The Federation's leading minds – marked for murder!

Memory Prime is a Pocket TOS novel – #42 in the numbered series – written by Gar and Judith Reeves-Stevens. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in October 1988.

Summary

From the back cover

Memory Prime is the central core of an immense computer library, an entire network of research planetoids. Here, the Pathfinders, the only artificial intelligences legally permitted to serve the Federation, control and sift the overwhelming dataflow from thousands and thousands of research vessels across the galaxy.

The greatest scientists in the Federation have gathered at Memory Prime for the prestigious Nobel and Z-Magnees prize ceremonies, unaware that a deadly assassin is stalking one of them. As Captain Kirk struggles to save his ship from sabotage and his first officer from accusations of murder, he discovers the hidden assassin is far from the deadliest secret lurking on Memory Prime.

Kirk is by no means happy about his most recent assignment, shuttling scientists to a ceremony on Memory Prime. The plot thickens as intercepted transmissions seem to link Spock with the secret Vulcan terrorist group, the Adepts of T'Pel. After a suspicious, and highly dangerous attempt at sabotage while en route, the Enterprise is commandeered by the commodore. Things seem hopeless when Spock makes a semi-miraculous (and highly illegal) escape from the Enterprise's brig. Even the captain begins to lose hope until Bones gets him back in the fight, and off he goes to save the Federation's finest minds, and save Spock as well.

Memorable quotes

"Do you wish to consume coffee while you plot your revenge?"
"Please."

- H'rar and Nensi, regarding the demands of the Pathfinder interface team.

"Sorry, Jim. It's just that there seem to be a few more gaudy decorations on that thing since the last time you had it on."
"We keep saving the galaxy, Starfleet keeps giving me medals. What's a starship captain to do?"
"Get a bigger tunic? Or perhaps—"

- Leonard McCoy and James T. Kirk, regarding the state of Kirk's dress uniform

"What's wrong with the commodore?"
"Simple, I have seen that condition many times in the past."
"And what condition is that, Dr. Chekov?"
"She is a starbase commander."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning she is not a starship commander. Such as I am."
"For the next half hour only, mister."
"Some may think of it as a half hour. But I, on the other hand, prefer to think of it as... a start."

- Nyota Uhura and Pavel Chekov, regarding Montana Wolfe's bad mood

"It's almost as if the people on the interface team are acolytes and the Pathfinders are their gods."
"And God just told Garold to obey the infidels."

- Mira Romaine and Salman Nensi

"When it comes to matters of prestige and honor, Starfleet is seldom logical."

- Spock, to Leonard McCoy, regarding their assignment to escort duty in Quadrant Zero

"Bit of a maverick, I understand."
"Pike?"
"Spock."
"Spock? A maverick?"

- Montana Wolfe and James T. Kirk, on his science officer

"Good night, Academician. Perhaps I will see you on the tour tomorrow."
"Is something expected to happen to your vision?"

- Montana Wolfe and Sradek regarding the tour of the warp nacelles scheduled for the following day

"Thank ye, Commodore. Things start to get a bit rough around warp five, but at everything below it's smooth as a... uh, transparent aluminum."

- Montgomery Scott, to Montana Wolfe, following her comment on how smooth the Enterprise runs

"Scotty, you took the dilithium crystals out of the warp circuits? While we were in warp?"
"Ye don't need dilithium to travel at warp speeds under four-point-eight. It's more efficient, sure, but d'ye not remember your history, doctor? How all those early voyages between Vulcan and Earth, and even Klinzhai, took months instead of days, long before dilithium's four-dimensional structure was discovered? But then I'm forgetting, you're a doctor, not an engineer."

- Leonard McCoy and Montgomery Scott

"You're not sounding like the devil's advocate anymore. You're talking as if you really think he's guilty."
"And you're talking as if you won't even consider the possibility that he might be! Remember Talos Four? Spock deliberately risked the last deathpenalty on the books."
"To do what he thought was right."

- James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy, regarding why Spock was arrested

"When I think of all the times I've come down here to help you wrestle with the problems of your command... and what have you learned? Nothing. No matter how bad it's been in the past, you keep looking to put more pressure on yourself. You've got to draw the line somewhere."

- Leonard McCoy, to James T. Kirk

"I suggest you face facts, Jim. You're not a god. You're a starship captain. And if that's not enough for you, then give the Enterprise up! Transfer to command and get those extra stripes. Become an admiral. Hell, become the admiral and run the whole damned fleet of starships, if that's what you want. Then, and only then, when you're at the top of the whole glorious system, can you feel that all the problems of the universe are the personal problems of James T. Kirk!"
"I will never give up the Enterprise. Never."
"Then pay the price for her, Captain. Give the orders to the people below you and accept the orders from the people above. Don't treat everything that doesn't go your way as a personal attack. Learn the rules of the system. Then you can learn how to bend them. But don't ever forget that the system is there. And that you owe your ship to it."

- James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy, on why Kirk feels betrayed by Starfleet not telling him everything

"What a load of tribble droppings."
"Tribbles don't leave droppings, Commodore."
"Exactly. Nothing!"

- Montana Wolfe and Nyota Uhura, regarding the communiqué from Starfleet they had just recieved

"Professor, have you any enemies?"
"I'm a brilliant scientist, Captain. I have hundreds. Perhaps even thousands."
"Enemies that would want to kill you, Professor?"

- James T. Kirk and Zoareem La'kara, regarding the sabatoge of her accelerator-field generator

"You've got an abraded hand, a wrenched shoulder, and a deep cut on your back.... But as your physician, I've come to accept those kinds of injuries as your normal state of health."

- Leonard McCoy, to James T. Kirk

"Let's get on with it, shall we? Someone's trying to kill you!"
"What is that?"
"A doctor."

- Leonard McCoy, Sradek, and Spock

"You'll be hunted down, destroyed."
"Have you never heard of entropy, Captain? Everything will be destroyed, eventually."

- James T. Kirk and tr'Nele, regarding the likelihood tr'Nele successfully escaping after finishing his job

"If he says this is invigorating, I'll fill him so full of Euphorian he won't know what planet he's on."
"I heard that, doctor. So I won't say it... but I do believe it's true!"

- Leonard McCoy and Zoareem La'kara, regarding their location actively being destroyed

"Professor, shut down the shielding circut."
"Why should I?"
"Because Professor Nedlund at the Academy has specifically said that what Spock wants to do is impossible and we want to prove him wrong once and for all!"

- James T. Kirk and Zoareem La'kara

"Spock, you can't let him do it! He'll be killed!"
"I shall be accompanying him, doctor. I shall strive to prevent that fate for both of us."
"And for McCoy, too. You're coming along, Bones."

- Leonard McCoy, Spock, and James T. Kirk, on their plan on how to beam through the asteroid

"I know, I know. Pad-to-pad transfers use only ten percent of the energy a single-pad beam requires."
"I am impressed, doctor, after all these years of asking me to remember that you are a doctor—"

- Leonard McCoy and Spock

"Do I look as bad as you look?"
"I have looked in a mirror. You look worse."

- James T. Kirk and Spock, after their skuffle with tr'Nele

"Excuse me, Academician, but is that… bourbon?"
"From Kentucky."

- McCoy and Academician Sradek

"One does not win the Nobel and Z.Magnees Peace Prize every day."
"Of course not, Spock. It is only awarded four standard years."

- Spock and Sradek, regarding Sradek's choice of drink

"You must find it quite refreshing, Spock, to work with a Human who has such a firm grasp of logic."

- Academician Sradek, to Spock, on McCoy

Background information

• This is the first Star Trek novel by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
• The novel is a sequel to TOS: "The Lights of Zetar".
• The term quadrant is used instead of sector, since the latter had yet to be introduced into Star Trek.
• Warp engines and warp travel are explained using theories of different dimensional planes – vastly different to the later, much simpler system shown from the Star Trek: The Next Generation onward.
• The insignia of Starbase 4 is said to be in the rough shape of the Orion constellation.
• The novel incorrectly refers to the Enterprise as being a Constellation class vessel instead of a Constitution class vessel.

Characters

James T. Kirk

Captain of the USS Enterprise.

Spock

Executive officer and science officer of the USS Enterprise.

Leonard McCoy

Chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise.

Montgomery Scott

Chief engineer of the USS Enterprise.

Uhura

Communications officer of the USS Enterprise.

Hikaru Sulu

Helmsman of the USS Enterprise.

Pavel Chekov

Navigator of the USS Enterprise.

John Kyle

Transporter chief of the USS Enterprise.

Mira Romaine

Commander of Memory Prime.

James Komack

An admiral from Starfleet Command.

Montana Wolfe (β)

A Starfleet commodore; portmaster of Starbase 4.

Salman Nensi

Chief Administrator of Memory Prime; Mira Romaine's uncle.

Sradek

A professor at the Vulcan Science Academy.

Zoareem La'kara

A Federation scientist.

tr'Nele

A Rihannsu assassin.

References

Memory Alpha (β)

Federation library facility.

Memory Beta (β)

Federation library facility, created in the tradition of Memory Alpha.

Memory Delta (β)

Federation library facility, created in the tradition of Memory Alpha.

Memory Epsilon (β)

Federation library facility, created in the tradition of Memory Alpha.

Memory Gamma (β)

Federation library facility, created in the tradition of Memory Alpha.

Memory Prime (β)

Federation library facility.

External links

• Memory Prime at Wikipedia
• Memory Prime at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works