  On the basis of recently discovered connections between D-branes and black
holes, I show how the information puzzle is solved by superstring theory as the
fundamental theory of quantum gravity. The picture that emerges is that a
well-defined quantum state does not give rise to a black hole even if the
apparent distribution of energy, momenta, charges, etc. would predict one on
classical grounds. Indeed, geometry - general relativistic space time
description - is unwarranted at the quantum microstate level. It is the
decoherence leading to macrostates (average over degenerate microstates) that
provides - on the same token - the loss of quantum coherence, the emergence of
a space time description with causal properties and, thus, the formation of a
black hole and its Hawking evaporation
