02540cam a22003853u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000280011324500180014126400510015930000470021033600260025733700260028333800360030949000620034550000310040750801080043852012920054653400450183865300200188365300180190365300260192165300210194765300270196865300350199583000620203085600430209299900190213560713UtSlPG20260610134411.0mcr n260607r2019||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aSohl, Jerry,d1913-200210aCounterweight 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2019  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aProduced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1959  aRelease date is 2019-11-17  aProduced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net  a"Counterweight" by Jerry Sohl is a science fiction novel that was published in the late 1950s. Set during a time of burgeoning space exploration, the story focuses on the societal dynamics and psychological pressures faced by individuals aboard a space vessel traveling to a new planet, Antheon. The narrative delves into themes of human nature, particularly the darker impulses that may arise under extreme conditions.  The novel follows Keith Ellason, a trained observer, who is sent aboard the "Weblor II" to document the colonists' journey to Antheon. As tensions rise among the passengers, triggered by a series of thefts and assaults by a figure known as Red Mask, Ellason witnesses the disintegration of order and the emergence of violence amid the confinement of space. In a twist, it is revealed that the chaos was orchestrated by a crew member, Harrel Critten, who poses as Red Mask, a scapegoat designed to absorb the passengers' frustrations and fears. This engineered conflict serves to prevent violence among the colonists, putting to the test the concepts of control and societal stability in the face of isolation. Ultimately, the book critiques human behavior and the fragility of social structures when placed under duress. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aScience fiction  aShort stories  aPsychological fiction  aCrime -- Fiction  aJournalists -- Fiction  aInterstellar travel -- Fiction 0aProduced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 195940uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60713  c101539d101539