THE CATS ARE SICK

 

Name: Uhura's Song

Author: Janet Kagan

Publication Date: 1/1985

Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #21)

Page Number: 373

Historian’s Note: Sometime between Turnabout Intruder and More Tribbles More Troubles

Cast of Characters:  Captain James T. Kirk       Commander Spock              Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”       Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu              Lieutenant Nyota Uhura            Dr. Evan Wilson          Dr. Joseph M'Benga          Lieutenant Kevin Riley                Lieutenant Vuong               Nurse Christine Chapel          Ensign Pavel Chekov                 Ensign Marie-Therese Orsay         Ensign Azuela             Yeoman First Class Jaramillo                 Crewman Ridly         Crewman Thomas        Colonel Mickiewicz     Dr. Dziedzic              HotSpring to-Allanien         All Loops               Brave Tongue       Jinx to-Ennien          Catchclaw to-Ennien              EagerTalker to-Ennien       Grabfoot to-Ennien          Sunfall to-Ennien              TooLongTail to-Ennien             WhiteWhisker to-Ennien                Knots      Left Ear Patterner of Vensre            SilverTail           Brightspot to-Srallansre            CopperEye to-Srallansre       Distant Smoke to-Srallansre               Fetchstorm to-Srallansre            Quickfoot of Srallansre         Stiff Tail to-Srallansre            Winding Path to-Srallansre               Sunfall of Ennien           ThreeTimes       Rushlight to-Vensre         Settlesand to-Vensre        

Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, USS Dr. Margaret Flinn (registration unknown), Dr. James Barry (registration unknown)

Planets: Eeiauo and Sivao

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The Enterprise is in orbit around the planet Eeiauo, whose main inhabitants are an intelligent humanoid cat-like species. The planet is under quarantine due to a disease known as ADF syndrome that has symptoms that begin with hair loss and conclude with total body paralysis, although the brain appears normal.  Among the afflicted is Lt. Uhura’s old friend Sunfall, whom she meets as a young officer and uses to exchange songs with.  Dr. McCoy is on the surface of the planet trying to lead research into the epidemic.  To help the Enterprise out, Starfleet has assigned Dr. Evan Wilson, to temporarily take McCoy’s place as Chief Medical Officer.  The new Acting CMO has a personality that clashes with the other senior officers, particularly Spock and Kirk.  

Uhura, going over some of the cultural songs she learned from Sunfall, comes to the conclusion that the people of Eeiauo might have been originally from someplace else.  She shares her evidence with Spock, and he agrees.  When they try to confront the Eeiauoans about this they are quick to deny and wish to change the subject.  However, McCoy gets his assistant, Quickfoot, to admit the truth to them.  Two thousand years ago, their ancestors were exiled from their home world, Sivao.  The reasons are not given but it is a clear mark of shame for them.

Trying to figure out, how they will help the Eeiauoans.

Things get from bad to worse when it is discovered that ADF Syndrome can jump species and Nurse Chapel and others are infected.  The disease works faster in humans with more deadly results. Two crew members are redshirted by it.     

Uhura and Spock come up with a theory that the original home world’s inhabitants may currently hold the cure to ADF.  Using astronomical references in some of the older Eeiauoan songs, Spock and Uhura locate the planet.  Kirk leads a landing party that includes Spock, Wilson, Uhura, and Chekov.  They find the local people friendly enough but when Kirk tries to explain why they are here one of the locals slaps him.  Back on Eeiauo, McCoy comes up with a treatment that can delay the effects of ADF but does not eliminate.  The extra time is needed because he too is also infected.

McCoy discovers that humans can get this thing. 

 The reason the Sivaoians have a hard time dealing with the Enterprise’s landing party is they are not sure whether their visitors were adults.  Kirk makes the point that he commands a starship, and Starfleet does not grant such commands to children, or for that point employee children at all.  Nevertheless, they are still confused.  They discover through their friends (Sivaoians who clearly seem like adults but are legally considered children) that in order to be called adults they have to undergo a rite of passage that has them journeying to another village.  The journey can be dangerous with predators lurking and geographical challenges. One of their new friends, Jinx, tried and failed three times. 

Kirk leading the landing party!

Kirk decides the landing party will attempt the rite.  Unfortunately, they have to leave the phasers and communicators behind.  They face many challenges and must hold a night watch to guard against predators.  During the journey a bridge collapses on them sending Kirk, Wilson, and Jinx into the water.  Kirk is able to rescue Jinx, whose people have not mastered the art of swimming. When the landing party does not report Scotty goes to check up on them but doesn’t learn much.

After the landing party is reunited Chekov begins to exhibit symptoms of ADF syndrome, which he takes to it hard.  Wilson notices that Jinx, who is an apprentice healer, was unable to recognize the plague song that Uhura had learned, she suggests to Uhura that she sing the song in a different key. Uhura attempts this and that seems to end the difficulty in translation.  Jinx eventually identifies a variation of the song and explains that the disease is one that the call "Noisy Baby," easily cured it years ago.

Uhura spreading the news of the plague being beaten.

They complete their journey and are all now considered adults by local laws.  Jinx chooses AnotherStarFreedom as an adult name, in honor of Uhura.  They are able to reconnect the two groups who had separated for 2,000 years both are embarrassed by the cause of separation. The cure is passed along, saving the population in the nick of time.  The Enterprise gets three cheers from the other Starfleet vessels. 

In closing it turns out that Wilson wasn’t who she says she was. After the mission was over, she was immediately reassigned.  Kirk and McCoy decide to reach out, but when they do they meet a male Evan Wilson.  It turns out this “Evan Wilson” they were working with was a Sivaoan name Tail-Kinker to-Ennien.  She is a benevolent trickster, and this wasn’t the first time she did this.  She once impersonated an engineer named Martha Bodner who also critically helped Starfleet before. In her final message she challenges Spock to find her.

Additional thoughts: This okay Star Trek story.  One on hand there was a classic Star Trek problem of “these friendly people are dying and how do we save them?”  However, it was often slow moving and it didn’t really command my attention the way some other stories can.  I did like how Uhura has a much more prominent feature in the story.

There was, however, a big plot problem that I had with the story.  So, the local Eeiauoans are stricken with this horrible illness.  While treating them it is discovered that they originally came from a planet called Sivao.  Uhrua and Spock then to the conclusion that since the Eeiauoan people originated there, then the people living there now must possess the cure to the condition. I am sorry but that doesn’t make any sense.   That is like if a disease in the United States struck the Italian-American population hard, that since they are Italian-American and their ancestors came from Italy then logically Italy must have the cure.  Now this turns out to work because of plot armor, but I would have liked someone to make an objection.  

I also thought it was interesting that the Enterprise is told by Starfleet that the prime directive could be ignored when they arrive at Sivao. Although we saw in “Friday’s Child” that Starfleet and Federation may look the other way when their important interests are involved.  In that episode they were trying to secure dilithium mining rights.  This case is more noble, trying to save the lives of innocents from a deadly plague.

So, the character of Dr. Evan Wilson.  Throughout the book I was wondering what the point of this character was. I thought it was odd that Starfleet would send a doctor out to temporarily take over McCoy’s responsibilities when he was gone.  McCoy has other doctors on his medical staff either one of them could step into that role, M'Benga being an obvious example, why does Starfleet feel the need to send someone of equal rank to replace him?  It would be if Kirk was going away for a week and Starfleet assigning another captain instead of just having Spock runs things for him in the meantime.  Well, we get our answer in the end Dr. Wilson wasn’t Dr. Wilson, but a Sivaoian, who appears to have wanted to have a firsthand in helping to re-unite her species. It reminded me of the second part of “The Menagerie” when we learn that Commodore José Mendez was just an illusion created by the Talosians. 

Should it be canon: I don’t see anything in this story that would contradict established on film.  Therefore, I would have no problems with it being canon.

Cover Art: The cover has Spock, Uhura, and a Sivaoian (from the viewers right to left) standing in front of a planet that I assume is either Eeiauo or Sivao.  Above their heads and in front of the planet flies the Enterprise. The cover is a bit of a lie, because it shows a refitted Enterprise and Spock is wearing his “The Motion Picture” uniform.  Yet, this story takes place in the original five-year mission.

Final Grade: Final Grade 3 of 5