Saavik's pregnancy and the novels

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Noddy, Aug 12, 2013.

  1. Noddy

    Noddy Captain

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    I am aware that the original reasoning behind Saavik remaining on Vulcan in TVH was that the character was supposedly pregnant with Spock's child, conceived on the Genesis Planet, but the dialogue revealing this was cut. I've always been intrigued by the idea, and have even wondered if the child may not have been Spock's, but David's, considering how he and Saavik had a brief relationship in the novelization of TSFS. But regardless of the father for now, assuming Saavik was pregnant, how would that mesh with her portrayal in the novels set after TVH?
     
  2. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^It wouldn't mesh with Unspoken Truth, which follows Saavik over the course of a year following TVH, and in which there is no pregnancy. And none of her appearances in stories set later give any indication that she has a child.
     
  3. Paris

    Paris Commodore Commodore

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    ^There is still plenty of time to have a "son/daughter of Spock & Saavik" story happen. There is a lot of there time together that we know nothing of...particularily the mid-24th century. It was touched on in the Shwartz/Sherman books. I think it'd be cool to see at some point.
     
  4. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Well, certainly -- given that Spock and Saavik later married in the novels, it's reasonable to expect them to have procreated. But a child specifically conceived on Genesis in 2285, or with David, would not be compatible with Unspoken Truth. (Not to mention that ENT and various non-canonical sources suggest that a human and a Vulcan would need medical intervention to conceive a viable offspring, so it couldn't be unplanned.)
     
  5. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    I think that at this point any "Genesis love child" can be best be described as a plot option not taken . . .
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2013
  6. Stevil2001

    Stevil2001 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The short story "The First Law of Metaphysics" in Strange New Worlds II has Saavik asking Spock for help with a Vulcan child; Spock briefly wonders if he's his son, though it turns out not to be the case.
     
  7. Commishsleer

    Commishsleer Commodore Commodore

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    This so has to happen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Yes I want "The Genesis Love Child" - not under that name of course.

    And I think its far from proven that Spock and Saavik couldn't have a baby naturally. Very much stranger things have happened in Trek.
    And I think Vulcans might get super fertile in ponn farr. OK I just made that up. But it makes sense.
     
  8. Noddy

    Noddy Captain

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    Given the characters' ages by the time they married, I think having kids wouldn't really be a viable option by then.
     
  9. RandyS

    RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Not necessarily. First of all, we're talking a half-human-half Vulcan, and a half-Vulcan- half-Romulan here, both species (which used to be one species) live centuries past the normal human life span, so having kids in their 100's is not impossible.

    Plus, this is a FICTIONAL universe where humans have been shown live 90-odd years beyond what we live in reality, so anything can happen.
     
  10. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I was referring to the suggestion of Saavik and David Marcus having a child.



    What? We're talking about Vulcans, who have an average life expectancy of over 200 years. Saavik was about 80 when she was married in Vulcan's Heart (if I read Memory Beta's recap correctly), which is only about 13 years older than T'Pol was in "Demons"/"Terra Prime." We also know that Tuvok and T'Pel conceived their youngest child during Tuvok's 11th pon farr, which would be 77 years after he entered reproductive maturity, and thus probably in his early 100s or late 90s. T'Pel may have been a decade or two younger, i.e. at least as old as Saavik was at the time of her marriage to Spock. So yeah, Spock and Saavik could definitely have had kids.
     
  11. Commishsleer

    Commishsleer Commodore Commodore

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    That's what I want to hear!

    Come on. There must be more fans of "The Genesis Love Child" other than me and Noddy. Surely :lol:
     
  12. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Umm, again, you're losing track of what specific point I'm making. Neither of my last two posts had anything to do with Genesis. The former was about the suggestion that Saavik and David could've conceived a child (based on their romance in the novelizations), and the latter was about the question of whether they'd still be of childbearing age upon their 2344 marriage in Vulcan's Heart.
     
  13. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

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    Spock and Saavik are both half Vulcan and we know that Vulcans have a great deal of control over their bodies. Who is to say the gestation has to follow on immediately following fertilisation ? Or that in the 23rd or 24th century there are not artificial means available.

    Even if Spock and Saavik had missed their natural biological window, there are always possibilities...
     
  14. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Right. There are already things that can be done to extend a woman's fertile years, and that's bound to be a lot easier than arranging for two different species to produce a viable offspring. Saavik is clearly still in her reproductive prime when she marries Spock in 2344, based on the precedents we have of other Vulcan females, but even decades later, if menopause set in, there would be medical means to delay or reverse it.

    And note I said "if." We don't even know if menopause exists in Vulcans.
     
  15. Nob Akimoto

    Nob Akimoto Captain Captain

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    We also know that evidently by the 24th century medical technology allows human women to conceive into their 50s (Picard/Crusher having Rene) so vulcans being fertile well into their 2nd century of life doesn't seem a huge stretch.
     
  16. Kinokima

    Kinokima Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I am glad it never happened in the actual series

    But they certainly joked about it (starts about 4:56, although the whole video is worth watching)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIOX3cRCQEk

    Didn't Spock have a child with Zarabeth in the novels? I haven't actually read it yet.

    Anyways I like the idea of David/Saavik much more personally.
     
  17. Thrawn

    Thrawn Rear Admiral Premium Member

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    I like the part in that video where someone asks if Deforest Kelley has an idea for a Star Trek V, and he says "I'm waiting on William Shatner to present his story first. Then, when I present my story, they'll go for it."
     
  18. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Yes. The books in question are Yesterday's Son and Time for Yesterday, both by A. C. Crispin.
     
  19. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

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    I wonder how that got past 'oversight' ?
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Rather, they predated such oversight. It wasn't until around 1989-90 that Roddenberry and his people (meaning Richard Arnold, mostly) began restricting what the tie-ins could do. Yesterday's Son was published in 1983, Time for Yesterday in 1988.

    Besides, giving Spock a son didn't really alter the series status quo that much, because Zar lived in the distant past.