"The Survival Equation" is the eighth issue of John Byrne's Star Trek: New Visions comic series. It was published in September 2015 and was a sequel to TOS episode & Star Trek 11 novelization: What Are Little Girls Made Of?.
Description[]
- Andrea, Ruk, Exo III—names that conjure grim memories for James Kirk. What, then, happens when the killer androids show up by the dozens? Plus, a special guest-star who's bound to surprise! All courtesy of photoplay wizard John Byrne!
Summary[]
- Captain's log, stardate 4991.3… USS Enterprise in orbit around Wrigley's Pleasure Planet, for a period of R&R for the crew.
During their shore leave, Kirk was stunned to see Andrea serving as a hostess. Kirk beamed her up to the Enterprise and had Leonard McCoy examine her. She had no idea who they were or how they knew she was an android, so Christine Chapel told her about their experiences with Roger Korby and Aaron Brown on Exo III. Scans showed that this Andrea unit was only three weeks old.
- Captain's log, stardate 4550.9… Returning to the surface of Wrigley's Pleasure Planet with the Andrea android — and this time with Science Officer Spock.
Kirk and Spock confronted Wrigley, the proprietor, who confessed to having purchased 16 Andreas from Kirk's brother, with 12 on order. When Kirk said his brother was dead, Wrigley played back recordings of the business deal, revealing the "brother" to be Harry Mudd. Mudd's molecular structure had been altered to resemble Kirk the last time they'd met. Hails to the Federation science team on Exo III were not answered, and Stella Mudd confirmed over subspace that Harry was missing.
- Captain's log, stardate 4992.8… Entering standard orbit around planet Exo III. A dead and frozen world, unchanged since last we were here, months ago. Unchanged in hundreds of thousands of years. Also seemingly unchanged, the living quarters Korby created from the chambers hollowed out by the Old Ones.
The science team's vessel was missing, apparently having been commandeered to deliver androids. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scott located machinery covering an area of 1,500 square kilometers, so they beamed down four security guards to help. Two guards located a matrix chamber, but were killed before they could report in by Ruk. An Andrea unit stunned Kirk and McCoy. A second Ruk attacked Spock and Scott, but Andrea stopped him from killing them.
When Kirk and McCoy awoke, they faced Mudd, who proclaimed that his androids would obey him. But Ruk was networked with the computer memory pool and recalled the equation that the original Ruk had figured out: survival overrides other programming. Ruk killed the leader of the Andrea units for working with Mudd. As other Ruks prepared to attack, the remaining security guards arrived and destroyed them. Mudd was apprehended. McCoy told Mudd that a scientific breakthrough might be able to restore his original appearance.
- Captain's log, stardate 4995.7… Rendezvous and prisoner transfer with USS Ardnas completed.
Spock deactivated the Exo III machines, breaking subspace links with the off-world Andreas. Scott expected that they'd all be shut down within a few days.
References[]
Characters[]
- Andrea • Pavel Chekov • Christine Chapel • Davis • Harlow • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Harry Mudd • Ruk • Spock • Montgomery Scott • Hikaru Sulu • Tully • Nyota Uhura • Wrigley
- Referenced only
- Aaron Brown • Andrea Milton • George Samuel Kirk, Jr. • Roger Korby • Stella Mudd • Old Ones
Starships and vehicles[]
- Referenced only
- Federation science vessel • USS Ardnas
Locations[]
- Referenced only
- Beta Carnis colony • Earth
Races and cultures[]
- Referenced only
- Old Ones
States and organizations[]
Science and technology[]
- android • medical scanner • phaser • transporter • tricorder • warp drive
Ranks and titles[]
- captain • commander • doctor • Federation Starfleet ranks (2240s-2260s) • guard • hostess • lieutenant • prisoner
Other references[]
- blackmail • bridge • credit • Federation law • green salad • honor among thieves (expression) • landing party • matrix chamber • master mold • memory link • memory pool • prison • radiation • slave • sickbay • soul • Starfleet uniform (2240s-2265) • subspace • tape • transporter room • year
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TOS episode: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" – USS Enterprise's original visit to Exo III
- TOS novel: Double, Double – A second Aaron Brown android continued Korby's conspiracy
- TOS episode & Mudd's Angels novelization: Mudd's Women – Mudd's first TOS appearance
- TOS episode: "I, Mudd" – Mudd second TOS appearance
- TOS - New Visions comic: "Made Out of Mudd" – Mudd's previous appearance, chronologically
- TOS episode: "The Man Trap" – Initial reference to Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
Background[]
- This story takes place in 2268 between the events of TOS - New Visions comic: "Made Out of Mudd" and TOS novel: Mudd in Your Eye.
- This story is a partial sequel to "Made Out of Mudd" and TOS episode & Star Trek 11 novelization: What Are Little Girls Made Of?.
- It contained a four-page flashback to the episode and included a creator credit on the title page to Robert BlochMA for that episode's characters.
- It referenced Mudd's familiarity with androids, obliquely referencing TOS episode: "I, Mudd".
- Harry Mudd gained Captain Kirk's appearance in "Made Out of Mudd" from a transporter-like device discovered by Ronald Tracey that can change an individual's appearance to resemble that of another recorded individual.
- The stardate in the second captain's log was out of sequence. Stardate 4550.9 would be prior to the events of "Made Out of Mudd".
Images[]
Connections[]
| Media featuring Harry Mudd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | "Mudd's Women" • "I, Mudd" • "Mudd's Passion" • "Choose Your Pain" • "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad" • "The Escape Artist" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Novels and collections | Mudd's Angels • Mudd's Enterprise • Mudd in Your Eye • The Light Fantastic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short stories | "The Business, As Usual, During Altercations" • "Dilithium Is a Girl's Best Friend" • "A Sucker Born" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RPGs and games | The Adventure Game • 25th Anniversary • 25th Anniversary (NES) • Starfleet Academy • Through a Glass, Darkly m • Trexels • Timelines • Fleet Command | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comics | "Operation Con Game" • "It's a Living" • "Made Out of Mudd" • "The Survival Equation" • Discovery - Succession, Issue 1 m • "Vote Mudd!" (Year Five, Issue 15 • Issue 16) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Return of Mudd | "When You Wish Upon a Star...!" • "Mudd's Magic!" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Return of Harry Mudd | "Mission: Muddled" • "The Sky Above...The Mudd Below" • "Target: Mudd!" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| m : Mirror universe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #7: 1971/4860.2 |
TOS comics (New Visions) |
Next comic: #9 The Hollow Man |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Robot New Visions |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: The Enterprise Incident |
| Previous story: Made Out of Mudd |
The adventures of Harcourt Fenton Mudd | Next story: Mudd in Your Eye |
External link[]
- The Survival Equation article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.