One-point extensions of generalized hexagons and octagons

In this note, we prove the uniqueness of the one-point extension S of a generalized hexagon of order 2 and prove the nonexistence of such an extension S of any other finite generalized hexagon of classical order, different from the one of order 2, and of the known finite generalized octagons provided the following property holds: for any three points x, y and z of S, the graph-theoretic distance from y to z in the derived generalized hexagon S-x is the same as the distance from x to z in S-y. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.