The Experiment

Fanfiction
Title:	The Experiment
Author(s):	Nadja Lee
Date(s):	2004
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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The Experiment is a Kirk/Spock story by Nadja Lee.

It was published in the print zine T'hy'la #24.

Summary

"A night of love is followed by heartbreak when Spock informs Kirk it was an experiment in human sexuality."

Reactions and Reviews

"The Experiment" by Nadja Lee is about fourteen pages long. The author said she was inspired by something on Star Trek: Enterprise but since I don't watch the show the comment meant nothing to me. This is basically a first time encounter and also a story where the problem is engendered because of a problem of communication. There is a lot of the author telling us instead of showing us in this story, and that bothered me a lot. It made the story a lot duller than it should have been. It's an okay story, but not an exceptional one, in my opinion.

Blast! I hate when misunderstandings between Kirk and Spock put them both through agony before they manage to get things straight. Or do I? It is exasperating, for sure. But I must admit that the resolution is often worth the distress.

The Experiment has all of the necessary components for a happy ending. There is real love here, and yet there is also the maturity on Kirk’s part (all seen from his POV) to realize that there is much more to his devotion to Spock than physical attraction. The misunderstanding makes him realize how much he misses and needs the support and friendship that he had nurtured between them during their months together before the experiment. He has much time for reflection, and it is in these moments that he recalls the importance of Spock’s almost smile, the way he speaks “Jim” in a way that no other does. His introspection is filled with the kind of moments we saw in TOS that were the foundation for K/S.

There is real understanding on the author’s part of Kirk’s inner turmoil and his determination not to let it pull him down too far. She manages to show his strength and resolve and the determination that has made him a successful starship captain at the same time we are witness to his inner pain.