I, Q
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | John de Lancie and Peter David |
| Products | Star Trek novel |
I, Q is a 1999 novel set in the Star Trek universe, authored by John de Lancie and Peter David. Taking place within the Star Trek: The Next Generation timeline, the narrative centers on Q joining forces with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data to rescue his family and avert the destruction of the cosmos. This work marks the inaugural exploration of Q’s role as a parent. Notably, De Lancie, who portrayed Q in the television series, stands as the sole Next Generation cast member to pen a novel featuring his character.
Plot summary
The tale opens with a mysterious Lady, disenchanted with existence itself, who resolves to bring about the Universe’s demise. On her secluded island shore, she conjures a tempest as a bottle containing a manuscript drifts ashore.
While deep-sea fishing with his wife and son, Q is caught in a colossal whirlpool that engulfs them all. Q narrowly escapes to the Enterprise holodeck, where a fishing simulation involving Picard and Data was simultaneously disrupted by the same phenomenon.
To uncover the cause, Q escorts Picard and Data to the Q Continuum, which manifests as the fictional realm of Dixon Hill. There they learn that the universe is nearing its end and that the Continuum has grown indifferent, welcoming this conclusion after having experienced everything conceivable. Defying this outcome, Q is immobilized as a statue but manages to flee with assistance from Q2.
Returning to the whirlpool’s origin, they discover an underground passage traversing five layered worlds, each symbolizing one of the Kübler-Ross stages of grief. These realms are inhabited by entities from different parallel realities responding in kind. Reflecting on his life, Q recalls meeting Melony in an alternate 2000 Times Square; despite his attempts to save her, she perished in a terrorist attack.
At Level 1—Denial—residents ignore the looming apocalypse. Here, Q, Picard, and Data strive to decouple a train hurtling toward destruction while confronting Locutus.
Level 2—Anger—features a parallel version of Jadzia Dax continuing her battle alongside Klingon warriors against supposed Romulan aggressors. Q’s adversary from the M Continuum accuses him of causing the universe’s downfall and initiates a trial; however, Data prevails by surpassing M in anger.
On Level 3—Bargaining—governed by Grand Nagus Zek who offers illusory promises of an afterlife, Q reunites with his now-grown son q, who had felt forsaken. After persuading q otherwise, he returns to his usual age.
Level 4—Despair—finds Q’s wife consumed by hopelessness until her eventual death. The group then proceeds to Level 5—Acceptance—a dwelling with an unopenable door. As they yield to their fate, the walls close inward until Q fully embraces acceptance; only then does the door open. Q and q escape while Picard and Data are crushed.
Back within the Continuum—now resembling a New Year’s Eve celebration counting down to universal extinction—Q suspects his journey was orchestrated to compel acceptance. Q2 neither confirms nor denies this theory.
When the countdown reaches zero, the whirlpool reappears, drawing in both the Continuum and q. Resisting its pull, Q documents his experiences in a bottle he casts into the whirlpool.
The story returns to the Lady on her island as she finishes reading Q’s manuscript. Amused, she halts the storm, awakens q, provides him with a mud boat for his return home, and places a message inside Q’s bottle intended for his father.
Back on the holodeck, Picard, Data, Q, and his wife emerge from simulation. Spotting q’s boat nearby, Picard terminates the program. q recounts details about the island and Lady—whom Q recognizes as Melony—and hands over the bottle containing her message. Concerned about its contents, Q entrusts it to Picard who reads: "Let there be light".
Reception
Publishers Weekly commended the creative narrative approach but pointed out issues with the story's tempo, remarking that "Q's self-important monologues, effective on television, tend to become tedious in written form."
Related Star Trek storylines
In the Star Trek: Voyager episode titled "The Q and the Grey," Q assumes the role of a father. His offspring, also named Q, appears again in the Voyager installment "Q2," where the younger Q composes an essay entitled "I, Q."