The title is taken from the 1933 science-fiction novel by
Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer which was later adapted into
a film in 1951.
Page 1 reveals that Spock-Prime keeps with him a strange,
hovering puzzle that was given to him by his father. Spock
calls it "Sarek's Dilemma". It might be thought of as a
Vulcan version of Rubik's Cube!
Also on page 1, Spock-Prime reminisces on being tutored on
the Vulcan harp as a child. Here it is revealed that, as a
youth, the music he played helped him master his human half.
Spock was first seen playing this instrument (as an adult)
in the original series episode "Charlie X".
|
On page 2, Spock is reflecting on
being at the Vulcan Athenaeum
learning physical activities with
his peers and mastering the Vulcan
nerve pinch. The Athenaeum depicted
here looks as if it may be the same
location as Spock's attempt to
attain Kolinahr in Star Trek:
The Motion Picture. |
 |
 |
| Vulcan Athenaeum |
Kolinahr site
from Star Trek: The Motion
Picture |
On pages 2 and 3,
Spock is shown undergoing the tal'oth test in the
wastes of Vulcan's Forge during his adolescence. (Vulcan's
Forge is a vast desert region on Vulcan where the legendary
Surak originally began his pilgrimage which led to his
becoming the father of modern Vulcan
civilization.) There he encounters a wild Sa-te kru
cat which attacks him, but he renders it unconsciousness
with a nerve pinch. This is an incident in young
Spock's life seemingly borrowed from the Star Trek
animated series episode "Yesteryear", but with
significant modifications.
In "Yesteryear", the young Spock was only 7
years old when he set off on his kahs-wan test a
month earlier than scheduled to prove himself. In the
desert, he encounters a wild le-matya cat which
moves to attack him, but is itself ambushed first by Spock's
pet sehlat, I-Chaya (a large bear-like creature),
who had followed his master, then by Commander Spock, who
had travelled back in time through the Guardian of Forever
to save the life of his younger self; the elder Spock knocks
out the le-matya with a nerve pinch.
As you can see, the events and even the names of the
test and the wild animal have been changed from one story to
the other, without explanation. Possibly this is due to
differing opinions as to whether the animated series is part
of Star Trek canon.
On page 4, Spock-Prime remarks that when he played his
Vulcan harp for Lt. Uhura, she would become quite emotional.
The scene depicted appears to be from the original series
episode "Charlie X". In this episode, Spock, who
even has a hint of a smile while doing so,
plays the harp
for her while she sings and her (seemingly ad-libbed) song is about a
man on starship Enterprise "whose devil's ears and devil's
eyes could rip your heart from you." This seems to suggest
a hint of an attraction between the two even in the
original timeline.
The scene on page 5 is from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.
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