Mr. Oracle was a comic book story published by Gold Key Comics in 1977. It was the 7th of 22 stories drawn by Alden McWilliams and the 15th of 20 stories written by Arnold Drake.
In this story, a society was threatened by a nova.
Publisher's description[edit | edit source]
- Intro teaser
- A planet was dying, but the civilization upon it was about to be reborn on a new world! All they required was a man of superior intellect whose brain could be expanded to encompass all their knowledge! And the advanced brain they chose belonged to … Mr. Spock!
Summary[edit | edit source]
Captain’s log, stardate 23:19.2. I have received orders from Star Fleet Command to execute a new long range probe technique…
Captains log, supplemental. The “operation” lasted some three hours. Mr. Spock was in no apparent pain or danger. But the rest of us could only gape in amazement and fear as the ray process ended!
References[edit | edit source]
Characters[edit | edit source]
- Christine Chapel • Grand Riza • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Riza One • Montgomery Scott • Spock
- Referenced only
- Tycho Brahe • Albert Einstein • Hikaru Sulu
Starships and vehicles[edit | edit source]
Locations[edit | edit source]
- Riza homeworld
- Referenced only
- Earth (Scandinavia)
Races and cultures[edit | edit source]
- Human (Scandinavian) • Riza • Vulcan
States and organizations[edit | edit source]
Science and technology[edit | edit source]
- communicator • computer • cranium • drawbridge • electro-carbines • nitric acid • probe • radioactivity • rocket • science • space • spacesuit • warp drive
Ranks and titles[edit | edit source]
- astronomer • carpenter • guard • high priest • mechanic • plumber • scientist • servant • technician
Other references[edit | edit source]
- 2-B civilization • architecture • cannibals • code • culture • dagger • gambler • haggis • headache • hell • Latin • magic wand • mind meld • mineral • monkey • mushroom • nitrogen • nova • oxygen • practical joke • prison cell • religion • Riddle of Ikor • Roulette • skull • slavery • sorghi • star • U-235 • warriors • water • witchcraft • Wotam
Timeline[edit | edit source]
Chronology[edit | edit source]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: "The Voodoo Planet" |
TOS comics (Gold Key) | Next comic: "This Tree Bears Bitter Fruit" |
| Previous story: “Prince Traitor” |
Stories by: Arnold Drake |
Next story: "Sweet Smell of Evil" |
| Chronological Order | ||
| Previous adventure: ‘’The Voodoo Planet’’ |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: “The Haunted Asteroid” |
Appendices[edit | edit source]
Background[edit | edit source]
- The planet’s name and star system were not stated, though its people were referred to as Rizas.
- Hikaru Sulu was referred to in dialogue only, assuming command of the ship while Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scott beamed down.
- A 2-B civilization was one that exhibited basic to heavy industry, man-made radioactivity, high concentrations of artificial heat and nitric acid.
- The Enterprise assisted other exoduses, including those from Vultra in 2266 and Styra via Project Atlas in 2267. (TOS comics: "The Crucial Element", "The Hijacked Planet")
- Other exoduses included the Fabrini, Sanoora and Koa.
- Some cultures did not have the technology for an exodus. In 2269, the people of Sarpeidon used time travel to survive the nova of Beta Niobe. And while the people of Kataan died from a nova, their culture survived aboard a probe through interactive memory transfers of the life of Kamin to Jean-Luc Picard in 2368. (TOS episode: "All Our Yesterdays"; TNG episode: "The Inner Light")
- The cause of unusually high numbers of nova in the Milky Way Galaxy was addressed in TOS novel: The Wounded Sky.
- Wotam was shown to be an extremely large mechanical computer. However, there must have more to it in order to explain why a humanoid brain had to be augmented to contain it, rather than just copying its files to the ship’s computer.
Information[edit | edit source]
- Leonard McCoy cited Tycho Brahe’s observations of a supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia in 1572. McCoy said that it happened in the 17th century, but it was in the 16th century. (Wikipedia)
- The diminutive Riza were green-skinned on the cover but yellow-skinned in the story.
- Two pages were spent discussing preparations for a “new long range probe technique,” which was treated among the crew like a special event, but it was just travel at warp speed. Possibly the story ran short and this was needed as a filler.
Related stories[edit | edit source]
- TOS comic: "A World Against Itself" – Diminutive yellow-skinned humanoids attempted to enlarge Spock’s brain capacity, but the demonstration backfired, turning him into a vengeful tribesman and leading to a one-on-one fight with Montgomery Scott.
- TOS comic: "The Hijacked Planet" – An impending nova in 2267 prompted the Federation Science Council to launch Project Atlas, in which the planet Styra and its population were taken to another system by transferring their dematerialized patterns within a compact sphere.
- TOS comics: "The Evictors", "The Planet of No Life" – The Sanoora dealt with societal consequences of migrating to another star system, also written by Arnold Drake.
- TOS episode: "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" – Nova of the Fabrini’s home star Ganidra prompted an exodus to Darren IV via Yonada, a hollowed-out asteroid.
Images[edit | edit source]
External links[edit | edit source]
- Mr. Oracle article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Mr. Oracle article at Curt Danhauser’s Guide to the Gold Key Star Trek Comics.
- Tycho Brahe article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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