Monkey of the Inkpot

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Zine
Title: Monkey of the Inkpot
Publisher: Procrastination Press/"The Fanzine of the New York Federation of Science-Fiction, Star Trek, and Fantasy Clubs" and possibly by S.T.A.R. New York City/"The Alien Inquisition"
Editor(s): Angela Valenza
Date(s): 1975-1977
Series?:
Medium: print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom: Star Trek: TOS
Language: English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Monkey of the Inkpot contained articles, fanfic, fanzine and book reviews pertaining to Star Trek: TOS.

Writers' Guidelines

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    first page of guidelines

  • second page of guidelines

    second page of guidelines

  • third page of guidelines

    third page of guidelines

V.1 N.1

Monkey of the Inkpot v.1 no.1 was published in February 1975 and contains 91 pages.

One of the dedications: "To all the parents of Trek crazed kids who think their hard-working youngn's'll be back to normal once this thing is finally on the market."

cover of issue #1, Anji Valenza
table of contents page from issue #1
table of contents page from issue #1
  • Monkey of the Inkpot ("A legend from the Chinese, the story behind the title.") (1)
  • Star Fever by Zira Bauman (7)
  • Nota Bene -- The Mailet ("A philogenetic scale for everyone and everything in the universe.") (8)
  • Infinity, Change, and the Phoenix, part one by Anji ("A survey of the evolution of planetary types, planetary classification according to surface and atmosphere, a guide for the would-be world creator.") (9)
  • poster #1 ("A chart of the known universe, who comes from where, where to really look for Slime Devils...") (13)
  • Demons in the Wind, short story by Winston Howlett (15)
  • Starry, Starry Night by Grog (18)
  • A Moment by Zira Bauman (20)
  • And Now... by Maikel Thomson ("A seriously commical [sic] satire on one of the most seriously commical issues of the day, the Spiritual Value of Data Banks.") (20)
  • Cycles by Zira Bauman (25)
  • Reyless Word Search by Sue Palmstrom ("The first in our collection of word searches for masochists") (26)
  • Shuttlecar/City, art by Allan Asherman (27)
  • Circular Word Search by Larry Valenza ("The one and only and original Circular Word Search.") (29)
  • The Trekkies by Egor ("A true tale of horror and other things, written by one who should know.")(31)
  • 2070 A.D. by Zina Bauman (34)
  • Trignometric Search ("Computers, robots and androids alike will revel in this one. Do it with a calculator..") (35)
  • Who Do You Think You Were? by Pat Cowan (37)
  • Robert Silverberg Word Search by Germaine Best (38)
  • Butterflies in Four, an analysis by Diane Saunders and Winston A. Howlett (45)
  • Station Break ("Where to look for what in the world of zines.") (46)
  • On Dragon Wings, short story by Ellen Mortimer (47)
  • Centerfold, a map of the Planet Klingon (50)
  • Vakia Ormenel Klingon by Carol Walske ("A listing of vessel types used in the Klingon Empire, a listing also of the Military Hierarchy.") (52)
  • Who is the Hunter and Who is the Hunted?, short story by Nora Bock (54)
  • I Refuse to Eat String Beans on My Trip to Mars ("From the earlier days of Ellen Mortimer. Remember.....") (59)
  • The Solution to the Problem, by Nora Bock (63)
  • The Hacking Block, zine review of review of Probe #1 and #2, see that page (64)
  • On the Illogic of Star Trek by Carol Walske ("A look at the scale of distances of the Federation and an attempt to reconcile the illogic. The shape of government and how it works.") (67)
  • Charts by Carol Walske and Anji, Border Between the Federation and Empire, Cluster of the Central Suns of the Empire, Klingon Planetary Classifications, Comparison: The Klysadel Planetary System, Comparison: The Klingon Planetary System (73)
  • The Satamuri of Abiero B. by Anji Valenza ("An ethnological study of an exobiological species.") (77)
  • Analysis ("The evolution of the Satamuri on their class H planet.") (83)
  • poster, large animals (89)
  • The Prime Directive (91)
  • Background, "The Apple" (92)
  • The Klysadel, part one by Anji ("First in a series of visuals, an examination and evaluation of the Prime Directive and its various interpretations.") (95)

V.1 N.2

Monkey of the Inkpot v.1 no.2 was published in June 1975 and contains over 100 pages. The front cover is by Allan Asherman.

cover of v.1 no.2, Allan Asherman
table of contents, v.1 no.2, Angela Valenza
table of contents, v.1 no.2 Angela Valenza
a page from the lengthy fan survey from v.1 no.2

From "The Pseudo Editorial":

Seven and a half years ago Star Trek was horn. Seventy-eight shows later it went off the air. But that was hardly the end of the show. As everyone knows, Star Trek begat a thousand children—a series of hooks, numerous fanzines, and hundreds of items for sale related to the show.

Back in 1968, 1969, even through about 1972, the ST phenomenon was new and exciting. It represented a milestone in television science fiction—it was a novel method of putting science fiction on the screen. At its best, it equalled any of the best science fiction movies (not including the masterpiece that is 2001). At its worst, it was still better than most of the 1950's monster-munches-Tokyo movies. But this is 1975. By now the 1ife has disappeared out of the ST phenomenon. All the faults of the program are glaringly obvious to everyone. For writers, the ST medium is easily workable—up to a point. Sooner or later the inconsistencies and illogic of many aspects of the show make it impossible to live with. One of the reasons that ST was and is so popular is its convenience, For a beginning writer, it provides a perfect medium. The whole universe has already "been constructed. Science, characters, basic ideology. Just fill in the plot and the story is complete. The writer doesn't have to do any of his own inventing. Characters, usually the most difficult things to manage in a story, are there for the using. And it's a lot of fun. There are some extremely good ideas inherent in the ST makeup that adapt themselves to stories very well. Unfortunately, most of the good ideas have been used and overused to extinction. Everyone always uses the Enterprise. At first that was because of the convenience, and the fun of using characters with such peculiar personalities. Kirk, Spock and McCoy presented a humorous 'menage a trois,' and there were undeveloped potentials among Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, and 40O+ other people. But after a while, especially recently, the Enterprise became a recognition signal. "I'm doing a story about the starship Explorer." The who? Que? Never heard of it. That doesn't look like our Captain. Is the Science Officer green? Well, then, why should I read that story? I don't know anybody in it. It is easiest for a writer to take his/her new plot (if he/she has one) and fit it to the Enterprise, rather than trying to Invent a whole new starship. People enjoy picking up a story where they can recognize one or two of the characters involved—that's the whole point of a serial, or a soap opera. Unfortunately, as if the recurring Enterprise weren*t enough, there*s the problem of recurring stories, I mean the torture-Spock stories, the get-McCoy married stories, the get-Kirk-l&id stories, etc., ad nauseam. How many duplicates have there "been? Allowing for differences in authors' styles, there have been at least 100 of the lay-Spock stories, for instance. After a while they aren't even amusing, just —yawn—"boring. I suppose everyone, except neo-Trekkies, realizes by now that something else exists besides Star Trek, There is an enormous legacy of science fiction behind ST. Every single show, every idea used, on ST, has been use over and over in the worlds of science fiction. —There is nothing new in science fiction; there are only new ways of presenting old ideas. ST is only one of a thousand myriad ways of presenting science fiction. But I'm not going to go into the battle of ST versus SF; I*m basically talking to writers. What I want to say is, if you're -Sitting down in front of your typewriter, ready to write your first ST story and you've never read any science fiction in your life — stop. Stop and read some science fiction. Or just talk to a well-informed science fiction fan, who will regretfully tell you that your brilliant idea has been used by Heinlein, Clarke, and LeGuin, to name a few. But reading science fiction is more important than that, because you have to read science fiction to know how to write it. Try examining first-hand LeGuin's brilliant use of myth in her books, how well she crafts each sentence, how good her imagery is. Each book that you read can teach you a tremendous amount about writing—either how to or how not to. Then, if you decide that you still want to be a writer, and that you really prefer the ST universe, welcome hack. There's nothing wrong with the ST universe. There's room for creativity—if you have the courage to try to use it, A few people have done some very interesting things within the ST universe — Jacqueline Lichtenberg and the Kraith stories, Anji Valenza and her depiction of the Roamer society—and others. Some people really do try to use the ST universe to its fullest potential, to explore the different realities that exist on every world. These people are the ones who are keeping the ST universe alive. If you're a fanzine writer, you hopefully already know all of this. Or you may be a just-beginning writer. In that case you have three alternatives: write about the Enterprise, write about the ST universe, or use a completely different science fiction format, ELease try to avoid the Enterprise—if you had read as many fanzines as I have you'd be nauseous at the mere mention of the name0 Even the people who write the Kraith series use too much of the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock, and Sarek are not the Holy Trinity. (At least the Kraith series is an example of how to use the Enterprise well.) The third alternative, to move to a totally new science fiction format, is very very difficult. (Especially when your reader expects an ST story. I personally know an Urrrr-therrr who refuses to read stories that aren't set on the Enterprise. I'd say more about this fascinating creature, this Trekkie to end all Trekkies, except that I'd be sued for slander. Keep away from Trekkies. Make yourself a Trekker.) In a short story form, it's damn near impossible. Create a whole universe, create at least three distinct, breathing characters, create an interesting plot and finish with a stunning climax — all in between 5,000 and 20,000 words? Ridiculous, It's easier to write a book.

My second alternative is really the best place for a writer who wants to invent characters, background, and plot, but who fells that the ST universe is the most comfortable place to do it in. In the ST universe there is that advantage of the recognition signal. Mention 'starship' and 'Klingon' and the reader knows where he/she is. It helps to be on familiar ground, instead of trying to explain what, an allamagoosa is and how it works. Roam around in the Star Trek universe for a while. Then one day you discover that you can write well—then the whole universe is yours, not just the Star Trek one.

  • Editorial (before going to press, we were optomistic [sic]) (7)
  • Another Editorial (but times have changed) (8)
  • Notes on New Features (book reviews, NASA news, and a collection of Cities) (9)
  • The Music of the Spheres by Maikel (10)
  • Kesan Keserck (the Father of a Legend, first of a series) by Carol Walske (11)
  • Hot Oil (found on the moon, it sparks a struggle for prestige) by Gary L. Adler (15)
  • NASA News (Will Cosmic Rays Harm Man? Copernicus Searches for Extratterestial [sic] Signals) (29)
1975 flyer for issue #2, printed in A Piece of the Action #28, click to read, art by Angela Valenza
  • 5 Dimensional Chess (and a dubious Master) by Maikel (41)
  • Gaeleishe by Marienne Norse (42)
  • The Maileia: The Cities by James and Jean Noonan, Germaine Best, Anji Valenza, Carol Walske, and anyone else who decides to hand in their copy (47)
  • The Storming of Ungran's Castle by Winston Howlett (67)
  • Proalfalfa (earth's first extrasolar colony) by Carol Walske (80)
  • Book Reviews by Gary L. Adler ("Phoenix Without Ashes" by Harlan Ellison, and "The Man Who Awoke" by Laurence Manning) (82)
  • Zine Reviews by Germaine Best ("Showcase" and "The Misfit" by Sharon Emily [NOTE: these reviews were left out of this issue and appeared in a later issue])
  • Games by Sue Palmstorm (word search) (89)
  • Games by Brad Jones (Trek Trivia) (90)
  • Games by various and sundry people ("The Science Fiction GRE's") (91)
  • The Eugenics War (it wasn't really that) by Carol Walske (95)
  • Muonehn by Maikel (97)
  • Writer's Section, about submissions/next issue (98)
  • Fan Questionnaire (99)
  • The Maileiau, the Story of Illya by Anji Valenza (105)
  • Klysadel (Part 3) by Anji Valenza (The Federation has overstepped their level for the last time.) (111)
  • The Pavel Chekov "We Inwented It" Awards (not in the table of contents)
  • A Pseudo Editorial by K the K (unnumbered page)
  • either the last page, or the back cover, from v.1 no.2

    either the last page, or the back cover, from v.1 no.2

  • sample page from v.1 no.2

    sample page from v.1 no.2

  • sample page from v.1 no.2, Carol Walske

    sample page from v.1 no.2, Carol Walske

  • sample page from v.1 no.2, Angela Valenza

    sample page from v.1 no.2, Angela Valenza

  • sample page from v.1 no.2, Angela Valenza

    sample page from v.1 no.2, Angela Valenza

  • sample page from v.1 no.2

    sample page from v.1 no.2

  • sample page from v.1 no.2, Angela Valenza

    sample page from v.1 no.2, Angela Valenza

  • sample page from v.1 no.2

    sample page from v.1 no.2

Reactions and Reviews: V.1 N.2

On, on. I have no official LoC-type comments to make, except to say that Tet looks better in the later issues—legible, anyway. Monkey is equally impressive. Both are quite good zines; moreover, you have a good idea there with the themes you intend to follow. It gives a coherence not only to each issue within itself, but should link issues together, and thus one can say more in such extensione — tho it is certainly harder to formulate--than would be possible under SOP, ie, putting down whatever yeds feel like at the time of going to press. But it does take a lot of careful planning, when you have to decide now what you will want to say-next year. One thing more. Red sky at morning, red sky at night, are not caused by the Doppler effect. They are not caused by the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect has nothing to do with the redness of the sky! In no way is it the Doppler Effect!! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS IS IT THE DOPPLER EFFECT!!! I'M TELLING ' YOU. IT AIN'T THE DOPPLER EFFECT! !!! … [snipped: a page long explanation of why a sky appears to be a color] … Honest. I wouldn't lie at you, Anji. I majored in Physics (have a Master's degree from U of Michigan) so please forgive me if I seem a" bit touchy about red shifts. [1]

...I'd like to talk about your last ish (#2, I believe). Very, very good. The art is extremely impressive as a rule but the fold out of "Gaeleishte" is one of the most moving black and whites I have ever seen. However, (and I mean this well) many of the pictures suffer from a lack of depth, and 3-dimensionalism. Granted, I have a corner on the market on the "what-not-to-do-in-art" field, but I fell that with a little more depth, the "visual" would be second to none. They are good (if a little perplexing) (how the devil do you pronounce Maileiau?). I like" Carol Walske's "Kesan Keserek" and found, it interesting, mainly because she and I have have similar concept of the Klingons (right down to their architecture!) "Gaeleishte" (which means something in Gaellic; (I can't remember what, tho!) and "Hot Oil" were overaverage but a little bland and lacking in Spirit. But in the over all category I 'd give your #2 ish a 9.5 on the Imperial Scale of Zine Approval. [2]

You kindly requested comment on your efforts. For the most part, I'm impressed with your zine. The art work is excellent — best I've seen in equivalent publications. Your typos are bad but I gather from reading why that is — everyone typing stencils — no time for editing. Your poetry is understandable and I rather enjoy it — which may be a back-handed compliment as I fight my way through most modern verse. I also am impressed by you city group. The Klingon history is delightful. I find your fiction (i.e. short stories) the weakest part of the zine. Hope to see more strength in this department in subsequent issues. Overall you are putting out an attractive product. Keep it up. [3]

I received Monkey the other day, and rather liked it. I especially liked the blending of science-fiction and Star Trek, however, I personally prefer more fiction. This isn't a criticism, but just a personal observation.My one criticism is that blasted paper you used. Grup does it too and it can be troublesome to those of us who notebook our zines for safekeeping. The holes pull out all too easily from this kind of paper. Nevertheless, you've got a good zine and I hope you keep on with it. [4]

What is this zine, anyway? A fanzine or a scientific journal? There's so damned much non fiction in here I'm not certain what I'm reading! [5]

V.1 N.3

Monkey of the Inkpot v.1 no.3 was published in October 1975 and contains 158 pages.

front cover of v.1 n.3, Angela Valenza
front cover of v.1 n.3, hand-colored (by fan? by editor?)
inside page from v.1 n.3, hand-colored
inside page from v.1 n.3, hand-colored

From the editorial:

Methinks I should state one thing for now and forever: what people call Klingons in other zines and in other forms of media are not Klingons at all. This is the only zine that dares (along with Tetrumbriant) to print the awful truth about Klingons/kilingau. Buy this zine and see the light, brother. (By the way, the Klingons portrayed in other zines are Communists, eager to join in the craze of Trekkie-dom.) Also in this vein — the name is not Klingon. The name of the planet, variously, is Kilingon, Kilingoth, the Kilingarlan, or the Harakilingoth. One person is a kiling, plural kilingau. Or Kilingonau. Those of us who don't know System English call humans Arithar (pi. -sin) or Erthir (-sin) (pronounced 'air-theer.') Rarely used is the term Terran (pi. -as, rhymes with Teheran (Iran)). The word 'human' gets changed slightly, because the 'y' sound in 'h(y)uman' doesn't exist in Agavoi. "Human' is either pronounced 'hoo-man' (pi. humanas) or 'hee-oo-man.' People in the Federation, are called by the slang term 'Federen' or 'kumnarsin' (from kumnasitau, the Agavoi word meaning 'Federation.')

  • Dedication (4)
  • Staff (the next page)
  • Contributors (the nester page)
  • Letters to the Editor (6)
  • The Nightengale Woman by Anomalous (7)
  • Something Else, probably by Gee Moaven, I hope (8)
  • The Human Thing to Do by Marienne Norse (9)
  • Spock Speaks by Zina Bauman (15)
  • Happily Ever After by Len Schwende (16)
  • The Voyager by Fern Marder (19)
  • Lost by D. Raskin (20)
  • Star Flight by Scott Noel (21)
  • Exosocialogy by the Editors
    • Introduction (22)
    • Linguistics of Krisaorin and Kwakyen (23)
    • Aliens, Linguistics, and the Universal Translator (24)
    • An Open Letter to Earth (30)
    • The Bestiary (31)
  • Orashathnavie and the Krasiaia (38)
  • The 1950's Version of Star Trek by Michael Thompson (48)
  • The Trial of Kor Kothir by Carol Walske (This story later appears in Probe #12 in a markedly different version.) (52)
  • How to Write a Paper (For Classes Other Than English) (77)
  • The Hacking Block by Germaine Best (zine reviews)
  • NASA News (83)
  • Reviews by Gary Adler: "The Mote in God's Eye" and "Long Range" (87)
  • The Trekkie's Prayer by Winston A. Howlett (91)
  • The Bicentennial Moment by Fern Marder (92)
  • Nightshade (Part 1) by Clark Gannon (93)
  • Tolkien Wordsearch by Sue Palmstrom (97)
  • Trick or Treat by Abigail Strichartz (98)
  • The Klysadel (conclusion) by Anji Valenza (104)

Reactions and Reviews: V.1 N.3

This is just a little letter of comment on Monkey 4. Ranges from very bad (who writes your puns?) to the very good then to frustrating. I always feel like tearing apart a zine, or book for that matter, that always leaves you in the air with a "to be continued" story. For just when you're so deep into (or just getting interested), a story, BANG you read a little note, in small print, no less, that tells you that you'll have to wait four or five months before you can get to the end. I'm going to give up on THE KLYSADEL if you keep doing that...

The articles on Kilingarlan are enjoyed to read, for it sounds 'logical' enough (no pus or special meanings intended.) It just reminds me of some material that I've read on Vulcan culture. (where did I put that thing.) You know it surprises me to no end of how you can have such good exosociological articles and ST realm stories but a ST story (1950's version) goes to the other end of the spectrum. Bad, really bad. Had to go to do my physics homework to get the bad taste out of my system. HINT ON HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: tell if your stories are very much in the future or just near the present. The time element has gotten me at a couple of times reading this.

Watch your printing because pages are so very light you're straining the eyes to see, and also the top lines fade out halfway having to be recreated. But otherwise the printing and drawings are of good standards. Winston -- how's this typewriter? [6]

[Note: some of this review's type was very difficult to decipher; gaps are noted within]: 1) STRANGE front cover. Reminds me of reader's reactions to the cover of Probe #4: they did not know if they liked it or not. However, I do like your cover. Funnier than TET 3. 2) You have the most beautiful handscript in Fandom, but it was creating a cluttered look in previous issues. Thank God you corrected that in #3, your Table of Contents is now readable. 3) But the whole zine looks cluttered. Your passionate dislike for double-spacing gives your zine a disheartening overall look of sameness. And the type faces being so similar does not help. 4) Like me, you're trying to make your 'zine professional-looking, with the limited resources at hand. Well, may I suggest that you don't [indecipherable two sentences] fun with bad puns and fire-truck riding turtles, that's one thing; trying to make everyone else laugh at a consistent mistake is something else, [undecipherable five or so words]. 5) I will make no comment about your overabundance of profanities (You probably wouldn't listen, anyway...) 6) Your handling of poetry is to be highly recommended. The pieces in that issue were presented with tender, loving care. 7) We have already discussed your high average of typos per page. Don't fire your typist -- chain her to a post and beat her to death with a College dictionary (I'm not [kidding? smiling?] 8) Believe it or not, I am sorry that The Klysadel will be ending. I know that you've been getting a lot of flack about it, but -- from my point of view -- I think the biggest problem with it is that you [undecipherable words] of your time. Your handling of characterizations and mufti-racial relationships are done so slickly that most people must be having a hard tim grasping their meanings. I have not seen such a lightly-handled writing style like yours in a long time. And I don't care what everybody says -- your artwork, in whatever form, is excellent. In The Klysadel, like in Tai Damine, you attempt angular viewpoints that most other Fandom artists only dream about, some of them subtle, so seemingly impossible that I somethings want to cry. You draw like I write. Now if only could draw like you write! The only complaint I have about your visuals is that the word balloons are ill-placed. For instance, in the panel with a directly-overhead view of Uhura with the daminem sitting on her mount's saddle horn, the word balloon makes it seem as though the mount is responding to her question... 9) Ending the issue with the conclusion of the visual segment was both clever in concept and clever in writing. And that fullpager of Kirk and Raugk is a beauty... and a chiller. 10) I think your mimeograph is slowly dying, and the death rattles are showing up in a lot of the pages --- fading lettering, whole lines of words lost to stencil wrinkles (reminds me of the repro of "Fandom Is" in Probe 4. 11) "Weird" is spelled w-e-i-r-d. I found out the hard way. 12) [much of this long segment is completely undecipherable to due poor mimeo, though Winston goes on and on about his experiences printing his zine Probe, ending with "But What I'm trying to say is: Don't let your financial state damage your 'zine's look, but let it help you determine your limitations. (For instance, PROBE 7 will only be about 80 pages long, but it's going to be the best-looking 80 pages this side of INTERPHASE! [7]

V.2 N.1

Monkey of the Inkpot v.2 no.1 was published in February 1976 and contains 118 pages. Contributors are Germaine Best, Elise M. Grasso, Gregory Homatas, Winston A. Howlett, Catherine Keegan, Robert Levinson, Zenia Lopez, Scott Noel, Elana Offsey, Susan Palmstrom, Abby Stricharz, and Chuck Gannon.

front cover of issue, Angela Valenza
  • Editorial by Kawara Taralkarin (Carol Walske?) and Fara/Farkawar Makara (Anji Valenza?) (5)
  • In this Issue: What? (7)
  • Letters to the Editor (8)
  • The Klysadel/Conclusion by Farkawar Makara (11)
  • For the Happiness of Margaret Johnson by Elana Offsey (31)
  • On Wrigley's Pleasure Planet by P. Teresa Best (33)
  • SF Wordsearch by Sue Palmstrom (36)
  • NASA News (37)
  • Hacking Block, zine review by Germaine Best (39) (Alternate Universe 4, see that page)
  • Nightshade, part 2 by Chuck Gannon (41)
  • Blind by Robert J. Levinson (51)
  • New Phoenix by Abigail F. Strichartz (54)
  • First Contact by Catherine Keegan (55)
  • The Rialku Circle by Winston A. Howlett (56)
  • On the Consequences of Being Different by Farkawar Makara (61)

Inclusions (not numbered by page):

  • Space Colonization: An Alternative by Gregory Homatas
  • The Liver by K. Taralkarin
  • Klingon Solar Suit by K. Taralkarin
  • The Vaijoi Spaceship by Elise M. Grasso
  • A Glimmer of Gremlins by Elise M. Grasso
  • Brained Spaceships: The Muonet by Anji

From the first editorial:

The popularity of ST has impacted on the rest of the public -- the 'mainstream'-- such that Cue Magazine puts Spocko and JTK on its cover, and reports on conventions; Newsweek carries a long (and pejorative) article on SF and ST; Judith Crist imploys [sic] such cute phrases as "Star's Trek" to describe a movie. Such recognition has been unknown since the last hula hoop craze.

This kind of fame/infamy indicates that ST has become a cult, the new religion of the day. The Messiah came to Earth in the form of JTK, and the Enterprise to announce peace, goodwill, and brotherhood all throughout the future. Having inseminated their message, they disappeared -- and each year, thousands of converts are made who talk of revelations and eagerly await the Second Coming. Religious works have been written (The Making of Star Trek, the ST Writer's Guide, the Technical Manual, etc, etc.) and the faithful discuss their meaning in a sort of, if I may mix my religious metaphors, Hebrew pilpul (arguments over small insignificant things). In short, ST has attained every attribute of a religion and is rapidly becoming established along with the Hare Krishna and the Reverent Sun Yung Moon cults. I find the religious aspect of this very disturbing. Formally, I felt that such a widespread acceptance of ET's and difference was heartening -- then I realized something which completely disenchanted me: wherever the Enterprise went, it and its crew of Earthers were always on top. By their credo, humans are the most important race in the galaxy. Aliens are considered useful in their place. All in all, it's the same old "white man-nigger" routine, except that now aliens are the "niggers," and the whole human race is the "white man." And, like white, Christian missionaries, they have gone forth to proselytize across the galaxy, altering every culture they encounter to fit their own norms. The Universe has become successively less and less egocentric. Originally it was thought that Earth was the center of the Universe; the planets and the Sun revolved around it, and the stars were fixed lights in Heaven. Gradually men discovered that the Sun was the center of the solar system, not Earth; then the lights in the sky were found to be suns in their own right, lying at unbelievable distances; it was found that the solar system wasn't even in the middle of its own galaxy. Nor is the Milky Way Galaxy at the center of the universe. Following this step-by-step removal of Man from the center of things, is it very to assume, as do ST and a hundred other forms of SF, that Man will occupy a center position in the Galaxy^ affairs? It seems to be the ultimate irony that the main script being worked on for Paramount's ST movie is a "quest for God."

is ST the new Christianity? -- Kawara (A Klingon who doesn't believe in God or humans)

The second editorial:

As for myself, I can no more than agree with Kawara. Years in fandom and at ever more crowded conventions leave me no alternative but to agree. However, I shall not expound. -- Fara (An ET who doesn't believe in anything)

  • inside page from v.2 n.1

    inside page from v.2 n.1

  • inside page from v.2 n.1

    inside page from v.2 n.1

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    inside page from v.2 n.1

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    inside page from v.2 n.1

  • inside page from v.2 n.1

    inside page from v.2 n.1

  • inside page from v.2 n.1

    inside page from v.2 n.1

  • inside page from v.2 n.1

    inside page from v.2 n.1


V.2 n.2

cover of v.2 n.2 Angela Valenza

Monkey of the Inkpot v.2 no.2 was published in July 1976. It has a front cover by Anji Valenza and interior illos by Carol Walske.

  • Nightshade (Part 2) by C. Gannon
  • The Rialku Circle - by Winston Howlett
  • NASA News by by Anji Valenza (article)
  • Blind by R.J. Levinson
  • For the Happiness of Margaret Johnson by E. Offsey
  • Terartek Cores by A. Valenza (article)
  • The Vaijoi Class Spaceship by E. Grasso (article)
  • First Contact by C. Keegan
  • Space Colonization: An Alternative by G. Honatus (article)
  • Brained Spaceships: The Muonet by A. Valenza (article)
  • A Glimmer of Gremlins by E. Grasso (article)
  • On the Consequences of Being Different (Part 1) by A. Valenza

V.2 N.3

Monkey of the Inkpot v.2 n.3 was published in October 1976 and contains 133 pages. It has a front cover by Anji Valenza and interior illos by G. Homatus and Carol Walske.

  • A Shield of Clover by C. Gannon
  • On the Consequences of Being Different (Part 2) by A. Valenza
  • And a New World Came by R. Ross
  • The Klysadel: A History of Moments by A. Valenza (article)

V.3 N.1

Monkey of the Inkpot 3 no. 1 was published in February 1977.

References

  1. ^ from Paula Smith in "Monkey of the Inkpot" #3
  2. ^ from an LoC in "Monkey of the Inkpot" #3
  3. ^ from an LoC in "Monkey of the Inkpot" #3
  4. ^ from an LoC in "Monkey of the Inkpot" #3
  5. ^ from an LoC in "Monkey of the Inkpot" #3
  6. ^ from a LOC by Zenia in issue #4
  7. ^ from an LOC by Winston A. Howlett in issue #4
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