Vonegran's Veil

Zine
Title:	Vonegran's Veil
Publisher:
Editor(s):	Patricia Ames and Shirley Johnson
Date(s):	1991
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Trek: TNG
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

cover of issue #1, Di Knealey

Vonegran's Veil is a Star Trek: TNG gen anthology with one issue. The cover is by Di Knealey, other art by Lana Merkel and Mark Komarisky.

Submission Request

A submission request in The Blackwood Project #11 called it "an Epic "Star Trek: The Next Generation" adventure fanzine":

"Captain's Log -- We are entering the mysterious sector of space known colloquially as Vonegran's Veil. Previously unexplored, two mechanical probes have virtually disappeared in this starfield that defies all long-range scanning attempts. Whatever adventure awaits us behind this... veil... The Enterprise is ready--" Join Captain Picard as he leads his crew into uncharted, unexplored and unimaginable space. Shirley Johnson and Pat Ames are searching for creative, exciting adventure stories, art and poetry. Be creative! Be different! Be innovative! HAVE FUN!! Guidelines specifically designed for this adventure are available from, or Query with an outline to: Shirley Johnson...

Contents

• Editorial by Pat Ames (2)
• Editorial by Shirley Johnson (3)
• Mission Introduction (5)
• Anger by David J. Koukol (7)
• Devil with a Glass Hand by Tammy L. Croft (19)
• Derelict by Pat Ames (reprinted in The Farthest Frontier #1) (37)

"Working with the Editor: My Experience with "Vonegran's Veil"

In late 1992, one of the author wrote about her story. See "Devil with a Glass Hand."

"Working with the Writers: My Experience with "Vonegran's Veil"

In early 1993, one of the editors wrote about producing this zine.

Vonegran's Veil was an experiment. I felt the ST:TNG prose at the time (1991) lacked action/adventure and the current episodes on TV were focusing heavily on the Enterprise's diplomatic mission. We placed the Enterprise in the Veil specifically to encourage stories about exploration. We heartily encouraged liberal use of imagination. Virtually anything was game.

This was my first outing as co-editor. Per our routine, Shirley received the submissions first and after accepting the story, she edited it and sent it to me. I would edit it, communicate with Shirley about the story, then send it on to the author. Technology/science and grammar were Shirley's department; I handled the structure of the story and character development. I also acquired the art, produced the zine, and did the advertising/mail order of the zine. This seemed a reasonable and adequate division of labor, and I felt it worked out well. I found it amazing that Shirley and I saw different things in a story, yet our edits meshed nicely.

Tammy's story went to Shirley first. I was glad to see Tammy's piece, having known her work from WOW (War of the Worlds) fandom. After my own edit, Shirley and I discussed the story, then I did something very unusual. I called Tammy because I wanted to ask her to do what I considered major structural work.

As for the story itself, Shirley handled much of the technology. In Tammy's first draft there was much technobabble. The words were there, but without any description or imagery. I heavily encouraged dropping the time travel angle because it (a) was confusing and (b) made the story do too much. I felt the story could lose that angle without hurting the plot and intention. This required adding the scenes on the satellite, throwing Geordi into the action. I also encouraged Tammy to increase the emphasis on hands and hand movements in all the characters, since this was a major focus of the title character (Devil with a Glass Hand). Tammy was positive about these suggestions and generated and second and third draft before the story was ready for publication. Technically, Tammy has adequate grammar skills, and she has a good feel for plot, jeopardy and character. There were some "talky" spots that we worked on, including visuals and observations to show the reader rather than tell. It was a pleasure to work with her because she takes the development of her skill very seriously. I was pleased to read that this was a quality experience for her.

In the way of comparison, David Koukol (Anger) wrote no less than three drafts of his story, including one major rewrite. My story (Derelict) was edited by two other people besides Shirley. We did have one contributor pull her story after we requested a fourth draft, saying her time was limited, a fact of life which I greatly respect. This was an unfortunate loss, because that story was easily one of the most innovative, interesting, and creative pieces of fan fiction I had seen, but it was not ready for publication. Shirley and I agreed on that. We also had some poetry submitted which we decided not to use.

Even though we wanted to continue the Enterprise's exploration of the Veil in more issues, we had to discontinue the series. But I found that working with a co-editor greatly enhanced my own editing skills, and working with this particular group of contributors was a pleasant experience because they all shared one characteristic-they were all very serious about the quality of their work. I say in all my submission guidelines that I want to print the best possible work of all contributors. The writers and artists and staff featured in Vonegran's Veil were all up to this challenge. My profound thanks, again, to these people.

Reactions and Reviews

... as Patricia Ames clearly stales in her opening editorial, the concept of Vonnegran's Veil was born out of the editor's frustration with the diplomatic/medical/emergency missions seen so often in The Next Generation. "What happened," Ames asks, "to the original mission of exploration? In an effort to satiate her need for these exploratory. first contact missions, Ames came up the the concept of the Veil, an unexplored region of space from which no mechanical probes have ever returned and which equally disrupts Enterprise communications once within it. No other known civilization has claimed the space within the Veil though colonies or outposts may exist unbeknownst to Starfleet. The Enterprise entered the Veil after the Borg attack but before Wesley left for the Academy (which could be a problem if this turns out to be a long running series).

All the stories in the zine are introduced through "Captain's Logs" written by the editors in order to establish continuity across missions. Three stories fill out the contents of this premiere issue.

First up is an 11-page Data story by David J. Koukol entitled 'Anger' in which the Enterprise finds the Veil is not safe from the Borg. The story is a bit contrived as it's really nothing more than a means of giving Data the opportunity to experience the emotion of the title Koukol succeeds in portraying the android's confusion over his unusual reactions to seeing a human converted into a Borg. But I wished he had put a little more effort into developing the the entire plot-line.

Next up is the 17-page 'Devil With a Glass Hand' by Tammy Croft. If the title rings a bell with viewers of The Outer Limits, then you'd hardly be surprised to find in the Veil a world similar to the Earth depicted in 'The Devil with A Glass Hand' written by "City on the Edge of Forever's" Harlan Ellison. Croft's version has been slightly updated to include the Enterprise gang and a sex role reversal for the title character, and ends somewhere before the major revelation of the original. For those not in the know, the story concerns an android sent back into time to guard the last survivors of humanity, who cannot come out from hiding until the radiation they unleashed in an attack on invading aliens subsides to livable levels. Problem is the android can't remember why he's guarding the humans, when it's safe to let them out, or even where they're hiding.

The last entry is editor Patricia Ames' 23-page "Derelict" in which the Enterprise encounters an abandoned ship. Riker leads an away team search and discovers a sentient computer whose consciousness was extracted from a living organism. Trapped for centuries in the drifting derelict, the computer consciousness is eager to escape and and does so by taking over Riker's body. Picard must then struggle to regain his First Officer. 'Derelict' is the most satisfying story of the lot because Ames adeptly weaves the zine's theme of exploration into her story. Her scathing attack upon the production team of TNG comes from the mouth of the Riker/computer-conscious who remarks to the captain: "Think of your ship. Jean-Luc Picard, the greatest craft your people have ever created. Think of it performing only a tiny percent of its capabilities by cruising within your solar system Its only purpose to carry around passengers whose only interests are to play their games and coddle themselves with their own lazy opulence." One wonders what "passengers" Ames had in mind when she wrote the above.

Overall, the zine is a good first effort, and I might have enjoyed it more had not one of the stories been a retread. Production quality is excellent and includes a color cover. Interior art is scarce (there is only one full page illustration), but to my mind that's a bonus. For seven bucks, I think you'll get your money's worth.

Space, the final frontier, appears on the cover in uncluttered beauty. Di Knealey's color rendering of the Enterprise approaching the veil put me right in the mood for ST:TNG adventure, and the trio of stories didn't let me down.

Lana Merkel's portrait of Picard faces a soliloquy on the subject of the Veil it- self. An entry from the captain's log leaps into the story "Anger" by David J . Koukol. It reads like a real episode; it feels like being on the Enterprise. Koukol has captured both the mood and the style of the series in this brief but gripping story of danger, human response and the making of tough decisions.

"Devil With a Glass Hand" is the second story. Tammy Croft's alien is mysterious and intriguing. She comes to know herself better in this high-tech SF story, in keeping with the futuristic yet very human appeal of Next Gen. There's some angst for Riker in this one, for those who need the emotion.

Pat Ames' story "Derelict" is the last one. Here (as in the other stories) we see Data practicing a humanizing activity. Pat uses this characteristic behavior of his to encapsulate the adventure. It's a chilling mystery which could only have been brought to life by someone who, like Riker and Picard, loves exploring strange and distant places.

Well-rounded characterization and good plotting distinguish all three stories. Spot illos by Mark Komarisky complement the fiction. Although the use of art is sparing, it's very good art. Less is more, perhaps. This is an above-average fanzine. I recommend it highly.