String-theoretic unitary S-matrix at the threshold of black-hole production

Previous results on traps-planckian collisions in superstring theory are rewritten in terms of an explicitly unitary S-matrix whose range of validity covers a large region of the energy impact-parameter plane. Amusingly, as part of this region's border is approached, properties of the final state start resembling those expected from the evaporation of a black hole even well below its production threshold. More specifically, we conjecture that, in an energy window extending up to such a threshold, inclusive cross sections satisfy a peculiar "antiscaling" behaviour, seemingly preparing for a smooth transition to black-hole physics.