Frozen sleep in the depths of space! — "Prophet of Peace" was a comic book story published by Gold Key Comics in 1976, the 39th issue of their TOS series. In this story, a scientist and pacifist cryogenically frozen in the 1990s was revived by the crew of the USS Enterprise in the year 2266. He takes a tour of 23rd century Earth and promotes peace.
Description[]
- The man in the orbiting coffin had been out there for centuries! Now Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise were given the honor of restoring life to that legendary figure! But it was a prize that would soon turn to — deadly ashes!
Summary[]
- Captain's log, stardate 18:06.9.
- A historic moment lay just ahead of us within that coffin in space...
While being recorded for posterity, Kirk, Spock, Leonard McCoy and Montgomery Scott don environmental suits and retrieve a 20th century stasis chamber containing Alfred Bleikoff, a Nobel Prize-winning pacifist who contracted an incurable disease. As they break the pod's seal, a discharge of static electricity unexpectedly shocks them. McCoy cures Bleikoff's illness and gets his blood circulating. The man from the 1990s revives, and soon is visited by curious crewmembers eager to learn what he thinks of the 23rd century. Bleikoff asks Kirk if he could see Earth prior to his official reception. Kirk's and Scott's concerns for his safety are drowned out by Nyota Uhura's and Hikaru Sulu's defiant urging to help the man. Their responses surprise Spock, who called them defiant. Scott thought their attitudes were practically mutinous. Kirk relents, and arranges to give Bleikoff a five day secret tour of Earth.
Bleikoff visits Paris, New York City, and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. On their last day, an observant reporter in India recognizes the historical figure, so Kirk holds an impromptu press conference at the Taj Mahal. Bleikoff says people seem chillier now, news that goes viral. At his official reception in the Roman Colosseum, crowds ask how love can be brought back, and the senior officers note that Bleikoff's irresistible charisma has swayed the audience.
- Captain's log, stardate 18:06:9.
- Our assignment — to show the Earth of today to a great man from yesterday is quickly losing its charm!
At Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Bleikoff complains of seeing omnipresent Earth defense screen spheres, but the four officers continue to resist the scientist's charms. At a stadium reception in Mariana City, Bleikoff urges people to get rid of the defense screen, and audiences swoon. That evening, Spock suspects Bleikoff has some mass hypnosis capability, perhaps transmitted through radio waves. Kirk wonders if unknown aliens came upon the stasis chamber and surgically altered Bleikoff as part of an invasion plan. McCoy acknowledges that the static shock they received may have been designed to immunize them from hypnosis.
Bleikoff gains further support in New Chicago, but afterward McCoy arranges for security at O'Hare Rocket Port to require an X-ray examination. Bleikoff angrily refuses, and he is let through without being scanned. The reaction convinces Scott — he believes it would have shown Bleikoff has a mechanical brain. When the transport craft lands in Jerusalem, Bleikoff has Kirk and McCoy detained to keep them from interfering. He then broadcasts a speech worldwide, compelling Humanity to destroy the defense screens in the name of peace, and mobs quickly form to do just that.
The Starfleet officers escape detention, and Kirk slips into the broadcast studio. He confronts Bleikoff with a powerful magnet. Bleikoff collapses within seconds, breaking his global hypnotic spell. Crowds disperse — people are unable to remember what they were doing or why.
References[]
Characters[]
- Abdula • Alfred Bleikoff • Hershkoqitz • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Rajipur • Spock • Montgomery Scott • Sellers • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • unnamed USS Enterprise personnel • unnamed Humans (Stockholm police, protestors, Nobel Prize host, journalist, Earth councilor)
- Referenced only
- Henry David Thoreau • Rip Van Winkle
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Bombay, India • Colosseum (Rome) • Eiffel Tower (Paris) • Great Pyramid (Giza) • Jerusalem • Mariana City (Pacific Ocean) • Mount Everest • Mount Rushmore National Memorial • O'Hare Rocket Port (New Chicago) • Statue of Liberty (New York City) • Stockholm • Taj Mahal (India) • Earth (Sol system)
Races and cultures[]
- Human • Vulcan • unnamed races and cultures (alien reprogrammers, alien journalists)
States and organizations[]
- Earth's government • Federation • Interplanetary Press • Port Inspectors’ Association • Starfleet • Supreme Council of Earth
Science and classification[]
- astronomy • astrophysics • bacterial weapon • computer • cryonics • decontamination • Earth defense screen • environmental suit • glasses • mathematics • nuclear weapon • radio • steri-bath • tractor beam
Ranks and titles[]
- captain • chief engineer • chief medical officer • commander • commanding officer • doctor • first officer • general • helmsman • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • mayor • professor • science officer
Other references[]
- bacteria • blood • brain • captain's log • civilization • donation • electricity • energy • fish • government • hypnosis • magnet • lifeform • log entry • logic • Mount Hebron • Nobel Prize • orchid • philosophy • planet • poetry • politics • police • Prime Directive • quarantine • universe • x-ray • rose • Space News • star • stardate • Starfleet Headquarters • star system • tea • Vulcan orchid
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TOS episode: "Space Seed" – The SS Botany Bay spacecraft launched from Earth in 1996 is discovered. Khan Noonien Singh and his Augments are revived from cryogenic freeze.
- TAS episode: "The Infinite Vulcan" – Eugenics Wars survivor Stavos Keniclius was found to have survived into the 23rd century through a cloning process.
- TNG episode: "The Neutral Zone" – Several individuals were revived who had been cryogenically frozen and shot into Earth orbit in a spacecraft in 1994.
- TOS comic: "Furlough to Fury" – The next Gold Key comic story, which also takes place on 23rd century Earth and Luna.
- TOS comic: "The Voodoo Planet" – The Eiffel Tower and Colosseum were destroyed, along with the Great Sphinx and Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Background[]
- José Delbo contributed to the artwork of this story. (The Unknown Star Trek Artist article at Who Created the Comic Books?).
- The steri-bath used in this story strongly resembled the decontamination chamber aboard NX-class starships. Decontamination was normally handled by the transporter, as explained in TOS episode: "The Naked Time", so it might have been under repair at the time.
23rd century Earth[]
- This story, written in 1976, was noteworthy for being the first time a Star Trek comic was explicitly set entirely on 23rd century Earth. Although it was implied that an earlier story, "The Trial of Captain Kirk", took place in San Francisco, that location was not named in the story. The next story, "Furlough to Fury", was also set on Earth.
- Bleikoff's world tour covered several continents of Earth, including North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as New Chicago on Luna. It also included travel via two distinct transport craft. The transporter was not used in the story.
- The Eiffel Tower and Colosseum visited in this story were destroyed later that same year, on stardate 2417.9, along with the Great Sphinx and Leaning Tower of Pisa, in TOS comic: "The Voodoo Planet".
- The Mariana Trench, a likely site for Mariana City, is a trench in the Pacific Ocean with a maximum depth of 36,200 feet, consistent with the 30,000-foot depth cited in the story. (Mariana Trench article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
- The mountain range seen during Bleikoff's tour was not named, but it probably was Mount Everest in the Himalayas. They were en route to India, with one of the defense screen facilities visible there. As they are "spread around the world at various high points," and Mount Everest is the highest point, it seems a likely spot for a facility.
- The news media on Earth were depicted in a decidedly 20th century manner, with a printed Space News newspaper, TV sets, and a broadcast studio with a large video camera. A reporter jotted down his notes on a pad of paper.
- New Chicago's O'Hare Rocket Port was named similarly to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Both would have been named in honor of World War II United States Navy pilot Edward O'Hare. (Edward O'Hare article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Alfred Bleikoff[]
- Bleikoff appears to look like a combination of Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Einstein.
- The notion of Bleikoff as a Rip Van Winkle-of-Space refers to the 19th century short story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving, in which Van Winkle sleeps through 20 years of history, including the American Revolution. (Rip Van Winkle article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
- Alfred Bleikoff won the Nobel Prize for his theory of the origin of the universe. The Big Bang theory was first proposed by Georges Lemaître in the 1920s. An early version of the Unified Field Theory was first proposed in 1974, two years before this story was written. Bleikoff might have worked on some aspect of that theory. (Big Bang article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
- The real-world Nobel Prize awarded in the category of astrophysics is actually just called the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1995, Martin Lewis Perl won the award. By coincidence, he somewhat resembles Bleikoff. (Nobel Prize in Physics and List of Nobel Prize Winners articles at the Nobel Prize website)
Cryogenics[]
- It was not explicitly stated when Bleikoff won the Nobel Prize, inspired a war to end, fell victim to an incurable disease, or was cryogenically preserved in space, but the elapsed time between these events did not seem that long since he looked the same. McCoy said that Bleikoff's cryogenic capsule "was their first such experiment." A similar cryogenic process was done to several individuals shot into Earth orbit in a spacecraft in 1994, in TNG episode: "The Neutral Zone", so Bleikoff's turn of events would have happened around this time. The war could have been either the Persian Gulf War or the Eugenics War. It's plausible that he won the award in 1990, saw the Persian Gulf War end in 1991, and was put in space by 1994 as the "first major effort in cryonics." It's also plausible that Bleikoff won the award in 1995, saw the Eugenics War end in 1996, then shortly thereafter was put into space, with the first experiment being that of using cryogenics in a coffin-sized capsule rather than a spacecraft. Supporting that possibility, Brand and Chang also participated in a peace movement against the Eugenics War, in TOS comic: "Sceptre of the Sun".
- Other 1990s humans who survived cryogenics in sleeper ships included Khan Noonien Singh, his Augments, and the pacifist group which included Brand and Chang. L.Q. Clemonds, Clare Raymond and Ralph Offenhouse survived cryogenics in a spacecraft. Doctor Stavos Keniclius survived through cloning.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #38: One of Our Captains Is Missing! |
TOS comics (Gold Key) | Next comic: #40: Furlough to Fury |
| Previous story: One of Our Captains Is Missing! |
Stories by: Arnold Drake |
Next story: Furlough to Fury |
| Chronological Order | ||
| Previous adventure: Child's Play |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Voyage of Discovery part 1 |
| Previous comic: Child's Play |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year Two | Next comic: Voyage of Discovery part 1 |
Production history[]
- July 1976
- First published by Gold Key Comics.
- 1977
- Printed in hardcover in Star Trek Annual 1978. (World Distributors Limited)
- June 2004
- Printed in the omnibus The Key Collection, Volume 5. (Checker Book Publishing Group)
- September 2008
- Included on The Complete Comic Book Collection DVD. (Graphic Imaging Technologies)
- 2 August 2018
- Reprinted in Graphic Novel Collection #42. (Eaglemoss Collections)
Translations[]
- 1977
- Dutch: As "De Vredesapostel" in the omnibus Ruimteschip Enterprise Classics Strip-Paperback #1. (De Vrijbuiter)
- 1978
- German: As "Der Prophet des Friedens" in the omnibus Raumschiff Enterprise Comic Taschenbuch #1. (Condor)
- 2007
- Italian: As "Profeta di Pace" in the omnibus The Gold Key Collection, Volume 9. (Free Books)
External links[]
- Prophet of Peace article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Best of Gold Key #21-41 article at The Mugato's Blog.