02643cam a22003613u 4500 77510 UtSlPG 20260610134809.0 m cr n 260607r20251956utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PS Wallace, F. L. (Floyd L.), 1915-2004 The assistant self Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Produced from Fantastic Universe, March 1956 (Vol. 5, No. 2.). Release date is 2025-12-19 Sean/IB and Tom Trussel The assistant self by F. L. Wallace is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It explores an empath’s entanglement with corporate power, identity, and ethical limits as a giant spaceflight firm hunts for a “perfect rocket motor” that could open interstellar travel. Hal Talbot, gifted with extraordinary empathy, is recruited by executive Evan Soleri to discreetly uncover sabotage at TRANSPORTATION’s rocket project. A thermal bomb kills Soleri as he saves Talbot, and under the shock Talbot’s empathy collapses the boundary between them, enabling him to assume Soleri’s identity so completely he even passes fingerprint checks. Posing as Soleri, he works with Randy, a “secretary” who is actually a psychologist, and navigates tense meetings with company president Andrew Taft and the famed scientist Fred Frescura. Talbot ultimately discovers Frescura is the saboteur, convinced humanity is not ready for the stars; in a final act, Frescura triggers multiple thermal capsules, destroying the main shop and killing himself. The trauma breaks Talbot’s assumed persona and he reverts to himself. Randy reveals she had seen through the impersonation yet trusted his motives, and with the company reeling but still standing, the story closes with Talbot poised to take an honest leadership role—his empathy now tempered by hard-won insight. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: New York: King-Size Publications, Inc., 1956 Science fiction Identity -- Fiction Hunter, Mel, 1927-2004 Produced from Fantastic Universe, March 1956 (Vol. 5, No. 2.). https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Universe_v05n02_1956-03/page/n3/mode/2up https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77510 118230 118230