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Across the Universe (Star Trek)
Encyclopedia
Across the Universe is a Star Trek: The Original Series
novel written by Pamela Sargent
and George Zebrowski
.
, George Zebrowski remembered: "Across the Universe went well, with the editing again seeking to keep us to the main characters' viewpoints. I don't recall how the idea was developed, but it was more complex and involved than the final book." On the story, Pamela Sargent adds, "We'd been discussing what might happen if a group of colonists that had set out from Earth to colonize another world, traveling at relativistic speed and aging only two or three decades while a couple of centuries passed, had been overtaken by a more technologically advanced group—in this case, the Enterprise
and its crew. We actually wanted much of the story to be about the dilemma of these people, how they might acclimate to their encounter with this future civilization and the psychological problems that might cause. I think we were envisioning a darker more complex tale about people who are slowly aging on a one-way journey, who reach their planetary destination only to discover that the world they thought would be theirs was already settled. In the end, at the editor's suggestion, we ended up writing more of an adventure story. Not necessarily a worse story, simply a different story. Some of the dilemmas our invented characters would have to face are still there, even if they had to be incorporated into a story about an unknown planetary threat."
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
novel written by Pamela Sargent
Pamela Sargent
Pamela Sargent is an American, feminist, science fiction author, and editor. She has an MA in classical philosophy and has won a Nebula Award. She wrote a series concerning the terraforming of Venus that is sometimes compared to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, but predates it...
and George Zebrowski
George Zebrowski
George Zebrowski is a science fiction author and editor who has written and edited a number of books. He lives with author Pamela Sargent, with whom he has co-written a number of novels, including Star Trek novels.Zebrowski won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1999 for his novel Brute Orbits...
.
Synopsis
The Enterprise encounters the ancient colony ship 'Hawking'. Due to the relativistic effects of time travel, the crew and passengers have only aged a few decades while two hundred years have passed since they have launched. The crew of the Enterprise find difficulty dealing with these people from the past. The Hawking colonists are distrustful, somewhat paranoid and the ship itself hides a weapon of mass destruction.Inspiration
In Voyages of ImaginationVoyages of Imagination
Voyages of Imagination is a Star Trek reference guide written by Jeff Ayers. It covers every Star Trek novel published up to 2006 with interviews from authors and editors...
, George Zebrowski remembered: "Across the Universe went well, with the editing again seeking to keep us to the main characters' viewpoints. I don't recall how the idea was developed, but it was more complex and involved than the final book." On the story, Pamela Sargent adds, "We'd been discussing what might happen if a group of colonists that had set out from Earth to colonize another world, traveling at relativistic speed and aging only two or three decades while a couple of centuries passed, had been overtaken by a more technologically advanced group—in this case, the Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
and its crew. We actually wanted much of the story to be about the dilemma of these people, how they might acclimate to their encounter with this future civilization and the psychological problems that might cause. I think we were envisioning a darker more complex tale about people who are slowly aging on a one-way journey, who reach their planetary destination only to discover that the world they thought would be theirs was already settled. In the end, at the editor's suggestion, we ended up writing more of an adventure story. Not necessarily a worse story, simply a different story. Some of the dilemmas our invented characters would have to face are still there, even if they had to be incorporated into a story about an unknown planetary threat."