What is Truth?

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	What is Truth?
Author(s):	Jane Carnall
Date(s):	1997
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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What is Truth? is a Kirk/Spock (sorta) and Spock/McCoy (sorta) story by Jane Carnall.

It was published in the print zine Heroes in the Wilderness.

Summary

"With its origins in the well known 'What is Honour?' This is a slave story."

Author's Comments: 1997

But be it firmly understood that I do not recommend my story... I wrote it while depressed and angry and bygod it shows.

Reactions and Reviews

1997

I found it to be one long rape-and-abuse-fest and it made me feel ill. I couldn't finish it. Incidentally I think it's clear that the other slave with McCoy is meant to be Kirk.

I found this story intriguing in an odd way, but that doesn't mean my heart really liked it. I certainly don't mind a Spock master/Kirk-slave story, and I don't necessarily mind a Spock/McCoy scenario if Kirk still fits in predominantly. But not only does Kirk hardly show in this character, other than as a gorgeous slave-boy who shows his natural spunk in escaping, but he's not even there for most of the story. He had been born a slave in this Vulcan clan and has served Spock for years, so they are just used to each other. There is some abiding "love" of a sort there, but little of the dynamics we would recognize as Kirk/Spock.

The McCoy character is more recognizable. A close- in McCoy POV helped with this, plus the fact he has only recently been procured as a slave and so has yet to lose his sense of identity. And there are odd dynamics between Kirk and McCoy. They end up having to cooperate with each other to some extent; but again, there is little we can recognize as Kirk/McCoy interaction as we know it.

The parts about McCoy coming to love and crave his master's attentions are a good exploration of whatever that syndrome is called, the captive growing to seemingly need his captivity. Perhaps this also pertains to Kirk's cruelty to McCoy—his turning the tables on one even less privileged than himself.

Giving our A/U characters different names generally makes it more difficult for the reader to picture them easily. And here, the Vulcan slave names were nothing similar to Kirk or McCoy. We had passages of McCoy perspective, in which he was referred to as McCoy, so that kept us close to his identity; but we had no Kirk- perspective. So he was never quite Kirk, not to himself or anyone else, nor to us. As far as Spock's character, he is definitely a Vulcan; but as we know, Spock's character is much more than just Vulcan—that's why he's so compelling. But this Spock seems simply a Vulcan. Even when, much later, he learns he is part human, the only significant aspect of this is just a certain genetic trait: what would be cancer- type cell-growth patterns in humans being adapted for regenerating missing limbs, etc., in this human-Vulcan hybrid. Which has nothing to do with the story.

Although Kirk and McCoy are both personal/sex slaves, these aren't pampered slaves such as we read in some K/S master-slave stories; there is some rather base cruelty. These human slaves are not considered sentient by the Vulcans; at the most, they are trainable. I would argue the Vulcans would have to be dumb to not realize these are sentient beings.

And come to think of it, this must mean Spock is practicing bestiality by using these humans through his pon farrs.

A few words about language. I know it's only Americans who feel "arse" sounds quite odd for ass, but it sounds quite odd. And it was used a lot.

And there were some awkward sentences. Referring to Spock as "the alien" throughout the McCoy- perspective parts made for some rough sentences, especially when other aliens were there also. It probably would have read more smoothly had McCoy perceived Spock as the "master" or the "Vulcan." (I didn't see the value in McCoy's remaining ignorant of the name of the people who have enslaved him.) This was done really well: the disorienting feeling of McCoy's not understanding what was said to him, until he learned a little of the "pidgin" Kirk and the others used.

It doesn't seem McCoy would continue to use the term "rape" when Spock is really just fucking him, especially as McCoy craves it, badly—this is a big part of what is happening to him. Also, Spock refers to his new slave, McCoy, as it, rather than him, well after he's aware the slave is a male. I guess this is for the purpose of dehumanizing, but there was plenty of that already. And he never referred to the Kirk-slave as it.

Good Vulcan-culture stuff I liked. Sarek and Amanda were missing from this story, but there were "elders" Spock dealt with, and these parts were very interesting. Also, the bits about the VSA studying humans, and experiments to release trained humans back into the wild. And the parts about how it will be for Spock after he is bonded.

And I appreciated what I consider a definitive look at pon farr. About partners being hormonally attuned, and an in-depth look at plak tow (which explains to me my aching question all these years about the blood fever, as to why Spock at the place of koon-ut-kalifee didn't have a raging erection).

So, I was interested in what was explored in this story, but it left me feeling empty. And the ending left my mouth kind of hanging open, like what? I'd say it wasn't quite a K/S story.

My mouth is agape. I can't believe I read the whole story.... I hardly know what to say. I just read one of the strangest stories ever, and I can't figure it out except that it was fascinatingly weird, kind of like watching "The Rocky Horror Show" stoned. I don't even know why the author wanted to write it. She's certainly not a bad writer at all, but why? And what did I just read? I think I'd retitle it: "What Is This?"

A re-telling of "What is Honour?"? It's quite a time, that I read this wonderful novel and I don't remember everything in detail, but I see no connection to the story by "The U.K. Group" (NOT "The K/S Group"!!!) at all. O.K., Kirk was also a slave, but he was never- the less our James Kirk. Here in this story I don't recognize anyone and I'm not happy with the plot, too. Maybe it is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but for this it isn't funny enough. It isn't funny at all. Sorry, I hate bad LOCs and I thought a lot if I should write this. But perhaps an honest LOC helps the author to go next time into other directions?

1998

This is stated to be a rewrite of the UK Group's What is Honour? but there are some notable differences between it and What is Honour? (Note - UK zine, UK spelling!) For a start, this is a Spock/McCoy story; although there is a character in it who might be meant as Kirk, it is never certain that he is.

Humans live on Vulcan as slaves; because they are psi-null, they are considered non-sentient, so that their "rooms" are referred to as "kennels", the doctor who attends them is a "vet" and so on. It's well developed, the characterisations are consistent; and little details like the ones I've mentioned make this is a truly alien Vulcan.

However, I don't personally care for stories that include McCoy in a sexual relationship with either Kirk or Spock, even in the absence of the other, no matter how well they are written - and Jane is a very able writer. I'm also slightly disquieted by the idea that to Vulcans, Humans are little more than animals — yet they us Humans as sexual partners. These are subjective reactions, however, and I refuse to pass an opinion of "good or bad" on the fact that my subjective response tends to the negative. I will simply repeat — it's well developed and it's well written.