This is a glossary for my Star Trek: The Original Series fanfiction piece “Nothing Unreal Exists“.
ICL = In canon or licensed works; ITF = In this fic; IRL = In real life.
Miguel Alcubierre Moya was an Earth warp field proto-theorist whose work preceded, but was not known to, Zefram Cochrane. [ITF]
Alcubierre exists and is currently a primary theorist working on actual warp drive. If I recall correctly, he was explicitly inspired by Star Trek.
There was an amphitheatre outside the Multuggerah Building. Leonard McCoy thought it dated back to the early 21st century. [ITF]
The amphitheatre is The Green Open Auditorium at South Bank. It was definitely there as of the early 21st century, I know from having been there. I have no idea when it was put in.
An assignment patch was a visual indicator associated with certain major Starfleet units which appeared on the uniforms of individuals assigned to that unit. [ICL] As of 2270, the assignment patch of USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was a golden Starfleet chevron containing a five-pointed star with the topmost point lengthened. [ICL, ITF]
The assignment patch system is only used in TOS. My description of the mission patch here is somewhat reverse engineering — IRL, the TOS Enterprise‘s mission patch was turned into Starfleet’s logo for subsequent series, and then for series set at the same time but made later. However, the Starfleet logo version lacks the central five-pointed star, so I covered here by claiming that the central five-pointed star is what distinguishes the Enterprise mission patch from the Starfleet logo.
Barrambin Central was a colloquial reference to Starfleet Medical Central at Barrambin (see below).
Bisshop Clinic was an informal reference to the Starfleet Medical Fiona Bisshop Memorial Clinic (see below).
A broad, flat square tiled with a vaguely marble-like pavement was located in the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth. [ITF, Chapter 1]
This is the modern King George Square, but it’s not called that by the TOS era due to decolonisation. McCoy doesn’t notice Brisbane City Hall because it hasn’t been there since long before he was born. McCoy exiting through the southeast side of the square implies he is heading toward the area that currently contains the Queen Street Mall.
The Children’s Health precinct was a medical facility located in the Starfleet Medical Meanjin Hospital and Health Service precinct, Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth. It was located at the eastern end of the Grand Arbour.
The Children’s Health precinct is the modern Queensland Children’s Hospital, formerly the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital.
The city’s old pre-Starfleet technical university (Chapter 2) that McCoy saw was the Technical University of Meanjin (see below).
The Common Era (CE) was a calendar era used with the Gregorian calendar. [IRL] It was the official calendar era of the Gregorian civil calendar used by United Earth. [ITF]
CE is just a secularised form of the specifically Christian Anno Domini (AD; “year of our Lord”) calendar era; the year in which I’m publishing these notes is 2023 CE.
Coodjirar (meaning “place of the red-stemmed gum tree” in Yugarabul) was a location in the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth.
The Yugarabul term “Coodjirar” refers to the modern City of Ipswich and environs.
The District of Coodjirar was a district of the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth.
Coodjirar District is implied to include at least part of the 21st-century City of Ipswich, plus Amberley.
USS Coodjirar was a Starfleet ground station. It was centralised and located in the District of Coodjirar, Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth. It was primarily a supply depot.
USS Coodjirar is implied to be specifically a rebuilt and somewhat demilitarised RAAF Base Amberley.
The Crisis of the Twenty-first Century was an historiographical term for the worsening of living conditions on Earth during the 21st century CE and the resulting events. It ran alongside and often coincided with the Eugenics Wars; however, they were not the same. Major conflicts during the Crisis of the Twenty-first Century included the Second American Civil War and the Third World War. [ITF]
The Dugulumba was a river which ran through the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth.
The Dugulumba in modern times is the Logan River.
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was a Starfleet Constitution-class starship. As of 2270, it was under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. Spock served as command science officer. Leonard McCoy served as chief medical officer. Montgomery Scott served as chief engineering officer and as a transporter control officer. [ICL]
Executive officer (XO) was a position on Federation starships. Spock was XO of USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) as of 2270. [ICL]
Eugenics with a capital E, as McCoy put it, was the most prominent 21st-century variation of the ideology which had previously been most commonly known as fascism. It was referred to as Eugenics because it was the first fascist movement to forcibly deploy medical eugenics and genetic engineering en masse, and because it eventually became completely thematically focused around eugenics in its ideology, referring to all of its enemies as “Dysgenic” even if its adherents could not demonstrate that eugenics played any role whatsoever. [ITF]
The Eugenics Wars [ICL] was a common-language historiographical term for a series of conflicts on Earth which lasted from the last quarter of the 20th century through approximately the middle of the 21st. They were so named because they were primarily caused by the reactionary, fascist ideology of Eugenics and were characterised by the use of eugenics. They included the Second American Civil War and the Third World War.
The Eugenics Wars are generally held to have been sparked off by publicly unacknowledged United States/Soviet Union military confrontation during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. They continued to be fought through covert, unacknowledged dark operations for several more decades, before entering what is known as their active phase with the beginning of the Second American Civil War. [ITF]
This is me combining some headcanons I’ve had for some time in some incredibly heavy canon welding to try and reconcile Star Trek‘s Eugenics Wars with real-world history.
The Federation Council was the federal legislature of the United Federation of Planets. [ICL]
There was a Vulcan fusion restaurant at the corner of Grey Street and Ernest Street, District of Kurilpa, Municipality of Greater Meanjin, Earth. It served plomeek and tomato quiche. [ITF]
This restaurant specifically replaces the Guzman y Gomez currently there as of 2023.
Galileo II (NCC-1701/7) was a Starfleet Stamets-type shuttlecraft. Its registry number reflects that it was assigned to USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). [ICL]
The Grand Arbour, or simply Arbour, was a pergola located in the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth. It ran roughly west–east for approximately 1 km along the south bank of the Maiwar. Its original canopy consisted of bougainvilleas; they had to be replanted after the Third World War due to damage.
The South Bank Grand Arbour was built in 2000. I am quite fond of it.
Amanda Grayson was a human woman. She was Sarek’s wife and Spock’s mother. She was Jewish. She was born in Seattle and raised in Manhattan. [ITF]
Spock being Jewish has been a favourite headcanon of some fans, including me, for some time — Leonard Nimoy was Jewish and said he intentionally incorporated his Jewishness into his performance. In terms of getting that to happen, Amanda being Jewish was what I felt competent to write.
Amanda is from Seattle ICL. However, her TOS actress, Jane Wyatt, was raised in Manhattan. Combining the two has the advantage of Spock’s mother being culturally from the Northern United States in the strict sense, allowing me to have McCoy tease Spock for being a Yankee.
Grey Street was a street which ran through the District of Kurilpa, Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth. [ITF]
Grey Street runs through modern South Brisbane. I slipped up a little — Grey was a British Colonial Secretary and his name would thus not have survived into the TOS era. I may revise the fic to fix this.
An imager was a piece of equipment issued to Starfleet medical officers which allowed them to take non-destructive, non-invasive, full-body imaging.
An imager is implied to be just an MRI equivalent in your hand. It is not specifically an MRI because that would make no sense.
Infinite diversity in infinite combinations (IDIC) was a core value of the Vulcan society. IDIC had a symbol; it appeared on the Vulcan flag, and Spock owned an IDIC symbol pin. [ICL] However, the principle of IDIC did not prevent Vulcan society as of 2270 from being institutionally transphobic to a degree that caused Spock considerable suffering and which Leonard McCoy found repellent. [ITF]
The Jagera were a Blak (Indigenous Australian) group who, alongside the Turrbal, were the original owners of Meanjin. [ITF, IRL]
Kangaroo Point was an area on the south bank of the Maiwar directly opposite Point Meanjin. [ITF, IRL]
The Maiwar was a river which ran through the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth. Its water was blue. [ITF]
The Maiwar in modern times is the Brisbane River. Its water is decidedly not blue due to sediment runoff; it is known, pejoratively, as the “brown snake”.
The Municipality of Greater Meanjin was a directly administered city of United Earth. It was located on the central east coast of Australia. It had a population of 8 million. [ITF]
Greater Meanjin is implied to include all of modern South East Queensland (SEQ), including Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Ipswich, the Lockyer Valley, Logan City, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Redland City, the Scenic Rim Region, the Somerset Region, the Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba. That region has a population of 3.8 million. Things have obviously changed somewhat by 2270.
Kiri-kin-tha’s First Law of Metaphysics stated that “nothing unreal exists”. [ICL]
James Tiberius Kirk was the commanding officer of the Federation starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). As of early 2270 CE, he had the rank of captain. [ICL]
The Kir’Shara was the foundational text of mainstream Vulcan culture and thought. [ICL] It occupied a similar place to the Abrahamic Bible(s) in terms of hegemonic cultural dominance. As of 2270, Cambridge University Press had published at least two separate hard copy editions; one, the best known, featured the commentary of T’Plana-Hath, and another, less well-known, featured the commentary of Kiri-kin-tha. [ITF]
Kolar was the homeworld of the Orion people. [ICL]
Canon provides several different, conflicting identities for the Orion homeworld. I decided on Kolar because that was the one I liked.
Kurilpa (meaning “place of the water rat” in Yugarabul) was a location in Meanjin, United Earth.
My understanding is that the term “Kurilpa” refers pretty narrowly to the modern Brisbane locality of West End. I took some liberties.
The District of Kurilpa was a district of the Municipality of Greater Meanjin.
Kurilpa District is implied to include the modern Brisbane suburbs of West End and South Brisbane.
USS Kurilpa was a Starfleet ground station located on the Earth continent of Australia. Its area of responsibility was between the Maiwar and Dugulumba rivers. While it had no specific central site, several of its buildings were located in the District of Kurilpa, Municipality of Greater Meanjin.
Meanjin (meaning “place shaped like a spike” in Yugarabul) was a city on the central east coast of Australia, United Earth. [ITF]
In the real world, “Meanjin” actually strictly refers to the part of the Maiwar’s north bank where the CBD and Gardens Point are located. It is used as a pars pro toto for Brisbane and environs by some Blak Australians, and by leftists including me.
The use of “Meanjin” and “Greater Meanjin” in this fic parallels the use of “Brisbane” and “Greater Brisbane” in real life — Meanjin is the original city, Greater Meanjin is the rest of South East Queensland.
Dr Leonard Horatio McCoy was the chief medical officer of the Federation starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). [ICL] As of early 2270 CE, he had the rank of lieutenant commander. [ICL, ITF] He generally preferred not to be addressed as “Leonard”. [ITF]
A medical tricorder was a specialised electronic device issued to Starfleet medical officers which allowed them to carry out a number of medical tasks in the field.
The use of the medical tricorder as a plug-and-play hub for various peripherals is specific to this fic.
MEDHOLD was an assignment code used by Starfleet to refer to duty assignments which consisted of the assigned service member receiving medical care.
I borrowed this from a similar usage by United States Navy Fleet Forces Command.
The Multuggerah Building was located in the District of Kurilpa. It was part of USS Kurilpa, a Starfleet ground station located in the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth.
The Multuggerah Building is implied to be built precisely on the site of the existing Park Avenue Apartments. Multuggerah was a Blak resistance fighter from the Lockyer Valley in Queensland.
Naarm was a major city located on the continent of Australia, United Earth.
Naarm is Melbourne, which by the TOS era is officially referred to by its name in Woiwurrung.
Ngambri was a city located on the continent of Australia, United Earth. It was devastated during the 21st century by an attack by the eco-terrorist Colonel Philip Green.
Ngambri is Canberra, which by the TOS era is officially referred to by its name in Ngunnawal. Whether it still physically exists by the time of this fic is Provocatively Unclear, unless canon says otherwise. I haven’t checked.
Colonel Philip Green was an eco-terrorist active during the 21st century. [ICL] He was responsible for, among other things, the devastation of the city of Ngambri, then called Canberra, in Australia. [ITF]
Phlox syndrome was a medical condition which affected Vulcans. It was a state of plak tow, pon farr, or both, secondary to a xenobacterial infection. As it was not known which xenobacteria could trigger it, the condition was indexed as a syndrome, rather than a monocausal bacterial disease. [ITF]
This is the condition contracted by T’Pol in the Enterprise episode “Bounty”. As Enterprise (NX-01) CMO Dr Phlox was the first Starfleet medical officer to encounter it, it would presumably have had his eponym.
Pikuach nefesh (meaning “watching over a soul” in Hebrew) was a principle of the Jewish faith which said that virtually all commandment obligations were suspended if a human life was at stake. It was part of Jewish theological arguments for transgender acceptance. [IRL] Leonard McCoy referred to it when explaining to Spock why her mother, Amanda Grayson, who was Jewish, would understand her transition. [ITF]
Point Meanjin was a section of the north bank of the Maiwar, in the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth, on which the Meanjin city core, among other things, was located. It was opposite Kangaroo Point.
Point Meanjin as portrayed here is the specific landform referred to by the Yugarabul word Meanjin, as explained above.
Records and Information Security Administration (RAISA) was a department in most Federation commands of starship level and above that handled records and system administration, including information security. [ITF]
RAISA is a reference to the SCP Foundation setting, specifically to a department in the in-universe SCP Foundation with similar competency. It also gave me an excuse not to start this fic with a captain’s log.
A sampler was a piece of medical equipment which allowed a Starfleet medical officer to rapidly analyse blood and tissue samples in the field.
The sampler fulfils the functions of a modern pathology lab. I don’t see McCoy waiting around all day.
Sarek [ICL], more formally known as Sarek cha Skon [ITF], was a Vulcan ambassador. He was the father of Spock.
“Sarek cha Skon” is an invention by me which extends the fanon Vulcan patronymic format used for “Spock cha Sarek” to Sarek and his ICL father Skon.
Montgomery “Scotty” Scott was the chief engineer and one of the transporter control officers of the Federation Constitution-class starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) as of early 2270. As of early 2270, he had the rank of commander. [ICL, ITF]
Only TAS establishes that Scotty has the rank of commander by this point, but it’s not important, as his rank is never mentioned in the actual fic.
The Scroll of Keethera was a book of the Kir’Shara. Its contents were laid out as numbered quatrains. [ITF]
Keethera is an ICL Vulcan word meaning “structure, logic”. The quotation McCoy recognises is one which Spock in Discovery refers to as one of the “first doctrines of logic”. I figured it made sense that the first doctrines of logic would be in the Kir’Shara, so I made up a part of it for them to be in.
The Second American Civil War (ACW II) was a conflict which took place (primarilyITF) within the United States of America during the 21st century. [ICL] It was part of the Crisis of the Twenty-first Century, and the first of the three major conflicts of the active phase of the Eugenics Wars. [ITF]
ACW II is canon as of Strange New Worlds, but Pike just calls it the Second Civil War. However, that’s not very specific, and evidence in the scene makes it clear he’s referring to a second American Civil War.
The Second World War was a conflict which took place on Earth from 1939 through 1945 CE. It was fought by the United Nations (UN; “Allies”) against the Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis (“Axis”). All of the Axis powers would later be recognised as fascists of one kind or another. [IRL]
Shipboard time was the time and date system used by Federation starships to organise and synchronise life onboard. It differed between ships. In early 2270, the shipboard time aboard USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was based on an Earth standard 24-hour day and was synchronised to Earth’s Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) standard. [ITF]
Spock [ICL], fully S’chn T’gai Spock cha Sarek [ICL, ITF], was the command science officer of the Federation starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). [ICL] As of early 2270 CE, she [ITF] had the rank of commander.
The name “S’chn T’gai Spock” comes from the licensed TOS novel Ishmael (1985). The name “Spock cha Sarek” is an existing fanon for which I can’t find a licensed source. I incorporated both because “Spock” is quite clearly a personal name, ICL material calls Sarek “S’chn T’gai Sarek” (suggesting “S’chn T’gai” is a surname), and “cha Sarek” is clearly a patronymic. Personal name, patronymic, plus surname, with personal name plus patronymic as default formal address, has real-world precedent in Russian names.
I transcribed it as “Spock ha Sarek” in this fic because I decided the Vulcan-language character string transliterated as “ch” had an identical sound value to the Hebrew letter heth, which begins C/hanukkah and C/hasidic. I wanted to use the different translation to illustrate cultural difference. The apostrophes are dropped because Starfleet IT simply is not very good.
I decided “Spock” is gender-neutral because it fit nicely with her sister being named Michael. The explanation given in the fic is derived from the fact that, canonically, S—k names are usually (Sarek, Sybok, etc.), but not always (Saavik, etc.), masculine.
The Standard Issue of Clothing and Effects (SICE) was an individualised basic supply package type dispatched by Starfleet to its personnel. [ITF]
The Standard Model was the conventional understanding of physics [IRL] as of the 23rd century. Spock sarcastically referred to it as a metaphor for the Vulcan understanding of all of reality and existence. [ITF]
Starfleet Medical was the medical division of Starfleet. [ICL] It worked with Federation civilian medical services to provide healthcare to both Starfleet personnel and civilians. [ITF]
Starfleet Medical Central at Barrambin was a hospital affiliated with the Starfleet Medical Meanjin Hospital and Health Service precinct. It was located in the District of Barrambin, Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth.
Barrambin Central is implied to be the modern Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
The Starfleet Medical Fiona Bisshop Memorial Clinic was a medical facility affiliated with the Starfleet Medical Meanjin Hospital and Health Service precinct. It was located in the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth, in the area known as the Valley. It was a specialist clinic focusing on phenotypic interventions related to gender.
The Bisshop Clinic is named for Dr Fiona Bisshop, a gender-affirming care provider in Brisbane and former president of the Australian Professional Association for Transgender Health (AusPATH), who is very much alive. I am grateful that she consented to the use of her name in this fic.
Starfleet Medical Meanjin was a colloquial common reference to the Starfleet Medical Meanjin Hospital and Health Service precinct.
Starfleet uniforms came in several variants. Starfleet Medical issued changes of uniform to patients who were at a Starfleet Medical facility long enough to require it. Starfleet Medical outpatient issue uniforms included black pants and a black V-neck with the patient’s regular assignment patch printed on the V-neck.
After her transition, Spock swapped out her previous ordinary standard duty uniform for a skant variant standard duty uniform. [ITF]
Spock should specifically be understood here to be wearing a sciences blue variant of the Type B skant worn by Una and Uhura in Strange New Worlds. I am not a fan of the Type C (TOS) skant at all; I prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist.
Stardate was a standard time and date format used by the United Federation of Planets. [ICL]
I generated stardates for this fic using the TrekGuide TOS formula. As I used multiple different calculators to do it, some of which adjusted for my UTC offset and some of which did not, they may not all be completely accurate.
The Starfleet Model 2233 Mod 4 personal communicator was a communicator issued to Starfleet personnel. It was allocated to Starfleet units and assigned by the quartermasters of those units to their personnel. For security reasons, communicators were not retained while on leave. They were biometrically registered to individual users, but if the individual’s biology underwent significant sharp changes after biometric registration, they might be locked out. [ITF]
The M2233 Mod 4 should just be understood to be the standard TOS communicator, in broad strokes. The communicator looks roughly the same in canon sources from about 2233 through the TOS era. I added the biometric lock and the “leave your communicators behind” thing as a plot device for this fic.
STARFLEET MEDICAL 001 SOL 3 AU 31000 MEANJIN HHS was the internal code used by Starfleet to refer to the Starfleet Medical Meanjin Hospital and Health Service precinct, located in Meanjin, United Earth.
Most of the parts of this code are self-explanatory. “001” refers to Sector 001. “31000” is the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) statistical area code for the City of Brisbane; I assumed the Federation incorporated the ABS wholesale.
Starfleet Medical Protocol 382 was a Starfleet Medical Protocol which dictated the allocation of responsibility for specific medical administrative tasks among Starfleet medical, and Starfleet Medical, personnel.
Systemic phenotypic reconstructive therapy related to gender was a medical term of art relating to medical gender transition procedures available in 2270.
Medical transition in 2270 is implied to differ significantly from modern medical transition in that it can include the implantation of appropriate gonads and gametes, as well as major restructuring of the skeleton, which is how Spock managed to become 16 cm shorter (from Ethan Peck’s height of 185 cm to her height ITF of 169–170 cm). It also does not frame transition as a therapy for some medical condition called “gender dysphoria”. Given Star Trek‘s attitude to eugenics, however, I tend to think it would probably not include flipping sex chromosomes (and you know what? That’s fine).
The Time of Awakening was the period in the 4th century CE when Surak promulgated his logical principles on Vulcan. They became the foundation for later Vulcan thought. [ICL] It is also a euphemistic reference to the Sundering, the Vulcan/Romulan civil war which was what provoked Surak to formulate his principles to begin with. [~ICL]
The UCSF gender service was a specialist centre for healthcare related to gender affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco. [ITF]
Oddly, UC definitely does exist ICL — a licensed work has UCLA getting its ass kicked at softball by Starfleet Academy. I decided UCSF still exists. The UCSF gender service is implied to be either the continuation of or a successor of the currently existing UCSF Center for Excellence in Transgender Health.
The Technical University of Meanjin (TU Meanjin) was a technical university in the Municipality of Greater Meanjin, United Earth. It was located, at least in part, at Point Meanjin.
TU Meanjin is the modern Queensland University of Technology (QUT), renamed because Queensland no longer exists as of the fic and “technical university” sounds more international. TU Meanjin at Point Meanjin is implied to be QUT Gardens Point. From his vantage in the Multuggerah Building, McCoy can likely see C and P Blocks, which would probably be visible from that angle.
Testosterone was a steroid hormone present in both humans and Vulcans. If testosterone levels were too low, it could affect connective tissue integrity.
There is a perception that having levels of other steroids that are too high or levels of testosterone that are too low can aggravate the symptoms of Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS), a well-known connective tissue disorder (CTD). It tallies with my experience, so I assume it is true. Note that I am not a medical professional.
Spock is neurodivergent ICL in a way which suggests that any iteration of Spock would likely be at higher risk of EDS or other CTD. I figured McCoy, as Spock’s PCP, would know this, and thus be keeping an eye on her connective tissue integrity.
The Third World War (WW3) was a conflict which took place on Earth during the 21st century. It ended sometime before 2063 CE with the nuclear annihilation of virtually all combatant party governments. [ICL] It was the climax of the Crisis of the Twenty-first Century, and the third, most significant, and final major conflict of the active phase of the Eugenics Wars. [ITF]
Ensign Mai Duyen Trinh was the chief anthropology and archaeology officer of USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) as of 2270.
Unfortunately, in the licensed works in which she appears, Ensign Trinh dies during 2270.
The Turrbal were a Blak (Indigenous Australian) group who, along with the Jagera, owned the Meanjin area. [IRL]
Vulcanoid was a medical term of art used by human medical practitioners to refer to Vulcans and members of cultures who were almost or completely identical to them for medical purposes, such as Romulans.
The Warp Five Facility dedication speech was a speech given by Zefram Cochrane in 2119 at the dedication of the Warp Five Facility, which eventually produced the engine used for the NX-class, Earth’s first vessels capable of Warp 5, including Enterprise (NX-01), the lead ship of the class. [ICL]
The Warp Five Facility dedication speech’s importance ICL is it contains the static part of the “These are the voyages” monologue, beginning at “… to explore strange new worlds”.
Warrane was a major city located on the Earth continent of Australia.
Warrane is Sydney, which by the TOS era is officially referred to by the Eora placename for Sydney Cove. The name “Warrane” doesn’t seem to be in as much use for Sydney as other Indigenous Australian toponyms are for other Australian major cities, but I haven’t been able to find a stronger alternative.
Weltanschauung was a German-language word meaning approximately “worldview” [IRL].
Yamareen was a hormone present in Vulcans. It regulated the timing and intensity of pon farr.
Incredibly, yamareen is ICL. However, licensed material only says a yamareen pulse in puberty initiates pon farr. This is similar to the role played by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in humans in terms of regulating shorter cycles like menstruation. Consequently, I assumed that yamareen was mechanically and structurally similar to GnRH and could be picked up by GnRH serology testing, and that, in the absence of an authoritative serology test from Vulcan, and without a large enough sample size to develop their own, human practitioners would have had to hack together makeshift yamareen assessment methodologies from existing GnRH testing, hence McCoy’s IT woes.
The Zucker Rule was an international and then interstellar article of medical ethics which functioned to significantly restrict the ability of medical practitioners to sabotage patient care, and the ability of medical researchers to put out politically motivated junk research, based on their bigotry and prejudices. It was named for a 20th- and 21st-century medical practitioner, Kenneth J. Zucker.
The rule is named after Ken Zucker because he is an anti-trans conversion therapist. It should be understood as being specifically intended to prevent another Zucker.
Production notes
“a novel sociogenic psychological contagion of rapid onset” (Chapter 3): Spock is, or perhaps more accurately I am, alluding here to the current junk science diagnostic concept of rapid-onset gender dysphoria, which is being used as a rally point for genocidal transphobia.
“as if the fire was captured in the river itself” (Chapter 3): This is a reference to RiverFire.
“[Cochrane’s] unknown collaborators” (Chapter 3): This is a reference to the crew of the Enterprise-D, who travelled back to assist Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact. By the TOS era ITF, Federation archaeologists and historians have figured out that Cochrane did receive assistance, but they don’t yet know from who, and probably will not know until the loop begins in First Contact.
“From approximately the year 1975 onward” (Chapter 2): What Spock is referring to here is the Dismissal, or the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis which it provoked. The late Gough Whitlam, who was the individual Dismissed, blamed the United States for it in his memoirs, a theory which is not entirely implausible. Real US hegemonic integration of Australia probably began somewhat earlier during the term of Harold Holt. However, it is the Dismissal that I personally am bitter about; also “1975” is a nice round number.
“I … equivocated” (Chapter 3): Not to be all “they said the thing” but yes, this is a callback to the recurring Spock Prime joke that goes:
SOMEONE ELSE: You lied!
SPOCK: I [diplomatic synonym for lying].
“It wasn’t as if this place was guilt-free on the Eugenic front” (Chapter 2): McCoy is aware of, and referring specifically to, the Australian Government’s oppression of Blak Australians, including the Stolen Generations.
“minor sensory overstimulation” (Chapter 3): I am vaguely implying ITF Spock — and therefore necessarily also Spock Prime, of whom she is a branch — is autistic. Vulcans are an obvious canonical allegory for autism, and Spock is canonically neurodivergent (dyslexic). While Vulcans are known for having a high degree of sensory sensitivity, this is not canonically established to be the case with reference to vision, which is what Spock is complaining about.
“It was fortunate for Spock that the senior officers’ preferred social sport was chess and not something like poker” (Chapter 2): Incredibly, this was not intended as a reference to TOS 1×02 “The Corbomite Maneuver” — it was supposed to be a reference to TNG. I’d completely forgotten TOS 1×02 even happened. Half of the apparent continuity references in this fic are just luck.
“Of course I care, Spock. I’d have hoped that was obvious” (Chapter 3): This is a reference to a line in Star Trek Beyond delivered by Spock (Zachary Quinto) to McCoy (Karl Urban): “Of course I care, Leonard. I always assumed my respect for you was clear.”
“Pavel Andreievich” (Chapter 2): McCoy addresses Chekov this way because this is the Russian cultural/linguistic equivalent of saying “Mister Chekov,” and McCoy knows this.
“Permission to speak freely?” (Chapter 3): McCoy’s inner monologue about this is because you are not actually supposed to ask “Permission to speak freely?”. If you have to ask, something is wrong.
“qua” (Chapter 3): Means “in the capacity of being”.