Star Trek 1010: Vulcan!

1010. Vulcan!

PUBLICATION: Bantam Books, September 1978

CREATORS: Kathleen Sky

STARDATE: 6454.4 (before Spock, Messiah!)

PLOT: The border between the Romulans and the Federation is changing, which will soon place the planet Arachnea in Romulan space. However, the Arachnians are suspected of being sentient creatures, and the Enterprise is sent to check on that possibility. If they are, then the Federation expects to defend their freedom from Romulan domination. An expert, Dr. Katalya Tremain, is picked up along the way. She has an irrational hatred of Vulcans, which doesn't stop McCoy from starting a love affair with her, though he can never quite pinpoint the source of her bigotry. Fighting with Spock all the way, the two are the only surviving members of the landing party after Arachnians attack their camp. The Enterprise can't beam them up because the Romulans have showed up. While the deadlock continues, Spock is gravely wounded and almost loses his sanity from the non-sentient, animal thoughts of an Arachnian he has mindmelded with. Tremain makes him mindmeld with her to regain it, and in the process, purges her own trauma regarding Vulcans. Kirk breaks the deadlock by leaving the planet to the Romulans, now sure of its lack of value.

CONTINUITY: The Romulan Neutral Zone is here revealed to be marked by a natural border - the flow of a galactic magnetic field. Commodore Stone (Court-Martial) ordered the mission. One Vulcan-hater aboard ship seems to espouse the beliefs of Terra Prime (Demons/Terra Prime). The Arachnians herd horta-like creatures to dig their tunnels (Devil in the Dark).

DIVERGENCES: Spock says Arachnae has less water than other worlds because it is Class M, but Class M is Earth's designation and we've got plenty of water. The cover features ants rather than spiders, and a a black rather than copper-haired Tremain.

SCREENSHOT OF THE WEEK - Possible look for an Arachnian (minus the armor)
REVIEW: Vulcan! started as a script outline approved by Gene Roddenberry and shelved when the show went off the air. Almost a decade later, Kathleen Sky got the chance to expand it into a novel. First impression: I was disappointed it didn't take place on Vulcan with a title like that. Putting that minor qualm aside, Sky proves to have a light, comic touch and a talent for crisp dialogue. There are moments when the cast isn't quite in character (Kirk especially), and I found all the sex talk and innuendo largely gratuitous, but those are my only real objections. Sky has a real interest in psychology which is used to good effect not only in McCoy's tests, but in the final, climactic mindmeld. I usually hate hate hate mind trip/hallucinatory/virtual reality/surreal sequences, but Dr. Tremain's bigotry is such an engaging mystery, you can't wait to see what's driving her. The Arachnians' level of intelligence is likewise a well-designed mystery, and the few descriptions of their ecology interesting. And the Romulans get some cultural color too.

Next for the SBG Book Club: Masks (TNG), Antimatter (DS9), Here There Be Monsters (SCE), The Starless World (TOS).