The Monsters of Star Trek

by Daniel Cohen

  Charlie demands to be taken to the nearest inhabited planet. He intends to take it over. The thought of this powerful but uncontrolled child ruling a planet frightens Kirk. But there seems to be no way of stopping him.

  The situation is saved by the sudden appearance of a Thasian. The Thasian is seen only as a semi-transparent face wavering in the air. The Thasian admits that his kind are responsible for Charlie’s enormous powers. Their motives had been good. When a crash had stranded a human child on their planet, they had given him the powers so that he would be able to survive. But they had never been able to teach him discipline. They knew that it was far too dangerous to allow him to live among human beings again. So they return the protesting Charlie to Thasus. They also fix all the damage that he did to the Enterprise.

  Chapter 6

  Dangerous Animals

  On Earth an amoeba is one of the simplest forms of life. It is a one-celled creature so tiny it can be seen only with a microscope. Amoebas have no regular shape. When they move, they just sort of flow along. They eat by surrounding their food and absorbing it. Earthly amoebas can cause some diseases, but for the most part they are tiny and harmless.

  When the U.S.S. Enterprise meets an amoeba, it is no harmless little thing. This amoeba is eleven thousand miles long, and between two and three thousand miles thick. It lives in outer space, and it drains the energy from entire star systems for its food.

  The space amoeba itself is a brilliantly colored mass. It moves inside of a cloud of darkness, which is actually negative energy. It has no mind and cannot think. All it has is an instinct to eat, survive, and reproduce. Like earthly amoebas, this gigantic space amoeba reproduces by splitting in two.

  Space Amoeba

  The first hint that such a monstrous creature exists comes when Spock gets a severe mind jolt. This happens because the starship Intrepid, which is manned by Vulcans, is destroyed. Vulcans are aware of what is happening to other Vulcans, even over great distances. Very soon the crew of the Enterprise realizes that not only has a starship been drained of all life, but all the life in an entire star system has been destroyed.

  When they arrive at the scene of the disaster, they find the amoeba. It has come from a distant galaxy in search of food. What is worse, it is just about to divide. One of these monsters is bad enough. Two or more might wipe out all life in the galaxy. Kirk knows that the thing must be destroyed, no matter what the danger or cost.

  The Enterprise is able to get through the cloud of darkness right to the creature’s outer skin. But it can’t find a way through the skin, and it can’t get back out through the cloud.

  Spock takes a smaller shuttlecraft. With it he is able to penetrate the amoeba’s skin and find its weak spot. The Enterprise follows the small ship. The hope is to explode an antimatter bomb at a vital spot, thus destroying the creature. Time, however, is short. The amoeba can’t think, but it can and does react. It reacts like any ordinary cell would when an alien object gets in. The amoeba’s immunity system begins to operate. If the amoeba isn’t destroyed quickly, it will destroy both the shuttlecraft and the Enterprise itself.

  It’s a near thing, particularly for Spock, in the shuttlecraft. But the bomb is exploded in the right spot, and everyone gets away safely, except the amoeba, of course.

  Other single-celled menaces are the flying parasites. They are flat, round organisms about the size of a small plate. The creatures are able to fly short distances. They are red and white in color, and have tiny eyes on top, and tiny teeth on the bottom. The teeth allow them to attach themselves to their victims. When firmly attached, they grow tentacles which reach right into the victims’ nervous system. The parasites can control their victims by inflicting severe pain. Finally, the victims may be driven mad by the pain.

  Flying Parasites

  All that is quite bad enough, but there is something even worse about these creatures. Though the parasites are all separate from one another, they seem to have some kind of communication among themselves. They all work together. In fact, they are not really separate individuals at all. They make up a single larger organism like a gigantic brain. They are probably invaders from some other galaxy.

  As these single cells multiply and take control of more host bodies, the total organism itself grows. The larger the total organism becomes, the more powerful, the more intelligent, and the more evil it becomes.

  The creature is first known to have appeared in the Beta Portalan system. There it created an epidemic of madness which wiped out an entire civilization. It then appears to have spread to other planets, Lavinius V, Theta Cygni XII, and Ingraham B. It always brought with it madness and death.

  The individual cells had no means of flying through space themselves. What they did was force some of their victims to build spaceships and carry them to other inhabited planets. Some survivors from Ingraham B arrived on the planet Deneva, where the usual pattern of destruction is repeated.

  It is here that the Enterprise first encounters the flying parasites. Kirk has a very personal involvement in the fate of Deneva. One of the victims there is James Kirk’s own brother, Sam, and his wife, Aurelan.

  While investigating the conditions on Deneva, Spock is attacked by one of the flying parasites. Though the creature attaches itself to Spock, it is not able to control him. Unlike humans, Vulcans are able to control pain.

  It becomes Dr. McCoy’s job to find a way of getting rid of the parasites without killing their hosts. Since the parasites are firmly attached to the host’s body inside and out, this is no easy task. The doctor thinks that light might be the answer. In a test he exposes Spock to extremely bright lights. The theory is correct; the parasites are killed by the light. But the light is so bright that Spock is blinded.

  Only later does McCoy realize that only the invisible ultraviolet rays in light are needed to kill the parasites. Visible light of the type that blinded Spock has no effect upon the parasites. Ultraviolet flares are exploded over Deneva. These kill the parasites quickly, and the threat is ended. Spock recovers, too. His blindness was only temporary. It turns out that all Vulcans have an “extra eyelid,” meant to protect them from the bright Vulcan sun. This time it protected Spock from the blinding light.

  While the “Star Trek” adventures contain plenty of strange and monstrous creatures, there are relatively few of the conventional or ordinary sort of monsters found in other science fiction or horror films and television shows. Probably the most conventional monster in the entire series plays only a minor role. It is the Mugato, and it appears in the episode called “A Private Little War.”

  The Mugato is a giant ape of the planet Neural. It has white fur. The skin of its hands, feet, and face is a bright red. And to complete its monstrous appearance, it has a big horn sticking out from the middle of its forehead. Not only can it rip a person apart with its bare hands, but its bite is poisonous. The only cure for a Mugato bite is a solution made from a mako root. And only witch doctors of the small Kanutu tribe know how to properly administer the root.

  The Mugato

  While a landing party from the Enterprise is investigating the possibility of Klingon meddling on Neural, Kirk is bitten by a Mugato. He is cured by Nona, a Kanutu witch doctor and wife of the Kanutu leader.

  And then there are the tribbles. Perhaps it is not fair to call tribbles monsters. They are extremely cute and lovable, but they can be a problem, even a danger.

  Tribbles are round balls of fur, about the size of an ordinary softball or a bit larger. They come in a variety of attractive shades of color. They have no visible head or feet, but they do seem able to move. They certainly must have a mouth on their underside, for they are big eaters. Their origin is unknown.

  Practically anyone who comes in contact with tribbles adores them. The tribbles return the affection. Every time they are near a human being, they begin purring softly. This gentle noise seems to have a tranquilizing effect on most people. Tribbles seem to be perfect pets.

  Pract
ically the only life form that tribbles do not like is Klingons. Whenever a Klingon gets near a tribble, the tribble makes loud and irritating shrieking noises. Klingons detest tribbles and call them parasites.

  What is the trouble with tribbles? The Enterprise finds out when they are ordered to guard a load of grain stored at Space Station K-7. The grain is needed by a colony on Sherman’s Planet, which has run out of food and faces a severe famine.

  Normally, a guard for grain would not be needed, but there are Klingons around. Space Station K-7 is located in a neutral zone between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Under terms of the Organian Peace Treaty, Klingons are allowed to stop at the station for rest and recreation. That is what a group of Klingons has done. Sherman’s Planet is near enough to the territory of the Klingons for them to make some claim to it. Federation officials are worried that the Klingons might try to make trouble on Sherman’s Planet. The crew of the Enterprise and the Klingons on Space Station K-7 are always on the verge of fighting.

  Into this tense situation come the tribbles. One of them has been given to Lieutenant Uhura by a space trader named Cyrano Jones. Jones is not a bad man; he is sort of a general pest. Many of his dealings are slightly dishonest. He hopes to sell tribbles as pets to humans. His gift of one to Uhura was sort of a free sample. Jones really had no idea how much trouble tribbles could be.

  Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols)

  Tribbles seem only to do two things: eat and reproduce. The more food they get, the more quickly they reproduce. And they can reproduce so fast that when McCoy examines them he says that they almost seem to be born pregnant. Very soon Space Station K-7 is overrun with tribbles. The tribbles get into the storage bins and eat all of the stored grain. This disaster turns out to be a blessing in disguise. When the storage bins are opened, all the tribbles inside are found to be dead. The grain had been poisoned. If it had been sent to Sherman’s Planet, many would have died. The Federation would doubtless have been blamed, and the Klingons might have been able to successfully pursue their claim to the planet.

  Who poisoned the grain? The guilty party turns out to be a Klingon who had disguised himself as a Terran official. It is an excellent disguise. The only way the impostor is discovered is when a tribble comes close to him. It begins to scream loudly.

  When the Klingon plot is exposed, they leave the space station. The remaining tribbles on the Enterprise are gathered up and beamed aboard the departing Klingon ship. There it is said they will be “no tribble at all….”

  Chapter 7

  Alien Places

  Something is killing miners on Janus VI. It is also wrecking mining equipment. The very existence of the important mining colony is threatened. Whatever it is has to be stopped. The Enterprise is sent to investigate.

  While roaming through the underground tunnels, Kirk, Spock, and some security men find the killer. It is a strange stone-like creature about seven feet long and three feet wide. It is covered with heavy armor plates, and has many legs or tentacles on its underside. Phasers are fired, and the thing is apparently wounded. But it escapes by burrowing right through solid rock at great speed.

  The creature is then able to corner Kirk and has a chance to kill him. When it doesn’t, Spock is puzzled. Clearly, the thing is no mindless monster. Spock manages to make telepathic contact with it. It is called the Horta, an underground dweller and an original inhabitant of Janus VI.

  The Horta

  Hortas have a strange life cycle. They live for about sixty thousand years. After that they lay their eggs and the entire generation dies. A single Horta remains alive to take care of the eggs and to help to raise the next generation of Hortas.

  The Horta is intelligent and normally quite peaceful. However, the human miners on Janus VI didn’t even know that such a creature existed. One day when the Horta had left the eggs for a while, miners broke through into the underground cavern that contained the eggs. Since the Horta was a life form completely alien to the miners, they were not able to recognize its eggs. The miners thought the eggs were some sort of rock or mineral, and many eggs were destroyed. With the future of its whole race in danger, the Horta struck back in self-defense.

  Once the circumstances are understood, Spock and Kirk are able to arrange an agreement between the Horta and the miners. The Horta even agrees to help the miners in some of their operations. She does, however, tell Spock that she thinks all human beings are pretty monstrous looking.

  To humans the Horta is ugly, but at least it can be looked at. The Medusans are a race so horrible looking that if a human catches sight of one, he is instantly driven insane. Humans can deal safely with the Medusans only by viewing them through a protective visor. Then they appear as a pattern of lights and green radiation.

  Despite their appearance, the Medusans have great beauty and depth of character. They also have a very advanced technology. It is a great advantage for humans and Medusans to cooperate.

  Medusans communicate telepathically. The Federation needs an ambassador with telepathic abilities. The job of ambassador is offered to Spock. He turns it down, because Vulcans are also driven insane by the sight of a Medusan. So the job is taken by Dr. Miranda Jones, an extremely beautiful woman with telepathic abilities, who also happens to be blind. She is to travel with the Medusan ambassador Kollos back to Kollos’ home planet. This is to be the first step in setting up a link between the Medusans and the Federation. The Enterprise has the job of transporting the two ambassadors to the Medusans’ home planet.

  But there are complications. Larry Marvick, an instrumentation specialist, is in love with Miranda. He tries to persuade Miranda to marry him and quit the project. She refuses. In a jealous rage he then tries to kill Kollos, but he does not use his protective visor, and is driven insane by a glimpse of the Medusan.

  Marvick then takes over the Enterprise, and he sends it right out of the galaxy, before he dies of sheer terror.

  Now the Enterprise is stuck in a region of space where nothing seems to work properly. No one knows how to get back to more familiar territory. However, Kollos has an entirely different sensory system, and, like all Medusans is an excellent space navigator.

  Spock makes mental contact with Kollos, and the Medusan helps guide the Enterprise back into normal space. For a moment Spock forgets his visor, and he is driven insane by the sight of the Medusan.

  As a telepath, Dr. Miranda Jones could help. She could contact Spock’s mind and draw it back to reality. But at first she is not willing to help. She has become deeply jealous of Spock. He has greater telepathic ability, and a more logical mind. Kirk finally manages to persuade her to put her jealousy aside, and she does help Spock regain his sanity. She then goes off with the Medusans.

  In the episode “The Tholian Web,” we meet the Tholians. They are not really a hostile people. But they are real sticklers about time and place, so much so that they very nearly cause Captain Kirk to spend eternity floating like a ghost in a space between two alternate universes.

  The Enterprise is searching for a missing starship, the Defiant. The search leads to an uncharted region of space. It is a region where something strange is happening. Space and time seem to be breaking up, leaving a hole between alternate universes. The Defiant is spotted and a landing party from the Enterprise beams aboard. The entire crew is dead; apparently they killed one another.

  As the landing party gets ready to leave the Defiant, time and space begin to shift. Everyone returns to the Enterprise safely except Kirk, who is trapped. The Defiant, with Kirk aboard, disappears. However, Spock calculates that it will reappear again in a few hours, and an attempt to rescue the captain will be made.

  At that point a strange face appears on the Enterprise viewscreen. It is a red and gold creature, looking almost as if it is made of crystals. Its only visible features are bright white triangular eyespots. The being is Loskene, commander of a Tholian ship.

  A Tholian

  In a harsh voice, Loskene tells the Enterpri
se that it has entered Tholian territory, and orders the ship out. Spock explains the problem. Loskene agrees to allow the Enterprise to stay until the Defiant reappears, but not any longer. Very little is known about the Tholians, but Spock does know one thing; they are noted for being very punctual. If they set a deadline, they stick to it.

  There is some question as to whether the Enterprise is even going to last until the deadline. Because of the breakup of time and space, the crew is going insane and the ship has lost power. Then the Defiant does reappear, but the Enterprise is unable to rescue Kirk. The deadline past, the punctual Tholians open fire on the Enterprise.

  Spock is forced to fire back. The Tholian ship is disabled. But another one appears. The Tholians then begin weaving a gigantic web in space. With it they intend to trap the Enterprise.

  Kirk’s ghostly form is spotted out in space. He is floating in and out of the universe. By some tricky and last-second maneuvering, Spock is able to escape the Tholian web, beam Kirk back on board, and then instantly jump well out of the area claimed by the unreasonably punctual Tholians.

  Fights over territory are common in space. In the episode called “Arena,” the Enterprise gets into trouble with two different alien races. The base Cestus III was constructed at a place where the territory of the Federation borders that of the Gorns. The Gorns think the base is a threat and send a ship to destroy it. The Enterprise finds the destroyed base and chases the Gorn ship.