The Wounded Sky
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Diane Duane |
| Products | Star Trek novel |
The Wounded Sky is a 1983 Star Trek novel (published as Pocket Books #13) authored by Diane Duane. It centers on Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise. Several years later, Duane reimagined the storyline for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled "Where No One Has Gone Before".
Plot
The Enterprise is outfitted with an innovative "inversion drive," a technology that manipulates spacetime to facilitate instantaneous travel over vast distances. The ship's mission involves deploying navigation beacons within the Magellanic Clouds, located just beyond the edge of the Milky Way. This propulsion system was engineered using the "creative physics" principles derived from crystalline, spider-like beings native to the Hamal star system. The lead engineer responsible for the drive joins the voyage, advising Captain Kirk during their inaugural jump after narrowly escaping a Klingon task force intent on capturing the technology.
Unknown to those aboard, the inversion drive causes instability in spacetime, opening a breach through which an alternate universe begins to merge with their own, endangering all existence. As they perform jumps, Kirk and his team experience bizarre hallucinations and soon witness catastrophic destruction of nearby star systems. They deduce that despite the drive's capacity to surpass warp speed travel significantly, its operation imperils their entire universe's survival.
In a decisive effort, they traverse the threshold between external reality and their shared consciousness, harnessing their collective mental and emotional resilience to repair the damage inflicted. The narrative delves into themes questioning whether reality is an objective entity or shaped by conscious awareness, intertwining accepted scientific principles with imaginative speculative ideas to enrich its storyline.
Consistent with Duane's other works set in the TOS era, the novel includes scenes set in the ship’s recreation area and features a reference to a Star Trek filk song inspired by John Denver’s "Calypso".