Story

Official summary:
The story begins with Commander Pike, seen in the original pilot episode for Star Trek. It then features Captain Kirk and his crew from the future.

Mr. Spock learns his favorite word, "fascinating" from the female first officer known only as Number One, deciding it wasn't too emotional and would be a good word to remember for the future.

History of the book

He submitted three novel outlines to Paramount, written in three different styles. The two he thought were good were rejected, and the one he said was "simply a conglomeration of old cliches from previous Star Trek episodes" was the only one they liked, and approved. He has said that it was designed to make the other two look good, and wasn't designed to be the one they picked.