Do Not Go Gentle (Star Trek: TOS story)
| Star Trek TOS Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Do Not Go Gentle |
| Author(s): | Jane Aumerle |
| Date(s): | 1977 |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | gen |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: The Original Series |
| External Links: | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Do Not Go Gentle is a Star Trek: TOS story by Jane Aumerle.
It was published in the print zine Mahko Root #1.
It is a response to two other stories by Beverly Volker: When the Time Comes and Not Yet Time. See Beverly Volker's comments about this "sequel" below.
Summary
Kirk discovers that he has ectoneuralitis, an incurable degenerative disease of the central nervous system. It is usually fatal within six months of onset, but destroys the victim's mind long before it kills him.
In con-siderable distress, Kirk asks Spock to let him die with dignity, and Spock reluctantly agrees. In "Not Yet Time" (C III), Spock, acting on a sudden perception of Kirk in danger, rushes to the Captain's cabin. He is, however, too late: Jim has committed suicide. As he is berating himself for his own sad negligence, Spock realizes that he is being shaken; he wakes up to find Kirk bending over him, still very alive. Spock has been having a nightmare. He tells Kirk then that he and McCoy have been researching a possible cure, but had not told him about it because they did not want to raise false hopes. Kirk then returns to his cabin and puts away the scalpel he had been about to use on himself when he became aware that Spock needed him.
"Do Not Go Gentle" takes place about two weeks later.
Reactions and Reviews
'Do Not Go Gentle' gets things off to a big start, and is the best fiction the zine has to offer. The story deals with the demise of JTK, and is professionally handled. [1]
Do Not Gentle' is guaranteed to hold you enthralled to the end whether you agree with the outcome or not. [3]
[Name redacted] did a review of 'Mahko Root' in which she mentions Jane Aumerle's story, 'Do Not Go Gentle,' a the end of a 'trilogy of Kirk-with-a-fatal-illness stories started in Contact #3.' I'd like to correct that statement. The 'twin vignettes': 'When Time Comes' and 'Not Yet There.' were NOT written as part of a trilogy. I purposely left the end undefined so that the reader could supply his own, thus the speculation as to whether Kirk died or not was part of the effect. Jane decided that he did and wrote her excellent interpretation and published it in 'Mahko Root.' However, that ending is no more or less valid than anyone else's fantasy. I have no objection to anyone writing or ending or spin off of any of my stories, but I do not want them mistaken as part of the original author's intention. [4]
The lead story in this zine is "Do Not Go Gentle," by Jane Aumerle. The title, appropriately taken from a quote by Dylan Thomas, is the opening for this chapter. I say chapter, since this story is a continuation on another story in Contact III. This predominantly involves the ordeal Kirk goes through being stricken with a fatal, debilitating disease; and the last few scenes from his deathbed. It's nice to know that nihilism is alive and well in Treklit. The story is very nicely illustrated however with two Faddis works. [5]
Art
art from issue #1, Connie Faddis, for "Do Not Go Gentle"
the original art for this story
the original art for this story in a frame
References
- ^ from The Sehlat's Roar #5
- ^ from Scuttlebutt #5
- ^ from Scuttlebutt #5
- ^ from a personal statement by Bev Volker in Scuttlebutt #6
- ^ from Spectrum #35 (1978)