth come to an end. The Martians then begin contemplating the long term threat from the Earthlings.

The story then switches to a series of official, bureaucratic Earth memos. It seems that Earth scientists eventually invented a high speed matter transporter. They used this technology, and not rockets, to launch a surprise attack on Mars, destroying the Martian civilization, and capturing the documents quoted above.

External Links

• Loophole at ISFDB.org

Additional Notes

This story has been reprinted in, among other places, Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 8 (1946).

To see specific information, such as anthologies including Loophole, please click the Loophole category link at the bottom of this article. To see other articles that reference Loophole, please click the What Links Here tool in the toolbox at the bottom of this page.