Voyage to Adventure was a TOS interactive young reader novel, the first of two published in the 1980s by Archway, an imprint of Pocket Books. The story was written by Michael J. Dodge, a.k.a. John M. Ford, with the reader making choices on each page that affected the outcome of the story.
Description[]
- Welcome to the starship Enterprise!
- You're an ensign in the Starfleet and you've been assigned to the Enterprise! With Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, you'll explore amazing new worlds. You might rescue an alien race from a deadly disease, or do battle with a Klingon spy, or time travel to another universe. If you make the right choices, you could be a hero and save the Enterprise. But be careful — or you, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock could all be in terrible danger! Of course, if you don't like the way your story is going, you can always go back and start a new one!
Summary[]
Readers assume the role of a Starfleet Academy graduate with the rank of ensign who is newly assigned to the USS Enterprise. The choice of working on the bridge with Kirk, in engineering with Montgomery Scott or in a science laboratory with Spock leads to one of six unnamed adventures.
Klingons[]
The Enterprise heads for a dilithium-rich planet within Federation space after the ensign deciphers a coded transmission from a Klingon battlecruiser stating their plan to plunder some unguarded dilithium mines. The reader chooses whether to fire first or order the Klingons to surrender, leading to a variety of outcomes. In some cases, the battlecruiser is driven off, while in others the Enterprise incurs heavy damage and flees from the planet in defeat. One ending leads to a field promotion for the ensign.
Takoi[]
The Enterprise responds to a telepathic distress call from the Takoi homeworld. Kirk, McCoy and the ensign beam into an underground refuge.
Going left leads the trio to a small haven for plague survivors. A collar, if worn, will upload substantial historical and medical knowledge directly into the brain. Reader choices determine whether Leonard McCoy can cure the affliction.
Going right brings about a battle against illusory attacks as a group of Takoi attempt to seize telepathic control of the landing party. The struggle ends in either a peaceful rescue of the Takoi, the death of the ensign, or transporting back without the Takoi.
Sabotage[]
A Klingon disguised as one of the crew directs a small mouse robot to sabotage various engineering systems. As soon as enough functions are taken offline, he will use a small subspace radio to signal his nearby Klingon battlecruiser to attack. Although most choices expose the spy or end his threat, three choices lead to the ensign's death.
Creature[]
The ensign discovers an unusual lifeform draining power inside a Jefferies tube. Several choices starve the creature of power or eject it out an airlock, but two choices lead to the ensign's death.
Malfunction[]
A food processor computer goes haywire, becoming obsessed with oatmeal. It creates a magnetic disruption inside a Jefferies tube as it tries to tap power from the warp engines. Most choices lead to the device's deactivation, but two cause the ensign's death.
Time travel[]
The Enterprise enters a region of space where time twists into a mobius loop. Spock builds some testing equipment, but a panel shatters and Spock is caught in temporal energy. Spock warns the ensign back, then disappears.
Pulling a lever forward brings the ensign sideways through time to the ISS Enterprise in the Mirror Universe. He finds Spock being taken to the ship's brig. Escape requires signaling the prime reality Enterprise and making adjustments to the transporter. Half of the choices get them home, while others trap the ensign in the Mirror Universe or in a never-ending time loop.
Pulling the lever backward takes the ensign to the year 2230, where he and Spock encounter Captain Robert April and a much younger Mr. Spock. One choice leads to the death of the older Spock, spurring the younger Spock to time travel and prevent it from happening. Other choices lead to a safe return to 2270 or the ensign having to live out his life in the earlier generation.
References[]
Characters[]
- Robert April • Black (mirror Ensign) • Pavel Chekov • Ensign (reader) • Grogan • James T. Kirk • James T. Kirk (mirror) • Krogan • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Service Control Computer FS-137-B • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Traynor • Nyota Uhura • Nyota Uhura (mirror) • Wu (mirror Ensign) • unnamed USS Enterprise personnel (2260s) • unnamed Klingons (security guards) • unnamed Takoi
- Referenced only
- Black • Wu
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Takoi homeworld • unnamed stars and systems
- Referenced only
- Starbase 18
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and technology[]
- artificial gravity • auto destruct • communicator • computer • disruptor • distress call • electronic sweeper • engine • escape hatch • escape pod • glove • headlight • headphones • helmet • impulse power • Jeffries tube • knife • laboratory • library • microtape • mouse robot • number four tool kit • phaser • photon torpedo • radiation suit • radio • sensor • shield • spacesuit • subspace radio • transporter • tricorder • turbolift • type II phaser • universal translator • viewscreen • warp engine • weapon
Ranks and titles[]
- admiral • captain • chief engineer • commander • communications officer • cook • crewman • doctor • ensign • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • guard • helmsman • lieutenant • rank • science officer • Starfleet ranks • transporter operator
Other references[]
- acid • alert status (battle stations • red alert) • alien • alternate universe • atmosphere • beam • boarding party • brain • bridge • brig • cereal • city • code • dilithium crystal • dining room • disease • engineering • forcefield • galaxy • glass • helium • history • Klingon military code 7 • Klingonese • language • lightning • lifeform • magnetism • metal • meter • mining • minute • Mirror Universe • oatmeal • orbit • peace • plague • planet • plastic • Prime Directive • pudding • quarters • radiation • rope • second • sector • sickbay • space • Starfleet uniform (2230s) • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • stun • time • time travel • transporter room • vacuum • Vulcan nerve pinch • warp speed (warp five • warp six • warp eight) • weapons console
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TAS episode: "The Counter-Clock Incident" – Introduction of Captain Robert April.
- TOS episode: "Mirror, Mirror" – Introduction of the Mirror Universe.
- TOS novel: The Entropy Effect – Spock repeatedly uses time travel to prevent the death of James T. Kirk.
Background[]
- The Enterprise and Klingon ships exchange weapons fire, which should not be possible in 2270 if the Organian Peace Treaty is being enforced.
- A landing party is able to beam 1,800 meters below the surface. Transporters ordinarily cannot beam through so much material.
- Each of the engineering stories branch to different endings. This is necessary to keep the reader from being stuck in a never-ending loop of engineering stories. However, it also means that the author cannot clarify whether the Klingon saboteur brings the energy-eating lifeform aboard or causes the food processor computer to malfunction.
- When a Klingon ship trespasses into Federation space, the reader faces the moral choice of whether to attack first or demand they surrender. Attacking first is contrary to Starfleet principles addressed by Admiral Traynor on the first page of the book, whereas Nyota Uhura informs the reader that Klingons never surrender. Michael Burnham and Philippa Georgiou face the same choice during their encounter with a trespassing Klingon vessel in DSC episode: "Battle of the Binary Stars". Author John M. Ford apparently agreed with Burnham, as not attacking first results in the reader getting shot.
Errata[]
- Robert April is stated to have died before the ensign was born, sometime prior to 2250. This conflicts with TAS episode: "The Counter-Clock Incident", which shows April to be alive and well in 2270.
- The book's final adventure is a time travel story in which Spock states that he and the ensign go "about 40 years" into the past, placing these events aboard the Enterprise circa 2230. This date is problematic because the Enterprise had not yet been built and Spock was born in 2230. If he misspoke, and they had traveled about 20 years instead to 2250, there is a period aboard the Enterprise during April's captaincy where a young, Starfleet cadet version of Spock could be aboard.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: first publication |
Young reader novels (Which Way Books) |
Next novel: Phaser Fight |
| Previous novel: The Vulcan Treasure |
Young reader novels | Next novel: Phaser Fight |
| Previous novel: The Vulcan Treasure |
TOS novels | Next novel: My Enemy, My Ally |
| Previous story: The Final Reflection |
Stories by: Michael J. Dodge a.k.a. John M. Ford |
Next story: How Much for Just the Planet? |
| Chronological Order | ||
| Previous adventure: Garth of Izar |
Pocket Books Timeline | Next adventure: Phaser Fight |
| Previous adventure: Garth of Izar |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Phaser Fight |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2270. The Memory Beta Chronology places events from this story in 1 other timeframe(s): | ||
| Previous adventure: The Entropy Effect Chapter 1, Section 12 |
2250 Time travel |
Next adventure: Aftershock |
External links[]
- Voyage to Adventure article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Voyage to Adventure article at Demian's Gamebook Web Page.