Q-Squared
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Books, eBooks, Audiobooks |
| Website | www |
Q-Squared (complete title Star Trek: The Next Generation – Q-Squared) is a non-canonical Star Trek novel authored by Peter David and released by Pocket Books in July 1994 as part of their "Giant Novels" collection. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for five weeks during that year. The book is distinguished by its integration of characters from both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: The Original Series, particularly focusing on Q and Trelane.
Plot
Trelane, a character originating from the classic episode "The Squire of Gothos", is unveiled as a member of the Q Continuum. He abuses his abilities to alter time and reality, which results in the convergence of three parallel universes—or temporal "tracks". In Track A, Beverly Crusher’s husband Jack remains alive and commands the Enterprise, with Jean-Luc Picard serving as his first officer; here, Jack and Beverly are divorced, and their son Wesley passed away during childhood. Track B corresponds to the conventional Star Trek: The Next Generation timeline. Track C portrays a more militarized alternate reality embroiled in conflict with the Klingons, resembling the scenario from "Yesterday's Enterprise".
Q, assigned to oversee Trelane’s development, recruits Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D across these timelines to correct Trelane’s behavior and avert universal destruction. As the tracks begin to overlap, characters come face-to-face with their alternate selves, sparking tensions: the Tashas from Tracks A and C respond antagonistically toward each other; Jack confronts Beverly over an affair with Track-A Picard, leading to her unintended death witnessed by Track-B Picard; meanwhile, the Track C crew attempt to eliminate Worf, suspecting him of impersonation.
In the end, Q subdues Trelane and separates the universes, although some irregularities persist—Track-A Data becomes stranded within Track C. Furthermore, Q undergoes an experience of being trapped outside conventional space-time, alluding to the original series episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
Parallel universes
The narrative unfolds across three distinct parallel universes or ‘Tracks’, each designated by a letter:
- Track B represents the canonical Star Trek universe.
- Track A depicts an alternate Trek reality featuring significant divergences:
- James Kirk’s middle initial is R, aligning with the original series episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
- Jack Crusher is alive and captains the Enterprise-D; he is divorced from Beverly Crusher, with their son Wesley having died in early childhood.
- Geordi La Forge works as a nurse and possesses cloned eye implants rather than a VISOR.
- Jean-Luc Picard has been demoted following a court martial; he serves as first officer and is romantically involved with Beverly, generating friction with Jack.
- Data exists as a "human-oid"—a positronic brain housed within an organic body—and is engaged to Tasha Yar.
- William Riker and Kira Nerys are held prisoner by Romulans; Riker was previously married to Deanna Troi and has a son who has never met him.
- Worf was raised within the Klingon Empire as a warrior and rescues Riker and Kira by killing their Romulan captors.
- Track C illustrates an alternate version of the Klingon war timeline seen in "Yesterday's Enterprise", where the Enterprise-D encounters the Enterprise-C too late to prevent hostilities.
The concluding chapter, titled 'Derailment', merges these separate realities into a single timeline, culminating in Q’s showdown with the unhinged Trelane.
Q connections
The character known as Q, brought to life by John de Lancie in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Encounter at Farpoint", plays a pivotal role in this novel. Additionally, De Lancie provided the narration for its audiobook version.
Writer Peter David has also authored Q-in-Law, another novel centered on Q that exists within the same narrative universe.
Cultural references
In one particular scene, Trelane brings to life Winnie the Pooh, a character originally created by A. A. Milne and later popularized through Disney adaptations.
Within Track A, the bartender at Ten-Forward is named Caryn Johnson, serving as a replacement for Guinan. Caryn Johnson is the birth name of Whoopi Goldberg, who portrayed Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation.