by Judith Reeves-Stevens, Garfield Reeves-Stevens, John Ordover (ed.) ~
"Of all the experiences shared by Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship EnterpriseT during their first five-year mission, two were among the most perilous: a journey to the nonphysical realm of Transition where the massive computer known as Memory Prime was situated, and the nightmarish mission to Talin IV, a world poised on the brink of destruction that Kirk was forbidden to save. In the twenty-third century, a hundred years before a sentient artificial life-form would be allowed to earn a Starfleet commission, the Federation considers the use of self-aware artificial intelligences to be little more than slavery, except for the immense computer system of Memory Prime -- the key hub in the Federation's vast network of interstellar library planets. There, the A.I.s known as Pathfinders inhabit Transition -- a virtual world so different from our universe that the A.I.s themselves debate whether or not the physical universe is real. But when an ancient enemy reaches out from the shadows of Vulcan's darkest history and threatens to destroy the Federation, Spock must risk his career, and his life, to enter the Pathfinders' realm. Technologically and politically, Talin IV is little different from late-twentieth century Earth. But as a series of mysterious events pushes that world closer to self-annihilation, the Prime Directive prevents Captain Kirk and his crew from doing anything to prevent it. Bonus: An Exclusive Interview with the Authors "