ex machina star trek novel

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Ex Machina is a Pocket TOS novel written by Christopher L. Bennett . Published by Pocket Books , it was first released in December 2004 .

• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Cover gallery
• 4 Characters
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Summary [ ]

Memorable quotes [ ].

" Explain to me why the designers felt it necessary to install a – a splatter guard in front of the console! "

" Do I sound like the computer to you? "

" Yes, Mother. " " Honestly, Leonard. Do I look like somebody's mother? "

Background information [ ]

• This is the first full-length Star Trek novel from author Christopher L. Bennett.
• The novel is a sequel to both " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky " and Star Trek: The Motion Picture .
• One of the reasons Bennett wanted to explore the post- Motion Picture era was a desire to follow up on the epiphany reached by Spock . He noted that " Most novels […] tended to gloss over it, to portray Spock as essentially the same person he'd been in the series. I felt an opportunity was being missed. " Bennett was also keen to explore the unique style of the film, along with the suggestion of a multi-species crew that the background performers indicated. ( Voyages of Imagination , pp. 146-148)
• In looking at the effects of the Enterprise on the Fabrini , Bennett recognized that exposing the nature of the Oracle and Yonada itself would not have been a simple conclusion, and saw parallels with Earth history: " I figured there would be numerous sects arising among the people of post- Oracle Yonada , and that they'd be jockeying for the lead in defining a new direction for their society, and competing with those who embraced a more secular, Federation-type view. This resonated with the things I'd learned in college about the patterns that have been shaping Mideast affairs for the past couple of centuries, and I wanted to tell a story that illustrated those issues. ( Voyages of Imagination , pp. 146-148)
• Ex Machina was named by Star Trek screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman as among their favorite Star Trek novels. [1]
• Bennett has noted that he intended Ex Machina to be the first in a series, exploring a second five-year mission for Kirk and the crew (which had previously been a concept explored by the Pocket TOS series in the mid-1980s). However, although he and the Pocket editors remained interested doing so, and the novel was critically acclaimed, the marketing department did not feel the sales of Ex Machina could support further novels. [2] [3] His Mere Anarchy novella, The Darkness Drops Again , and DTI novel Forgotten History have explored elements of that era.
• A Czech translated edition was released in 2021 by Laser-books . It was translated into Czech by Jakub Marek. The Czech cover art was made by Jakub Schejbal. [4]

Cover gallery [ ]

Characters [ ]

References [ ]

External links [ ].

• Ex Machina at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Author annotations
• Character's film appearances (X)
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 2 Jamaharon

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Table of Contents

About the book, about the author.

Christopher L. Bennett is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, with bachelor’s degrees in physics and history from the University of Cincinnati. He has written such critically acclaimed  Star Trek  novels as  Ex Machina, The Buried Age,  the Titan novels  Orion’s Hounds  and  Over a Torrent Sea , the two Department of Temporal Investigations novels  Watching the Clock  and  Forgotten History , and the Enterprise novels  Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures ,  Tower of Babel ,  Uncertain Logic , and  Live By the Code , as well as shorter works including stories in the anniversary anthologies  Constellations, The Sky’s the Limit, Prophecy  and  Change , and  Distant Shores . Beyond Star Trek, he has penned the novels  X Men: Watchers on the Walls  and  Spider Man: Drowned in Thunder . His original work includes the hard science fiction superhero novel  Only Superhuman , as well as several novelettes in  Analog  and other science fiction magazines.

Product Details

• Publisher: Gallery Books (May 2, 2020)
• Length: 384 pages
• ISBN13: 9781982159948

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Ex Machina (Star Trek: The Original Series)

Description.

An intense “missing” tale from the beginning of the Star Trek movie era, when the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise was first reunited and confronting issues of both nature of God and artificial intelligence. Following the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the reunited crew of the Starship Enterprise revisits a loose end from their earlier adventures: the resettlement of refugee colonists from a destroyed planet, whose lives have depended so long on the godlike artificial intelligence that guided them through space, they ability to survive without it is now in doubt. At the same time, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, back together now after almost three years, must relearn how to work together in a story that examines this iconic relationship as never before.

About the Author

Christopher L. Bennett is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, with bachelor’s degrees in physics and history from the University of Cincinnati. He has written such critically acclaimed  Star Trek  novels as  Ex Machina, The Buried Age,  the Titan novels  Orion’s Hounds  and  Over a Torrent Sea , the two Department of Temporal Investigations novels  Watching the Clock  and  Forgotten History , and the Enterprise novels  Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures ,  Tower of Babel ,  Uncertain Logic , and  Live By the Code , as well as shorter works including stories in the anniversary anthologies  Constellations, The Sky’s the Limit, Prophecy  and  Change , and  Distant Shores . Beyond Star Trek, he has penned the novels  X Men: Watchers on the Walls  and  Spider Man: Drowned in Thunder . His original work includes the hard science fiction superhero novel  Only Superhuman , as well as several novelettes in  Analog  and other science fiction magazines.

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Ex Machina (Star Trek: the Original Series) Mass Market Paperback – 1 Jan. 2005

• Part of series Star Trek: The Original
• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Pocket Books
• Publication date 1 Jan. 2005
• Dimensions 10.64 x 1.78 x 17.15 cm
• ISBN-10 0743492854
• ISBN-13 978-0743492850
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books; Reprint edition (1 Jan. 2005)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0743492854
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743492850
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.64 x 1.78 x 17.15 cm

About the author

Christopher l. bennett.

Christopher L. Bennett is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, with a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in History from the University of Cincinnati. A fan of science and science fiction since age five, he has spent the past two decades selling original short fiction to magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact (home of his "Hub" series of comedy adventures), BuzzyMag, and Galaxy's Edge. Since 2003, he has been one of Pocket Books' most prolific and popular authors of Star Trek tie-in fiction, including the epic Next Generation prequel The Buried Age, the Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations series, and the Star Trek: Enterprise -- Rise of the Federation series. He has also written two Marvel Comics novels, X-Men: Watchers on the Walls and Spider-Man: Drowned in Thunder. His original novel Only Superhuman, perhaps the first hard science fiction superhero novel, was voted Library Journal's SF/Fantasy Debut of the Month for October 2012. Other tales in the same universe can be found in Among the Wild Cybers and the upcoming Arachne's Crime, both from eSpec Books. His Hub stories are available in two collections from Mystique Press.

Christopher's homepage, fiction annotations, and blog can be found at christopherlbennett.wordpress.com. His Patreon page with original fiction and reviews is at https://www.patreon.com/christopherlbennett, and his Facebook author page is at www.facebook.com/ChristopherLBennettAuthor.

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ISBN: 0743492854

ISBN13: 9780743492850

(Part of the Star Trek: The Original Series Series )

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Format: Mass Market Paperback

Condition: Good

Book Overview

THE HUMAN ADVENTURE CONTINUES. In the aftermath of the astonishing events of Star Trek(R) The Motion Picture, the captain and officers of the U.S.S. Enterprise remain haunted by their encounter with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

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Best star trek novel i've read in a long, long time, star trek for star trek lovers, a star trek novel that's been a long time coming, one of the best star trek novels in a long time, finally a true sequel to events of the first star trek movie, popular categories.

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Star Trek: Ex Machina

• 4.0 • 29 Ratings

Publisher Description

In the aftermath of the astonishing events of Star Trek®: The Motion Picture, the captain and officers of the U.S.S. Enterprise remain haunted by their encounter with the vast artificial intelligence of V'Ger...and by the sacrifice and ascension of their friend and shipmate, Willard Decker As James T. Kirk, Spock, and Leonard McCoy attempt to cope with the personal fallout of that ordeal, a chapter from their mutual past is reopened, raising troubling new questions about the relationship among God, Man, and AI. On the recently settled world of Daran IV, the former refugees of the Fabrini worldship Yonada are being divided by conflicting ideologies, as those clinging to their theocratic past vie with visionaries of a future governed by reason alone. Now, echoes of the V'Ger encounter reverberate among the Enterprise officers who years ago overthrew the Oracle, the machine-god that controlled Yonada. Confronting the consequences of those actions, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy also face choices that will decide the fate of a civilization, and which may change them forever.

Customer Reviews

Nice follow up.

It’s a little slow at first, but then it grabs you to the point where you can’t put it down.

A great TOS story!

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy return for another adventure, and continue to develop as people. A great story that continues a story arc started by one of the original episodes. I couldn’t put it down! Great book!

A sure cure for insomnia

To me, it was an agonizing crawl. I have read over 50 Star Trek novels, this book, however, was very hard to follow. References to many other Star Trek books that he would have to recap to show the relevance and attempting to skim through many alien species, but never giving us a full insight to them. It bounce back-and-forth and seem to be told by 30 different characters. It was not interesting until the last 100 pages and then only mildly so. Night after night, I would pick the book up and find myself so bored after 10 pages that it just put me to sleep. I have no desire or the skill to be a writer, so I can’t tell you how hard it was for the author to write this, it’s just my opinion. Before reading this I had finished reading two of Orson Scott Cards Quintents I found them fascinating. I’ve read 80% of Steven Kings works and I can’t tell you how many times I would take a book to bed only to have my alarm go off and realize I had read the entire night through.

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Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

• View history

• 1 Description
• 3.1.1 Enterprise
• 3.1.2 Fabrini
• 3.1.3 Creators
• 3.1.4 Others
• 3.2 Starships and vehicles
• 3.3 Locations
• 3.4 Races and cultures
• 3.5 States and organizations
• 3.6 Science and classification
• 3.7 Ranks and titles
• 3.8 Other references
• 4.1 Related media
• 4.2 Background
• 4.3 Behind the scenes
• 4.4.1 Timeline
• 4.5 External links

Description [ ]

Summary [ ].

Freed of the Oracle’s totalitarian rule, the Fabrini are building a new civilization on Daran IV, which they call Lorina—Fabrini for “promise.” However, Natira’s new secular state meets with great opposition from the devout traditionalist majority who believe their governor is too heavily influenced by "Fedraysha" interlopers. Though factionalized, the traditionalists are warily allied under Rishala—the pacifistic new high priestess—on one side, and Dovraku—a terrorist leader who sees V’Ger’s ascendance over Earth as a sign that the Oracle will soon be reborn—on the other. Narrowly surviving an assassination attempt and with public unrest rising, Natira calls her ex-husband McCoy and his Enterprise colleagues for help.

Though happily settling back into the captain’s chair, Kirk struggles to live with the personal fallout of the V’Ger crisis. While the general public and the Fleet at large shower him in unwelcome “cosmic hero” worship, many of the Decker loyalists among his crew suffer a lack of confidence in their new captain’s tactics and reputation. Kirk himself realizes that his headstrong nature got the better of him in ousting Decker and he suffers some self-doubt. Spock faces his own demons in integrating his long-suppressed emotions with logic, and experiences prejudice from those Vulcans who scorn the V'tosh ka'tur and their many historic failures. McCoy finds himself outdated and unable to match Dr. Chapel’s widespread knowledge of the Enterprise ’s diverse new crew. He dreads reuniting with Natira, understanding that he never loved her and only married her because of his desperate, terminal situation.

The Enterprise is intercepted and escorted to Lorina by the Shesshran, a territorial and highly individualistic pterodactyl-like species native to Daran V. They have only a grudging accord with their new Fabrini neighbors and are wary of the technologically-advanced but stingy Federation. On Lorina, most of the ignorant population still worships all computers, regardless of complexity, as divine. They fear Kirk’s status as a godkiller (the Oracle, Landru, Vaal, etc.); they distrust Natira for her betrayal of the Oracle; and they reject Natira’s efforts to educate the population and to assimilate myriad Federation cultures into (and at the expense of) their own as attacks on their religion.

Kirk meets with the allegedly dangerous Rishala to negotiate a peaceful solution and finds her to be surprisingly reasonable and insightful. The new high priestess seeks truths beyond the physical world and she scolds Kirk for sticking his head into the Fabrini’s affairs, changing their entire way of life, and then abruptly leaving without dealing with the repercussions. Simultaneously, she encourages him to restore his self-confidence by doing what he knows to be right. Rishala represents the devout nonviolent majority of Fabini and fears for the hardliners who follow Dovraku. Despite the common threat to their religion and their tenuous alliance, Rishala condemns Dovaku’s terrorist tactics and grows ever more wary of the danger he poses. One of her students, Tavero, is even swayed by Dovraku into bombing the school, killing himself and many other children. Rishala eventually realizes that the traditionalists fear this “ally” more than their secular enemy and she pushes for a peace summit between all parties.

Spock is tasked with researching the Fabrini’s incomplete and fragmentary history, filling in the data lost to time, illiteracy, and revolution in the hopes of finding a common ground that will bring the society together. He studies the surviving computer records while Lt Commander Christopher Lindstrom (previously of Beta III and now one of Natira’s advisors) hopes to fill in the gaps from oral histories. The science teams eventually uncover some lost records and the “Hall of the Creators”—actual graves and ancient murals buried within Yonada—hidden centuries ago to survive the purges of previous revolutions. Natira hastily publishes the first recovered lost tome, but her attempt to inform the uneducated masses about the Oracle’s lies is instead interpreted as yet another attack on the faith.

Chekov adapts to his new role as security chief, but is wary of placing Ensign Vaylin Zaand in harm’s way. As a Rhaandarite, Zaand has not yet reached puberty despite being more than 80 years old. The “young” ensign also has difficulty integrating into human culture, which is much less structured than his native society. In private, he expresses great reservations over Kirk’s reputation. Chekov and a security team join the police in searching for the agitators, but Security Minister Tasari’s brutal efforts and Rishala’s passive resistance only lead to a riot and the high priestess’s arrest. Kirk ensures that Rishala gets medical treatment and is soon released, and she urges him to release his guilt over Decker’s death.

McCoy continues his downward spiral. After coming clean to Natira about his true feelings, he drowns his sorrows in alcohol and neglects his duties. He convinces Chapel to take his place in treating the victims of terrorist attacks planetside so he won’t have to face Natira again, and his limited xenophysiology knowledge nearly leads to the death of a crewmember—Specialist Second-Class Spring Rain on Still Water, an amphibious Megarite—in an emergency. Spring Rain only survives, albeit in a coma, due to Chapel’s guidance via communicator. Ashamed and chastised, McCoy realizes that he must pull himself together. He confronts Natira for her blind, harsh treatment of the populace, convincing her that building towards a compromise will work better than continuing Tasari’s use of force. The two share a cathartic release over their paternal tragedies and their recent failures (McCoy barely deals with euthanizing his father, and Natira reveals that her father’s indulgence of her youthful inquisitiveness resulted in his execution through the Instrument of Obedience. Witnessing her father’s death spurred her to embrace the Oracular faith out of extreme fear, and she is now fervently rebelling against the faith out of relief and self-loathing, now that she can safely do so.). They begin their relationship anew.

The peace summit on Yonada barely starts when Dovraku and his minions attack, seizing the faction leaders and Spock’s research team; only Kirk, Natira, and several security officers evade capture. The terrorists snuck aboard the asteroid ship by stowing away in the engine compartment of one of the transports and are intent on carrying out Dovraku’s will and restoring the Oracle despite suffering from lethal radiation poisoning. Dovraku reprograms and reactivates the Oracle, which now listens to the terrorist’s guidance and sees him as its “Prophet,” and he leverages the hostages against Spock, forcing the Vulcan to become the instrument of his ascension. Tasari is executed as a show of force. While Kirk and his team work to free the hostages, he and Zaand discuss trust. The ensign comes to see that the rumors about Kirk are not entirely true, that one must trust oneself, and that one must give trust to receive it. Zaand learns to trust the captain moments before he gives his own life to save Kirk’s. Kirk’s strike against Dovraku fails, and he and the security team are also captured.

Dovraku seeks the binary purity of machine logic over the imperfections of flesh. He believes that people are either “One” with him and the Oracle, or that they should be reduced to Zero. He fires Yonada’s remaining missiles around Lorina in a manner reminiscent of V’Ger’s attack on Earth, intending to cleanse the planet’s surface for his grand new era of rebirth. Dovraku forces Spock to conduct a mind-meld between the Oracle and its “prophet.” Pulling the prefix code from Spock’s memory, he has the Oracle reprogram the starship’s transporter to dematerialize himself and the Oracle and to combine them into one new transcendent being. Fortunately, the crew regains control of the ship’s systems and Spock uses the meld to incapacitate Dovraku and deactivate the Oracle. The missiles are also shut down.

In command of the Enterprise , Sulu faces off against a Shesshran fleet enraged by the Fabrini rebellion and Yonada’s aggressive actions. They intend to expel the Fabrini from their system and they launch an attack that threatens to destabilize Yonada’s ancient collapsed-matter core. Sulu uses the Enterprise to shield Yonada until the Oracle’s hijacking drops the starship’s shields. Thinking quickly, he bows to the Shesshrans’ dominance, using their prideful nature to trick and shame them into ending their attack.

Spock locates hidden historical records that reveal the true full history of Yonada and its people...

The Fabrini civilization grew up in fear of imminent destruction by their dying sun, Ganidra, but it endured long enough to develop crude interstellar flight. They launched several space probes as time capsules, ensuring that some record of their existence would survive, before turning to the massive Yonada project (One of these probes was discovered by the U.S.S. Intrepid in 2264, giving the Federation its first data on the long-dead society). Construction of Yonada took 60 years, and in 7954 BCE, the ship and its 40 million passengers set out for Daran IV. The ancient Fabrini had established contact with the Tishiki (the Shesshran’s ancestors) and had been invited to seek refuge on the neighboring planet. Unfortunately, Ganidra’s nova was proximate enough to reap considerable damage on the Tishiki and their civilization collapsed. It took nearly 10,000 years for them to rebuild and return to a pre-nova level of development. Upon learning of their ancestors’ contract, the modern Shesshran grudgingly allowed the Fabrini settlement of Daran IV.

Yonada’s flesh and blood project engineers and civil leaders eventually gained mythical status and came to be known as the divine “Creators.” Ganidra itself came to be known as Nidra, the trickster goddess of fire and lies. The ship’s main computer was defined as the Oracle from the outset, despite some contradictory historical records. It was designed to teach and provide an unbiased history; to voice every point-of-view; and to be a common ground for all the disparate people on Yonada.

Over the centuries of Yonada’s voyage, complacency set in. The culture became uniform and stagnant owing to close quarters and a complete lack of exterior influence. The government focused on maintaining its own power rather than protecting the people and fulfilling the Creators’ teachings. Around 6,000 years ago, the people stopped caring for the planet-like ecosphere of the top levels, leading to ecological collapse, drought, and famine. Revolution against the corrupt priesthood made way for a secular state. This government rewrote its history and even its language to its own advantage, vilifying the old ways and embellishing the evils of the faith. The Oracle was shut down. However, they had no better solutions than the previous regime, and after 600 years and several failed revolutions, the secular state also fell.

In its place, a strict reactionary faith arose, owing to the failures of the lax secularists. The devout built their new system on distorted interpretations of history. The Instrument of Obedience was implanted into the entire population rather than just criminal offenders and the Oracle’s guidance was more harsh and literal than the Creators had ever intended. The new government’s severity made for a very stable society that endured for over 5,000 years—until Kirk defeated the Oracle.

With the truths of history finally revealed, the Oracle can again be a common ground for all. The Shesshran stand down and Natira and Rishala agree to work out their differences. The terrorist movement falls apart without Dovraku. Though reconciled, Natira and McCoy must again part company as she can’t appear to be too biased towards the Federation. McCoy finds a balance aboard ship and a treatment for Spring Rain’s condition. Kirk learns of Decker’s great interest in IDIC, which led the younger captain to assemble such a diverse crew, and in empathy and spirituality, realizing that Decker did get what he most wanted when he merged with V’Ger. He accepts his guilt, moves on, and comes to trust himself again. Spock finds a balance in integrating emotion and logic and accepts his whole self. He takes a leave of absence to reconcile with his father, driven by Dovraku’s inability to do the same. Sulu’s recent command experience spurs him to renew his pursuit of the command track—abandoned following his discouraging performance in the Kobayashi Maru test. Impressed, Kirk officially makes Sulu his second officer (and acting XO in Spock’s absence). Chekov mourns Zaand, the first subordinate to die under his command.

References [ ]

Characters [ ], enterprise [ ], fabrini [ ], creators [ ], starships and vehicles [ ], locations [ ], races and cultures [ ], states and organizations [ ], science and classification [ ], ranks and titles [ ], other references [ ], appendices [ ], related media [ ].

• For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek: Untold Voyages (comic series)

Background [ ]

Ex Machina is the novel that most carefully explains all the information that the film/novelization/comic Star Trek: The Motion Picture did not give about itself. It is the source of the divide regarding TMP's dating and expands on minor characters seen in TMP, giving them names and backstories. It was the most-talked about book of late 2004, the most-popular Trek book in early 2005 and is highly recommended for anyone wanting a fuller, better knowledge of TMP.

Behind the scenes [ ]

The story of this novel directly contradicts The Lost Years , according to which McCoy returned to the Fabrini prior to the events of The Motion Picture . According to The Lost Years , when he did so Natira was already married and rejected him; in contrast, according to Ex Machina she waited for him, but he rejected her.

Connections [ ]

Timeline [ ], external links [ ].

• Ex Machina article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Ex Machina Annotations by Christopher L. Bennett
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Odyssey class
• 3 Constitution class

• Reviews / News
• Pocket Books Trek Novels
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Monday, July 30, 2012

In the aftermath of the astonishing events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the captain and officers of the U.S.S. Enterprise  remain haunted by their encounter with the vast artificial intelligence of V'Ger... and by the sacrifice and ascension of their friend and shipmate, Willard Decker.

As James T. Kirk, Spock, and Leonard McCoy attempt to cope with the personal fallout of that ordeal, a chapter from their mutual past is reopened, raising troubling new questions about the relationship among God, Man, and AI.  On the recently settled world of Daran IV, the former refugees of the Fabrini worldship Yonada are being divided by conflicting ideologies, as those clinging to their theocratic past vie with visionaries of a future governed by reason alone.

Now, echoes of the V'Ger encounter reverberate among the Enterprise  officers who years ago overthrew the Oracle, the machine-god that controlled Yonada.  Confronting the consequences of those actions, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy also face choices that will decide the fate of a civilization, and which may change them forever.

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4 comments:

Is there a good book to follow Ex Machina - pre Wrath of Khan?

There are definitely a number of novels set during that period. As far as the quality goes, not sure on that score. I know that the New Earth miniseries was set after TMP but before TWOK. It's been years since I read them though, and I don't remember being overwhelmed by them.

A friend gave me this book and it is dull. I like Star Trek The Motion Picture despite its flaws, but Ex Machina takes the interesting premise of the aftermath of a human-machine merger and ascension and does nothing interesting with it. The narrative is so busy telling us everything about forgettable minor characters that it forgets to give Kirk an interesting narrative thread. The author's interest seems focused on crossing the t's and dotting the i's of continuity instead of on writing a story with any dramatic sizzle.

Very good Trek book, imo. Great worldbuilding. CLB did a very good job of fleshing out the POVs of the various factions.

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Literature / Star Trek: Ex Machina

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From the back cover: In the aftermath of the astonishing events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the captain and officers of the U.S.S. Enterprise remain haunted by their encounter with the vast artificial intelligence of V'Ger... and by the sacrifice and ascension of their friend and shipmate, Willard Decker. As James T. Kirk, Spock, and Leonard McCoy attempt to cope with the personal fallout of that ordeal, a chapter from their mutual past is reopened, raising troubling new questions about the relationship among God, Man, and AI. On the recently settled world of Daran IV, the former refugees of the Fabrini worldship Yonada are being divided by conflicting ideologies, as those clinging to their theocratic past vie with visionaries of a future governed by reason alone. Now, echoes of the V'Ger encounter reverberate among the Enterprise officers who years ago overthrew the Oracle, the machine-god that controlled Yonada. Confronting the consequences of those actions, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy also face choices that will decide the fate of a civilization, and which may change them forever.

This novel contains examples of:

• Abusive Parents : It's revealed that Dovraku's father was this. An abusive parent of the physical variety, he also battered his wife. His actions are shown to be, in part, the reason for Dovraku's pathological devotion to pure logic, and his simultaneous rejection of passion. A Freudian Excuse , but a realistic one.
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot : Explored with the Oracle. It was originally designed to help the Fabrini people, and encourage democratic points of view. Unfortunately, several thousand years in the void and at least one violent coup means it got damaged. A group of fundamentalists took control of Yonada and replaced the Oracle's programming with those reflecting their ideology. This resulted in the very straight example Kirk and Bones had to deal with.

• Alien Non-Interference Clause : Played with, as there are many kinds of interference. Commissioner Soreth informs Governess Natira that the Federation can only advise, rather than provide her people with Federation equipment. He notes that if the Federation were to impose rather than guide, no matter how well-meaning it was in doing so, it would risk subsuming Lorini culture rather than gaining a strong and unique member to add to its diversity. However, Soreth's attitude toward the traditional Lorini/Yonadi belief system proves him a hypocrite, even if he doesn't realize it; he wants the Lorini to change and adapt to suit his own rather narrow ideas as to what constitutes "progress".
• All of the Other Reindeer : The Vulcans, in how they respond to Spock's newfound philosophy of balanced emotion. Despite his admirable personal and professional traits, other Vulcans on the Enterprise crew reject him entirely. At least one requests a transfer rather than live with his presence.
• Alternative Number System : Megarites apparently count in base eight.
• Ancient Astronauts : The Enterprise science team figure this is how the Lorini's original homeworld had anyone on it at all, given the star's age and their relative youth. The Lorini themselves had similar ideas, but it was one of many hypothesis, and we don't see if it's correct.
• Armor-Piercing Question : During a meeting of most of those opposed to Natira's policies, Rishala notes how everyone's more afraid of speaking out against Dovraku, supposedly their ally, than they are against Natira, and asks what that's supposed to say about them. There's a moment of unpleasant silence.
• Artificial Intelligence : Kirk's history of destroying repressive AIs controlling humanoid cultures is what leads Dovraku's followers to view him as the nemesis.
• The novel confirms, through Spock's Psychic Link with the V'Ger-Decker-Ilia fusion, that the combined being is indeed exploring higher planes of existence; "realms that made four-dimensional spacetime seem flat and claustrophobic".
• Ascended Extra : Many of the supporting characters, who are based on actual and specific crewmen glimpsed during the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture . It's possible to match each specific character, even most of the really minor ones, to a face.
• Asshole Victim : Deconstructed. Dovraku has the Oracle kill Tasari as an example, but even though the man was unthinkingly unpleasant and uncaring, Spock is still horrified because he's just seen a man die in front of him, and even without emotion that's still appalling.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies : The Escherites. A sapient variety; one of the Enterprise crew is Escherite. Essentially, it's a big grey caterpillar.
• Binding Ancient Treaty : The Shesshran had one of these with the Fabrini, made over a million years ago, which they honoured when the Fabrini's Yonadi descendants wanted to settle on a world in their star system. In Shesshran culture, contracts and promises are held in the highest esteem, so even though they weren't entirely happy about it, they were quick to permit the Yonadi settlement on the neighbouring planet.
• Bizarre Alien Biology : Several of the featured species, whose physiologies and cultures are expanded from background material associated with Star Trek: The Motion Picture . These include the balleen-feeder Megarites, who require "drysuits" when out of water, and survive on nutrient injections where they can't filter-feed. Then there's the Zaranites, who rely on fluorine-dependent micro-organisms as part of their respiration.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality : The Shesshran operate somewhat differently from humans, and most other races. They are unashamedly belligerent without apparent motive, and like shooting at things to say hello. They fantasise about killing their own children and generally behave in a bloodthirsty fashion. They're actually quite reasonable and honourable beings - it's just that they are naturally highly individualistic predators, with strong hunting instincts. They reject all hierarchies and authority, and view the universe through the eyes of a lone predator.
• Boisterous Bruiser : The Betelgeusian characters.
• Bolt of Divine Retribution : The Oracle is programmed to deliver these during a showdown on Yonada, so as to hammer home Dovraku's points. Then Spock re-re-reprograms it to deliver them to Dovraku's goons.
• Brainwashed : Lorina's leader and former High Priest, Natira, more or less insists that all those continuing to worship the Oracle or the old gods are brainwashed, despite this by no means being the case. Debate as to degrees of religious indoctrination and/or free choice (genuinely or hypocritically promoted) drives much of the plot, and is probably the novel's major theme.
• Broken Pedestal : Scotty, early on, is somewhat sour toward Kirk because of the various technological incidents the Enterprise suffered in TMP. It's a mix of anger and his own guilt.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday : The ascension of V'Ger has provoked all manner of religious crises across the Alpha Quadrant, even causing Earth to become a holy site. Kirk, being in a depressed funk, doesn't really get what the big deal is.
• Naturally, there's plenty to "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky". Tasari is the guard who clobbered Bones unconscious during that episode, something he's still pretty sore about.
• In addition to the mind-meld with V'Ger, Spock also thinks about the mind meld with Nomad, and how wrong that went as well.
• After restoring the Oracle, Spock borrows the phrase of another mechanical mind - "I am not programmed to respond in that area."
• Kirk's still shaken about his behaviour in the first movie, and it's beginning to turn him into the man we see in Wrath of Khan . Later on, he and Spock have a discussion about Carol, and her decision to keep David out of Jim's life.
• At the end of everything, Bones states he's going to write a book on alien biology. Voyager confirmed he did, and it will eventually become required reading.
• Character Catchphrase : McCoy's secondary catchphrase, "I never say that" is used several times, including for the "Everybody Laughs" Ending , when Kirk imitates it.
• Bones starts to learn more about alien biology, after his problems with it throughout the original series.
• Sulu starts to get an interest in captaincy.
• Kirk is still trying to undo some of his soldier leanings.
• Several references to "that disaster in the Lantaru Sector", meaning the classified Omega incident described in the novel Section 31: Cloak .
• Christopher Lindstrom's mission on Beta III is mentioned several times, referring to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers story "Foundations".
• One of the more subtle continuity nods is a line from Lindstrom, mentioning that in Starfleet it's taught that the truth is an officer's first duty. This references the popular TNG episode "The First Duty".
• Chekhov's behaviour in "The Way to Eden", with his New Old Flame from that episode, is given some focus.
• Kirk and Spock list off all the incidents Kirk's interfered with other societies before (the attempt with the Organians, the Amenians in "Armageddon Game", the people of Vaal in "The Apple", and Tyree's people, which he hesitates on).
• The fact that the wall of Enterprises in The Motion Picture apparently excluded the NX-01 is noted, and given the handwave that there'd been a mix-up. Meanwhile, Soreth is noted to have met T'Pol.
• In their discussion on Vulcans who've previously tried rejecting logic, Spock brings up those who've become fanatical, then immediately clams up , for reasons Bones pegs as being highly personal.
• Even six years on (from his point of view), Kirk is still hurting over the death of Edith Keeler. More so in fact than Lori Cianni (the person besides Sonak who died in the transporter accident), whom he dated.
• Faced with imminent death, Scotty notes Sulu still has a fascination with time pieces.
• Conflicting Loyalty : Zaand is troubled by Kirk being captain, due to the complicated social arrangement that his species goes by. Under their logic, Kirk took control from Decker improperly, and he has no idea how to deal with that. Chekhov telling him to just put up with it ameliorates him somewhat, since Chekhov's his immediate superior and that makes it an order, which Zaand likes.
• Deconstruction : As with Wrath of Khan , Kirk has to deal with the idea that riding off into the sunset after the adventure of the week is over doesn't actually fix everything, especially if you have to face the consequences.
• Does This Remind You of Anything? : Soreth's attitude towards Vulcans who can mind-meld mirrors that of a homophobe scandalized by people being out and proud, complete with "at least they used to keep quiet about it!" grumblings.
• Domestic Abuse : Kirk keeps private about it other than "she didn't deserve to die despite our history", but from McCoy 's perspective, the man's girlfriend sounds like another Janice Lester, poking his vulnerable spots and convincing him to do what she wanted under the guise of making himself happier.
• Do Not Go Gentle : Tomaneru Vari, working to save his people from the impending nova of their sun (a star named Ganidra) responds to a question about faith by saying: "The only thing I have faith in...is that I'm not going to let that bitch Ganidra take my people down without a fight".
• Dramatically Missing the Point : One chapter begins with a quotation from Surak's own teachings, which don't state you should get rid of emotions completely .
• Dress-O-Matic : The clothing transporter introduced in Star Trek: The Motion Picture is further discussed, as well as the reasons why it didn't catch on in the Federation. Namely that even though the device had safeguards to keep clothes from being beamed inside a person, the inventors didn't account for the fact that humanoid proportions changed over the course of a day and clothes that were comfortable at the start of the day could be intolerably tight by the end of that same day.
• Dung Fu : A young Lorini farmer throws a handful of dung at Natira in the opening scene of the novel.
• Emotions vs. Stoicism : Stoicism , Spock! Or so the other Vulcans disapprovingly insist when confronted with his emotions. One of the novel's subplots explores the prejudice Spock is now facing from mainstream Vulcans, for daring to question the suppression of emotion in the aftermath of his encounter with V'Ger.
• "Everybody Laughs" Ending : As was so often the case in the original TV series, the conclusion uses the "everybody laughs except Spock ending". Spock is just as amused as the others, of course, he's just not showing it.
• Evil Is Petty : The teenager Dovraku talks into performing a suicide bombing mainly does so because of an Entitled to Have You attitude. Under the Oracle, he'd have been promised a girl, but once the Oracle was gotten rid of, this no longer applied, and she started dating other guys... and not him! When he's about to bomb a school on Dovraku's orders, he falls short of his intended target, thus accidentally causing less damage than intended, because he runs into that girl and her boyfriend, and she taunts him, which provokes him into making her ground zero.
• Fantastic Racism : Commissioner Soreth (a Vulcan) holds particularly outdated views on other races. Humans he considers immature and in need of Vulcan oversight, Andorians he believes to be treacherous, and telepaths are at best slightly immoral and at worst downright perverted. He is a living throwback to the Vulcans of Star Trek: Enterprise season 1-3, a century before, having lived in that time.
• Fantastic Slur : V'tosh ka'tur - Vulcan for "one without logic". It probably isn't an actual slur, but the prejudiced Vulcans in the story sure throw it around like one.
• Fantasy Pantheon : The Yonadi/Lorini pantheon is explored in some depth.
• Fascinating Eyebrow : Naturally, Spock. It's one of the first things Kirk sees him doing in the novel.
• For Your Own Good : A lot of Federation and Lorini officials, in various questionable ways.
• Future Imperfect : When Bones makes a quip about Spock coming out of the closet, Spock doesn't get it.
• Giant Flyer : The Shesshran are a sapient example, resembling pterosaurs.
• Gone Horribly Right : Spock speculates this was the origin of the machine race that found V'Ger (which he dubs Von Neumanns), that they had been made by an organic race which they managed to outlast simply by being well-designed (and not some case of turning against their creators).
• Gossipy Hens : The minute Spock starts going on about being open with emotions, it spreads like wildfire among the Vulcans on the Enterprise , who feel it is imperative they pass it along to other Vulcans.
• Happiness in Slavery : Lorini leader Natira argues that many of her people are still in the grip of this - even if they've in fact made a free choice to follow the old ways.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation : When being wistful about the Enterprise being gutted and replaced, Kirk thinks the same can be said for the cells in his body, only with him he feels like he hasn’t been improved. He also admits buying into his own Living Legend when he was actually a bit useless with V’ger, and ends the book telling people he’s not a hero.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs : "I don't give a Tribble's Eye".
• Homoerotic Subtext : The famous sickbay scene is alluded to, with Bones joking to Spock that his father disowned him for joining Starfleet, so can’t imagine how he would react to Spock “coming out of the closet”.
• Horse of a Different Color : The Lorini use konari , creatures which resemble Protoceratopian dinosaurs, as draft animals.
• Hypocrite : Commissioner Soreth and several other Vulcan characters. They condemn Spock's exploration of emotion while failing to confront their own emotional stake in doing so, or their evident delight in snubbing him. Spock even calls Soreth on this one.
• Ignored Epiphany : Seeing Rishala use her religion's stories to distract some guards, Soreth thinks on how this is similar to what Surak did on Vulcan. Then he immediately decides this clearly isn't the same thing.
• Incredibly Lame Pun : An implicit, somewhat slyly-given example. Two crewmen - an Eeiauoan and a Caitian - are mentioned to have started fighting. Given that both races are feline, we have a literal Cat Fight . They’re told to “groom and make up”.
• Innocently Insensitive : Bones goes on a tirade about the horrors of transporters, which Kirk is even less tolerant of given he's doing it in front of Janice Rand, who was the one operating the transporter during Sonak and Lori Cianna's accident. Later on, a brief look inside Janice's head shows she's pretty upset about Kirk telling her there was nothing she could've done.
• I Take Offense to That Last One : Rishala asks Kirk if Natira said she was a hate-filled zealot to him. Kirk admits that, yeah, she pretty much did. Rishala makes some mild offense at being called 'hate-filled'.
• This is later expanded on by the novel ''Forgotten History'' , which provides further details of the fateful mission that led to the violation, as well as the motives of several admirals involved.
• The only reason he doesn't fit here is because he's not doing it out of any fanaticism, just a sort of unthinking lack of concern.
• Lady Land : The Megarite homeworld of Megara, where the ruling matriarchs are considered to be the more sophisticated of the species. They spend their lives sitting on beaches, doing little else, and consider travel to be "beneath" a female. The males are relegated to the distasteful realm of offworld trade and diplomacy, though many of them seem to enjoy it, being considerably more raucous and spontaneous than the somewhat stuffy females. Of course, there are exceptions, those Megarites who reject the traditional system. The young female Spring Rain On Still Water prefers the more adventurous male life, and has been condemned by her matriarchs for "lowering" herself.
• When going over his behaviour in "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky", Bones thinks about how ridiculous and out-of-character some of his choices were, and figures his impending death was colouring his logic.
• Thinking of his encounters with V'Ger and Nomad, Spock notes how similar they are (human-made probes coming into contact with non-human tech, returning to their creators as a much more dangerous entity).
• Not even Kirk is sure how he managed to get a reputation as a brash hothead , remembering all his episodes of intense self doubt.
• Shatner’s speaking patterns get a nod, as Kirk admits to Rishala that it always comes off like he’s floundering on what to say next.
• Machine Worship / God Guise : Dovraku and his followers believe that the Oracle, V'Ger, and other AI's of their ilk are gods, and consider Kirk to be the Great Satan due to his penchant for Logic Bombs ...
• The Main Characters Do Everything : Gets a Lampshade Hanging and a justification. Chekhov may not like Kirk charging on down when, as the captain, he's supposed to stay on the ship, but Kirk insists on leading from the front, sharing the danger.
• Malaproper : Those Lorini opposed to the Federation presence call them "Fedraysha". Since there's the universal translator going, this would suggest it's a deliberate mispronounciation on their part.
• Manipulative Bastard : Possibly Dovraku, although it doesn't really take much to manipulate disaffected angry teenagers.
• Meaningful Name : Spring Rain On Still Water. Her name serves as a clue to her non-conformist attitudes and spontaneous behaviours: "Spring Rain Upon Still Water, I/ Disturb the smooth and staid, and make/ More interesting sounds".
• Mind Hive : What the V'Ger-Decker-Ilia fusion has become, as far as Spock can tell, with Voyager able to use the means it ascended to also recreate all those galaxies worth of lifeforms it previously recorded.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much : As mentioned above, Spring Rain On Still Water, and her unconventional views on travel and contact with offworlders. She is critical of her people's tendency to ignore the wider universe and instead glorify a simple life in the home over exploration or curiosity. These views - and her actions stemming from them - have caused her to be rejected by her family.
• Kirk taking a fresh-off-the-line spaceship out on a cruise, only to find problems with it (and the crew), just as happened between The Voyage Home and The Final Frontier .
• McCoy , exasperated by the sheer diversity of aliens on the refit Enterprise , sarcastically asks what’s next - hortas and talking spiders? Those readers familiar with the works of Diane Duane will get the joke (a reference to two of her characters, crewman Naraht and K’t’lk).
• A highly hungover Bones mistakes an alarmed Doctor Chapel for the ship's computer. A few minutes later, she scoldingly asks him if she looks like someone's mother. Of course , Chapel's actress played the Enterprise computer, and Lwaxana Troi, who was someone's mother.
• Named After Their Planet : Unusually for Star Trek , averted with the Shesshran, who are from Kachissat (Daran V). Played straight with the Megarites, revealed to be from Megara.
• Never My Fault : At the end, when Soreth is called out for his attitude towards the Lorini, he tries a round of the "in my defense", in this case that he didn't see any alternative options. Spock points out he never considered alternatives.
• Noble Savage : The Deltans tend to view the Humans along these lines, due to the latters' philosophy of "boldly going", seeking external growth rather than inward exploration.
• Nuke 'em : There's a lot of old nuclear missiles lying around in Yonada.
• Obfuscating Stupidity : Uhura pretends to be confused and afraid in the face of Dovraku's plan, so as to distract the guards. Apparently all those times in the original series when she also did the "captain, I'm scared" thing were this as well. She thought Kirk worked better when he thinks there's a damsel in distress, but admitting to it in front of Doctor McCoy means her secret is out so she's no longer able to get away with that.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat : Spock runs into one while looking for information. A Vulcan, naturally.
• Off the Grid : The novel reveals that prior to the V'ger crisis Dr. McCoy had returned to Earth and was living by himself in his mountain cabin until Admiral Nogura's people tracked him down .
• The novel also provides an explanation for the ludicrous situation of having only a single starship in Earth's solar system to protect the Federation capital. Apparently, losses in recent years have stretched Starfleet thin ( Continuity Nod cluster ahoy), and there was great concern in some quarters precisely because of the limited defense. The V'Ger incident proved these critics right. Why the same situation crops up in later films still needs explaining, sadly, but that's not this novel's concern.
• Out Grown Such Silly Superstitions : Natira wants the Yonadi to stop believing in the Oracle's divinity post-haste, almost to the point of obsession . Much of the story is devoted to showing that, even with the Oracle itself proven a fraud, those traditions still have value.
• Parental Neglect : Sarek comes across as a somewhat neglectful parent, if only due to his Vulcan cultural heritage. He certainly never gave Spock the emotional support his son needed. "Amanda, if the boy seeks my approval, he knows what he must do to earn it. Offering an emotional demonstration as a reward when no reward has even been earned is illogical on multiple levels".
• The Power of Trust : An important theme throughout the book.
• Punch-Clock Villain : Kirk's take on Minister Tasari. He's not fanatic, or evil. Enforcing the will of the Oracle or the will of Natira makes no difference to him. It's just a job, regardless of what he's doing.
• The Purge : The Yonadas went through one during their long space-flight, when a group of conservative elements seized control and tried getting rid of the Oracle. Then, six centuries later, they got purged themselves, and the Oracle was reinstated.
• Psychic Link : Spock maintains one with the Voyager (the V'Ger-Decker-Ilia fusion created at the climax of The Motion Picture ). At least, he does at first. The connection begins to fade after a couple of weeks, though it's still active enough for the Voyager to help out at the climax.
• Ragnarök Proofing : The people who built Yonada planned ahead, even without the consideration of a millennia-long journey. It didn't protect absolutely everything, because they didn't account for Lorini error, but Spock finds the original Oracle user manual is in surprisingly good condition. Ironic, given it was meant to be a backup for the Oracle itself.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : Rishala is a mix of this and Good Shepherd .
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech : Soreth tries giving one of these to Spock, who just shoots it right back at him.
• Renaissance Man : Sulu, though it's deconstructed. He throws himself into various activities, then moves on, which Uhura pegs is because he has no idea what he wants to do with himself. She suggests captaincy.
• Repeat What You Just Said : McCoy figures out how to save Spring Rain On Still Water with such a moment - though in his case it's "repeat what I just said".
• Riddle for the Ages : Years later, Kirk still has no idea what motivated that old man to tell him, Spock and McCoy about knowing the truth of Yonada, and since he's dead, he never will.
• Right Behind Me : Zaand complains that Kirk is reckless and thinks he can get away with it because he assumes he’s popular, only to find that the man himself is right there. Luckily for him, Kirk is in one of his self loathing moods, and doesn’t disagree with the sentiment.
• Rite of Passage : For Betelgeusian males, their entire adolescence is essentially one long Rite of Passage . Chased from the pride by elder males as they approach puberty, they spend their teenage years and early manhood surviving alone in the wider galaxy, often winding up joining organizations like Starfleet to earn experience. Then they return to a pride and fight its members to win acceptance, and membership.
• Science Is Wrong : Rishala, who is nonetheless intelligent, believes that scientific investigation is largely a waste of the sentient being's potential for true discovery. In this, of course, she clashes with the protagonists. She believes science pales compared to spirituality and is dismissive of Kirk's need to explore the cosmos: "More learning about things, more material illusions. Where will you go to learn the truths that matter?"
• Scotty Time : After the events of The Motion Picture , Scotty's been padding his times more and more to Kirk.
• Screw Your Ultimatum! : During the time skip between the original series and The Motion Picture , McCoy took umbrage with Nogura's treatment of Kirk and told the man if he didn't stop Bones would resign then and there. Then he was forced to back the threat up.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl : Evidently the Yonadi have less hangups about nudity than humans. Or possibly just Natira, who thinks it's strange that Lindstrom is so alarmed by her changing clothes right in front of him.
• Shout-Out : Chekov pondering the ethics of a telepathic police force (think Bester the Psi Cop from Babylon 5 ). An Actor Allusion . Earlier, he signs off a conversation with "be seeing you", just as Bester did.
• Sidetracked by the Analogy : Commodore Fein turns a discussion about Kirk's love for the Enterprise into a semi- Non Sequitur about art, after Kirk mentions the Mona Lisa as something else people don't get tired of staring at. Fein: "And I don't see what the big mystery is about the smile. I mean, aren't you supposed to smile when you get your picture taken?" Kirk opened his mouth, but couldn't find a response to that.
• Stuff Blowing Up : One of the problems at the climax is that if Yonada gets badly damaged enough, the means by which its artificial gravity is generated will make sure the entire thing goes kaboom, being bad news for anything in a specific radius. Like, say, the planet it's right next to.
• Suicide Attack : A teenage Lorini is recruited by villainous cult leader Dovraku, and becomes a suicide bomber. He detonates his explosives at school and kills several other students.
• Take That! : While hung-over, Bones thinks about "Spock's Brain", and finds it physically painful to think about, and notes he probably would even if fully sober.
• Taking the Bullet : Zaand sacrifices himself taking a crossbow for Chekhov.
• Theseus' Ship Paradox : Early on, Kirk notes that due to the refit, the Enterprise is for all intents and purposes an entirely different ship than the one he knows, with barely so much as a single circuit unaltered. But she's still the Enterprise .
• Transhuman : Will Decker was essentially a 23rd century transhumanist, with a personal spirituality deeply concerned with "unexplored potentials of the human mind". His particular dream was an All Your Powers Combined scenario whereby different species could transcend their limits by uniting their psyches and spiritual essence. This, he hoped, would let them sense or reach new levels of existence. For this reason, he was strongly drawn to species with telepathic abilities.
• Translation Convention : The fact the Lorini are using the Universal Translator gets brought up part way through when Rishala notes by Lorini standards, she's a working class skiv, something Kirk didn't recognise because the translator doesn't account for that.
• Trauma Button : Pointed out by Bones, about Spock's dealings with Vulcans being arseholes to him for embracing emotion. Given his childhood on Vulcan, bullied by the other kids, Bones states it's no surprise Spock is as pissed as he is.
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story : A chapter near the book's conclusion is set many centuries in the past, showing the construction of the world-ship Yonada. It allows us to meet the historic figures who would become the Yonadi/Lorini gods. In a sense, given that these figures both built Yonada and created the Oracle, they truly were the creators of the world, and of the faith. Yonadi religious mythology is therefore shown to be Very Loosely Based on a True Story in its entirety.
• Weaksauce Weakness : McCoy evaluates the Saurians along these lines. They're immensely strong, can breathe almost anything, have incredible stamina...but being nocturnal and having huge, sensitive eyes, they can be rendered helpless by shining a bright light. Saurians serving in Starfleet wear protective lenses.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy : Gnawing at the back of Spock's mind is the question of how his father Sarek will respond to his new philosophy of incorporating emotion into everyday life (Sarek having always encouraged Spock's commitment to pure logic).
• Well-Intentioned Extremist : Several characters, including Natira and Soreth. Both are assisted in eventually reaching awareness of their own well-meaning extremism, and taking steps to remedy the fault.
• McCoy's opinion on The Motion Picture -era Starfleet uniforms:
• Chekhov's opinion of the classical uniforms, especially bright red shirts for security guards. That Chekhov is now one of those guards probably has nothing to do with this.
• You Killed My Father : The root of Natira's hatred for the Oracle and those who support it. It killed her father right in front of her.
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• Star Trek: Ex Machina
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A book in the so-called Star Trek Novel Verse , set in the immediate aftermath of Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Dealing with the ramifications of that film's events, in particular Spock's newfound philosophy of balancing logic with emotion, the novel also follows up on the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode "For the World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky".

From the back cover:

• Abusive Parents : It's revealed that Dovraku's father was this. An abusive parent of the physical variety, he also battered his wife. His actions are shown to be, in part, the reason for Dovraku's pathological devotion to pure logic, and his simultaneous rejection of passion. A Freudian Excuse , but a realistic one.
• Actor Allusion : See Shout-Out , below.
• Alien Arts Are Appreciated : The Lorini government has decorated its public buildings in a wide variety of alien art forms, most of them from the Federation. The public speakers even play Andorian music. One of the art styles on display is Tellarite Erotic Abstract (introduced as part of a Crowning Moment of Funny in Star Trek: Millennium ). The fact that alien arts are promoted over native examples is likely significant - the current rulers are somewhat obsessive in their desire to move away from tradition. They want the people to reject their past entirely and embrace a new outlook.
• Alien Non-Interference Clause : Played with, as there are many kinds of interference. Commissioner Soreth informs Governess Natira that the Federation can only advise, rather than provide her people with Federation equipment. He notes that if the Federation were to impose rather than guide, no matter how well-meaning it was in doing so, it would risk subsuming Lorini culture rather than gaining a strong and unique member to add to its diversity. However, Soreth's attitude toward the traditional Lorini/Yonadi belief systems proves him a hypocrite, even if he doesn't realize it; he wants the Lorini to change and adapt to suit his own rather narrow ideas as to what constitutes "progress".
• All of the Other Reindeer : The Vulcans, in how they respond to Spock's newfound philosophy of balanced emotion. Despite his admirable personal and professional traits, other Vulcans on the Enterprise crew reject him entirely. At least one requests a transfer rather than live with his presence.
• Alternative Number System : Megarites apparently count in base eight.
• The novel confirms, through Spock's Psychic Link with the V'Ger-Decker-Ilia fusion, that the combined being is indeed exploring higher planes of existence; "realms that made four-dimensional spacetime seem flat and claustrophobic".
• Ascended Extra : Many of the supporting characters, who are based on actual and specific crewmen glimpsed during the events of Star Trek the Motion Picture . It's possible to match each specific character, even most of the really minor ones, to a face.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies : The Escherites. A sapient variety; one of the Enterprise crew is Escherite. Essentially, it's a big grey caterpillar.
• Binding Ancient Treaty : The Shesshran had one of these with the Fabrini, which they honoured when the Fabrini's Yonadi descendants wanted to settle on a world in their star system. In Shesshran culture, contracts and promises are held in the highest esteem, so even though they weren't entirely happy about it, they were quick to permit the Yonadi settlement on the neighbouring planet.
• Bizarre Alien Biology : Several of the featured species, whose physiologies and cultures are expanded from background material associated with Star Trek the Motion Picture . These include the balleen-feeder Megarites, who require "drysuits" when out of water, and survive on nutrient injections where they can't filter-feed. Then there's the Zaranites, who rely on fluorine-dependent micro-organisms as part of their respiration.
• Blue and Orange Morality : The Shesshran operate somewhat differently from Humans, and most other races. They are unashamedly belligerent without apparent motive, and like shooting at things to say hello. They fantasise about killing their own children and generally behave in a bloodthirsty fashion. They're actually quite reasonable and honourable beings - it's just that they are naturally highly individualistic predators, with strong hunting instincts. They reject all hierarchies and authority, and view the universe through the eyes of a lone predator.
• Boisterous Bruiser : The Betelgeusian characters.
• Bolt of Divine Retribution : The Oracle is programmed to deliver these during a showdown on Yonada, so as to hammer home Dovraku's points.
• Brainwashed : Lorina's leader and former High Priest, Natira, more or less insists that all those continuing to worship the Oracle or the old gods are brainwashed, despite this by no means being the case. Debate as to degrees of religious indoctrination and/or free choice (genuinely or hypocritically promoted) drives much of the plot, and is probably the novel's major theme.
• Catch Phrase : McCoy's secondary catchphrase, "I never say that" is used several times, including for the "Everybody Laughs" Ending , when Kirk imitates it.
• One of the more subtle is a line from Lindstrom, mentioning that in Starfleet it's taught that the truth is an officer's first duty. This references the popular TNG episode "The First Duty".
• Do Not Go Gentle : Tomaneru Vari, working to save his people from the impending nova of their sun (a star named Ganidra) responds to a question about faith by saying: "The only thing I have faith in...is that I'm not going to let that bitch Ganidra take my people down without a fight".
• Dung Fu : A young Lorini farmer throws a handful of dung at Natira in the opening scene of the novel.
• Emotions vs. Stoicism : Stoicism , Spock! Or so the other Vulcans disapprovingly insist when confronted with his emotions. One of the novel's subplots explores the prejudice Spock is now facing from mainstream Vulcans, for daring to question the suppression of emotion in the aftermath of his encounter with V'Ger.
• "Everybody Laughs" Ending : As was so often the case in the original TV series, the conclusion uses the "everybody laughs except Spock ending". Spock is just as amused as the others, of course, he's just not showing it.
• Fantastic Racism : Commissioner Soreth (a Vulcan) holds particularly outdated views on other races. Humans he considers immature and in need of Vulcan oversight, Andorians he believes to be treacherous, and telepaths are at best slightly immoral and at worst downright perverted. He is essentially a throwback to the Vulcans of Star Trek Enterprise season 1-3, a century before.
• Fantasy Pantheon : The Yonadi/Lorini pantheon is explored in some depth.
• For Your Own Good : A lot of Federation and Lorini officials, in various questionable ways.
• Giant Flyer : The Shesshran are a sapient example, resembling pterosaurs.
• Happiness in Slavery : Lorini leader Natira argues that many of her people are still in the grip of this - even if they've in fact made a free choice to follow the old ways.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs : "I don't give a Tribble's Eye".
• Horse of a Different Colour : The Lorini use konari , creatures which resemble Protoceratopian dinosaurs, as draft animals.
• Hypocrite : Commissioner Soreth and several other Vulcan characters. They condemn Spock's exploration of emotion while failing to confront their own emotional stake in doing so, or their evident delight in snubbing him.
• Incredibly Lame Pun : An implicit, somewhat slyly-given example. Two crewmen - an Eeiauoan and a Caitian - are mentioned to have started fighting. Given that both races are feline, we have a literal Cat Fight . They’re told to “groom and make up”.
• Kicked Upstairs : Why Kirk was an admiral in Star Trek the Motion Picture . After a particularly controversial violation of the Prime Directive (for the purposes of saving a civilization from destruction), Kirk became a household name. His career was dissected in the media to the point where his reputation - as both a hero and a troublemaker - was blown out of all proportion. Half of Starfleet Command wanted him dismissed from the service, the other half idolized him. Admiral Nogura eventually solved the problem by promoting Kirk, acknowledging the good of his actions while keeping him behind a desk, and so out of trouble. It seemed the safest compromise.
• Knight Templar : Out of many characters who fall into Well-Intentioned Extremist or For Your Own Good territory, Minister Tasari is probably the most likely to qualify as a Knight Templar . His attempts to preserve the peace involve brutal treatment of malcontents and a disturbing tendency towards quashing dissent by any means available. As he tells the far more reasonable Natira:
• Lady Land : The Megarite homeworld of Megara, where the ruling matriarchs are considered to be the more sophisticated of the species. They spend their lives sitting on beaches, doing little else, and consider travel to be "beneath" a female. The males are relegated to the distasteful realm of offworld trade and diplomacy, though many of them seem to enjoy it, being considerably more raucous and spontaneous than the somewhat stuffy females. Of course, there are exceptions, those Megarites who reject the traditional system. The young female Spring Rain On Still Water prefers the more adventurous male life, and has been condemned by her matriarchs for "lowering" herself.
• Law of Alien Names : Fabrini/Lorini names have three syllables, typically consisting of alternating vowels and consonants.
• Machine Worship / God Guise : Dovraku and his followers believe that the Oracle, V'Ger, and other AI's of their ilk are gods, and consider Kirk to be the Great Satan due to his penchant for Logic Bombs ...
• Manipulative Bastard : Possibly Dovraku, although it doesn't really take much to manipulate disaffected angry teenagers.
• Meaningful Name : Spring Rain On Still Water. Her name serves as a clue to her non-conformist attitudes and spontaneous behaviours: "Spring Rain Upon Still Water, I/ Disturb the smooth and staid, and make/ More interesting sounds".
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much : As mentioned above, Spring Rain On Still Water, and her unconventional views on travel and contact with offworlders. She is critical of her people's tendency to ignore the wider universe and instead glorify a simple life in the home over exploration or curiosity. These views - and her actions stemming from them - have caused her to be rejected by her family.
• Mythology Gag : McCoy, exasperated by the sheer diversity of aliens on the refit Enterprise , sarcastically asks what’s next - hortas and talking spiders? Those readers familiar with the works of Diane Duane will get the joke (a reference to two of her characters, crewman Naraht and K’t’lk).
• The Only One : Lampshaded.
• The novel also provides an explanation for the ludicrous situation of having only a single starship in Earth's solar system to protect the Federation capital. Apparently, losses in recent years have streched Starfleet thin ( Continuity Nod cluster ahoy), and there was great concern in some quarters precisely because of the limited defense. The V'Ger incident proved these critics right. Why the same situation crops up in later films still needs explaining, sadly, but that's not this novel's concern.
• Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions : Natira wants the Yonadi to stop believing in the Oracle's divinity post-haste, almost to the point of obsession .
• Parental Neglect : Sarek comes across as a somewhat neglectful parent, if only due to his Vulcan cultural heritage. He certainly never gave Spock the emotional support his son needed.
• Psychic Link : Spock maintains one with the Voyager (the V'Ger-Decker-Ilia fusion created at the climax of The Motion Picture ). At least, he does at first. The connection begins to fade after a couple of weeks,
• Reasonable Authority Figure : Rishala is a mix of this and Good Shepherd .
• Repeat What You Just Said : McCoy figures out how to save Spring Rain On Still Water with such a moment - though in his case it's "repeat what I just said".
• Rite of Passage : For Betelgeusian males, their entire adolescence is essentially one long Rite of Passage . Chased from the pride by elder males as they approach puberty, they spend their teenage years and early manhood surviving alone in the wider galaxy, often winding up joining organizations like Starfleet to earn experience. Then they return to a pride and fight its members to win acceptance, and membership.
• Science Is Wrong : Rishala, who is nonetheless intelligent, believes that scientific investigation is largely a waste of the sentient being's potential for true discovery. In this, of course, she clashes with the protagonists. She believes science pales compared to spirituality and is dismissive of Kirk's need to explore the cosmos:
• Shout-Out : Chekov pondering the ethics of a telepathic police force (think Bester the Psi Cop from Babylon 5 ). An Actor Allusion .
• Sidetracked by the Analogy : Commodore Fein turns a discussion about Kirk's love for the Enterprise into a semi- Non Sequitur about art, after Kirk mentions the Mona Lisa as something else people don't get tired of staring at.
• Suicide Attack : A teenage Lorini is recruited by villainous cult leader Dovraku, and becomes a suicide bomber. He detonates his explosives at school and kills several other students.
• Transhuman : Will Decker was essentially a 23rd century transhumanist, with a personal spirituality deeply concerned with "unexplored potentials of the human mind". His particular dream was an All Your Powers Combined scenario whereby different species could transcend their limits by uniting their psyches and spiritual essence. This, he hoped, would let them sense or reach new levels of existence. For this reason, he was strongly drawn to species with telepathic abilities.
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story : A chapter near the book's conclusion is set many centuries in the past, showing the construction of the world-ship Yonada. It allows us to meet the historic figures who would become the Yonadi/Lorini gods. In a sense, given that these figures both built Yonada and created the Oracle, they truly were the creators of the world, and of the faith. Yonadi religious mythology is therefore shown to be Very Loosely Based on a True Story in its entirety.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy : Gnawing at the back of Spock's mind is the question of how his father Sarek will respond to his new philosophy of incorporating emotion into everyday life (Sarek having always encouraged Spock's commitment to pure logic).
• Well-Intentioned Extremist : Several characters, including Natira and Soreth. Both are assisted in eventually reaching awareness of their own well-meaning extremism, and taking steps to remedy the fault.
• What the Hell, Costuming Department? : McCoy's opinion on The Motion Picture -era Starfleet uniforms:

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