star trek metamorphosis novel

• Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Science Fiction
• Space Opera

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Metamorphosis (Star Trek : The Next Generation) Paperback – 1 Feb. 1990

• Language English
• Publisher Pocket Books
• Publication date 1 Feb. 1990
• Dimensions 10.16 x 1.91 x 17.15 cm
• ISBN-10 0671684027
• ISBN-13 978-0671684020
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books; Reissue edition (1 Feb. 1990)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671684027
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671684020
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.16 x 1.91 x 17.15 cm

About the author

Jean lorrah.

WHERE SIME AND GEN MEET, CREATIVITY HAPPENS

The motto of the Sime~Gen universe fits Jean Lorrah's writing career, for her work is always on some sort of borderland. In childhood she lived a life of the imagination far more vivid than the gloomy steel town she grew up in, yet she also succeeded in school, ultimately growing up to become a high school teacher and later a university professor as she continued her life of the mind into creative writing.

More recently, having retired from teaching (but not from writing), Jean took up art, and has become a prize-winning artist. In 2022 she joined the PAPA Gallery (Paducah Area Painters Alliance), where her work is selling nicely.

Jean is the creator of the Savage Empire series and co-author of the Sime~Gen series created by Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Jean specializes in Intimate Adventure, stories in which people with opposing points of view must resolve conflicts by working together, usually with lives at stake. In real life, she frequently collaborates with other authors.

She is also a screenwriter, with an optioned screenplay, Coal for Christmas, written with Lois Wickstrom. Be sure to look for her Nessie's Grotto books with Lois, and folk tale favorite Rooster Under the Table. Besides all that, Jean has a one-off vampire novel, Blood Will Tell, and of course her four professional Star Trek novels.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation: Metamorphosis

The first giant novel.

• 4.4 • 5 Ratings

Publisher Description

Unexplained gravitational disturbances summon Captain Picard and the Starship Enterprise TM to the planet Elysia, and the android Lieutenant Commander Data to a date with destiny. For on this alien world, he is drawn into an impossible quest, leading him to consequences both heartwarming and disastrous, as he finally dares to pursue his fondest desire: to become human.

Customer Reviews

A great deep look at data.

This is the only Star Trek novel I've read that really goes into depth describing what Data's like. It goes down to his physical abilities, his inner workings, and most interestingly, how his mind works. Data's a truly fascinating character, and this has been one of my favorite TNG novels for years.

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• Metamorphosis

Unexplained gravitational disturbances summon the Enterprise to the planet Elysia, and the android Lieutenant Commander Data to a date with destiny. For on this alien world, he will be drawn into an impossible quest, leading him to consequences both heartwarming and disastrous, as he finally dares to pursue his fondest desire: to become human.

• Jean Lorrah

Jean Lorrah (born 1938) is a science fiction and fantasy author.

• Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation consists of 44 total books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

Main series Star Trek Related series Star Trek: The Next Generation (numbered novels) Related series Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Genesis Wave Related series Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Time to... Related series Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations

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Metamorphosis

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Table of Contents

About the book, about the author.

Jean Lorrah is a science fiction and fantasy author. She has produced several Star Trek novels and often collaborated with Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Several of her books include  The IDIC Epidemic ?,  Sime Gen , and   The Savage Empire series. 

Product Details

• Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek (September 22, 2000)
• Length: 368 pages
• ISBN13: 9780743420594

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• Fiction > Science Fiction > Alien Contact
• Fiction > Science Fiction > Military
• Fiction > Science Fiction > Adventure

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Metamorphosis

LIST PRICE $7.99

• Amazon Kindle logo
• Apple Books logo

Table of Contents

About the book, about the author.

Jean Lorrah is a science fiction and fantasy author. She has produced several Star Trek novels and often collaborated with Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Several of her books include  The IDIC Epidemic ?,  Sime Gen , and   The Savage Empire series. 

Product Details

• Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek (September 22, 2000)
• Length: 368 pages
• ISBN13: 9780743420594

Browse Related Books

• Fiction > Science Fiction > Alien Contact
• Fiction > Science Fiction > Military
• Fiction > Science Fiction > Adventure

Resources and Downloads

High resolution images.

• Book Cover Image (jpg): Metamorphosis eBook 9780743420594

Get a FREE ebook by joining our mailing list today!

Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.

More books from this author: Jean Lorrah

More books in this series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

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More to Explore

Limited Time eBook Deals

Check out this month's discounted reads.

Our Summer Reading Recommendations

Red-hot romances, poolside fiction, and blockbuster picks, oh my! Start reading the hottest books of the summer.

This Month's New Releases

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Tell us what you like and we'll recommend books you'll love.

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

Metamorphosis (novel)

• View history

• 1 Description
• 3.1 Characters
• 3.2 Starships and vehicles
• 3.3 Locations
• 3.4 Races and cultures
• 3.5 States and organizations
• 3.6.1.1 Food and drink
• 3.7 Ranks and titles
• 3.8 Other references
• 4 Chronology
• 5.1 Connections
• 5.2.1 Translations
• 5.3 External link

Description [ ]

Summary [ ].

The Enterprise is sent to investigate mysterious gravitational distortions at the planet Elysia. In the process, they meet up again with Darryl Adin and his crew. An away team beams to the surface and hears of mysterious godlike aliens living on an island. Data investigates alone and finds Thelia , a princess going on a quest to unite her people's land with their neighbours. She and Data go on a quest together to meet with the gods, passing a series of tests that seem designed specifically for them. Both are given an audience with the gods. Although Data sought only knowledge, he is given the chance to become human and accepts it, returning to the Enterprise in that state.

The Enterprise' s next port of call is the Samdian Sector , whose inhabitants claim to be under attack from another race, the Konor , that no-one else has heard of. However, the crew slowly realise that the Konor are actually a new group of Samdians possessed with telepathic abilities, who believe this means they have souls and no-one else does. As a result, they are enslaving or exterminating what they consider an inferior race trespassing on "their" land, while removing any children who are like them. Since they are not interested in negotiation, the Enterprise crew are forbidden by the Prime Directive from intervening. Aldin and his crew stay behind to help them by making a stand on one of the system's planets.

Data meanwhile is experiencing curious sensations around women and begins to realise he is in love with Thelia. He returns to Elysia looking for her but finds she is engaged to Sharn , the prince of the neighbouring land. He also realises when she kissed him on the cheek it created a bond between them. He speaks with the gods, who inform him that because of his decision, the situation with the Konor will not only wipe out Aldin and his crew but start a war that will drag in all the major powers.

Data is returned to the moment he met Thelia but this time hides from her, and instead Sharn joins her on her quest. He travels with the Enterprise to the Samdian sector and the crew make the same discoveries as before...except this time Data is able to realise that his machine brain can understand the Konor's telepathy, meaning it is not true telepathy. A way is found to rig him so he can send out messages on the same wavelength. The Konor recognise him as one of them, only to discover he is a machine, causing their faith in the concept that they speak through their soul to be shaken. They agree to peace talks.

References [ ]

Characters [ ], starships and vehicles [ ], locations [ ], races and cultures [ ], states and organizations [ ], science and classification [ ], materials and substances [ ], food and drink [ ], ranks and titles [ ], other references [ ], chronology [ ], appendices [ ], connections [ ], timeline [ ], translations [ ], external link [ ].

• Metamorphosis (novel) article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 Cheronian
• 2 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 3 Eclipse class

Metamorphosis (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Story and script
• 4.2 Production
• 4.4 Reception
• 4.5 Remastered information
• 4.6 Production timeline
• 4.7 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Guest stars
• 5.4 Featuring
• 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.6 References
• 5.7 External links

Summary [ ]

Kirk , Spock , and McCoy are ferrying Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford back to the USS Enterprise . The commissioner, who has been called upon by the Federation to prevent a war on Epsilon Canaris III , has developed Sakuro's Disease , an extremely rare life-threatening illness , and must be removed to a medical facility for treatment. The commissioner is bitter at what she regards as incompetence in the Federation Medical Department , which she believes should have properly prepared her.

En route (shortly past point 3, on course 201 Mark 15), the shuttlecraft Galileo encounters a phenomenon that Spock describes as "vaguely like a cloud of ionized hydrogen , but with strong erratic electrical impulses". Moving at warp speed , it quickly envelops the shuttlecraft and disables its systems. The craft is pulled to course 98 Mark 12, towards the Gamma Canaris region .

Act One [ ]

McCoy, Kirk, and Spock on Gamma Canaris N

There, it is soft-landed on an iron - nickel planetoid with a standard oxygen - nitrogen atmosphere and standard gravity – a place entirely suited for Human life. Examining the shuttlecraft, Spock discovers something that should be impossible: nothing is damaged and yet nothing works. McCoy notes that the gaseous cloud they encountered in space seems to be here, on the surface. Then a loud "hallooooooo" breaks the stillness. Someone else is here – a young man who quickly joins the stranded group. He introduces himself simply as Cochrane . He tells the officers that a damping field prevents some technology here from working. But he denies knowledge of the force that brought the shuttlecraft here.

Kirk and McCoy find this man familiar, somehow, but cannot quite place him. Cochrane shows his visitors to his home, decorated with instruments Kirk regards as antiques. Ominously, Commissioner Hedford has developed a fever , the first symptom of her illness.

Finally, Kirk presses Cochrane, and learns about the Companion . This is what he calls the strange creature that brought the Galileo here. Kirk asks him his first name, and then realizes why Cochrane seems so familiar: he is Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri , inventor of space warp drive. Cochrane was old, and knew he wanted to die in space. So he took a spacecraft and left his home on Alpha Centauri for parts unknown. The Companion found him, reversed his aging process, and has maintained him here ever since. Cochrane is responsible for the abduction of Kirk and his party via communicating his loneliness to the Companion; he had thought that the Companion would simply release him. During the discussion Hedford suddenly starts crying and yelling incoherently, forcing McCoy to sedate her with a hypospray and place her in Cochrane's bed.

Act Two [ ]

Kirk asks Spock to attempt to repair the Galileo . While doing so, with a trident scanner , the Companion appears there, directly behind him. Curious, he touches it, and receives an electrical shock that destroys the scanner and knocks him out cold. The circuitry of the Galileo bursts into flame; the Companion is taking no chances.

Cochrane agrees to summon the Companion , to see if it can help Commissioner Hedford . Kirk asks him how he will summon the Companion and Cochrane replies "I just sort of clear my mind, and it comes." While observing the Companion with Cochrane, McCoy and Kirk notice the apparent, almost Telepathic communion, and find it cannot be minimized to anything less than love. Unfortunately, Cochrane learns that the Companion cannot do anything to help Commissioner Hedford .

McCoy discovers Spock; the encounter has left Spock with a new insight: the Companion is largely made of electricity . McCoy asks Spock if he is correct in surmising that something made up of electricity can be shorted out. Spock confirms this and later constructs a mechanism to scramble electrical impulses; with this, Kirk intends to disable or destroy the creature, so that the Humans may depart. Cochrane now has reservations; he doesn't want the creature killed, saying " we've been very close in a way that's hard to explain ". Kirk overwhelms him with the force of his personality, though Cochrane understands their perspective. Unhappy at being forced into the role of a Judas goat, Cochrane nevertheless agrees to summon the creature. Spock throws the switch, and discovers that his mechanism is sufficient only to irritate the creature. It attacks Kirk and Spock, choking them. McCoy yells at it to stop before it kills his friends.

Act Three [ ]

" It's a big galaxy, Mr. Scott. " " Aye. "

Despite McCoy's pleas, the Companion continues to attack Kirk and Spock. Cochrane eventually comes to and calls off the Companion. McCoy suggests to Kirk he is thinking too much like a soldier, not a diplomat. Trying the carrot instead of the stick approach, Kirk decides that they will communicate with the creature instead using the universal translator .

Nearby, the Enterprise searches for the now long overdue shuttlecraft. Finally, at 210 Mark 40, the sensors detect a strong antimatter particle concentration. Lacking evidence that the shuttlecraft has been destroyed, Scott elects to follow this tenuous course.

On Gamma Canaris, Spock has completed modifying the universal translator from the Galileo so Kirk can communicate with the Companion. Kirk begins by saying "We wish to talk to you" and the Companion replies with "How can we communicate? My thoughts… you are hearing them. This is interesting" in a feminine voice. From the voice, Kirk surmises that the Companion is female, casting her relationship with Cochrane in an entirely new light. Kirk implores the Companion to permit their departure, but she is adamant; to her, the safety and health of Cochrane is the only important goal. And to ensure that, she intends to keep the shuttlecraft crew here, forever.

Cochrane is dismayed to discover the truth behind the dynamic that exists between himself and the Companion. He finds it repulsive, disgusting even, and feels used. Kirk, Spock and McCoy do not understand his parochial attitude. For her part, the Commissioner – who is now barely conscious and close to death, but has regained some level of lucidity – is baffled by someone who, offered love, rejects it. The great regret of her life, as it draws near its end, is that she has never been loved.

The Enterprise continues its search. Sulu has discovered an asteroid field containing 7,000 bodies in sizes ranging from A to M. Thirty percent of them have atmospheres in types ranging from H to M. The search will be a long one, but Scott remains convinced by the lack of evidence that the shuttlecraft landed safely somewhere , and he is prepared to search every asteroid if necessary.

Kirk tries new tactics. First, he tries to convince the Companion that without obstacles to overcome, the Humans will weaken and die. When that fails, he tries to convince the Companion that there can never be real love, because it and Cochrane are too different. The Companion considers this, and then disappears. Kirk's hope is that the Companion will release Cochrane and his party – love expressing itself as sacrifice – but this is not her choice. Instead, moments later, an apparently healthy Nancy Hedford appears in the door of Cochrane's small home, her voice now gently echoing.

Act Four [ ]

The Companion has joined with Hedford, sacrificing her powers and immortality to become Human, and experience life with Zefram Cochrane as a Human woman would. Cochrane is reluctant, but becomes enthusiastic, promising to show her the galaxy now that he can. Sadly, she tells him that she cannot leave; her life emanates from this small planetoid. Just as he must eat, so she must remain here or perish in a short march of days. Cochrane cannot bring himself to leave her, and elects to remain behind. He asks Kirk to keep his existence a secret, a request Kirk grants. Spock observes that Cochrane and Companion/Hedford will now live out a normal life span without immortality – a condition that both of them accept as inevitable and uniquely Human. McCoy fears that they have failed to stop the war on Epsilon Canaris III, but Kirk gives him relief that the Federation can surely find “another woman, somewhere, who will stop that war.”

Galileo flies off through space, heading back to the Enterprise .

Log entries [ ]

• Ship's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Memorable quotes [ ]

" You're food to a starving man. "

" I could even offer you a hot bath. " " How perceptive of you to notice that I needed one. "

" You wear your age very well. "

" Immortality consists largely of boredom. "

" What was it they used to call it? The Judas goat? "

" Maybe you're a soldier so often that you forget you're also trained to be a diplomat. Why not try a carrot instead of a stick? "

" It's a big galaxy, Mister Scott. "

" The idea of male and female are universal constants. "

" You're not a pet. You're not a specimen kept in a cage. You're a lover. "

" But I've never been loved. Never. What kind of life is that? Not to be loved, never to have shown love? And he runs away from love. "

" This is loneliness. Oh, what a bitter thing. "

" I can't leave her. I love her. Is that surprising? " " Not coming from a Human being. You are, after all, essentially irrational. "

Background information [ ]

Story and script [ ].

• Bantam Books published a series of novelizations called "foto-novels," which took photographic stills from actual episodes and arranged word balloons and text over them, to create a comic book formatted story. The fifth installment was an adaptation of this episode and featured an interview with Elinor Donahue.
• This is the only episode in the first two seasons in which Captain Kirk is not on the Enterprise at any time during the plot. Likewise, the Enterprise does not appear until twenty-seven minutes into the episode. In four third season shows, Kirk also spends the entire episode off-ship: " The Paradise Syndrome ", " Plato's Stepchildren ", " Whom Gods Destroy ", and " All Our Yesterdays ".
• In the first draft script, Scott is also on board the shuttlecraft (here called the Edison ) with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Hedford. It was originally he who was to encounter the Companion while attempting to repair the shuttlecraft. [1]
• In the first draft, the Enterprise is temporarily commanded by Sulu, and the helmsman is an officer with an African background named Lieutenant Ackrumba. [2] The character later appeared in the novel Mission to Horatius .
• The first draft script ends with a joke: as the landing party leaves the planetoid, Spock wonders if Cochrane is a bigamist, by having two entities in the same body for his partner. Kirk assures him that this is nonsense. [3]
• A Gold Key Comics comic book was released as a sequel to this episode, #49: " A Warp in Space ".
• This is the first story to feature Zefram Cochrane , inventor of warp drive and an important figure to Federation history. He later re-appeared in Star Trek: First Contact and ENT : " Broken Bow ", played by James Cromwell .

Production [ ]

A moment from the filming of this episode

• The Companion was designed by future Star Wars Oscar-winner Richard Edlund who created photographic effects at the Westheimer Company . ( Star Trek Encyclopedia , 2nd ed., p. 84) The sparkling effects of the Companion was reused in "The Apple" when the Enterprise fires phasers at Vaal, and again in "Obsession" inside of the deadly vampire cloud.
• The episode's preview includes a take not used in the final episode, during which Hedford tells McCoy that she doesn't want to die. She does say this in the episode, before explaining that she has not had love in her life, but the scene is filmed as a close-up instead.
• The shuttlecraft mock-up is not the same as the set used for the interiors of the Galileo . Kirk and company are all crouching as they emerge from the ship, yet the shuttlecraft interior set had a lot more headroom.
• The scenes of Cochrane communicating with the Companion were all shot at one time. The set was then completely redone with his house added for all of the sequences with Kirk and company. The inconsistencies between the two versions of the same set can be seen in alien trees that are near Cochrane in one view and absent in the next.
• Symbolically, the colored patterns in the scarf worn by the commissioner are identical to the patterns in the energy field of the Companion. This is shown clearly as she looks at Cochrane through the scarf near the end of the episode. This wasn't scripted or even intended by the production staff. Director Ralph Senensky came up with the idea on the set, calling it "one of those wonderful freak accidents that happen". [4] The inspiration was a scene in "The Escape", a 1966 episode of The F.B.I. , also directed by Senensky. [5]
• A few scenes featuring Elinor Donahue had to be re-shot, because the original film negatives were damaged and couldn't be used. Portions of the planet set had to be rebuilt, since other episodes were shot there by that time, using different sets. Meanwhile, Donahue got pneumonia and lost ten pounds. To hide this, they put Hedford's scarf around her neck and upper body. However, her weight loss is still visible on her face. [6] The re-shots were not directed by Ralph Senensky. [7]
• Senensky was unhappy with the initial reading of the Companion's lines by Elizabeth Rogers and had them re-recorded by actress Lisabeth Hush. [8]
• To give an illusion of open space to a confined stage set, wide angle lenses were used. Although Glenn Corbett appears to be hundreds of yards away when he first runs toward the shuttle, he is much closer. Strategically placed rocks also allowed the camera to be very far away without seeing the edges of the set.
• A drawback to the use of a wide angle lens is evident in the scene where actor Corbett first approaches the shuttlecraft. Accent lights on top of the set's background are clearly visible along the top of the "sky" as the camera pans to the right when following Corbett's path. At the end of the shot the black edge of the set is clearly visible behind the shuttlecraft.
• In a rare effect, slowly moving "clouds" were blown in from hidden vents, adding a touch of reality to the usually static planet set. This was also used in " Obsession ".
• A view of the starship from dead center in front of the saucer section is used only in this episode.
• All the footage of the shuttlecraft in outer space was reused from " The Galileo Seven ", some with the Companion animation added in post-production.
• The planet used as Gamma Canaris N (a purple color-corrected version of the planet created for " Operation -- Annihilate! ", portraying Deneva ) was reused in subsequent episodes, representing the Halkan homeworld in " Mirror, Mirror ", Omega IV in " The Omega Glory ", and Holberg 917G in " Requiem for Methuselah ".
• This was George Duning 's first Star Trek score, the strength of which got him rehired for many more assignments, including " Patterns of Force ", " Return to Tomorrow ", " And the Children Shall Lead ", " Is There in Truth No Beauty? ", and " The Empath ". Portions of the score were heard again throughout the season, but the love themes were reused only once more, in " The Gamesters of Triskelion ".
• Walter Koenig ( Pavel Chekov ) does not appear in this episode.
• The original voice of the Companion by Elizabeth Rogers was too emotionless and robotic, and all of her dialogue had to be re-recorded by another actress, Lisabeth Hush. [9]

Reception [ ]

• Elinor Donahue recalled about this episode, " I remember watching it at home. And I am quite often nervous about watching something I'm in because there is nothing you can do about it once it's out there. But I was very pleased with it; very happy. " ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two , p. 72)
• Ralph Senensky named this episode as his favorite among those he directed. [10] Senensky recalled, praising the work of Gene Coon, " I just thought the script was absolutely wonderful. As I remember Gene [Coon], he was the least author-y type of person. He just didn't seem like an author. He didn't present that kind of sensitivity that his writing had expressed. It was just a deep, deep script and scene after scene had so many angles to come at it from. It was a complex script. " [11]

Remastered information [ ]

The remastered version of this episode premiered in syndication the weekend of 3 November 2007 . It featured new shots of the Galileo and the Companion in space, replaced a foreground rock with a shot of the sky in Cochrane's initial appearance, and included the shuttle returning to the Enterprise in the closing shot. Curiously, the remastered version of the planetoid matches the purple sky of the sound stage less than the original. The original planetoid was all purple while the remastered version is brown with only a slight purple atmosphere.

Production timeline [ ]

• Story outline by Gene L. Coon : 7 April 1967
• First draft teleplay: 14 April 1967
• Second draft teleplay: 19 April 1967
• Final draft teleplay: 21 April 1967
• Revised final draft: 3 May 1967
• Additional page revisions: 8 May 1967 , 12 May 1967 , 13 May 1967 , 17 May 1967
• Day 1 – 11 May 1967 , Thursday (Half Day) – Desilu Stage 10 : Ext. Gamma Canaris surface
• Day 2 – 12 May 1967 , Friday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Shuttlecraft , Bridge
• Day 3 – 15 May 1967 , Monday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Cochrane's home
• Day 4 – 16 May 1967 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Cochrane's home
• Day 5 – 17 May 1967 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Cochrane's home , Ext. Outside Cochrane's home
• Day 6 – 18 May 1967 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 10 : Ext. Gamma Canaris surface
• Day 7 – 19 May 1967 , Friday (Half Day) – Desilu Stage 10 : Ext. Gamma Canaris surface
• Score recording, 28 June 1967
• Original airdate, 10 November 1967
• Rerun airdate, 19 July 1968
• First UK airdate 11 May 1970

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original US Betamax release: 1986
• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 17 , catalog number VHR 2329, release date unknown
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.1, 3 February 1997
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 16, 19 September 2000
• As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Guest stars [ ]

• Glenn Corbett as Zefram Cochrane
• Elinor Donahue as Nancy Hedford

Featuring [ ]

• James Doohan as Scott
• George Takei as Sulu
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• William Blackburn as Hadley (stock footage)
• Jeannie Malone as Enterprise operations yeoman
• Eddie Paskey as Leslie
• Lisabeth Hush as Companion (voice)
• Ron Veto as Harrison (stock footage)
• Unknown actor as Enterprise command lieutenant

References [ ]

2030 ; 2119 ; affection ; " all right "; " all the best "; Alpha Centauri ; animal ; antimatter ; antique ; argon ; " as a matter of fact "; Assistant Federation Commissioner ; asteroid ; asteroid belt ; atmosphere ; " at the moment "; attitude ; automatic scanner ; bath ; bearing ; blindness ; blood pressure ; body ; body temperature ; " Bones "; boredom ; brain wave pattern ; cage ; cane ; cannibalize ; captivity ; carrot ; chance ; chief surgeon ; choking ; chronological age ; cities named after Cochrane ; Class M ; classroom ; climate ; cloud ; Cochrane's home ; Cochrane's ship ; commissioner ; computer central ; congruent lifeform ; contact ; coordinates ; course ; crash landing ; creature ; dampening field ; day ; death ; debris ; decency ; degree ; density ; device ; diplomat ; distance ; Earth ; earth ; electric shock ; electrical impulse ; electricity ; electronic scrambler ; element ; emotion ; emotional reaction ; English language ; entity ; Epsilon Canaris III ; estimate ; estimated time of arrival (ETA); " excuse me "; existence ; " eye-opener "; " face up to it "; Fahrenheit ; Federation ; feeling ; feet ; female ; fever ; field ; fig tree ; first officer ; first name ; fodder ; frequency ; full alert ; Galileo ; Gamma Canaris asteroid belt ; Gamma Canaris N ; Gamma Canaris N sun ; Gamma Canaris region ; garden ; gas ; gender ; grammar ; gratitude ; gravity ; hammer ; hand ; handshake ; heat ; hello ; heart ; hijack ; hiking ; home ; hospital ; hour ; Human (aka Earth people); hydrogen ; immortality ; " in fact "; inoculation ; intelligent life ; " in view of "; ion ; iron ; job ; joy ; Judas goat ; kiss ; knowledge ; krypton ; life ; light ; logic ; loneliness ; love ; lover ; Maker of All Things ; male ; marooning ; matter ; medical branch ; medical facility ; Milky Way Galaxy ; million ; mind ; minute ; monster ; morality ; name ; nature ; nickel ; nitrogen ; neon ; non-verbal communication ; " not a chance "; " not a word "; " of course "; " off the beaten path "; opportunity ; " out of circulation "; " out of style "; overload ; owner ; oxygen ; parochial ; pattern ; percent ; pet ; phaser ; physical age ; physicist ; place ; planet ; planetoid ; planets named after Cochrane ; pod ; " point of view "; power relay ; power system ; prisoner ; probability ; propulsion ; question ; range ; rejuvenation ; relationship ; rendezvous ; respiration ; ridge ; " right down your alley "; risk ; Sakuro's Disease ; scarf ; scientist ; search ; sensor ; shelter ; shuttlecraft ; shuttlecraft bay ; size ; soldier ; space ; space warp ; species (aka race ); specimen ; spherical sweep ; spirit ; standard orbit ; " stand by "; Starfleet ; Starfleet Medical ; starship ; stick ; story ; sun ; surface ; switch ; symbiosis ; " take it easy "; " take my word "; Telepathy ; temperature ; theory ; thing ; thought ; thousand ; tolerance level ; tool ; toy ; tractor beam ; trick ; tricorder ; trident scanner ; university ; universal translator ; vegetable ; voice ; voltage ; Vulcan ; war ; water ; weapon ; will ; year ; zookeeper

External links [ ]

• " Metamorphosis " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Metamorphosis " at Wikipedia
• " Metamorphosis " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• " Metamorphosis " at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Calypso (episode)

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Metamorphosis

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Metamorphosis

• Episode aired Nov 10, 1967

While returning to the Enterprise aboard the shuttlecraft, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a seriously ill Federation diplomat find themselves kidnapped by an energized cloud. While returning to the Enterprise aboard the shuttlecraft, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a seriously ill Federation diplomat find themselves kidnapped by an energized cloud. While returning to the Enterprise aboard the shuttlecraft, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a seriously ill Federation diplomat find themselves kidnapped by an energized cloud.

• Ralph Senensky
• Gene Roddenberry
• Gene L. Coon
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 48 User reviews
• 12 Critic reviews

• Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk

• Mister Spock

• Zefram Cochrane

• Nancy Hedford

• Lieutenant Hadley
• (uncredited)

• The Companion

• Lieutenant Leslie
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia A few scenes featuring Elinor Donahue had to be re-shot, because the original film negatives were damaged and couldn't be used. Portions of the planet set had to be rebuilt, since other episodes were shot there by that time, using different sets. Meanwhile, Donahue got pneumonia and lost ten pounds. To hide this, they put Hedford's scarf around her neck and upper body. However, her weight loss is still visible on her face. The re-shots were not directed by Ralph Senensky .
• Goofs The shuttle craft used is called the "Galileo". The Galileo was destroyed in The Galileo Seven (1967) . However, the Enterprise would have put in for re-supply at least twice in the time since then. "Galileo" was simply replaced.

Captain James T. Kirk : Our species can only survive if we have obstacles to overcome. You take away all obstacles. Without them to strengthen us, we will weaken and die.

• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Featured in Cinematic Excrement: Spock's Brain (2014)
• Soundtracks Theme Music credited to Alexander Courage Sung by Loulie Jean Norman

User reviews 48

• Sep 16, 2006
• November 10, 1967 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
• Desilu Productions
• Norway Corporation
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 50 minutes

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Metamorphosis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) Kindle Edition

• Print length 285 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Pocket Books/Star Trek
• Publication date Sept. 22 2000
• File size 846 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

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Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003ATPRC4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books/Star Trek; 1st edition (Sept. 22 2000)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 846 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 285 pages
• #191 in Next Generation
• #3,963 in Alien Contact Science Fiction eBooks
• #5,848 in Genetic Engineering Science Fiction eBooks

About the author

Jean lorrah.

WHERE SIME AND GEN MEET, CREATIVITY HAPPENS

The motto of the Sime~Gen universe fits Jean Lorrah's writing career, for her work is always on some sort of borderland. In childhood she lived a life of the imagination far more vivid than the gloomy steel town she grew up in, yet she also succeeded in school, ultimately growing up to become a high school teacher and later a university professor as she continued her life of the mind into creative writing.

More recently, having retired from teaching (but not from writing), Jean took up art, and has become a prize-winning artist. In 2022 she joined the PAPA Gallery (Paducah Area Painters Alliance), where her work is selling nicely.

Jean is the creator of the Savage Empire series and co-author of the Sime~Gen series created by Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Jean specializes in Intimate Adventure, stories in which people with opposing points of view must resolve conflicts by working together, usually with lives at stake. In real life, she frequently collaborates with other authors.

She is also a screenwriter, with an optioned screenplay, Coal for Christmas, written with Lois Wickstrom. Be sure to look for her Nessie's Grotto books with Lois, and folk tale favorite Rooster Under the Table. Besides all that, Jean has a one-off vampire novel, Blood Will Tell, and of course her four professional Star Trek novels.

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Star Trek : "Metamorphosis" / "Journey To Babel"

While the Enterprise's basic "search and explore" mission provides a lot of open ground for the writers, it does get a bit old to start each new episode with Kirk and the others taking readings off a brand new planet, right before the situation goes pear shaped. I'm not sure if that's the reason why "Metamorphosis" opens the way it does, with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and a woman named Hedford in the Galileo shuttle-craft on their way home, but it's as good a reason as any. We don't even see the Enterprise until a good twenty minutes in, which gives the proceedings a certain unmoored quality; as though Kirk and his two best buds decided to play hooky for the week, and we get to tag along.

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But the whole point of playing hooky is having fun, and with Hedford around, there's precious little chance of that happening. Another in a long line of pissy Starfleet officers, our miss is an assistant commissioner forced to leave her post due to health problems; she'd been brokering a peace treaty, so it's understandable that she'd be frustrated, but what isn't understandable is the way she takes that frustration out on anything that has the temerity to show concern or even moderate interest in her well-being. Kirk is charged with bringing her back to the Enterprise for treatment (stray thought: I wondered why the Enterprise didn't just come pick Hedford up itself, given how much time is of the essence here, but maybe those warring factions that Hedford is working to calm down wouldn't be too happy to see a big ass symbol of Starfleet authority show up in the middle of their war), and she's making him pay for every minute of it. It's one of the episode's weak spots; the show's never been much for strong women, and to have one of the few prominent career gals we see behave like the stereotypical cold shrew (a key plot point is that she's never had real love in her life) is distracting and tedious. Thankfully, a space anomaly shows up to snatch the Galileo before things get too unpleasant. While Hedford continues to gripe (with McCoy joining in; the idiots don't seem to realize that when a sparkling cloud grabs you, you don't really have many options), the anomaly brings the shuttlecraft to one of those "wow, the atmosphere here is just like Earth's!" planets. I love how they make a point of mentioning this every once in a while; given that nobody ever wears a space suit on this series, isn't every planet Earth appropriate? On this new, pink and purple world, the shuttle-craft lands, and won't rise again. McCoy finds signs that the space cloud has followed them to the planet's surface, but before anybody can work out what's going on, a man appears on the horizon. He calls himself Cochrane, and he's just delighted to meet everybody. He's especially delighted to meet Hedford, which he makes sure to point out to her numerous times in a creepy, "I'm going to refer to you as if you couldn't understand what I'm saying" way, like he's praising a horse to its owners. (Hedford's reactions are pretty hilarious; it's not quite outrage so much as a fifty year-old schoolmarm getting repeatedly goosed.) He's also impressed with their ship, although he assures them it won't get running again—some kind of damping field on the planet surface keeps engines down. Everybody hikes to Cochrane's place. He tells them he crash-landed a while back, but he underplays just how long ago that "while" was, and that's not his only secret. While Hedford collapses in the living room (not before getting a few choice remarks out beforehand, of course), Kirk and McCoy try to remember where they've seen Cochrane before. Then the space cloud shows up to float around the edge of the garden outside, and Kirk finally demands Cochrane spill the whole truth. His first name is Zefram, and he's known to Kirk and the others for inventing warp drive. And he disappeared 150 years ago. One of the things I enjoyed most about "Metamorphosis" is that it gives a few more pieces of Starfleet history. I'm not sure I'd call myself a hardcore continuity geek (you have to wear leather and read tech manuals for that), but I appreciate world-building as much as the next guy, and while I doubt anyone at the time thought that Cochrane's name would ever come up again, it's cool to have a sense of history here. What's unfortunate is that that history is only a means to an end. Zefram invented warp drive so that he would be famous enough for Kirk and the others to be shocked he was still alive. Apart from some cursory interest in the Galileo's design, his engineering work is meaningless, as is his fame; his love of travel drove him into space in his old age, where the space cloud (aka the Companion) found him and made him young, but in the 150 years since then, he's been a lump. Hell, he's as boring as any other random jerk we've run into on the show. I realize we can't have him gibbering and bathing in his own filth, but surely some concession could've been made to the century and a half the guy spent in exile. When Zefram spills the beans to Kirk, he explains how he communes with the Companion, and that it's peaceful, so maybe some of the horrors of all that time seperated from human contact were mitigated by those sessions. But still, that's a long time to just sit around and not die. And it's certainly not a history that Kirk is willing to repeat. After explaining the nature of his relationship with the Companion (a relationship he himself doesn't really understand), Zefram gives the bad news: Kirk and the others were brought to the planet to be Zefram's buddies. That it took 150 years for this to happen seems a stretch (unless there are more things buried under the sand than plastic rocks—maybe Zefram doesn't play well with others), but stretch or not, our heroes are stuck. If they want to get off the rock, they're going to need to find a way past yet another god-entity. And this one won't even do Kirk the courtesy of having a corporeal form to punch. Apart from the introduction of the man who gave us warp drive, "Metamorphosis" has a wonky enough vibe to stay fairly interesting through out. The two scenes back on the Enterprise are essentially pointless, but other than that, the script doesn't wast much time. We get one failed attempt to "short out" the Companion, which goes badly; after that, it's just a matter of realizing just why the space cloud who just happens to have a female voice on the Universal Translator swiped a hunk of man meat out of the cosmos to be her forever friend. Love comes in many sizes, y'know? And hardly any of them make sense. Here's where things go off the rails for me, as Zefram is revealed to be a lunkhead and an ass. When Kirk breaks the news that the Companion is his sort-of lover, Cochrane wigs out, and calls the whole relationship "disgusting." I can understand him being unnerved, but the bizarre attempt to apply conventional morality to the situation falls utterly flat; he even busts out the "Maybe this kind of thing is okay in your neck of the universe" speech. Thankfully McCoy and Spock are more reasonable about it, so we get the usual Trek nod to tolerance and respect. But that's undercut by the fact that Zefram doesn't back down until the Companion merges with the near-death Hedford. It's only when the alien has a human form—a form that Zefram has admired earlier—that he starts to appreciate all that's been done for him. Basically, it's only when he gets everything he wants that he stops sulking. Ever read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein? It's about a tree that loves a boy, and how that tree gives its shade, its fruit, and ultimately its body to keep the boy happy. I knew someone years ago how absolutely despised the book—said it was all about a woman who sacrifices everything she has without getting anything in return—and while I didn't agree with her at the time, there's something about "Metamorphosis" that reminds me of that story. The lesson here is subtle, and you can argue I'm reading too much in, but notice how the Companion is stereotypically "feminine," nuturing, sacrificing, to the point where she is willing to give up immortality in order to make her man happy. And notice how Hedford, snipey twerp that she is, confesses in her final moments as a single entity that she regrets never knowing love. As though the whole peace treaty wasn't nearly as important as hooking up and making babies. (Kirk even dismisses the importance of Hedford to the treaty in the episode's last line; you have to wonder what kind of story he's going to tell Starfleet to explain losing one of its officers during critical negotiations.) It's enough to take some of the fun out of a reasonably entertaining storyline. As things end, the Companion merges with Hedford's body, Zefram finally sees the error of his ways, and since the new Hedford can't leave the planet without dying, he decides to stay where he is, because hey, he's got something he can actually fuck now. Kirk and the others, having seen the beauty of true whatchamacallit, leave with strict orders to never tell another living soul what happened. Why? I dunno. That's just how things get done. And as always, we're left with questions. Like, we only have the new Hedford's word that the merging was a peaceful process—which is kind of creepy, isn't it? And how long are the newlyweds going to stay happy once Zefram realizes that the Companion sacrificed her powers to become physical? Better hope that the planet's 72 degree atmosphere is a naturally occurring phenomenon… "Journey to Babel" moves away from high concept to settle into what was always my least favorite kind of episode growing up: old-fashioned melodrama. There are sci-fi trappings, of course—we're still in a space ship after all—but instead of focusing its attentions on some new world or scary alien, "Babel" gives us feelings and people and relationships and stuff. This just seemed like a waste of potential to my ten year-old self. In my defense, I was watching a lot of Next Generation at the time. A lot of the "we're transporting aliens to such and such, and it's tense" episodes on that series were really, really dull. "Babel" is definitely not dull. It's sappy and at times muddled, but since this is the original series, even the so-called emotionless characters are on edge. And hey, if the introduction of Zefram Cochrane in "Metamorphosis" thrilled you, we get a far more important player here: Spock's father, Sarek, played by Mark Lenard (last seen here as a Romulan Commander in "Balance of Terror") and Spock mom, Amanda, not being played by Winona Ryder. (It's Jane Wyatt, Miss Jane Wyatt if you're nasty.) The Enterprise has been charged with transporting a gaggle of ambassadors to an important Federation council meeting, and Sarek is one of those ambassadors. Funny how Spock never bothered to mention that to Kirk until just before the opening titles, huh? One of the original Trek's greatest strengths is Leonard Nimoy as Spock; one of its greatest weaknesses is its shaky (at best) grasp on the concept of logic. Much the way that Jedi Knights turned from bad-asses with laser swords into muddled, contradictory cultists when Lucas tried to explain their culture in the prequels, the more we see of how Vulcan's put their philosophy into practice, the more Spock's rationality seems like some kind of fluke. That worked to great purpose in "Amok Time," which gave us a society whose rigid self-control rests as much on arcane ritual as it does on stoicism, but here, the basic message is, "Those wacky Vulcans are just like humans at heart, if only they'd realize it!" (Okay, maybe "heart" is a poor word choice in this case, given McCoy's struggles to keep Sarek's still beating.) After the freaky abstraction of "Amok," "Babel" just gives us The Jazz Singer in space. Thankfully, Lenard is as up to the task as Nimoy. Sarek is basically just a cooler variation on the Romulan from "Balance," but the chemistry between him and Spock is sound. Jane Wyatt, not so much, although it's hard to know how much of that is the writer's fault; Amanda initially seems as smart and strong as her husband, but as the episode progresses, she turns into the same emotionally spastic, intellectually over-matched woman we get all the freakin' time on the series. Only she's slightly maternal as well. A marriage between a human and a Vulcan is, as far as we can tell, an incredibly rare thing. You'd expect Amanda to be a singular person, and the connection between her and Sarek to be something more complicated than "He's repressed! She's in touch with her heart!" But it doesn't seem to be. Buried in amidst all this (incredibly predictable) family drama is something sort of resembling a plot. A pig-headed (literally—and good lord, the DVD is not kind to the mask here) ambassador named Gav is found dead on ship, his neck broken in a manner similar to certain Vulcan practices of old. Gav and Sarek were seen fighting earlier, so he falls under suspicion. It's a development that seems to come more out of dramatic necessity than anything anyone actually believes. Not even Spock's "My dad could totally kill a guy" conversation with Kirk is very convincing. When the boys go to confront Sarek, he collapses; and McCoy, after his usual grumblings about Vulcan anatomy (seriously, you'd think the Vulcans would've provided biological information to the Federation; it's not like they don't have science where Spock is from), explains that Sarek's heart is mucked up, and he needs an operation. Now, you may have initially thought that "Babel" was about the dead ambassador; and when Sarek drops to the floor, you might reasonably have assumed that this was connected to the earlier killing in some way. Perhaps whoever killed Gav is planning on bumping off others? This would be an incorrect assumption on your part. Sarek's health problems now take center stage, because he needs a lot of Vulcan blood if he's going to have that operation, and Spock is the only person who can provide it. Maybe this will give them a chance to patch up the 18 year long silence between them? So that's what the episode is about—Spock and Sarek getting chummy again. There's a lot of back and forth about the operation; it's dangerous for Spock, he'll need to produce a lot of blood for Sarek to survive, Amanda doesn't want Spock to risk his life, and so on. Just when you thought the whole dead-pig-guy thread got dropped, we come back from commercial break to find Kirk fighting against a blue skinned Andorian (who may not be what he appears to be). Kirk gets stabbed, the Andorian goes to the brig, and now we have a new complication; there's still some kind of conspiracy going on (which probably has something to do with the unidentified vessel that's trailing the Enterprise), and now Spock has to take command while Kirk recovers from his injuries. Given the situation, Spock refuses to step down and let someone else take charge, even if that means delaying his dad's operation and costing Sarek his life. (Oddly enough, now Amanda is bitching Spock out for not agreeing to the surgery.) Simultaneous plotlines are nothing new for the series, but "Babel" is all over the place. The conspiracy plot keeps getting dropped to the side, and while the pay-off—a tense confrontation between the Enterprise and the ship that's been stalking them—is solid, it seems to come from another episode entirely. I wanted more diplomacy, more discussion about what was at stake beyond a handful of rapid lines thrown out more as justification than storytelling. The Sarek/Spock stuff has its moments, but there's an awful lot of cliche here; the most interesting twist is Spock's commitment to duty, and how it doesn't really seem like a bad thing, no matter how hard his mother might hit him. It falls to Kirk to fake recovery long enough to get Spock to relinquish command, but even that plan is just much an excuse for Kirk to get back into the action as anything else. In the end, everybody winds up happy. Sarek survives, he and Spock share a quip, and the conspirators, who turn out to be raiders trying to play both sides against the other, all die. One of them even poisons himself; it's slow-acting poison, which seems a poor choice for a spy ("Ha-ha! You may have captured me, but I'm going to die… eventually… so you'll have no time to get information out of me! Not unless you act fast!"), but he's dead regardless. "Babel" is an important episode in Trek because of the introduction of Spock's parents. On its own, it's fun, provided you don't mind the disjointedness. It's nice to see the Enterprise working a different job, and one that implies a larger system than we ever see. It's just frustrating that the politics are largely tossed aside in favor of overheated soap opera. Spock's half-human, half-vulcan heritage has a lot of potential for character drama, and that potential is briefly explored here; but while Nimoy turns in his usual strong work, and Lenard provides able assistance, I'm just not feeling it. But hey, sometimes you just have to enjoy the episode you get, instead of pining for the one that might have been. Grades: "Metamorphosis": B "Journey To Babel": B Stray Observations:

• There's a lovely moment in "Metamorphosis" when the Companion, in Hedford's body, lifts up her scarf so she can see Zefram through it; it's like she's remembering how he looked when she embraced him as a multi-colored cloud.
• For those not up on their Trek -lore, Zefram Cochrane is a main character in the only Next Generation movie worth a damn, First Contact.
• Looks like the writers on the new Star Trek movie watching "Journey to Babel" at some point—in addition to a reference to Spock having a troubled youth, the final bit of dialogue between Spock and Sarek ("Why did you marry her?" "At the time, it seemed like the logical thing to do.") sounds very familiar.
• Up next, "Friday's Child" and "The Deadly Years."

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Metamorphosis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1990

• Print length 371 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Pocket Books
• Publication date January 1, 1990
• ISBN-10 067170480X
• ISBN-13 978-0671704803
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books; later printing edition (January 1, 1990)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 371 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 067170480X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671704803
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.54 pounds
• #47,461 in Space Operas

About the author

Jean lorrah.

WHERE SIME AND GEN MEET, CREATIVITY HAPPENS

The motto of the Sime~Gen universe fits Jean Lorrah's writing career, for her work is always on some sort of borderland. In childhood she lived a life of the imagination far more vivid than the gloomy steel town she grew up in, yet she also succeeded in school, ultimately growing up to become a high school teacher and later a university professor as she continued her life of the mind into creative writing.

More recently, having retired from teaching (but not from writing), Jean took up art, and has become a prize-winning artist. In 2022 she joined the PAPA Gallery (Paducah Area Painters Alliance), where her work is selling nicely.

Jean is the creator of the Savage Empire series and co-author of the Sime~Gen series created by Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Jean specializes in Intimate Adventure, stories in which people with opposing points of view must resolve conflicts by working together, usually with lives at stake. In real life, she frequently collaborates with other authors.

She is also a screenwriter, with an optioned screenplay, Coal for Christmas, written with Lois Wickstrom. Be sure to look for her Nessie's Grotto books with Lois, and folk tale favorite Rooster Under the Table. Besides all that, Jean has a one-off vampire novel, Blood Will Tell, and of course her four professional Star Trek novels.

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