- For other uses, see Perchance to Dream.
Perchance to Dream is a 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation novel by Howard Weinstein, the 19th novel in Pocket Books' TNG numbered novel line.
Description[]
- On a routine mission to survey Domarus IV—a class M world with no intelligent life—a USS Enterprise shuttle crewed by Data, Troi and Wesley Crusher is captured by a race called the Tenirans who claim the world for themselves. As Captain Picard tries to negotiate with the captain of the Teniran ship, the shuttle suddenly disappears in a blaze of color and light.
- Picard demands to know what's happened to the shuttle and its crew, but the Tenarins deny any part in their disappearance. Suddenly, Captain Picard vanishes from the bridge and finds himself alone on the planet's surface with the Teniran captain. As the two captains begin to work together, they realize that they are not alone on Domarus IV as they confront an incredible alien force with the power to transform a world—or to destroy it.
Summary[]
Data and Deanna Troi have taken Wesley Crusher and two other Starfleet Academy hopefuls, Gina Pace and Ken Kolker, on a survey mission. However, as they are leaving the planet by shuttlecraft, they are stopped by the Tenirans, who supposedly control an empire some distance from the Federation, about which little is known. They claim the planet and accuse the shuttle crew of trespassing, holding them in a tractor beam.
The Enterprise arrives and faces off with the Teniran ship, the Glin-Kale. The shuttle suddenly vanishes. The shuttle crew find themselves in an underground cavern, unable to communicate. Soon after, Picard and the Teniran captain, Arit, are transported to the surface and form an uneasy alliance. Unknown to them, the transportations are being caused by the Shapers, non-corporeal life-forms who re-form the planet but cannot leave it. They have never encountered other lifeforms before and one of them, Ko, is determined to communicate.
Picard and Arit are transported back to the Teniran ship, which turns out to be a refugee ship housing the survivors of the Teniran race. With their planet uninhabitable because of an environmental catastrophe, they were offered refuge by a trading partner, Ziakk, but were treated as slaves. When their colony tried to claim independence, Ziakk V used bioweapons that killed all but a few thousand of their race. Picard and Arit are then transported to the Enterprise, where Picard deduces an intelligence is behind what has happened and resolves to communicate.
Ko is eventually able to breach the language barrier by merging with Data, and Picard is sent to join them to communicate before everyone returns to the ship. The Tenirans accept an offer from the Shapers to share the planet with them.
References[]
Characters[]
- Arit • Casby • Burnside-Clapp • Coggins • Beverly Crusher • Wesley Crusher • Data • Egin • Jevlin • Keela • Ken Kolker • Ko (Domarus) • Geordi La Forge • Mog (Domarus) • Gina Pace • Polly Parks • Jean-Luc Picard • William Riker • Deanna Troi • Worf
- Referenced only
- Jack Crusher • Claude • Elizabeth Fallon • Robert Picard
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise-D (Galaxy-class explorer) • USS Jonathan Levy • Glin-Kale (Teniran ship) • Onizuka
Locations[]
- Domarus IV (Domarus star system, the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant)
- Referenced only
- Chezrani system (the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant) • Earth (Alaska • La Barre, France) • Starbase 96 • Ziakk Five (Ziakk star system, the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant)
Races and cultures[]
- Referenced only
- Chezrani • Ziakkan
States and organizations[]
- Starfleet Academy • Teniran Echelon
Other references[]
- Arabian • Council of Valends • First Valend • peroheen • ridmium • shleeyah • shuttlecraft • tractor beam • transporter room • Valend
Appendices[]
Background[]
- The stardate 45195.7 is given in the novel, but this date was re-assigned as 44295.7 by The Star Trek Fiction Timeline in order to clarify its placement between the TNG episodes: "Reunion" and "Final Mission".
- The shuttle Onizuka is shown on the cover to be a type-6 shuttlecraft, and described as carrying several persons. In canon stories, there was a Onizuka of a different class, a type-15 shuttlepod, but this must be a different ship because the type-15 sized vessel could only fit 2-4 people and had a different exterior appearance.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: Q-in-Law |
TNG numbered novels | Next novel: Spartacus |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Future Imperfect |
Next Adventure: See Spot Run | |
Translations[]
- 1994
- German : Die Macht der Former, translated by Andreas Brandhorst. (Heyne)
External link[]
- Perchance to Dream (novel) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.