"giANTS" is a 1979 science fiction short story by Edward Bryant. It was first published in Analog Science Fiction.giANTS at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Synopsis
An elderly scientist explains why he hates ants, and why he is participating in a secret government project to increase the size of invasive ants. He explains that the "square-cube law" dictates that an ever-increasingly size-mutated ant will at some point collapse under its own mass.
Reception "giANTS" won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 1979,1979 Nebula Awards, at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved May 31, 2017 and was nominated for the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.1980 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved May 31, 2017 Gary Westfahl has noted that the story is based on the fact that giant insects "would be unable to walk or sustain themselves".The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders, Volume 1, edited by Gary Westfahl; page 245; published 2005 by Greenwood Publishing Group
References