Proof Positive
| Star Trek TOS Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Proof Positive |
| Author(s): | Sharon Emily |
| Date(s): | 1975 |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: The Original Series |
| External Links: | online here |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Proof Positive is a gen Star Trek: TOS story by Sharon Emily.
It was first published in a different version in 1974 in the zine The Worksheet. A year later, it was published in Showcase #2, and is now available online.
Used by Others in Negative Ways
The story was very well-known: A 1980 story by Leslie Fish called Sunset and Evening Star uses some of it as a springboard. At least one fan found Fish's use of this story distasteful:
I'd really like to know what Sharon Emily thought of Leslie's conversion of her tale Proof Positive from a tale of loving encounter between a loving Jesus Christ and Spock, into one stating that, at that incident, Spock was actually brainwashed into mindless servitude for a greedy god. Seems to me that was quite a distance from what the original story intended ... and connotes character slander. Was this supposed to be in an alternate universe from that in Proof Positive? Or is Leslie saying, "This shows what actually happened in that tale"?" [1]
Another fan wrote:
... am I so disgusted with your zine? Why did I need to wait a year and a half before I could respond in a near-constructive way? Why do I feel as if I was ripped off ... ? You owe it all to 160 pages of Sunset and Evening Star by L. Fish. While Sharon Emily's Proof Positive (from Showcase II) is not as well written as Ms. Fish's story, Emily's work is sensitive and warming, while Fish's novella is distractive, totally insensitive, and the characterizations of our Trek friends are so far off-base it's hard to recognize them. If I were Ms. Emily I'd demand an apology for corrupting her story into this degenerative piece of so-called "writing." [2]
Paula Smith took on this story as well, and wrote a parody called 100 Proof Positive. Smith's story was rumored to have caused Sharon Emily to leave fandom for a time.
Reactions and Reviews
Several years ago, Miss Emily wrote "Proof Positive," a story in which Spock, using the Guardian of Forever, seeks amid finds the "real" historical Jesus Christ. It's probably one of the most famous pieces in ST fan fiction (as is Paula Smith's devastating parody, '100 Proof Positive. [3]
By fall, Paula Smith had written a satire on Sharon Emily's story, "Proof Positive." The satire, "100 Proof Positive," appeared in both Menagerie 6 and Warped Space 13 by the year's end. Sharon was married to a Methodist minister, and her story, "Proof Positive," mixed Star Trek and religion (a difficult task even for more experienced writers). The story was a reprint of a similar story appearing in a more obscure fanzine called The Worksheet. The premise of Sharon's story is that Spock goes back in time to meet a religious figure. In Paula's satire, Spock goes to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. Paula's satire was funny and well-received by many fans; Sharon later commented that she found the satire flattering. [4]
For some reason, there are people who seem to think that it was Paula Smith and her parody of 'Proof Positive' that influenced me to retreat. NOT SO!! As a matter of fact, Paula and Sharon Ferraro have both expended much time, effort, phone bills, and postage seek to get get me to change my mind about retreating. Let it go on record here that Paula sent a copy of her parody to me BEFORE she sent it for consideration by any editor, promising me that she wouldn't release it if I felt it would harm me in any way. Actually, to have one's work parodied is one of the finest compliments a writer can receive... Paula and Sharon are individuals that I'm honored to call Star Trek fandom friends, and I hope this statement will end the rumors. [5]
2011
I found Proof Positive on the web, and had to force myself to keep reading it. As a non-religious person, I was repulsed. Suddenly Spock is shown the light, the way to eternal salvation, and doesn't question it! How out of character! But the real reason for his instant conversion is explained here, and how sick a reason--and how true, even in this supposed new era of enlightenment and science. The message is as true and necessary today as it was when this was first published.
[...]
To seek out new life, vastly different from their own, and therefore inferior? I’ve seen little evidence of widespread Christianity in Star Trek; what, then, was it doing in Trek fiction? [6]
References
- ^ from a letter of comment in Fesarius #6
- ^ from a letter of comment in Fesarius #6
- ^ from Spectrum #33
- ^ from Boldly Writing
- ^ In 1977, Sharon Emily sent this personal statement to Scuttlebutt
- ^ a comment by sketchnurse, in reply to reading Sunset and Evening Star at AO3