"What Pain It Is to Drown" is the lead story in the eighteenth issue of John Byrne's New Visions comic series, published in October 2017.
Description[]
- Pulled down to a world made entirely of water, the Enterprise is in danger of literally flooding – while Spock and McCoy discover a sinister purpose behind this bizarre planet.
Summary[]
Log Entries[]
- Captain's log, stardate 6502.4...
- Approaching the Polymax system for routine resupply.
- Captain's log, delayed entry.
- More and more of my ship is filling with this alien liquid. Fifteen crew members are dead. How can I tell their loved ones that they drowned in deep space?
- Captain's log, delayed entry.
- Mister Scott's plan has worked, but not all decks were being drained evenly. To reach the bridge required a circuitous route... Even with that, there were times I found I could not avoid the still-flooded areas. As when I came to a turbo-lift whose doors would not open. Manual operation showed why. The shaft was flooded. The liquid rushed away quickly, dispersing a thin layer across the deck. But the car was stuck on a level below me. And the water in the shaft showed no indication of draining any further.
- Which left me no choice: To go up, I must first go down. Reaching the top of the car, I entered through the access hatch... securing it behind me, so only the water in the car flooded out onto the deck.
References[]
Characters[]
- Tommy Carter • Pavel Chekov • Christine Chapel • James T. Kirk • John Kyle • Leonard McCoy • Janice Rand • Leon Sawchuk • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • Ulum • unnamed USS Enterprise personnel
- Referenced only
- Apollo • William Shakespeare
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • Da Vinci (class F shuttlecraft) • Einstein (class F shuttlecraft)
- Referenced only
- submarine
Locations[]
- Polymax (Polymax VIII) • unnamed water body
- Referenced only
- Luna • Miri's homeworld • Neptune • Pluul • Tasus (Tasus V)
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and technology[]
- deflector screen • emergency beacon • engine • environmental suit • hologram • impulse manifold • incubator • intercom • physics • probe • propeller • scanner • subspace communication • tractor beam • transporter • tricorder • turbolift • viewscreen
Ranks and titles[]
- captain • chief engineer • commander • doctor • first officer • lieutenant
Other references[]
- alien • assignment patch • atmosphere • auxiliary control • bridge • briefing room • captain's log • cell • coffee • crew • day • element • engineering • fly • hangar deck • helmet • hour • hurricane • hydrogen • insanity • kilometer • lifeform • liquid • log entry • logic • magnetic field • meter • mind meld • minute • moon • observation port • ocean • geo-stationary orbit • oxygen • primary hull • second • sickbay • space • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • subconscious • subspace • suicide • swimming • transporter room • universe • vacuum • vortex • warp factor (warp eight) • water • year • zero gravity
Timeline[]
Chronology[]
- The story takes place after the installation of a holographic interface in engineering and the return of Lieutenant Janice Rand to the Enterprise in 2269 or 2270.
Production history[]
- October 2017
- Originally printed in New Visions, Issue 18. (IDW Publishing)
- August 2018
- Reprinted in the omnibus New Visions, Volume 7. (IDW Publishing)
- October 2019
- Reprinted in hardcover in Graphic Novel Collection premium subscription photonovel #4. (Eaglemoss Collections)
Appendices[]
Background[]
- New York Comic Con's IDW Exclusive variant cover for this issue was limited to 200 copies. John Byrne attended the convention for a special panel and signing event. (New Visions covers article at Mark Martinez' Star Trek Comics Checklist and Byrne signing at NYCC article at Convention Scene)
- The title referred to a quote from Richard III, Act 1 Scene 4 by William Shakespeare. Kirk quoted the passage at the end of the story: "Lord, Lord! methought, what pain it was to drown! What dreadful noise of waters in mine ears! What ugly sights of death within mine eyes!" (Richard III text at the MIT Shakespeare website)
- Pavel Chekov compared the pressure against the hull to that produced by Apollo, in TOS episode & Star Trek 7 novelization: Who Mourns for Adonais? Spock compared Ulum's intentions to those of the life-prolongation scientists on Miri's homeworld, in TOS episode & Star Trek 1 novelization: Miri.
Related stories[]
- TOS movie: Star Trek Into Darkness – In the Kelvin timeline in 2260, the USS Enterprise submerged to avoid detection by natives on Nibiru.
- TOS comic: "Nor Any Drop to Drink" – In 2265, the USS Enterprise submerged within a planet-like water body containing intelligent Sigma fishmen.
- TOS comic: "Under the Sea" – In 2265, the Galileo was dragged underwater during a search for the missing Survey II surveyor.
- TAS episode: "The Ambergris Element" – In 2270, the Enterprise crew explored the oceans of Argo aboard the NCC-1701/5A aquashuttle.
Images[]
Connections[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #17: All the Ages Frozen |
TOS comics (New Visions) |
Next comic: #18 R.H.I.P. |
External links[]
- What Pain It Is to Drown article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- What Pain It Is to Drown article at the SciFi Pulse blog.
- What Pain It Is to Drown article at the Bounding into Comics blog.