#star trek the motion picture the novel

[lichqueenlibrarian]

“As he entered, Spock’s ears caught the sounds of humans at love, which told him that privacy was still respected in this area of the ship. He moved quickly on, wishing his hearing was not so acute at times like this– it was the beginning of coupling he had heard and it distracted him. Odd, this human need to continually rub this and that part of their bodies together, particularly since humans conducted it while fully rational, sometimes intermixing it with conversation, which was certainly far from any definition of passion by Vulcan standards.”

Star Trek: the Motion Picture, Gene Roddenberry

[lichqueenlibrarian]

Spock’s already felt the brush of V’ger’s thoughts, but at the moment he kneels to receive the medallion from the masters, this happens…

dawg what they got the marriage mind meld

[shigeoreum]

Loved how the answers to V’ger and Spock’s question of “Is this all that I am?” lie in such human concepts of love, acceptance, union. The completion of their sense of selves are not dependent on the two men, but rather so much more fulfilling, real, and tangible through loving them and everything that comes with doing so.

Side note: love being a want or need for union is a philosophical take i don’t 100% agree with (narratively speaking it’s so romantic, though, especially in this movie’s context LOL), but Marilyn Friedman’s twist on love as more of a separate, “third” unified entity (a federation of the lovers’ selves) was fun to think about ^_^

[dilbobloggins]

sorry but I don’t think there’s a heterosexual reason why Gene Roddenberry himself wrote a scene where Spock admitted to feeling Jim’s thoughts to the crew, clarified to the reader that Vulcan’s can only feel the thoughts of someone you’re intensely close with and then having Spock think “oh god I just admitted I love him”

[wwillywonka]

love

song: francesca - hozier

[9151967]

On Questioning and Answering in Star Trek: The Motion Picture

A Room With A View (1985), Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), A Room With A View by E. M. Forster, Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry, Godbody by Theodore Sturgeon

Further notes:

This is all inspired by the Spock/Question and Kirk/Answer parallel. Spock seeks an answer and holds only questions at the start of the film, yet near the film's end, Kirk must offer the answer to a question he doesn't know exists. As I phrased it to my friend, it's their reciprocity, how one needs the other, is defined by the other. And then my friend compared it to the mating call of the now extinct Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird because it was a call-response duet. The last male of the species offered his part of the song but never received an answer. Thankfully, this lack of a response doesn't happen for Kirk and Spock, but with the way their questioning and answering needs each other, it mirrors that birdsong.

[thali-lemmonpie]

"And on the bridge—Kirk! The mere name made Spock groan inwardly as he remembered what it had cost him to turn away from that welcome. T’hy’la!"

[gay-mooshrooms]

you're telling me its CANON that not only was hearing V'ger call out to him why Spock left vulcan in the motion picture

but he also heard jim consciousness from fucking EARTH!?!?!

[spockandstars]

I was thinking about how Spock is intentionally paralleled with Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities in The Wrath of Khan, and now I am unwell!

At the beginning of the movie, Spock famously gives Kirk A Tale of Two Cities as a birthday present. This book was specifically included for its themes of sacrifice and resurrection, which obviously mirror Spock’s decision to give up his life to save the crew. Notably, Kirk’s final lines reference the famous closing of the novel.

Kirk: It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before... a far better resting in place I go to than I have ever known...

Carol: is that a poem?

Kirk: Something Spock was trying to tell me. On my birthday.

So what’s the importance of this line? The famous “far better thing” quote is from the book’s ending when Carton has just sacrificed himself for his beloved Lucie, giving himself up to be executed in place of her husband so that she may find happiness. (Live long and prosper, anyone?)

Interestingly, both Spock and Carton are emotionally repressed characters, and anguish over the depth of their love for the people who uniquely see them for who they are — in this case, Jim and Lucie. While I’d argue that Spock is more at peace with himself and his feelings for Jim after the events of the first movie, the point still stands that Jim is the one to truly understand him in a world that labels him as a cold and calculating being.

I believe that this is what Kirk’s line calling Spock’s soul “the most human I have ever encountered,” is supposed to represent. (Even though I agree with the criticism that it could have been worded better!) Similarly, Lucie is the one to recognize Carton’s inner nature in spite of his aloof facade, begging “I would ask you to believe that [Carton] has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep wounds in it.” (Book 2, Chapter 20.)

When Carton finally admits his love to Lucie, it’s hard not to see the resemblance to Spock’s dilemma in the first movie. You know, that time when Spock, in his heartbreak over something related to Jim (that were not given an explanation for), cries out “Jim! Good-bye my . . . my t’hy’la. This is the last time I will permit myself to think of you or even your name again!” before attempting to purge himself of all feelings in an ancient ritual, and failing because the Vulcan priestess can totally sense that he’s still thinking about Kirk. (Yup, that totally straight time!)

Well, Carton is in a similarly agonizing predicament, because he can’t get his feelings for Lucie to go away. He tells her, “I break down before the knowledge of what I want to say to you” and “I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire—a fire, however, inseparable in its nature from myself, quickening nothing, lighting nothing, doing no service, idly burning away.” (Book 2, Chapter 13)

He also expresses that he could never separate his love for her from himself, saying that “Within myself, I shall always be, towards you, what I am now.” (Book 2, Chapter 13) Yeah, I know the fact this mirrors Spock’s famous “I have been and always shall be yours” is probably a coincidence, but I’ll be damned if I don’t mention it.

Finally, Carton expresses his love for her in his willingness to sacrifice himself for her sake: “For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything. If my career were of that better kind that there was any opportunity or capacity of sacrifice in it, I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you… there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!” (Book 2, Chapter 13.) Of course, Carton’s story ends when he sacrifices himself for her, fulfilling this promise. Hmm, now who else does that sound like?

This is definitely not a perfect parallel: Spock doesn’t start out as a lazy alcoholic, although there is an argument to be made that Carton’s low self-worth reflects Spock’s before he went on his conversion therapy fueled journey of self discovery. Additionally, I wouldn’t say that Spock’s love for Kirk is unrequited like Carton’s for Lucie, (as evidenced by many things, but I’ll primarily point to the events of The Motion Picture and The Search for Spock), but you could potentially cast Carol in the role of Darnay, Lucie’s husband.

The most important thing to glean from this is that Spock was very deliberately set up to be the Carton figure, which is interesting given that Carton’s actions are driven by his willingness to do anything to see his beloved be happy and prosper.

[beeparonis]

Reading The Motion Picture Novelization and *while ripping out my hair in large chunks as tears are streaming down my face* omggggggggggg brooooooooooooooooooo

I can't fucking believe they really think we're dumb enough to think that a few comments about how kirk is a manly man who sleeps with women will counterbalance all that insanely gay shit happening.

Kill me now this is too much

[lichqueenlibrarian]

I am foaming at the mouth

[your-name-is-jim]

“I was never aware of this lovers rumor, although I have been told that Spock encountered it several times. Apparently he had always dismissed it with his characteristic lifting of his right eyebrow which usually connoted some combination of surprise, disbelief, and/or annoyance.”

Okay Jim, I got it. You and Spock aren't lovers. Now keep telling us everything about Spock's eyebrow :)

[legolasvegas]

Check out the spread I got at this estate sale 😍😍😍

[tricorderreading]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The very first paragraph of the movie novelization is kirk explaining where his name originates

(what the fuck is a love instructor???)

[wwillywonka]

spock crying in the the motion picture novelization

as i was watching star trek the motion picture today, i found myself wondering how closely it and the book align only to find that the essential scene, the thesis statement of the tmp story, where spock draws a direct parallel between v'ger and himself while crying is simply... not in the book. i know the version that's more widely available now is the director's cut and that said scene wasn't even in the original theatrical release, but the movie is simply incomplete without it. so! i decided to write out the scene as if it were in the book! please enjoy my take on a prose version of spock's beautiful speech

“Spock?” Then, when his Science Officer did not answer, “Mr. Spock.”

Kirk rose from the captain’s chair and made for the console where Spock sat, facing away from him towards the screen that displayed Vejur’s activity.

“I think -" Kirk began.

Then, Spock turned towards him in his chair, hand releasing from its resting place against the thin line of his mouth. He was — crying. A single, shimmering tear was streaking down his left cheek. His eyes, usually so dark and, since his return from Vulcan, so indecipherable, now shone brightly under the dim, warm light of the bridge. His eyebrows crinkled inwards, not in contemplative thought but, and Kirk would have never guessed, worry. It seemed that open, unashamed emotion left over from Spock’s mind meld with the intruder had not yet dissipated, though Kirk was unsure if Spock’s tears were more Vejur’s than his own.

Spock nodded his head, lifting it a little towards his captain, slightly accusatorily. There was no attempt to hide, no apologetic aversion of gaze. It seemed as if he were telling Jim, “Yes, believe what you are seeing, Captain.

“I have returned.”

Kirk felt McCoy step into place at his side, the doctor’s eyes settling on the now multiple tears pooling down Spock’s face. The captain shared a look with McCoy, acknowledging their mutual concern and astonishment towards their friend.

“Not for us,” Kirk finally stated.

“No, Captain. Not for us.” Spock’s voice, if perhaps a little softer than usual, was confident, steady, calm. Certain. “For Vejur.”

Spock raised his hands, intertwining the fingers in a familiar, thoughtful gesture, but kept them suspended in the air, fidgeting.

Commander Decker approached, too, eyebrows furrowing as he took in the image before him. Kirk showed no sign of acknowledging his presence, the captain’s attention entirely focused on his friend.

“I weep for Vejur as I would for a brother," Spock continued. "As I was when I came aboard, so is Vejur now. Empty, incomplete, and searching. Logic and knowledge are not enough.”

Kirk thought back to every argument, every insistent remark Spock made during their initial five-year mission about his lack of emotion, about his fundamental inability to consider anything else but logic and careful reasoning. Were these out of desperation, a need for the humans of the old Enterprise crew to accept his words as fact so that he, too, could cement their validity? Maybe in Spock’s mind, the more times he declared it, the closer it would be to coming true.

“Spock,” McCoy cut in, colliding reality with Kirk’s thoughts and Spock’s poetic words. “Are you saying that you’ve found what you needed, but Vejur hasn’t?” Decker spoke first. “What would Vejur need to fulfill itself?” Spock moved his gaze towards the main screen, just past Kirk’s head in his line of sight. “Each of us, at some time in our lives, turns towards someone: a father, a brother, a god… and asks, ‘Why am I here? What was I meant to be?’” He took in a sharp breath. “Vejur hopes to touch its creator-“ And now, he lifted his gaze, meeting Kirk’s eyes. “To find its answers.”

“‘Is this all that I am?’” said the captain, quoting Spock’s words from their conversation in sickbay. “‘Is there nothing more?’”

[9151967]

The thing that is still getting to me about TMP is how it as much about Spock's acceptance of himself and the unknowable (because logic is that which can be known, logic seeks to know but not necessarily understand) as it is about the Triumvirate learning that they cannot be separated, that they each need each other to be at their best, both as civilians and within Starfleet.

Kirk accepts a promotion out of active service and into the admiralty and the trio falls apart. McCoy protests his decision and Starfleet's choice to offer/push the promotion and leaves the service entirely. Spock leaves the service as well and returns to Vulcan to undergo the Kolinahr as a means to protect himself - from a future pon farr, prove his Vulcan nature rules out over his hybrid status (his main point of conflict/shame, always), and forget those illogical humans that brought emotions out of him now that he will be living among other Vulcans. It was a logical decision for him to make, but he has been irrevocably changed from the five year mission more than he would like to admit (another point of shame and regret).

Kirk doesn't fully come back into the captaincy until Spock returns. He is still mired by doubts owing to the Enterprise's new design, his years out of space, and Decker's presence as a living symbol of Kirk's own decision to leave the Enterprise as Kirk chose Decker to be his successor. (There's a lot to be said about how Kirk projects these fears and doubts onto Decker, how Decker is a parallel to Kirk as Ilia is a parallel to Spock, but that's ultimately what Kirk is struggling against - he chose to leave (albeit with a healthy dose of manipulation as per Roddenberry's novelization; I'm torn about how Roddenberry wrote that in because while it does make sense for how Starfleet could still operate if humans on Earth are so open-minded and peaceful, it detracts from making it Kirk's own choice when TOS has shown that Kirk has made mistakes, has acted selfishly, cannot stand being told what to do or have his authority challenged, not even by McCoy or Spock). He chose his successor. But he was miserable in an Earthbound life and trying to come back to it all - to "return home again" or repeat the past - is something that is not possible to do, no matter how much one wants it. Even the ship he knew and loved is no longer the same. The Enterprise Kirk knew exists only in his memories.)

McCoy acts more as Kirk's doctor than his friend until Spock returns, and rightfully so given the profile he had compiled on him, in addition to Chapel's profile when she acted as the CMO (I love that the novelization makes it clear that she happily gave the position back to McCoy because it meant handing Kirk over to someone who knows how to get through to him, lol. Pour one out for Christine Chapel for taking on the worst job). There are moments that show they have made up or at least called truce, but this McCoy is through with using alcohol to loosen Kirk up to his suggestions and just presses forward with his observations and recommendations, no matter how harsh they may be, to the point of outwardly saying that Kirk may not be fit for command due to his obsession with returning to and keeping the Enterprise. They've bucked heads before in the series over Kirk's behavior and decisions, but this is occurring after they haven't seen each other in years. Time may have passed but the wounds heal slow. (I wonder how much of it felt like a betrayal to McCoy for Kirk to go his own way - a betrayal of McCoy's expertise, a betrayal of Kirk's own skills, a betrayal of their relationship because neither McCoy or Spock can follow him into the higher ranks.)

There's a lot to be said about Kirk acting as the fulcrum that links McCoy and Spock together - who else could bridge that gap between their guiding philosophies, unite two people who are ultimately the same coin but working from different sides (doctor versus scientist) - so when he leaves, the other two leave as well. But TMP shows Spock bringing them back together to the way they were, even before he melds with V'ger and learns that logic is not enough. Spock brings out their humanity, be it by the memories he conjures or in reaction to his new Kolinahr-inspired distance.