Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole

"Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole" is a 2024 science fiction short story by Isabel J. Kim, revisiting Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". It was first published in Clarkesworld.

Synopsis

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The story explores the ramifications of the repeated murder and replacement of the "load-bearing suffering child" by people who object to the Omelas system. The murderer of the fourth child is caught and reveals in his interrogation that he is an accelerationist trying to hurry the system towards collapse. The people of Omelas continue to select new load-bearing children and they continue to be murdered, calling into question the efficacy of the system. The narrator describes how visitors to Omelas are now thankful that they do not live in such a horrible place, and that they know it exists.

Reception

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"Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole" won the 2024 BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction,^[1] the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Short Story,^[2] and the 2025 Locus Award for Best Short Story.^[3] It was a finalist for the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Short Story^[4] and the 2025 Theodore Sturgeon Award.^[5]

It was selected for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy.^[6]^[7]

References

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↑ BSFA Awards 2024, by Mike Glyer, at File 770; published April 20, 2025; retrieved May 14, 2025
↑ Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved May 14, 2025
↑ 2025 Locus Awards Winners, at Locus Online; published June 21, 2025; retrieved August 17, 2025
↑ 2025 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved May 14, 2025
↑ "Loyer Wins 2025 Sturgeon Award". Locus. Retrieved 12 Oct 2026.
↑ Okorafor, Nnedi; Adams, John Joseph, eds. (2025). The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025. Mariner Books. ISBN 9780063441477.
↑ Wolfe, Gary. "The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025 by Nnedi Okorafor and John Joseph Adams". Locus. Retrieved 12 Oct 2026.

External links

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Text of the story, at Clarkesworld

v t e Locus Award for Best Short Story
1971-1979	"The Region Between" by Harlan Ellison (1971) "The Queen of Air and Darkness" by Poul Anderson (1972) "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1973) "The Deathbird" by Harlan Ellison (1974) "The Day Before the Revolution" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975) "Croatoan" by Harlan Ellison (1976) "Tricentennial" by Joe Haldeman (1977) "Jeffty Is Five" by Harlan Ellison (1978) "Count the Clock that Tells the Time" by Harlan Ellison (1979)
1980-1989	"The Way of Cross and Dragon" by George R. R. Martin (1980) "Grotto of the Dancing Deer" by Clifford D. Simak (1981) "The Pusher" by John Varley (1982) "Sur" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1983) "Beyond the Dead Reef" by James Tiptree Jr. (1984) "Salvador" by Lucius Shepard (1985) "With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole" by Harlan Ellison (1986) "Robot Dreams" by Isaac Asimov (1987) "Angel" by Pat Cadigan (1988) "Eidolons" by Harlan Ellison (1989)
1990-1999	"Lost Boys" by Orson Scott Card (1990) "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson (1991) "Buffalo" by John Kessel (1992) "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis (1993) "Close Encounter" by Connie Willis (1994) "None So Blind" by Joe Haldeman (1995) "The Lincoln Train" by Maureen F. McHugh (1996) "Gone" by John Crowley (1997) "Itsy Bitsy Spider" by James Patrick Kelly (1998) "Maneki Neko" by Bruce Sterling (1999)
2000-2009	"macs" by Terry Bisson (2000) "The Missing Mass" by Larry Niven (2001) "The Bones of the Earth" by Ursula K. Le Guin (2002) "October in the Chair" by Neil Gaiman (2003) "Closing Time" by Neil Gaiman (2004) "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" by Neil Gaiman (2005) "Sunbird" by Neil Gaiman (2006) "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" by Neil Gaiman (2007) "A Small Room in Koboldtown" by Michael Swanwick (2008) "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang (2009)
2010-2019	"An Invocation of Incuriosity" by Neil Gaiman (2010) "The Thing About Cassandra" by Neil Gaiman (2011) "The Case of Death and Honey" by Neil Gaiman (2012) "Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard (2013) "The Road of Needles" by Caitlín R. Kiernan (2014) "The Truth About Owls" by Amal El-Mohtar (2015) "Cat Pictures Please" by Naomi Kritzer (2016) "Seasons of Glass and Iron" by Amal El-Mohtar (2017) "The Martian Obelisk" by Linda Nagata (2018) "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by P. Djèlí Clark (2019)
2020-present	"The Bookstore at the End of America" by Charlie Jane Anders (2020) "Little Free Library" by Naomi Kritzer (2021) "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather" by Sarah Pinsker (2022) "Rabbit Test" by Samantha Mills (2023) "How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub" by P. Djèlí Clark (2024) "Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole" by Isabel J. Kim (2025) "In My Country" by Thomas Ha (2026)

v t e Nebula Award for Best Short Story
1965–1979	""Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison (1965) "The Secret Place" by Richard McKenna (1966) "Aye, and Gomorrah" by Samuel R. Delany (1967) "The Planners" by Kate Wilhelm (1968) "Passengers" by Robert Silverberg (1969) "Good News from the Vatican" by Robert Silverberg (1971) "When It Changed" by Joanna Russ (1972) "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" by James Tiptree Jr. (1973) "The Day Before the Revolution" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974) "Catch That Zeppelin!" by Fritz Leiber (1975) "A Crowd of Shadows" by Charles L. Grant (1976) "Jeffty Is Five" by Harlan Ellison (1977) "Stone" by Edward Bryant (1978) "giANTS" by Edward Bryant (1979)
1980–1999	"Grotto of the Dancing Deer" by Clifford D. Simak (1980) "The Bone Flute" by Lisa Tuttle (refused, 1981) "A Letter from the Clearys" by Connie Willis (1982) "The Peacemaker" by Gardner Dozois (1983) "Morning Child" by Gardner Dozois (1984) "Out of All Them Bright Stars" by Nancy Kress (1985) "Tangents" by Greg Bear (1986) "Forever Yours, Anna" by Kate Wilhelm (1987) "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge" by James K. Morrow (1988) "Ripples in the Dirac Sea" by Geoffrey A. Landis (1989) "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson (1990) "Ma Qui" by Alan Brennert (1991) "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis (1992) "Graves" by Joe Haldeman (1993) "A Defense of the Social Contracts" by Martha Soukup (1996) "Death and the Librarian" by Esther Friesner (1995) "A Birthday" by Esther Friesner (1996) "Sister Emily's Lightship" by Jane Yolen (1997) "Thirteen Ways to Water" by Bruce Holland Rogers (1998) "The Cost of Doing Business" by Leslie What (1999)
2000–2019	"macs" by Terry Bisson (2000) "The Cure for Everything" by Severna Park (2001) "Creature" by Carol Emshwiller (2002) "What I Didn't See" by Karen Joy Fowler (2003) "Coming to Terms" by Eileen Gunn (2004) "I Live With You" by Carol Emshwiller (2005) "Echo" by Elizabeth Hand (2006) "Always" by Karen Joy Fowler (2007) "Trophy Wives" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (2008) "Spar" by Kij Johnson (2009) "How Interesting: A Tiny Man" by Harlan Ellison / "Ponies" by Kij Johnson (2010) "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu (2011) "Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard (2012) "If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love" by Rachel Swirsky (2013) "Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon (2014) "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" by Alyssa Wong (2015) "Seasons of Glass and Iron" by Amal El-Mohtar (2016) "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™" by Rebecca Roanhorse (2017) "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by P. Djèlí Clark (2018) "Give the Family My Love" by A. T. Greenblatt (2019)
2020–present	"Open House on Haunted Hill" by John Wiswell (2020) "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather" by Sarah Pinsker (2021) "Rabbit Test" by Samantha Mills (2022) "Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200" by R. S. A. Garcia (2023) "Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole" by Isabel J. Kim (2024) "Laser Eyes Ain't Everything" by Effie Seiberg (2025)

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References

External links