"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 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 "Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole" won the 2024 BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction,BSFA Awards 2024, by Mike Glyer, at File 770; published April 20, 2025; retrieved May 14, 2025 the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 2024,Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved May 14, 2025 and the 2025 Locus Award for Best Short Story.2025 Locus Awards Winners, at Locus Online; published June 21, 2025; retrieved August 17, 2025 It was also nominated for the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.2025 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved May 14, 2025
It was selected for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy.
See also Mere addition paradox Negative utilitarianism
References
External links Text of the story, at Clarkesworld