The Holes Around Mars

The Holes Around Mars

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2.5
(2 Reviews)
The Holes Around Mars by Jerome Bixby

Published:

1954

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The Holes Around Mars

By

2.5
(2 Reviews)
Science said it could not be,but there it was. And whoosh—look out—hereit is again!

Book Excerpt

ible in that direction--just miles of desert. So, after we'd stared at the holes for a while and they didn't go away, we headed back for the canal.

"Is there any possibility," asked Janus, as we walked, "that it could be a natural phenomenon?"

"There are no straight lines in nature," Randolph said, a little shortly. "That goes for a bunch of circles in a straight line. And for perfect circles, too."

"A planet is a circle," objected Janus.

"An oblate spheroid," Allenby corrected.

"A planet's orbit--"

"An ellipse."

Janus walked a few steps, frowning. Then he said, "I remember reading that there is something darned near a perfect circle in nature." He paused a moment. "Potholes." And he looked at me, as mineralogist, to corroborate.

"What kind of potholes?" I asked cautiously. "Do you mean where part of a limestone deposit has dissol--"

"No. I once read that when a glacier passes over a hard rock that's lying on some softer rock, it grinds t

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The one thing this story has going for it is that it holds your attention up until the very end. Unfortunately, the ending is abrupt and not very satisfying, and several loose ends are left lying around. Worth a read, but don't expect too much.
First explorers on Mars discover an enigma. They research and puzzle and eventually discover the answer with the help of native Martians. A longish pun.