- For other uses, see The Choice.
KIRK VS. KIRK! A duel to save the Universe from OBLIVION! – "The Choice" was a Star Trek comic book story published by Gold Key Comics in 1975. It was the last story written by Allan Moniz and the 30th drawn by Alberto Giolitti. In this story, while exploring an intersection between two universes, the USS Enterprise encountered a second Captain Kirk.
Description[]
- You've all heard the story of the Lady and the Tiger! Well, just suppose, for a moment, that instead of the lady or the tiger, behind those doors were the divergent courses of infinite universes! And, that one man has been placed in front of these doors to decide which path the universe shall follow! Then, imagine that your exact twin shows up and tells you to stop supposing because this is exactly what is going to happen! Now you have an idea how Captain Kirk feels in… The Choice!
Summary[]
- Captain's log, star date 17:01.02. After a rather hectic two-week leave on the resort planet Lado, the Enterprise crew was immediately assigned a new high-priority destination! Our orders are to proceed to the vast and little known quadrant Mark 1, in the capacity of scientific exploration! Recent developments in para-astronomy have pinpointed a hotbed of telltale radiation there! Scientists now believe this area to be the site of the Big Bang! Or, in other words, the birthplace of the universe!
When they entered the region, sensors read blank and the ship's dilithium crystals went cold. Spock speculated that they might have entered a subspace parallel universe, perhaps within the primordial atom itself. A small capsule was discovered which contained James T. Kirk (alternate), a Kirk not from their universe but from the universe which existed before it.
- Captain's log, star date 17:02.??: Trapped in a timeless, placeless void, inside the one piece of matter that exists from universe to universe, I have been confronted by my own double! He claims to come from the previous universe, come here to warn the one being, somewhere in the cosmos, whose life is not predetermined, to make the right choice! Who that being is, where he is, and what it the right choice, all remain a mystery! But all that matters now is the universe isn't big enough for both of us! One has to be left behind if any are to survive!
Since only one Kirk could exist in the normal universe, the two Kirks agreed to a duel to decide who would stay. They fenced with épées, phasers and their starships. The alternate Kirk mentally controlled a duplicate USS Enterprise decoy. By suddenly cutting shields, a hit from the decoy rocked the Enterprise, giving Kirk the upper hand in their fight. The alternate Kirk demanded that Kirk kill him, but he didn't. The alternate Kirk and his ship then faded away. A ghostly alternate Kirk then appeared, revealing that not killing him was the pivotal moment of free will.
- Captain's log, star date 17:02.03… A week has passed since our escape from the primal atom and we still make our way back to starbase! This morning I had the following conversation with Mr. Spock…
Kirk wondered whether everything they did had happened before and would happen again. After Kirk asked why bother to do anything, Spock rhetorically answered whether they had a choice.
References[]
Characters[]
- Pavel Chekov • James T. Kirk • James T. Kirk (alternate) • Leonard McCoy • Nova • Spock • Montgomery Scott • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • USS Enterprise decoy • repair pod
- Referenced only
- starbase
Locations[]
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and technology[]
- astronomy • Big Bang Theory • bridge • capsule • computer • cybernetic helmet • free will theorem • magnetic lines of force • environmental suit • guidance system • helm • hyperspace • intercom • laser torch • multiverse corollary • parallel universe • phaser • power pack • quantum physics • scanner • sensor • shield • stun • subspace • suspended animation • tricorder
Ranks and titles[]
- astronomer • captain • lieutenant • scientist
Other references[]
- 20 billion years • atom • bridge • code of honor • comet • cosmos • dilithium crystal • duel • energy • engine room • épée • fencing • gas • goose • hangar deck • heaven • humanoid • Lady and the Tiger • light • matter • moon • planet • quasar • radiation • rabbit • red alert • sick bay • singularity • space • star • subatomic particle • time • universe • year
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TOS episode: "The Alternative Factor" – Lazarus dueled with his antimatter universe counterpart to keep the prime universe safe.
- TAS episode: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" – Traveling to the center of the galaxy hoping to see matter being created, the USS Enterprise discovered a reality where thoughts became magic.
- TNG episode: "Where No One Has Gone Before" – The USS Enterprise-D visited a region where thoughts became reality.
- TOS comic: "Siege in Superspace" – The USS Enterprise traveled through a singularity to a location between universes.
- TNG novel: Indistinguishable from Magic – The spacial anomaly Split Infinite provided access to energies from the Big Bang.
Background[]
- This story took place following Pavel Chekov's promotion from engineering to bridge duty, before which he wore an operations division uniform. His last day wearing a red shirt was seen in TOS - New Visions comic: "Mister Chekov", when Uhura gave him his first command division uniform. His first day wearing the gold shirt was seen in TOS - The Modala Imperative comic: "A Little Seasoning", which took place in 2267.
- Quadrant Mark 1 was said to contain the singularity which produced the Big Bang. The Big Bang Theory states that the singularity became the universe, meaning that there would no longer be an origin point to travel to. However, high-energy emissions from the Big Bang have been detected at other locations, such as the Split Infinite.
- Spock speculated that the subspace parallel universe continued to exist while the prime universe cyclically expanded and contracted. This subspace universe might be, or exist in, De Sitter space.
- The teaser page referenced The Lady, or the Tiger?, a short story published in 1882.
- The story contained a few oddities. Scott's uniform was colored blue on page 5. Chekov's name was misspelled. Spock misused a common idiom, saying the ship and crew were like sitting geese.
- This story has been released six times in English and has been translated into Dutch, German, and Italian.
Images[]
Three-man repair pod spacecraft.
Attacked by a second Enterprise.
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #32: The Animal People |
TOS comics (Gold Key) |
Next comic: #34: The PsychoCrystals |
| Previous story: Death of a Star |
Stories by: Allan Moniz |
Next story: last story |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: The First Artifact The Brave and the Bold |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Burning Dreams Chapters 20 & 21 |
| Previous comic: The First Artifact The Brave and the Bold |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year Two | Next comic: Balance of Terror |
Production history[]
- September 1975
- First published by Gold Key Comics
- August 1976
- Printed in the omnibus The Enterprise Logs, Volume 4 (Golden Press)
- December 1978
- Printed in Dynabrite, Issue 11357 (Western Publishing)
- June 2004
- Printed in the omnibus The Key Collection, Volume 4 (Checker Book Publishing Group)
- September 2008
- Included on The Complete Comic Book Collection DVD (Graphic Imaging Technologies)
- 2015
- Cover art reproduced as a 9x13 embossed tin wall sign (Open Road Brands)
- 7 June 2018
- Reprinted in Graphic Novel Collection #38 (Eaglemoss)
Translations[]
- 1976
- German: As "Kirk Gegen Kirk" in Zack 1976 #25 (Koralle)
- 1977
- Dutch: As "De Keuze" in the omnibus Ruimteschip Enterprise Classics Strip-Paperback #1 (De Vrijbuiter)
- 1978
- German: As "Der Doppelgänger" in the omnibus Raumschiff Enterprise Comic Taschenbuch #1 (Condor)
- 2006
- Italian: As "La Scelta" in the omnibus The Gold Key Collection, Volume 8 (Free Books)
External links[]
- The Choice (TOS comic) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Best of Gold Key #21-41 article at The Mugato’s Blog.
- Big Bang article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- The Lady, or the Tiger? article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.