"Scalpel" was the second of two stories in the fourth issue of John Byrne's TOS miniseries Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor. This story considered the pros and cons of altering a planet's cultural history with time travel.
Description[]
- A visit to an old friend finds Bones wrestling with a dilemma that cuts across the very heart of his Hippocratic Oath.
Summary[]
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References[]
Characters[]
- Carlos • Alex Hathaway • Sophie Hathaway • James T. Kirk • Laroche • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott
- Referenced only
- Edith Keeler • David Andrew McCoy
Starships and vehicles[]
- aircar • sailboats • shuttlecraft • Vegan Queen
- Referenced only
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • USS Yorktown (Constitution-class heavy cruiser)
Locations[]
- Palvarlion IV
- Referenced only
- Earth • Spacedock • Starfleet Museum
Races and cultures[]
- Human • Palvarlion IV native
Science and technology[]
- antigrav work platform • axe • computer • engineering suit • gravity boot • laser scalpel • refit • time travel • transporter • turbolift • wheelchair
Ranks and titles[]
- admiral • doctor • philosopher • scientist
Other references[]
- alternate timeline • android • city • civilization • clone • college • culture • first contact • history • kilometer • language • mineral • minute • month • palace • peace • Prime Directive • religion • rock • science • spaceport • species • Starfleet uniform (early 2270s) • Theising-Barre Syndrome • war • year
Timeline[]
Chronology[]
- 10,000 years ago
- Temporal equipment constructed on Palvarlion IV.
- Prior to 2175
- Federation makes first contact with Palvarlion IV natives. (prior to establishment of the Prime Directive)
- 2262
- Alex Hathaway's team lands on Palvarlion IV. (9 years prior to story)
- 2264
- Sophie Hathaway is killed. (2 years after arrival)
- After 2266
- Hathway begins altering the cultural history of the Palvarlion IV natives. (2 years after Sophie's death)
- 2271
- Alex Hathaway dies from Theising-Barre Syndrome.
Production history[]
- 28 July 2010
- First published by IDW Publishing.
- 27 October 2010
- Collected in the Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor miniseries omnibus.
- 28 May 2013
- Reprinted in hardcover in The John Byrne Collection omnibus.
- 31 December 2015
- Reprinted in paperback in The John Byrne Collection omnibus.
- 3 January 2019
- Reprinted in hardcover in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #53. (Eaglemoss)
Appendices[]
Related stories[]
- TOS episode, novelization & comic adaptation: The City on the Edge of Forever – Leonard McCoy cited the negative consequences of altering history through time travel, in particular his experience in 1930.
- TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Final Frontier – McCoy mentioned treating his father's illness.
- A culture's history was also altered with time travel in:
Images[]
Connections[]
| Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor stories and publications | |
|---|---|
| #1: "Weeds" • #2: "Error" • #3: "Medics" • #4: "Hosts" & "Scalpel" | |
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Hosts |
TOS comics (Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor) |
Next comic: last story |
| Previous story: Hosts |
Stories by: John Byrne |
Next story: Strange New Worlds |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Hosts |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: In Tempest's Wake Chapter 12 |
External link[]
- Scalpel article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.