Star Trek: The Original Series: The Rings of Time

Close to five days had passed for him since he had first arrived in this era; he wondered how much time had passed for the Enterprise. The Klondike system was months from Saturn, so clearly, he had missed a good deal of time. “The situation on Skagway?”

“Resolved, Captain, successfully.”

“Good to hear it. I knew I could count on you, Mr. Spock. I look forward to getting a full report, after we take care of a few other pressing matters.”

The Enterprise was keeping a low profile in this century, using Saturn’s moons and the ship’s own deflectors to reduce its chances of being detected by Earth. Kirk took a moment to appreciate the comforting familiarity of the transporter room. His welcoming party included Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and one other familiar face: his own.

Even though he had been expecting it, it still came as a jolt to see what appeared to be James T. Kirk standing beside Spock and Scotty. He had to remind himself that, this time around, he wasn’t faced with an android double, a duplicitous shape-changer, or his own evil half. This was his actual body, which currently housed another man’s mind.

“Colonel Shaun Geoffrey Christopher, I presume?”

“Pleased to finally meet you, Captain Kirk.” The stranger with his face stepped forward and offered Kirk his hand. “I must say, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Kirk shook his own hand. “Sorry if I’ve been a bit rough on your body.” He rubbed his sore jaw; cuts and bruises on his face served as painful reminders of his battle with O’Herlihy. “I’m afraid you’re missing a tooth.”

Shaun looked Kirk over. “Has there been trouble on my ship? Is everyone all right?”

“They’re fine, more or less,” Kirk said. “It’s been an… eventful mission, but the situation was under control when I left. I can give you all of the details later.”

“What about Alice?” he asked. “I mean, Fontana.”

Kirk caught the urgency in his voice. It seemed that Fontana’s deep affection for her copilot had not been one-sided. He decided not to mention his brief encounter with Zoe.

“Anxious to see you again,” he assured Shaun. In fact, Fontana had wanted to beam over with him, until he’d pointed out that this would entail leaving Zoe in charge of the Lewis & Clark. Fontana had quickly relented, which was just as well; the fewer twenty-first-century astronauts to visit the Enterprise, the better. “I believe she’s missed you.”

“No more than I’ve missed her,” Shaun said with obvious emotion. Kirk recalled that the displaced astronaut had not seen his own crew for months, by his reckoning. “Funny how getting zapped hundreds of years into a strange future and nearly dying on the other side of the galaxy makes you realize just what — and who — is really important to you. Alice and I have our own future to get on with.”

Kirk believed him. He made a mental note to look both astronauts up when he got a chance. He was curious to find out what the future held for them, assuming that he and Shaun could straighten out their current situation.

“You’ll see her soon,” he promised, before glancing down at his borrowed body. “But first, there’s the little matter of putting both of our minds back where they belong.”

“Well, don’t look at me,” McCoy said. “I’m out of the brain-transplant business.” He looked pointedly at Spock. “Once was enough.”

Kirk wasn’t particularly keen on swapping brains, either. He preferred to keep their gray matter in place, if possible.

“What about that infernal contraption that daft lassie used to switch places with the captain a few years ago?” Scotty asked, referring to Janice Lester and her foiled attempt to steal Kirk’s body. “Camus II is a fair ways from here, but those alien machines should be just sitting there in this century, waiting for us.”

“Not an option.” Kirk had already considered that. “The effect wasn’t permanent, remember? Our minds began to shift back of their own accord, and Janice theorized that the only way to make the switch stick was to kill me while my mind was still in her body.” He looked at Shaun Christopher. “Obviously, that’s not an option.”

“Good to know,” Shaun said. “What else can we try?”

Kirk turned to his first officer. “Spock?”

“I can attempt to facilitate some manner of psychic reintegration, Captain, but there are no guarantees. This would go beyond a simple mind-meld, not that there is ever anything simple about the joining of two or more minds.” His somber tone conveyed the gravity of the challenge. “However, the only alternative is to condemn you and Colonel Christopher to reside in each other’s body for the rest of your natural lives.”

“Forget it,” Shaun said. “I want my old body back, no matter the risk. No offense, Captain.”

“None taken,” Kirk said. “I feel the same.”

“Hold on a minute!” McCoy blurted, clearly unconvinced. “Let’s not rush into anything. Do you really think you can do this, Spock? Transfer minds from one body to another?”

“Ordinarily not, Doctor,” Spock admitted. “You are quite correct that such a feat is most likely beyond my abilities or those of any other Vulcan. But I am relying on the fact that these two minds will want to return to their proper locations, just as the captain’s and Dr. Lester’s minds did on that previous occasion. In theory, I will simply be the conduit by which their respective psyches are able to restore their natural states.”

“Like water flowing back to the sea,” Kirk said, grasping the concept.

“Or a displaced electron returning to its previous quantum state,” Spock said. “Extraordinary energy was no doubt required to trade your minds, but it is possible that less effort will be required to put them back where they belong. Think of your brains as planets, exerting a gravitational pull on your thoughts.”

“I don’t know,” McCoy grumbled. “It still sounds like a hell of a gamble to me. At least you’re both still sound in body and mind. What if this stunt does more harm than good? You could end up brain-damaged or insane… or worse.”

Kirk shrugged. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take, Bones.”

“Hell, yes,” Shaun agreed. “Let’s do this.”

“Think back,” Spock said. “Recall the precise moment you encountered the probe, the last moment your minds were where they belonged.”

He stood between the men, who reclined on adjacent beds in sickbay. His fingers were splayed across their brows. Diagnostic monitors reported on their vital signs, with particular attention paid to their brain waves. Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel looked on anxiously. Spock closed his eyelids, both sets, to block out the distractions of the physical world. He cleared his mind, making it an empty conduit.

“Relive that moment,” he urged the patients. “Reclaim it.”

He reached out through his fingertips for the other men’s thoughts. Neural connections formed, linking them. Three minds became one.

“Reclaim yourselves… through me…”

Thoughts and sensations flowed into him from both sides, converging on his brain. Waves of clashing memories collided inside him.

Floating above Saturn, jetting toward the gleaming alien probe. Beaming the decrepit wreck aboard the Enterprise. Staring in shock and wonder as the probe fires brilliant pulses of light at the hexagon far below. Marveling at the oddly familiar hieroglyphics etched on the charred bronze casing. Fontana, pleading for him to get away from the probe. Miramanee surfacing from his past. Curiosity overcoming caution. Poignant memories drawing him nearer.

Reaching out to touch the probe…

Contact.

A blinding flash of light exploded in Spock’s mind. “The rings!” he shouted, without knowing why. “The endless rings!”

He collapsed between the beds.

“Spock!” McCoy shouted.

Dazed, Shaun sat up in the bed. It took him a second to orient himself; for a moment, he wasn’t sure who or where he was. Right, he remembered. The Enterprise. Sickbay. His hands explored his face, rediscovering crags and wrinkles he hadn’t felt in months. Glancing down at himself, he saw that he was wearing a blue NASA jumpsuit again, not a gold-and-black