Publisher's description[]
- An original novel set in the universe of Star Trek: The Original Series!
- En route to a diplomatic mission, the Enterprise receives a distress call from the USS McRaven. As the Enterprise approaches the area where the McRaven appears to be, the crew encounters an anomoly unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. Space itself seems inconsistent—warping, changing appearance. But during the brief periods of calm, they locate the McRaven—along with other ships of various origins, all tightly surrounding and being held in place by an enormous unidentified vessel that appears to have been drifting for a millennium. As incredible and impossible as it seems, this anomaly is something that can only be described as a dimensional fold, a place where the various dimensions that science has identified—and the ones it cannot yet name—have folded in on one another, and the normal rules of time and space no longer apply. . . .
Summary[]
The Enterprise is transporting a group of Ixtoldans back to their home world along with the Ixtoldan ship Ton'bey: Ixtolde has applied to join the Federation. En route, they pick up a distress call from the USS McRaven, which was transporting a Federation ambassador to the planet, and Kirk changes course to investigate.
The McRaven is discovered to be trapped in a fold in space, along with several other ships. A large vessel trapped in the rift has been sending out gravitational distortions that have drawn other ships to it. Despite objections from the Ixtoldans, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a large number of security guards travel across by shuttlecraft to investigate.
Searching both the McRaven and the giant ship, the party quickly learn that the laws of time and physics no longer apply, eventually driving anyone who stays there too long to madness and death. Worse, one of the security officers, Miranda Tikloko, is suffering from a severe fear of Romulans, the result of being the sole survivor of Outpost 4, coupled with a repressed childhood trauma. She unknowingly conjures up a large group of imaginary Romulans who kill several landing party members and even kills her lover Paul O'Meara in the mistaken belief he is a Romulan before Kirk stuns her and brings the attack to an end.
Meanwhile, Spock makes contact with Aleshia, one of the disembodied consciousnesses inhabiting the ship, and learns they were the original Ixtoldans. The current Ixtoldans originally came from another planet in the system but, with their resources running out, they forcibly displaced the planet's inhabitants, having already reduced their numbers, and sent them off in the ship. It then became trapped in the fold, leaving the inhabitants in torment.
The Ixtoldans attempt to destroy the ship to keep their history secret but Kirk's party reach the McRaven and contact Scotty, who is able to convince the Ixtoldans their cause is hopeless: Their secret has been exposed and they will be denied Federation membership. The Enterprise and Ton'bey work together with the badly damaged McRaven to pull the large ship out of the rift, allowing the consciousnesses of the original Ixtoldans to be released at last.
References[]
Characters[]
- Neola Aimenthe • Aleshia • Antelis • Aldous Beachwood • Bunker • Eve Chandler • Chan'ya • Christine Chapel • Pavel Chekov • Cris'ya • Gao • Gillayne • Levi Michael Gonzales • Jamal Greene • Jensen • Keneseth • James T. Kirk • Kistral • Margyan • Leonard McCoy • Nakya • Paul O'Meara • Perkins • Rinaldo • Romer • Cesar Ruiz • Montgomery Scott • Skanderen • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Miranda Ang Tikolo • Tre'aln • Nyota Uhura • Unnamed Ixtoldans • Stanley Vandella • Yignay
- Referenced only
- Ari Bevilaqua • Champ • Claen • Zefram Cochrane • Albert Tsien D'Asaro • Frank Davis • Ned Devore • Kalso • Mags • Isaac Newton • Eric Rockwell • Jules Verne • Virong
Starships and vehicles[]
- aircraft • Andorian cruiser • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class) • Galileo II • Ixtoldan century ship • Ixtoldan iron wagon • USS McRaven • shuttle • Ton'bey (Ixtoldan battle cruiser)
- Referenced only
- chuck wagon • Romulan Bird-of-prey • sailing ship • truck
Locations[]
- Ixtolde • Knott's tavern
- Referenced only
- Alpha-177 • Earth (France • Idaho • Iowa • Muscatine • North America • Rocky Mountains • Rouen • Starfleet Headquarters) • Earth Outpost Station 4 • Eastern Belt • Ixtolde VII • Mars • Outpost 3 • Romulan Neutral Zone • Sol system • Tarsus IV • Vulcan
Races and cultures[]
- Human (Russian) • Ixtoldan (Chan'ya's species) • Ixtoldan (original) • Romulan (vision) • Vulcan • unnamed races and cultures
- Referenced only
- Klingon • Tholian
States and organizations[]
Science and technology[]
- agriculture • antimatter • arrow • artificial gravity • astrophysics • atmosphere • ax • black hole • bomb • bow • bullet • Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • carbon • communicator • computer • cosmic ray • dark matter • dimensional fold • dimension • disruptor • disruptor rifle • distress beacon • distress call • electricity • environmental suit • Euclidean space • fountain • gravity • hammer • hatchet • hour • hydrogen • hypospray • impulse engine • intercom • kilometer • klaxon • knife • ladder • magnet • medicine • memory bank • microphone • minute • mirror • navigation station • oxygen • pencil • phaser pistol • phaser • photon torpedo • physics • pike • pulsar • quantum mechanics • science station • shovel • starship • thruster • torpedo tube • tractor beam • transporter • tricorder • turbolift • type-2 phaser • viewport • viewscreen • wagon • warning buoy • warp speed • wrench
Ranks and titles[]
- actor • ambassador • captain • chief engineer • clown • court jester • cowboy • diplomat • doctor • engineer • ensign • farmer • first officer • knight • lieutenant • minister • nurse • petty officer first class • rancher • science officer • scientist • security officer • soldier • sorceress • surgeon
Other references[]
- 20th century • 21st century • 2063 • 2120 • acid rain • alien • asteroid • August • bacon • baked potato • ballet • balloon • bandage • barn • bat • bird • birthday • blood • bone • book • brain • bridge • briefing room • brig • campfire • canyon • castle • cattle drive • cattle • cherry • circus • claustrophobia • cloud • coffee • corn • divorce • door • dragon • dream • earthquake • Earth-Romulan War • emerald • English language • farm • fire • fork • frog • galaxy • gas • genocide • ghost • giant • gold • gunpowder • gymnasium • hair • hangar deck • heart attack • helmet • helm • hierarchy • horse • humanoid • ideogram • Industrial Age • iron • Ixtoldan language • kiwi • landing party • lead • library • livestock • lubricant • mind-meld • mold • money • moon • mule • nightmare • non-corporeal lifeform • nutmeg • peach • pig • planet • pork chop • prison • psychology • rabbit • rain • Red-eye whiskey • red giant • ribbon • saddle • sauce • school • sheep dog • sickbay • solar system • sorghum • Spanish moss • stallion • stardate • Starfleet uniform • star • storeroom • summer • Tarsus IV Massacre • tea • technical manuel • telepathy • tin • toad • universe • water • white dwarf • winter wheat • winter • wood • worm
Timeline[]
Chronology[]
Chapter two begins on 6 August according to dialogue between Kirk and Sulu. The year is not mentioned, but chapter three states "Balance of Terror" was "about a year ago", placing it in 2267.
Appendices[]
External links[]
- The Folded World article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.