Alpha Shift
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| Star Trek ENT Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Alpha Shift |
| Author(s): | Just Visiting |
| Date(s): | 10 February 2002 |
| Length: | ~15000 words |
| Genre: | Gen, Mystery |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: Enterprise |
| External Links: | Alpha Shift on Linguistics Database (Wayback) Alpha Shift Part 1/11 on alt.startrek.creative |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Alpha Shift is a Star Trek: ENT story by Just Visiting.
It was the winner of a 2002 ASC Award.
Summary
The universal translator isn't working again. What's a linguist to do? Sato investigates.
Reactions and Reviews
Of all the Enterprise stories posted on ASC in 2002, this was my favorite. Of substantial, meaty length, there's room here for a real plot and Just Visiting delivers. This isn't just a coda, but an original story and an intriguing mystery to boot. The author is wonderful at writing from Hoshi's point of view and the voice is spot on. Moreover the author is good, to my ear at any rate, at sounding authoritative and authentic when speaking about linguistics. Not only Hoshi sounds spot on. From the beginning characters like Reed, Travis and T’Pol really jump out at you. (And what's amazing about that is that the story was posted in February when the first season was barely half over--yet JV nails them.) I like how Hoshi's interactions with each crewmember, each interesting in themselves, brings out another part of the puzzle. And the resolution of the mystery is original and satisfying. By and by there are the small pleasures to savor in a really good story. Things like the explanation for T'Pol's catsuit. The author is completely in control of her narrative and Just Visiting is that rare fanfic author whose stories read as smoothly as any professional. I have only two disappointments: That the real series has not proven half as intelligent as this story. That Just Visiting seems to have stopped posting her stories to ASC. They are wonderful.[1]
Just Visiting has written a fantabulous story,! A great, strong plot. A fascinating puzzle. Great dialogue. Aliens that were very real despite their difference. And a great resolution. No easy outs. I love it! [2]
The Universal Translator can't be perfect, but in this story, Just Visit portrays a Hoshi Sato who believes it's her job to make sure it is. In every series I've found some writer that just gets into the skin of a particular character. In the case of Enterprise and Hoshi Sato, I think I've found that author. And this story is no simple story either. Hoshi encounter plenty of difficulties on her way to solving the problem with the Universal Translator, yet the solution was quite logical. I'll have to read more stories by this author.[3]
This is an amazing story on many levels. It's about how we humans often time strive for perfection, even though we know it's unattainable. It's about _having_ to find the solution to a problem. It's an in-depth look into what drives Hoshi in her work, and why she's such a good linguist. I like her relationship with the others on the ship, and how she eventually comes up with a solution, that while it may not be perfect, it solves the problem well enough in the time she has. A very good story.[4]
Oh, I love this story! Hoshi is so well characterized, with her curiosity over the linguistic puzzle and her impatience and frustration at not being able to solve it more quickly. There's a good solid mystery here, and beautiful descriptions of an alien world. The story manages to be both suspenseful and lighthearted throughout, with excellent friendship scenes. One of my favorites of the year.[5]
The first time I read this story, I was blown away. The aliens are wonderfully alien, as fully realized as anything I've seen in Trek fiction. The mystery of the language was fascinating, the pacing was excellent and the characterizations exactly right. This is not just a terrific ENT story, but a terrific Trek story.[6]
References
- ^ Rabble Rouser. This is the Digest from 2002 for the Category of: Enterprise General Story, Archived on 15 December 2023 Posted 2 March 2003.
- ^ Djinn. This is the Digest from 2002 for the Category of: Enterprise General Story, Archived on 15 December 2023 Posted 1 March 2003.
- ^ Stephen Ratliff. This is the Digest from 2002 for the Category of: Enterprise General Story, Archived on 15 December 2023 Posted 5 March 2003.
- ^ Cait N. This is the Digest from 2002 for the Category of: Enterprise General Story, Archived on 15 December 2023 Posted 7 March 2003.
- ^ Ventura33. This is the Digest from 2002 for the Category of: Enterprise General Story, Archived on 15 December 2023 Posted 14 March 2003.
- ^ Penny Proctor. This is the Digest from 2002 for the Category of: Enterprise General Story, Archived on 15 December 2023 Posted 15 March 2003.