Project Gutenberg 2010-10-04 Public domain in the USA. 139 Aycock, Roger D. 1914 2004 Dee, Roger Starr, John Francis, Dick Francis, Richard D. Problem on Balak Produced from the September 1953 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Problem on Balak" by Roger D. Aycock is a science fiction story published in the early 1950s. The narrative focuses on a small crew of space explorers who encounter an unusual alien society on a remote planet called Balak, known for its remarkable race of eight-armed native surgeons. The crux of the story revolves around an intriguing dilemma the explorers must solve involving two identical Terrans, leading to themes of identity and self-understanding. The plot follows the crew members as they land on Balak and swiftly encounter its inhabitants, who present them with a test: they must determine which of two identical Terran men is the original and which is a synthetic duplicate, created by the Balakians. This test leads to a series of humorous and intense moments as the crew grapples with the challenge under a time constraint. Ultimately, their journey becomes not just about solving an external problem but also reflects their deeper understanding of their own species, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and the complexities of identity in both human and alien forms. The resolution of their dilemma hinges on a clever twist, showcasing Aycock's blend of humor and insight within the sci-fi genre. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 79.7 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Identity -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 55914 2025-08-14T03:43:16.964344 text/html 52402 2010-10-04T08:26:08 text/html 178947 2025-08-14T03:43:21.690318 application/epub+zip 177739 2025-08-14T03:43:19.468342 application/epub+zip 80674 2025-08-14T03:43:18.364452 application/epub+zip 271178 2025-08-14T03:43:23.356327 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 264488 2025-08-14T03:43:21.024303 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 151968 2022-09-15T12:07:04.980058 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 47957 2025-08-14T03:43:16.691335 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 47845 2010-10-04T08:26:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19664 2025-08-14T03:43:23.483334 application/rdf+xml 13660 2025-08-14T03:43:18.851321 image/jpeg 3667 2025-08-14T03:43:18.607312 image/jpeg 104389 2010-10-04T08:26:08 application/octet-stream application/zip 18649 2010-10-04T08:26:08 application/octet-stream application/zip 174335 2025-08-14T03:43:16.973346 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia