The Questor Tapes by D. C. Fontana

[Relayer1]

I've just finished this adaptation (and haven't seen the movie yet) but was primarily interested as this is apparently in continuity with Jeffrey Lang's 'Immortal Coil' and David Mack's 'Cold Equations' trilogy.

It was a good read with lots of thematic links the two Gene's recycled/reimagined in Star Trek. An immortal genius guiding humanity through the ages / an agent intervening in world events (Flint/Gary 7), a sentient machine searching for it's creator (V'ger), an android in search of it's humanity (Data).

Spoilers don't seem applicable as the story is over 30 years old, but if you intend to read or watch it, be warned...

It all fits in fantastically with what I recall from Immortal Coil etc. until the very end where Vaslovik is revealed to be the last but one of a line of self replacing androids left here by aliens.

For those of you who are familiar with the subject matter, how do you reconcile this with the human immortal of Star Trek. Or don't you ?

 

[Christopher]

I've just finished this adaptation (and haven't seen the movie yet) but was primarily interested as this is apparently in continuity with Jeffrey Lang's 'Immortal Coil' and David Mack's 'Cold Equations' trilogy.

Strictly speaking, no, it isn't. Since TQT was produced by Universal, it can't be explicitly referenced in a book based on a CBS-owned franchise. Rather, TQT is homaged in those books by having an android-builder character in them adopt the pseudonym of Emil Vaslovik. But the origins of the name are never addressed.

However, in Greg Cox's TOS novel Assignment: Eternity, Roberta Lincoln mentions having helped Gary Seven recover something called "the Quasar tapes," whose name she might be misremembering...

It all fits in fantastically with what I recall from Immortal Coil etc. until the very end where Vaslovik is revealed to be the last but one of a line of self replacing androids left here by aliens.

For those of you who are familiar with the subject matter, how do you reconcile this with the human immortal of Star Trek. Or don't you ?

Well, legally speaking they're separate worlds. But since I do like to think of TQT as an unofficial part of Trek history, my assumption is that Flint had known the original Vaslovik at some time prior to the 1970s, and would later adopt the pseudonym of Emil Vaslovik as a tribute.

 

[Relayer1]

^ I was thinking along the lines of the alien/multiple android back story being an elaborate ruse on Vasloviks part, but couldn't think of a convincing reason.

 

[comsol]

For anyone interested, Universal finally released the movie on dvd last October.

 

[Relayer1]

^ I was thinking along the lines of the alien/multiple android back story being an elaborate ruse on Vasloviks part, but couldn't think of a convincing reason.

Thought if something now, but that's a story idea. Not a Trek property I know, but...

For anyone interested, Universal finally released the movie on dvd last October.

I might have to invest in a copy !