Imzadi
Encyclopedia
Imzadi is a non-canon
Star Trek
novel by Peter David
, primarily exploring William Riker
's assignment to Betazed and his early relationship with Deanna Troi
.
Imzadi has a complex structure, involving time travel through the Guardian of Forever
, but a straightforward plot of love and rescue. The text expands on the meaning of Imzadi, when Troi explains that Imzadi is a Betazoid
word for "the first," although not necessarily first sexual partner -- as Deanna puts it to Will, she is "the first to ever touch your soul." The word, and Troi's history with Riker, had been introduced in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
, "Encounter at Farpoint".
In a lengthy flashback, it is revealed that Will and Deanna met when Will was stationed on Betazed between assignments, and while there attended a wedding at which Deanna was maid of honor. Will was instantly attracted to her and began to pursue her, though she initially rebuffed his advances, feeling that he was only interested in her physical attributes, and that he preferred quick, thrilling encounters over meaningful emotional intimacy. Over a series of meetings, however, they began to grow closer, as Will encouraged Deanna to embrace impulsive feelings and Deanna encouraged Will to explore his more spiritual side.
While visiting her favorite museum, Deanna was kidnapped by a Sindareen raiding party, and Riker's Starfleet security force shot down their small craft in the jungle. Riker tracked them down and killed the only surviving captor, leaving Deanna and him alone together. In the jungle, they consummated their relationship, and Deanna told Will for the first time that they are "Imzadi." However, after their return from the jungle, Lwaxana's violent objections to their relationship and Deanna's seeming compliance led Riker to drunkenly fall into bed with another woman. Deanna discovered them together when she appeared at his living quarters, having planned to tell him she had decided to defy her mother's wishes. Deanna and Will decided not to pursue a relationship and Riker left the planet shortly thereafter, not to meet Deanna again until they were both assigned to the Enterprise-D.
In the future timeline, Commodore Data, now in command of the Enterprise-F, tells Riker that scientists studying the Guardian of Forever have discovered that Deanna's death was a focal point in time, causing the creation of a parallel timeline; his intention is to comfort Riker with the idea that Deanna lives on in another universe. Struck with a new suspicion, Admiral Riker has an autopsy performed on Deanna's corpse and discovers that she had been murdered via a poison that did not exist at the time she died. Deducing that someone had gone back in time to murder her and deliberately alter the timeline, Admiral Riker travels to the Guardian of Forever and goes back to the time of the Sindareen peace conference on the Enterprise-D, a short while before Deanna's death. He gives Commander Riker the antidote to the poison, and Riker administers it to Deanna. Her death is thus prevented, but Admiral Riker does not immediately return to his timeline, indicating that the danger to her is not yet past.
Commodore Data has also pursued Admiral Riker through the Guardian, feeling it is his duty to preserve the timeline by any means. He disables Commander Data and impersonates him, taking Deanna away from the peace conference with the intention of killing her. Admiral Riker realizes Data may try this, so he locates Commander Data and with him confronts Commodore Data, and they fight. As the peace conference attendees look on, Deanna finally becomes familiar enough with the representatives from the Sindareen (a race difficult to read empathically without sufficient exposure) to determine that they are deceiving everyone, and have no real peaceful intentions; the peace conference is only an attempt to stall for time so that their race can become more powerful. One of the Sindareen delegates is actually from the future, and had decided to go back in time and kill Deanna to prevent this discovery.
When Deanna announces that the Sindareen are behaving duplicitously, everyone from the future returns to the proper timeline, and the Guardian of Forever intones that "All is as it was." Data is chagrined that no one thought to ask whether Admiral Riker was correct about the timeline being altered. Now that the timeline has been restored, Admiral Riker has no way of knowing what awaits him in the restored future, but it is implied that his Imzadi is alive and waiting for him.
's romantic interest in Troi, William Riker's renewed interest and Thomas Riker
's resentment at his lost opportunity with Troi. Imzadi II: Triangle brings in additional characters and multiple plot lines, leading the reviewer at SFReader.com to conclude that it should not have been labelled as a sequel.
Abridged versions of the novels were also released as audio book
s. Imzadi was read by Jonathan Frakes
(the actor who played Riker), and Imzadi II by Robert O'Reilly
(whose recurring onscreen role was the Klingon Gowron
).
A TrekMovie.com
reviewer writing in 2010 about Peter David's later works mentioned that Imzadi remained his favorite Star Trek book of all time.
Canon (Star Trek)
The Star Trek canon is the set of all canonical material in the Star Trek universe. It is usually defined as comprising the television series Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the motion pictures in the franchise...
Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
novel by Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, primarily exploring William Riker
William Riker
William Thomas Riker, played by Jonathan Frakes, is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe primarily appearing as a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
's assignment to Betazed and his early relationship with Deanna Troi
Deanna Troi
Commander Deanna Troi is a main character in the science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and related TV series and films, portrayed by actress Marina Sirtis. Troi is half-human, half-Betazoid and has the psionic ability to sense emotions. She serves as the ship's counselor...
.
Imzadi has a complex structure, involving time travel through the Guardian of Forever
Guardian of Forever
The Guardian of Forever is a time portal portrayed in the fictional universe of Star Trek.-Fictional origins:In the Star Trek universe, analysis of the ruins on the Guardian's home world suggests it may be billions of years old but no one knows who built the Guardian...
, but a straightforward plot of love and rescue. The text expands on the meaning of Imzadi, when Troi explains that Imzadi is a Betazoid
Betazoid
In the fictional Star Trek universe, Betazoids are a sentient humanoid species from the planet Betazed, a member of the United Federation of Planets.-Overview:...
word for "the first," although not necessarily first sexual partner -- as Deanna puts it to Will, she is "the first to ever touch your soul." The word, and Troi's history with Riker, had been introduced in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, "Encounter at Farpoint".
Plot
Seventy-three-year-old Admiral William Riker is a bitter, lonely man in a slow downward spiral following the death forty years earlier of Deanna Troi, who died of undetermined causes during a peacekeeping conference with an enemy race, the Sindareen. Riker, now the commander of an unimportant starbase, is summoned to Betazed as Deanna's mother, Lwaxana Troi, lies dying. While going through Lwaxana's possessions after her death, Riker is reminded of how he and Deanna originally met and began their relationship on Betazed.In a lengthy flashback, it is revealed that Will and Deanna met when Will was stationed on Betazed between assignments, and while there attended a wedding at which Deanna was maid of honor. Will was instantly attracted to her and began to pursue her, though she initially rebuffed his advances, feeling that he was only interested in her physical attributes, and that he preferred quick, thrilling encounters over meaningful emotional intimacy. Over a series of meetings, however, they began to grow closer, as Will encouraged Deanna to embrace impulsive feelings and Deanna encouraged Will to explore his more spiritual side.
While visiting her favorite museum, Deanna was kidnapped by a Sindareen raiding party, and Riker's Starfleet security force shot down their small craft in the jungle. Riker tracked them down and killed the only surviving captor, leaving Deanna and him alone together. In the jungle, they consummated their relationship, and Deanna told Will for the first time that they are "Imzadi." However, after their return from the jungle, Lwaxana's violent objections to their relationship and Deanna's seeming compliance led Riker to drunkenly fall into bed with another woman. Deanna discovered them together when she appeared at his living quarters, having planned to tell him she had decided to defy her mother's wishes. Deanna and Will decided not to pursue a relationship and Riker left the planet shortly thereafter, not to meet Deanna again until they were both assigned to the Enterprise-D.
In the future timeline, Commodore Data, now in command of the Enterprise-F, tells Riker that scientists studying the Guardian of Forever have discovered that Deanna's death was a focal point in time, causing the creation of a parallel timeline; his intention is to comfort Riker with the idea that Deanna lives on in another universe. Struck with a new suspicion, Admiral Riker has an autopsy performed on Deanna's corpse and discovers that she had been murdered via a poison that did not exist at the time she died. Deducing that someone had gone back in time to murder her and deliberately alter the timeline, Admiral Riker travels to the Guardian of Forever and goes back to the time of the Sindareen peace conference on the Enterprise-D, a short while before Deanna's death. He gives Commander Riker the antidote to the poison, and Riker administers it to Deanna. Her death is thus prevented, but Admiral Riker does not immediately return to his timeline, indicating that the danger to her is not yet past.
Commodore Data has also pursued Admiral Riker through the Guardian, feeling it is his duty to preserve the timeline by any means. He disables Commander Data and impersonates him, taking Deanna away from the peace conference with the intention of killing her. Admiral Riker realizes Data may try this, so he locates Commander Data and with him confronts Commodore Data, and they fight. As the peace conference attendees look on, Deanna finally becomes familiar enough with the representatives from the Sindareen (a race difficult to read empathically without sufficient exposure) to determine that they are deceiving everyone, and have no real peaceful intentions; the peace conference is only an attempt to stall for time so that their race can become more powerful. One of the Sindareen delegates is actually from the future, and had decided to go back in time and kill Deanna to prevent this discovery.
When Deanna announces that the Sindareen are behaving duplicitously, everyone from the future returns to the proper timeline, and the Guardian of Forever intones that "All is as it was." Data is chagrined that no one thought to ask whether Admiral Riker was correct about the timeline being altered. Now that the timeline has been restored, Admiral Riker has no way of knowing what awaits him in the restored future, but it is implied that his Imzadi is alive and waiting for him.
Imzadi II: Triangle
The 1998 sequel Imzadi II: Triangle addresses WorfWorf
Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
's romantic interest in Troi, William Riker's renewed interest and Thomas Riker
Thomas Riker
William Thomas "Tom" Riker is a fictional character from the Star Trek universe, played by actor Jonathan Frakes. He is a duplicate of William Riker, a regular character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, also played by Frakes, who was created by a transporter accident when Riker served as second...
's resentment at his lost opportunity with Troi. Imzadi II: Triangle brings in additional characters and multiple plot lines, leading the reviewer at SFReader.com to conclude that it should not have been labelled as a sequel.
Other versions
Both Imzadi novels were re-released in 2003 as the omnibus collection Imzadi Forever.Abridged versions of the novels were also released as audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
s. Imzadi was read by Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
(the actor who played Riker), and Imzadi II by Robert O'Reilly
Robert O'Reilly
Robert O'Reilly is an American film, stage and television actor who has appeared in a variety of roles. He is known to Star Trek fans most notably for his recurring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Chancellor Gowron, the leader of the Klingon Empire.-Early...
(whose recurring onscreen role was the Klingon Gowron
Gowron
Gowron is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Portrayed by Robert O'Reilly and featured in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...
).
Reception
Imzadi is rated 4/5 on Google books. SFReader.com rated the omnibus edition 7/10.A TrekMovie.com
TrekMovie.com
TrekMovie.com is a news blog website about the Star Trek franchise with news reports about Star Trek feature films, series, and a multitude of other categories related to the Star Trek fandom.- History :...
reviewer writing in 2010 about Peter David's later works mentioned that Imzadi remained his favorite Star Trek book of all time.