Question About "The Chimes at Midnight"

[Mysterion]

Really, given all the times that Spock's unique abilities were the only way to save the day, it's hard to believe the ship and crew even still exist in the movie era in a Spock-less timeline. I still wish Chimes had explained how they saved Earth from V'Ger without Spock around.

This. The butterflies would start fluttering even before the events of The Cage, and by the time you got to the time period of TOS, there's no telling what the disposition of USS Enterprise or the TOS characters would be. There might not even have been a USS Enterprise when V'Ger shuffled in from stage left.

 

[Stevil2001]

Heck, maybe the Guardian sent them downtime to an equivalent point in Andor's history, and it was Kirk who had to disguise himself!

I would bet this is how it happened on Kumari in the Tears of Eridanus-verse. Thelin and Sulu in Earth's past, with Thelin passing Sulu off as an Aenar whose ears were caught in a mechanical ice-picker.

Really, given all the times that Spock's unique abilities were the only way to save the day, it's hard to believe the ship and crew even still exist in the movie era in a Spock-less timeline. I still wish Chimes had explained how they saved Earth from V'Ger without Spock around.

I was tempted to thrown a line into The Tears of Eridanus that Earth had been ravaged by both V'Ger and the whale probe because 1) no Spock 2) Earth wasn't important enough to rush the only ship in the quadrant to anyway.

 

[DonIago]

It's interesting that you mention that, because while it never quite got to this point for me, I think a lot of the MyrU stories told were kind of downers. I mean they make things look better for the Primeverse, but it's still kind of sad to see things going to hell in some of the others.

Heck, the same book that features "Chimes at Midnight" showcases a Dominion War that spirals even farther out of control than the one we witnessed on DS9.

I don't think this was by any means intentional, but to some degree it implies that the Primeverse really is the best of all possible outcomes, at least for the universe at large. Heck, the Abramsverse has already implied this as well, what with the destruction of Vulcan, London and San Francisco.

Given the events of Destiny, it might be interesting to see a timeline where the NX-02 never met the Caeliar.

 

[Sci]

Heck, maybe the Guardian sent them downtime to an equivalent point in Andor's history, and it was Kirk who had to disguise himself!

I would bet this is how it happened on Kumari in the Tears of Eridanus-verse. Thelin and Sulu in Earth's past, with Thelin passing Sulu off as an Aenar whose ears were caught in a mechanical ice-picker.

Really, given all the times that Spock's unique abilities were the only way to save the day, it's hard to believe the ship and crew even still exist in the movie era in a Spock-less timeline. I still wish Chimes had explained how they saved Earth from V'Ger without Spock around.

I was tempted to thrown a line into The Tears of Eridanus that Earth had been ravaged by both V'Ger and the whale probe because 1) no Spock 2) Earth wasn't important enough to rush the only ship in the quadrant to anyway.

The idea of an Andorian-dominated polity opens up the possibility that the V'Ger crisis was resolved by an Aenar. Their powerful telepathy might have helped in Spock's absence.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Or maybe in this timeline, Sonak didn't die, and it was he who fulfilled Spock's role.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

Or maybe in this timeline, Sonak didn't die, and it was he who fulfilled Spock's role.

That works for me.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Thelin's antennae must have picked up on signals the rest of Our Heroes would have missed.

Either that, or... ICE POWERS!!

Or maybe in this timeline, Sonak didn't die, and it was he who fulfilled Spock's role.

That's honestly what I thought of at first, too: if Thelin didn't leave Starfleet after TOS like Spock did, then he should have already been assigned to Enterprise at the start of TMP, and then maybe he was able to resolve the transporter issue before Sonak beamed aboard. But then... if Thelin is already aboard, why would Sonak even get assigned to the crew, since they already have a science officer? Unless... Since Thelin was still in Starfleet, maybe he was originally promoted to captain the Enterprise instead of Decker, so he would still be around, but they'd still need a science officer. But then who merged with V'ger? Argh...

The idea of an Andorian-dominated polity opens up the possibility that the V'Ger crisis was resolved by an Aenar. Their powerful telepathy might have helped in Spock's absence.

Doesn't someone around here (I'm thinking Therin of Andor) propose that Thelin himself is part-Aenar, based on his colouring in TAS? If this was the case, he could have some rudimentary telepathy, and then maybe he was the one who "melded" with V'ger in "Chimes at Midnight"!

Or, y'know, maybe they just figured the V'ger thing out without the mindmeld after all...

 

[DarkHorizon]

Doesn't someone around here (I'm thinking Therin of Andor) propose that Thelin himself is part-Aenar, based on his colouring in TAS? If this was the case, he could have some rudimentary telepathy, and then maybe he was the one who "melded" with V'ger in "Chimes at Midnight"!

Or, y'know, maybe they just figured the V'ger thing out without the mindmeld after all...

"The Chimes of Midnight" specifically says that Thelin is part-Aenar (His zhavey is Aenar, IIRC).

 

[Hando]

Heck, maybe the Guardian sent them downtime to an equivalent point in Andor's history, and it was Kirk who had to disguise himself!

I would bet this is how it happened on Kumari in the Tears of Eridanus-verse. Thelin and Sulu in Earth's past, with Thelin passing Sulu off as an Aenar whose ears were caught in a mechanical ice-picker.

Really, given all the times that Spock's unique abilities were the only way to save the day, it's hard to believe the ship and crew even still exist in the movie era in a Spock-less timeline. I still wish Chimes had explained how they saved Earth from V'Ger without Spock around.

I was tempted to thrown a line into The Tears of Eridanus that Earth had been ravaged by both V'Ger and the whale probe because 1) no Spock 2) Earth wasn't important enough to rush the only ship in the quadrant to anyway.

The idea of an Andorian-dominated polity opens up the possibility that the V'Ger crisis was resolved by an Aenar. Their powerful telepathy might have helped in Spock's absence.

Strange, from what I understood of The Tears of Eridanus, V'Ger digitalized Earth and left, they were unable to solve the crisis.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ No, Earth is still around in the Eridanus timeline. Sulu and Demora describe it as "gone" but that's only because they no longer consider it home.

 

[Stevil2001]

I'm pretty sure we didn't say that! Earth is mentioned as a potential target in the Klingon invasion of the Interstellar Union on p. 143. And on p. 235, Hikaru refers to Earth in the present tense. "Earth is gone" (p. 158) is just a metaphor as MLB stated.

V'ger is alluded to a couple times: McCoy died in a transporter accident during the crisis (p. 193) and Hikaru remembers assuming Enterprise's helm to stop "an alien cloud" (p.272). I honestly didn't give the role of Spock much thought!

It's interesting that you mention that, because while it never quite got to this point for me, I think a lot of the MyrU stories told were kind of downers. I mean they make things look better for the Primeverse, but it's still kind of sad to see things going to hell in some of the others.

Hm, that's interesting. There were definitely some negative timelines-- which sorta makes sense. What's the point of an alternative timeline where everything goes fine? Our intention in The Tears of Eridanus was that everything was okay in the end. There was a Klingon invasion of IU space after the story's end, but the explosion of Praxis would mean that everything wouldn't go as planned. Sure, an Andorian-dominated polity is more aggressive than the UFP, but it's not meant to be overtly militaristic.

 

[DonIago]

It's been a while since I've read Tears, but IIRC my feelings during the story were "Oh crap, they're going to end up at war with the Klingons on top of everything else", and I didn't really think as far into the future as Praxis.

But yeah, a MyrU anthology where 2/3 of the stories feature things going to hell...and IIRC the third story is the Data story with a somewhat ambiguous ending...that's a lot of heavy stuff. But as you said, it would be silly if every story showed things being hunky-dory at the end!

Regardless, a bunch of the MyrU stories left me very much hoping for sequels.

 

[Stevil2001]

Well, the Praxis thing was mostly in my head! You're right that a Klingon war is grim... but we needed some stakes!

I don't think any of the MyrU stories were "Planet of the Week" deals; it would have been interesting if one had been.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I liked all of the MyrU stories, although I admit I was *slightly* put off by Places of Exile which seemed very smug in its retelling of VOY, like "this is the way it really should happen". But that's a minor thing.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I don't think any of the MyrU stories were "Planet of the Week" deals; it would have been interesting if one had been.

Without knowing anything about how the MU stories were conceived and written, I've always had the impression that they were meant to both introduce a universe and make the reader somewhat familiar with it by the stories' end, as though the continuity they've just experienced is as legitimate as the primary timeline. A planet of the week adventure would be difficult unless the planet become part of an arc like the Mere Anarchy series.

--Sran

 

[Hando]

^ No, Earth is still around in the Eridanus timeline. Sulu and Demora describe it as "gone" but that's only because they no longer consider it home.

I'm pretty sure we didn't say that! Earth is mentioned as a potential target in the Klingon invasion of the Interstellar Union on p. 143. And on p. 235, Hikaru refers to Earth in the present tense. "Earth is gone" (p. 158) is just a metaphor as MLB stated.

V'ger is alluded to a couple times: McCoy died in a transporter accident during the crisis (p. 193) and Hikaru remembers assuming Enterprise's helm to stop "an alien cloud" (p.272). I honestly didn't give the role of Spock much thought!

It's interesting that you mention that, because while it never quite got to this point for me, I think a lot of the MyrU stories told were kind of downers. I mean they make things look better for the Primeverse, but it's still kind of sad to see things going to hell in some of the others.

Hm, that's interesting. There were definitely some negative timelines-- which sorta makes sense. What's the point of an alternative timeline where everything goes fine? Our intention in The Tears of Eridanus was that everything was okay in the end. There was a Klingon invasion of IU space after the story's end, but the explosion of Praxis would mean that everything wouldn't go as planned. Sure, an Andorian-dominated polity is more aggressive than the UFP, but it's not meant to be overtly militaristic.

Thank you for correcting me.

I don't know how often I read the story and whenever I read it I was always thinking that not only did Earth not recover from WW3, was significantly unimportant and then eaten by V'ger.

 

[Leandar]

Really, given all the times that Spock's unique abilities were the only way to save the day, it's hard to believe the ship and crew even still exist in the movie era in a Spock-less timeline. I still wish Chimes had explained how they saved Earth from V'Ger without Spock around.

Maybe Xon was there and he basically filled Spock's role?

 

[Stevil2001]

^ No, Earth is still around in the Eridanus timeline. Sulu and Demora describe it as "gone" but that's only because they no longer consider it home.

I'm pretty sure we didn't say that! Earth is mentioned as a potential target in the Klingon invasion of the Interstellar Union on p. 143. And on p. 235, Hikaru refers to Earth in the present tense. "Earth is gone" (p. 158) is just a metaphor as MLB stated.

V'ger is alluded to a couple times: McCoy died in a transporter accident during the crisis (p. 193) and Hikaru remembers assuming Enterprise's helm to stop "an alien cloud" (p.272). I honestly didn't give the role of Spock much thought!

It's interesting that you mention that, because while it never quite got to this point for me, I think a lot of the MyrU stories told were kind of downers. I mean they make things look better for the Primeverse, but it's still kind of sad to see things going to hell in some of the others.

Hm, that's interesting. There were definitely some negative timelines-- which sorta makes sense. What's the point of an alternative timeline where everything goes fine? Our intention in The Tears of Eridanus was that everything was okay in the end. There was a Klingon invasion of IU space after the story's end, but the explosion of Praxis would mean that everything wouldn't go as planned. Sure, an Andorian-dominated polity is more aggressive than the UFP, but it's not meant to be overtly militaristic.

Thank you for correcting me.

I don't know how often I read the story and whenever I read it I was always thinking that not only did Earth not recover from WW3, was significantly unimportant and then eaten by V'ger.

Heh. That's reading for you!

 

[Markonian]

Really, given all the times that Spock's unique abilities were the only way to save the day, it's hard to believe the ship and crew even still exist in the movie era in a Spock-less timeline. I still wish Chimes had explained how they saved Earth from V'Ger without Spock around.

Maybe Xon was there and he basically filled Spock's role?

My thoughts as well when I read the story. After all, he was scheduled to replace Spock anyway.

 

[Christopher]

^I think you mean Sonak.