The Entropy Effect

Template:Realworld

Pages:	Unknown
Timespan:	Unknown
Reference(s):	0671836927 ISBN 1416524649 (reprint)

Summary

From the book jacket

THE UNIVERSE HAS LESS THAN A CENTURY LEFT...UNLESS SPOCK CAN CHANGE HISTORY!

The Enterprise is summoned to transport a dangerous criminal from starbase prison to a rehabilitation center: brilliant physicist, Dr. Georges Mordreaux, accused of promising to send people back in time – then killing them instead.

But when Mordreaux escapes, bursts onto the bridge and kills Captain Kirk, Spock must journey back in time to avert disaster – before it occurs!

Now there's more at stake than just Kirk's life. Mordreaux's experiments have thrown the entire universe into a deadly time warp. Spock is fighting time ... and the universe is closing in on itself with the relentless squeeze of ...

THE ENTROPY EFFECT

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.

A priority message summons the USS Enterprise to the mining colony Aleph Prime, interrupting Spock's study of a new singularity before he can confirm his findings, which seem to indicate that the Universe has less than a century of life left to it.

On Aleph Prime, prosecuting attorney Ian Braithewaite – who finds Spock oddly familiar – claims that no such message was sent; however, since the ship is now here, he asks Kirk to transport a dangerous prisoner to Rehab Colony Seven. Spock is surprised to learn that the prisoner is the noted scientist Dr Georges Mordreaux, who has been found guilty of murder and experimenting on unwilling subjects. Convinced that there's more to the story, Spock orders new security chief Mandala Flynn to have Mordreaux confined to a VIP cabin rather than the detention cells, and to discontinue the regime of drugs that have reduced him to a state of near catatonia.

Kirk is reunited with an old flame, Captain Hunter, and Sulu, who has been considering a transfer for some time, applies for and receives a transfer to Hunter's ship, the Aerfen. Before Sulu leaves, he and Flynn confess their love for each other, but agree that this is the best move for Sulu's career.

The Enterprise sets off for Rehab 7, but Scotty catches a glimpse of Spock in the transporter room when he should be on the bridge, and Spock apparently refuses to explain the discrepancy. Mordreaux apparently escapes from custody and gets to the bridge, where he injures Braithewaite and shoots both Kirk and Flynn with spiderweb slugs, bullets that choke the human nervous system with organo-metallic fibers. However, the security detail insists that Mordreaux never left his cabin, and a search turns up no sign of the gun. Kirk is soon brain-dead, and Spock convinces the reluctant Doctor Leonard McCoy to terminate life support; however, the semi-conscious Braithewaite misinterprets what he's seeing. Believing that he saw Spock on Aleph Prime before the Enterprise arrived, he becomes convinced that Spock and McCoy are in league with Mordreaux and have deliberately killed Kirk.

Spock questions Mordreaux, who reveals that he's invented a method of time travel that he used to send his friends into the past, where they felt they could find a better life. His discovery has been suppressed by higher-ups in the Federation who fear its potential as a weapon, and he was framed for murder and his research destroyed. It seems that a future version of Mordreaux is responsible for murdering Kirk, and the present-day version agrees to help Spock construct a time-changer to put matters right on condition that Spock not betray Mordreaux's friends.

Spock travels back in time, but fails to save Kirk – and he is spotted in the transporter room by Scott, rousing the engineer's suspicions when the past version of Spock claims never to have been there. Spock returns to the present, where Braithewaite and Scotty now believe that he and McCoy are conspiring to free Mordreaux. Hunter and Sulu return to the Enterprise to help investigate, just as Spock uses the time-changer to go further back – this time to Aleph Prime. McCoy tries to cover for him, but is eventually forced to admit the truth, and despite the lack of evidence, Hunter agrees to give Spock twelve hours in the past when Sulu speaks up on his behalf.

Spock bumps into the younger Braithewaite in Aleph Prime, explaining why the prosecutor believed he'd been there before. He tries to stop Mordreaux from sending the call that summoned the Enterprise, but discovers too late that he's stunned yet another version of Mordreaux, who had traveled back in time to stop his younger self from committing murder. Mordreaux explains that his experiments have caused the entropy effect that Spock noticed, shortening the Universe's life span to less than a century; the knowledge drove him mad, and he traveled back in time to take his revenge on those who'd allowed him to live – including Kirk, who helped Spock defend Mordreaux in the timeline in which he was sent to rehabilitation.

The older Mordreaux releases Spock from his promise, and Spock goes back one last time to convince the younger Mordreaux not to send his friends back through time in the first place. Mordreaux and his friends are skeptical until the older Mordreaux materializes before their eyes and crumbles to dust, his body finally succumbing to the strain of this dangerous means of time travel. Realizing that his older self found death preferable to living with what he'd done, the young Mordreaux agrees to abandon his research of his own accord. Spock returns to the present, where he destroys the time-changer and finds that the Universe is now safe, since none of these events ever happened.

Memorable Quotes

"Hikaru, let me give you some advice. Nobody will believe in you for you."

- Mandala Flynn

"I shall endeavor not to return before I leave."

- Spock, in all seriousness, on his attempt at time travel

Background Information

• This represents the first use of Sulu's first name, Hikaru. It would not be officially established, however, until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
• The character of the Security Chief, Commander Flynn, may be a "Mary Sue", as she appears to be a projection of the book's author. Flynn, a red-haired Irish woman like the author, becomes romantically involved with Hikaru Sulu. Other novels by the same author are particularly complimentary to Sulu, whom she described in prose in the novelization of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as "the good-looking Asian man."
• Some of Sulu's backstory is revealed in this novel. Sulu's mother is a consulting agronomist. His father is a poet. He was born on Earth (consistent with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), but spent his childhood and adolescence on a succession of colony planets. He receives his promotion to lieutenant commander here.
• Sulu is shown here learning judo from Mandala Flynn. He would later be seen on screen using a judo move on a security officer in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Sulu also uses a judo move in "The Infinite Vulcan", where Kirk even asks Sulu to teach him that particular technique. The Pocket Books timeline places this novel after that episode, however this novel's stardate would place it before the events of "The Infinite Vulcan".
• This novel, written prior to the release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, strongly implies that Kirk has no children.
• The crew of the Enterprise numbers four hundred thirty-five people at this point.
• According to this novel, Vulcans don't lock their doors.
• The audiobook abridgment removes the Sulu subplot - as a result, the cover of Triangle is used on the packaging.
• The novel was one of four to be re-released with an updated cover in late 2006 to honor Star Treks 40th Anniversary.

Cover gallery

2006 rerelease cover

Characters

Enterprise crew

File:Sulu2266.jpg

Lieutenant Sulu

James T. Kirk

Captain

Spock

Science Officer

Leonard H. McCoy

CMO

Montgomery Scott

Chief Engineer

Uhura

Communications officer

Hikaru Sulu

Helm

Pavel Chekov

Navigator

Janice Rand

Yeoman

Christine Chapel

Nurse

Mandala Flynn

Chief of Security

Jenniver Aristeides

Security officer

Maximo Alisaunder Arrunja

Security officer

Bernardi al Auriga

Security officer

Neon

Security officer

Snnanagfashtalli

Security officer

Beatrice Smith

Enterprise crew

Aerfen crew

Hunter

Captain of Aerfen

Ilya Nikolaievich

Aerfen crew

Aleph Prime characters

Ian Braithwaite

Prosecuting Attorney

Georges Mordreaux

Scientist

Mree

Perim

Lee

Defense Attorney

Mentioned

Peter Kirk

Nephew of James T. Kirk

Friendly

A senior-class student during Kirk's time at Starfleet Academy

References

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701); Klingons; mind meld; Starfleet Academy; time travel; Vulcan

USS Aerfen

Starfleet fighter vessel commanded by Captain Hunter, part of a border patrol squadron.

Aleph Prime

Federation mining colony.

Arcturus

A mostly neutral territory almost exactly equidistant from Federation, Romulan, and Klingon space.

Gamma Draconis VII

Ganjitsu

Federation border colony with a history of harassment by Klingons. Once home to Hikaru Sulu.

Makropyrios

Federation university.

Mitra

Trading vessel. Mandala Flynn's parents were part of its crew. The vessel was destroyed and no trace of them was ever found.

Rehabilitation Colony Seven

Previous novel: #1: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Novels Pocket TOS

Next novel: #3: The Klingon Gambit