To Reign In Hell

[PhoenixIreland]

***Spoilers***

I saw the clip on the Special Edition DVD from TWOK about the three Khan books and I'm one of those people that likes explanations for what were in reality writer screw ups on the main shows or in this case ST being a victim of it's own long term success in that the future it predicted in the 60s didn't happen.
But I was wary of reading and ST book that wasn't taking place in the familiar settings of space/ships/stations.
I saw a copy of TRIH on the shelf for only €5 reduced from 22, it was the only copy, they'd probably orderd it for someone and the person never picked it up, so I said I'd give it a chance.

I was VERY pleasantly surprised, I burned through it in a few days.
I loved how we were led into it by a Kirk expidition finding the artifacts and records rather than just telling the story. I loved the way Marlas death was handled, Kirk finding her toumb even the little touch explaining the starfleet medalian around Khans neck.

I think it showd a diffrent side to Khan from the madman we saw in TWOK or the arrogent dick we saw in Space Seed and at the end I actually felt a little sorry for him, his entire story is one big greek tragedy.

Hes exiled to the planet and tho a hard life the colonly is just getting off it's feet when Ceti Alpha VI explodes, and it's all down hill from there, loosing his wife so tragically, I felt really bad when the toumb he so carefully carved for her out of intense love was casually vaporised in an instant.

I'm going to go out and get the one that outlines his "reign" on earth next, it's even made me wanna watch TWOK again.

 

[JD]

There are two books about Kahn and the Eugenics Wars. I haven't read any of the Kahn books myself though, so I don't know anything about their quality.

 

[DarthPipes]

One of these days I have to read that book. I've been meaning too.

Kirk shouldn't regret his decision though. Marooning Khan on Ceti Alpha V set off a chain of events that led to the Earth being saved in Star Trek IV.

 

[Christopher]

Kirk shouldn't regret his decision though. Marooning Khan on Ceti Alpha V set off a chain of events that led to the Earth being saved in Star Trek IV.

Not necessarily. If Spock hadn't died and the Enterprise hadn't been destroyed, then it's quite possible that Spock and the ship would've been out on a training mission or something when the Probe came to Earth. Spock would've still been in a position to identify the nature of the signal and travel back in time, and this time he would've had the full resources of the Enterprise at his disposal, although perhaps with a crew consisting mostly of trainees.

Hmm. Might make for an interesting story to tell if there were a Myriad Universes short-story anthology, or maybe a comic.

For that matter, even without Spock & co., there would've been other Starfleet crews out there aware of the situation, and surely somebody among them could've figured out what needed to be done. Kirk and his crew just managed to do it first.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Even so, marooning Khan was really the only option to deal with him. It was a prison he would have the hardest time escaping from.

 

[Ayelbourne]

Not necessarily. If Spock hadn't died and the Enterprise hadn't been destroyed, then it's quite possible that Spock and the ship would've been out on a training mission or something when the Probe came to Earth. Spock would've still been in a position to identify the nature of the signal and travel back in time, and this time he would've had the full resources of the Enterprise at his disposal, although perhaps with a crew consisting mostly of trainees.

But how were they gonna hide their ship from 20th century surveilance technology. Enterprise didn't have any cloaking devices.

 

[Christopher]

But how were they gonna hide their ship from 20th century surveilance technology. Enterprise didn't have any cloaking devices.

They could've done a fair job of stealth by staying in a high orbit, dousing all exterior lights, and setting the shields to absorb or scatter radar. And with the resources of a Constitution-class vessel, it would've been a lot easier to scan for humpback whales, manufacture a containment vessel using materials aboard ship, and beam them aboard without any need to interact with the locals.

 

[Dayton Ward]

Hmm. Might make for an interesting story to tell if there were a Myriad Universes short-story anthology, or maybe a comic.

Or even a Strange New Worlds story....

 

[Lindley]

There are two books about Kahn and the Eugenics Wars. I haven't read any of the Kahn books myself though, so I don't know anything about their quality.

They're very strong, both as Kahn books *and* as Gary Seven books. They get a bit heavy on the references now and then, but I don't feel that detracts much.

 

[JNG]

Even so, marooning Khan was really the only option to deal with him. It was a prison he would have the hardest time escaping from.

I suppose phasering him into vapor was right out, huh.

 

[Dayton Ward]

^ Considering that Kirk dropped the charges against him before there could even be any kind of hearing or trial, that wouldn't be appropriate. Due process, and all that.

(Well, unless the Federation was being run by Bush, of course. Then, all bets are off.)

 

[DarthPipes]

But how were they gonna hide their ship from 20th century surveilance technology. Enterprise didn't have any cloaking devices.

They could've done a fair job of stealth by staying in a high orbit, dousing all exterior lights, and setting the shields to absorb or scatter radar. And with the resources of a Constitution-class vessel, it would've been a lot easier to scan for humpback whales, manufacture a containment vessel using materials aboard ship, and beam them aboard without any need to interact with the locals.

True. But Kirk and company got there first and had the advantage of using a cloaked vessel to minimize any potential damage to the past. I think it's fascinating to look at how one decision (Kirk marooning Khan on Ceti Alpha V) can have such an impact on future events.

Outside of killing Khan, the only logical step was marooning him. They needed to keep him as far away from other people as possible.

Gary Seven was a very logical choice to play Khan's enemy. Speaking of STIV, I wonder if Kirk ever thought to enlist Seven's help in finding some humpback whales.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

Marooning him was the right decision but they should have sent him back after a year or so to check how the colony was doing, and have a ship run by there every so often.

 

[DarthPipes]

Agreed. That's where Kirk made a mistake.

There's always been speculation as to whether Kirk even told Starfleet what happened with Khan.

 

[Christopher]

^^I'd say that's more where the screenwriters of TWOK made a mistake, because it makes no sense that Kirk wouldn't have informed Starfleet of this. Although I guess it could be that it's a case of bureaucratic compartmentalization -- Kirk told Starfleet, they classified it, and so the branch of Starfleet that was responsible for the Genesis survey "15 years" (or 18 by the Okudachron) later didn't have the information. Although there should've been a "hands off" notation on that system. (I'm sure To Reign in Hell offered a fix for this, but I don't recall what it was.)

 

[JD]

I think it's fascinating to look at how one decision (Kirk marooning Khan on Ceti Alpha V) can have such an impact on future events.

Yeah, it really is, I can think of a lot of other ways that it could have changed things for a lot of different characters, but I'm not really sure how much I can say without going into story idea territory.

 

[Greg Cox]

^^I'd say that's more where the screenwriters of TWOK made a mistake, because it makes no sense that Kirk wouldn't have informed Starfleet of this. Although I guess it could be that it's a case of bureaucratic compartmentalization -- Kirk told Starfleet, they classified it, and so the branch of Starfleet that was responsible for the Genesis survey "15 years" (or 18 by the Okudachron) later didn't have the information. Although there should've been a "hands off" notation on that system. (I'm sure To Reign in Hell offered a fix for this, but I don't recall what it was.)

You got it, basically. Khan's fate was classified, the Genesis survey was classified, and Starfleet's left hand didn't know what its right hand had done fifteen years earlier. Sounds like a plausible bureaucratic screw-up to me.

(Granted, I had to do a bit of fancy dancing to explain why Chekov and Kyle didn't mention any of this to Terrell, but . . . hey, just blame it Murphy's Law!)

 

[Ayelbourne]

Btw...does the book explain how nobody ever noticed, that there was an entire Planet missing in the Ceti Alpha System?

 

[MarianLH]

I don't recall if To Reign In Hell does, but the novelization of Star Trek II did.


Marian

 

[Greg Cox]

Btw...does the book explain how nobody ever noticed, that there was an entire Planet missing in the Ceti Alpha System?

I did my best. Basically, they approached the planet from outside the system and assumed the first planet they encountered was the outermost planet (which actually wasn't there anymore). They assumed it was the sixth planet when it was actually the fifth.

Or something like that. I can't recall exactly. That was several books ago!