The Obligation/Through Time and Tears

Star Trek TOS Fanfiction
Title:	The Obligation/Through Time and Tears
Author(s):	Joan Winston and Jacqueline Lichtenberg
Date(s):	1974
Length:
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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The Obligation/Through Time and Tears is a set of two Star Trek: TOS stories.

The first one, Obligation," is by Jacqueline Lichtenberg. The second one, "Through Time and Tears," is by Joan Winston. They, however, are referred to as one story.

"Through Time and Tears" was first published in Tetrumbriant #4, #5 (1974, 1975) and both were in Kraith Collected #3 (1974).

An Editorial Comment That Later Required an Apology

Carol Lee, the editor of Kraith Collected, wrote this foreword to the story:

On page 44 of this volume, Jacqueline has an open letter criticising her story "Coup de Grace". She lists its faults and ends by calling it the "worst Kraith story ever written". I take exception to that.

In my opinion that dubious honor goes to another story in this volume called "The Obligation/Through Time and Tears". I apologize to the authors, but I had to cut out over 5 pages of redundancy just to get it into the poor shape it is in now. It isn't that the ideas presented in the story are invalid, or that the writing style is ghastly, or that the characterizations are too horribly off. That poor story suffers, terminally I'm afraid, from the typical Kraith malaise of trying to do too much in too little wordage. Ideas are thrown in right and left with no explanations and precious little continuity.

I can see right now that people are going to be jumping all over me for that last bit.

"Ah hah! If it's too short why did she cut out 5 pages?" they shout, triumphant.

But, still, It's rather difficult to credit Sarek with a poor memory less than a day after a discussion with Spock he must go through the whole line of reasoning again alone and then again trying to convince Spock that he should do what he (Spock) had suggested to him (Sarek). yesterday! It was too much. Editorial judgement prevailed. It went.

Read the story carefully. So much is brought to the surface in this story that hints at developments to come; a couple of volumes from now you will be astounded at how much you took for granted when it was presented.

Carol Lee's Apology

From the editorial of Kraith Collected #4 contains a public apology to Joan Winston. The editor writes about the revisions, mistakes, and editing mess-ups regarding Joan's story that was in issue #3:

This is a public apology to Joan Winston for the mutilation of her story,"Through Time and Tears", by yours truly, I may, perhaps, be permitted a few words of explanation, not to shift the blame (for it is mine), or to excuse it, but to show that the havoc I wracked was not done with "malice aforethought." Several months before I actively began the typing of Volume Three of Kraith Collected, I received notification from Jacqueline that she and Joan Winston were collaborating on a story - Jacqueline said that she had written a story some months before, but, on having seen a story that Joan had written, had decided that they really ought to be published together. Jacqueline would write a connecting piece between the stories, in the letters it was always referred to as "The Obligation/Through Time and Tears."' I received a copy of the unrevised "Obligation" from Jacqueline with assurances that "Through Time and Tears" would be following from Joan. I rented a typewriter and began typing the rest of the volume. Two weeks before the rental period expired, I received a package from Joan containing another unrevised copy of "The Obligation." I immediately telephoned Jacqueline and explained the problem. She dropped a copy of the connecting piece she had written and the copy of "Through Time and Tears" that Joan had given her into the mail... [the editor goes on to describe in specific detail all the differences between what was intended and what was printed]... By this time, I was in a frenzy. The typewriter was due back. I was leaving for nine weeks at Oxford University and had reams of reading to do. I took a liberty that wasn't mine, made the above adjustments, sent the thing to the printers, and promptly forgot about it. However, as can be seen from my editorial in that volume, I had misgivings about the story. My own guilty conscience speaking. To all concerned, and very specially to Joan Winston, I offer my sincerest apologies. To all those people who wrote in and protested my editorial, I laud you. You were right.

Reactions and Reviews

"The Obligation/Through Time and Tears' immediately precedes 'Federation Centennial' and follows 'Spock's Argument'; it is by J. Lichtenberg and J. Winston. It is set on Vulcan and I confess to being a little confused; T'Aniyeh has the guest suite opened for her...so on what footing does that place herself and Spock? Sarek and Spock become aware that Kirk has some telepathic capabilities and he himself is conscious of a growing affinity with Vulcan. The two Vulcans go to Beom to allow Spock to contribute the Joy (sic) of his triumph (Spock's Argument) to the utsulan.

In addition, they undertake 'Pattern Search' to assess T'Aniyeh's contribution (being human) to the utsulan in view of their recent realisation of Kirk's potential. Their interest is based on their intention to adopt Kirk into the family; Spock feels that when Kirk becomes aware of his capabilities he will be, as the Vulcan terms it, 'destroyed' and Spock feels a degree of responsibility toward his Captain.

I am sure it is good technique to resist the temptation to explain everything in minute detail but it does seem that Jacqueline Lichtenberg is rather self-indulgent, in her 'cleverness'. Even with two degrees behind me, I find this story and 'Spock's Nemesis' (vide infra) incomprehensible in places, though - I am obliged to confess... .fascinating.

When Kirk's mother dies later in the story, the prospect of adopting him brings joy not only to Spook (rather naughty to feel any such thing, considering) but to Amanda also; The Warder-Liege relationship is suggested and the importance of Kirk' acceptance of the situation to both the Federation and Vulcan is obvious.