Am I the master of technology, or is technology the master of me? In 2115, embedded chips, virtual reality, and the threat of extreme weather have led to a market for pod warehouses – businesses that offer a pod-like space that keeps a person’s body alive while the person lives entirely in virtual reality. But not everyone embraces technological advances, and a group of people have adopted the tech of 2005 while isolating themselves using a Faraday cage and a tesseract. Panacea Corp – the world’s most powerful corporation – connects them all through providing the metaverse, the pod warehouses, and the land to the technology resisters. Mariela Stafford, a vice president for Panacea Corp, is demoted after her new boss assigns his avatar to take over her job. Assisted by Amoco, an eccentric polymath who also works for the corporation, she schemes to get rid of the avatar. To delete the avatar, they’ll need to recruit a team to access an eighty-year-old server farm in a remote location—which would be a lot easier to do if the records on the location hadn’t been lost. This ‘earth’ opera—a tale with all the drama, expansiveness, and varied cast of a space opera, but set on earth—will appeal to anyone who’s ever felt out-of-control of technology. Panacea Genesis is book one in the pre-apocalyptic Panacea Trilogy. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PBGW7NN

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Farpoint is an American science-fiction convention held since 1993 in Maryland. The convention is sponsored by the nonprofit Farpoint Foundation, and is fan-run, giving every attendee a VIP experience without the VIP-size price tag. Typical programming includes panel discussions, a competitive masquerade, independent film and fan videos, a dedicated gaming room, an art show and auction, charity auction, interactive live performances and celebrity guest appearances. It is a successor convention to ClipperCon (1984-1989) and OktoberTrek (1990-1992). The next Farpoint will be held on February 25-27, 2022. See less Steven H. Wilson is an author, podcaster, and publisher. He has interviewed Jonathan Frakes and William Campbell for Starlog, written for DC Comics Star Trek classic and Warlord series, and, most recently, served as principal writer and director for Prometheus Radio Theatre and publisher of Firebringer Press. His original science fiction series, The Arbiter Chronicles, currently boasting nineteen full-cast audio dramas and the novel Taken Liberty, has won the Mark Time Silver Award and the Parsec Award for Best Audio Drama (long form). A second Arbiter Chronicles novel, Unfriendly Persuasion, was released in 2012, and a new series of episodes is currently in development. He is also a contributor to Crazy 8 Press’s ReDeus series edited by Bob Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg and Paul Kupperberg. As a podcaster, besides hosting the Prometheus Radio Theatre podcast, Steve has recorded Lester Del Rey’s Badge of Infamy for podiobooks.com, multiple roles in J. Daniel Sawyer’s production of The Antithesis Progression, and Nobilis Reed’s upcoming Geek Love audio anthology. Steve entered SF fandom as a fanzine writer in 1984, and worked on the committees and Shore Leave, Clippercon and OktoberTrek before becoming founding co-chairman of Farpoint. He has now retired from convention organizing to focus on writing and publishing. He and his wife Renee and their two sons live in Elkridge, MD. Marc Okrand is an American linguist. His professional work is in Native American languages, and he is well known as the creator of the Klingon language in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. As a linguist, Okrand worked with Native American languages. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1970. His 1977 doctoral dissertation from the University of California, Berkeley, was on the grammar of Mutsun, an extinct Ohlone language formerly spoken in the coastal areas of north-central California. His dissertation was supervised by pioneering linguist Mary Haas. From 1975 to 1978, he taught undergraduate linguistics courses at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before taking a post-doctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., in 1978. After that, Okrand took a job at the National Captioning Institute, where he worked on the first closed-captioning system for hearing-impaired television viewers. Until his retirement in 2013, Okrand served as one of the directors for Live Captioning at the National Captioning Institute and as President of the board of directors of WSC Avant Bard (formerly the Washington Shakespeare Company) in Arlington, Virginia, which planned to stage "an evening of Shakespeare in Klingon" in 2010. While coordinating closed captioning for the Oscars award show in 1982, Okrand met the producer for the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. His first work was dubbing in Vulcan language dialogue for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, since the actors had already been filmed talking in English. He was then hired by Paramount Pictures to develop the Klingon language and coach the actors using it in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He was later hired for the use of the Romulan and Vulcan languages in the Star Trek film in 2009. He also created Klingon dialogue for that movie, but those scenes were cut.[5] He was involved in Star Trek Into Darkness, but only during post-production. Okrand is the author of three books about Klingon – The Klingon Dictionary (first published 1985, revised enlarged edition 1992), The Klingon Way (1996) and Klingon for the Galactic Traveler (1997), as well as two audio-courses: Conversational Klingon (1992) and Power Klingon (1993). He has also co-authored the libretto of an opera in the Klingon language: ’u’[a], debuting at The Hague in September 2010. He speaks Klingon, but notes that others have attained greater fluency. In 2018 he developed the language for the Kelpien race in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery (first appearing in the third Short Treks episode "The Brightest Star"). In 2001, Okrand created the Atlantean language for the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire, for which he was also used as an early facial model for the protagonist's character design.

You're never too old to make a bad decision. After twenty winters on the road, Tanyth Fairport makes one last pilgrimage in her quest to learn all she can about the herbs and medicinal plants of Korlay before settling down to write her magnum opus. Her journey is interrupted when she decides to help a small village and learns that much of what she knows of the world may not be quite as it seems. Nathan Lowell blends wiccan tradition and shamanistic lore into a fantasy quest for a new - if unlikely - heroine. She learns that the familiar sometimes hides the fantastic and that, even when you think you’ve made your decisions, life doesn’t always agree.

On this episode we discuss the current state of Star Trek, an ending in the Star Trek Lit Verse, struggles with Discovery, and gripe about how back in the good ole' days when Star Trek was episodic. 8^) Oh, and, perhaps a bit late, we reflect on out top scifi moments from 2021.

Our Interview with Joseph C. Wolf, Head writer at Reaper Miniatures. Reaper Miniatures is an American manufacturer of pewter and plastic figurines in the 25–35 mm scale, which include fantasy and science fiction figures. Reaper, based in Denton, Texas, has developed tabletop miniature game systems that may be played with their figures. The Reaper Miniatures mascot is a succubus named Sophie. https://www.facebook.com/ReaperMini https://www.reapermini.com/

On this episode we discuss the Eternals, Tomorrow War, Reminiscence, and Black Widow

Steam Patriots is the story of Felix Ward, a young colonial Mechanician's Apprentice with an unmatched memory for details set in the American Revolution. As British troops storm ashore, Felix discovers information that could change the balance of power in America's war for independence. The entire world changed when Ben Franklin refined the steam engine and ushered in a technological revolution. Now Felix's world is thrown upside down as he's swept into war and must evade the British juggernaut to help the cause for freedom. Steam Patriots #1 is a steampunk alternate history of the American Revolution; full color 24 pages. Steam Patriots #1 is the first of a four issue mini-series.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is set in the Star Trek universe in the year 2380, in which Earth is part of the multi-species United Federation of Planets. The Federation's military and exploration division, Starfleet, operates a fleet of starships that travel the galaxy establishing contact with alien races. Lower Decks focuses on the support crew of one of Starfleet's least important starships. Unlike previous Star Trek series, whose principal characters are typically starship captains or other senior officers, Lower Decks focuses on "lower deckers", low-ranking officers with menial jobs; the captain and other senior staff appear as supporting characters.

It has been seven hundred years since mankind colonized other planets. The powerful ruling class of humans has installed a rigid, color-based social hierarchy where the physically superior Golds at the top rule with an iron fist. Sixteen-year-old Darrow is a Red, a class of workers who toil beneath the surface of Mars mining helium-3 to terraform the planet and make it habitable. He and his wife Eo are captured after entering a forbidden area and are arrested. While she is publicly whipped for her crime, Eo sings a forbidden folk tune as a protest against their virtual enslavement. She is subsequently hanged on the orders of Mars' ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus. Darrow cuts down and buries his wife's body, a crime for which he is also hanged. However, Darrow awakes to find that he has been drugged and delivered into the hands of the Sons of Ares, a terrorist group of Reds who fight against the oppression of the "low Colors". They have adopted the video of Eo's song and execution as a rallying vehicle for their cause. Darrow joins the Sons when he learns that Mars was already terraformed centuries before and that the Reds have been tricked into perpetual servitude and subjugation. Darrow is conscripted to impersonate a Gold and infiltrate the Society to bring it down from within. He is physically transformed by Mickey, a Violet "carver", who gives him the abilities and appearance of a Gold through painful surgeries, treatments and implants. Using a fabricated identity and succeeding at a sort of placement test, Darrow is accepted into the Golds' elite Institute, where he befriends the charismatic Cassius au Bellona and alienates the arrogant Antonia au Severus. Darrow is selected for House Mars by its gruff Proctor, Fitchner. To continue to the next stage, Darrow must complete the Passage, a test in which the 100 newly chosen students in each of the twelve Houses are paired with another house member and tasked to kill each other as a means to eliminate the weaker half. Darrow is forced to murder Cassius' brother Julian to survive, but Cassius can only guess who may have killed him. Each House is assigned a fortress and a scepter, called a standard, to defend within the Institute's confines, with the goal of warring with each other until one House enslaves all others with the standard. Mars fractures into factions: one led jointly by Darrow and Cassius, one by Antonia, one by Titus au Ladros, and the antisocial Sevro going off on his own. To neutralize the violent Titus, who has been raping the female slaves left in Mars' fortress, Darrow manipulates House Minerva, led by the young woman he met briefly upon his arrival at the Institute and whom he has dubbed "Mustang". Mustang and her troops take the Mars fortress and imprison Titus. Sevro helps Darrow escape and capture Minerva's standard, which he trades to reclaim Mars' castle. Darrow takes over as the Primus (leader) of Mars, and Sevro and his group of "Howlers" declare their loyalty to him. Darrow realizes from the captive Titus' manner of speech that he is a fellow Red impersonating a Gold. To maintain his cover, Darrow allows Titus to be executed. Darrow captures Minerva's fortress and defeats their strongman Pax au Telemanus. Before she escapes, Mustang reveals the existence of "the Jackal", the leader of House Pluto who is terrorizing other Houses. Antonia and some of Titus' former followers attempt to overthrow Darrow, but he manages to thwart their plan. Lilath, a messenger from the Jackal, secretly reveals to Cassius that Darrow killed Julian. Cassius challenges Darrow to a duel outside Mars' fortress, severely wounding him and leaving him to die in the snow. Darrow is rescued and nursed back to health by Mustang, who still has Minerva's standard despite losing their fortress. They begin to develop romantic feelings for each other as they flee to avoid discovery by Cassius, now Primus of House Mars. Conquered students are systematically "enslaved" by other Houses, forced by their honor to serve their conquerors. Darrow and Mustang begin to amass an army by recruiting many Oathbreakers, the wandering slaves who have chosen to disobey orders, with Minerva's standard. Darrow prefers that his captured foes swear their allegiance and join him, rather than serve him. Learning from his previous mistakes, he frees these slaves and takes responsibility for their actions to gain their allegiance. He gains the loyalty of the duplicitous Tactus au Rath when he accepts physical punishment on himself after administering the same to Tactus for unruly behavior. Sevro, who has led his team of Howlers to escape from Cassius and has now lost an eye, meets up with Darrow again to join forces. Darrow takes the fortresses of Houses Ceres, Apollo, and Jupiter, enslaving their members until the prisoners prove their loyalty to him. Fitchner reveals to Darrow that the other Proctors have been conspiring to assist the Jackal, who is actually Adrius, the son of ArchGovernor Augustus. Darrow exposes Lucian, a prisoner taken during the surrender of house Jupiter, as the Jackal after impaling his hand and offering him the opportunity to free himself by cutting it off. The Jackal slices off his own hand to escape and when it becomes clear that Darrow has decided not to let him leave, the Jackal murders Pax and escapes with the assistance of Proctor Apollo, the main proctor assisting the Jackal. Enraged by the Proctors' deliberate efforts to hinder his victory, Darrow slays Proctor Apollo, and his army storms Mount Olympus, the floating palace of the Proctors using the flying boots gained from proctor Apollo. With the remaining Proctors subdued with the help of Sevro and the Howlers, Darrow sends Mustang to capture the Jackal, only to find out from Fitchner that she is Virginia au Augustus, the Jackal's twin sister. Darrow expects a betrayal, but she returns to deliver her captive brother, and Darrow wins the exercise. Before he departs, Cassius promises Darrow revenge. With his victory, Darrow is given his choice of a patron to sponsor his future. He accepts the hated ArchGovernor Augustus' offer to serve as one of his lancers, knowing that the powerful man will offer him the greatest opportunities to acquire the power he needs to destroy the Golds.

On this episode of the SciFi Diner Podcast, we discuss the wrap up of WandaVision, Star Trek Strange New Worlds, Justice League World War 2, The Eternals, the Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League, and we remember Cliff Simon.

GREG COX is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels and short stories. He wrote the official movie novelizations of WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, GODZILLA, MAN OF STEEL,THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, DAREDEVIL, GHOST RIDER, DEATH DEFYING ACTS, and the first three UNDERWORLD films, as well the novelizations of four popular DC Comics miniseries, INFINITE CRISIS, 52, COUNTDOWN and FINAL CRISIS. In addition, he has written books and short stories based on such popular series as ALIAS, THE AVENGERS, BATMAN, BUFFY, C.S.I., FARSCAPE, FANTASTIC FOUR, THE 4400, THE GREEN HORNET, IRON MAN, LEVERAGE, THE LIBRARIANS, THE PHANTOM, PLANET OF THE APES, ROSWELL, STAR TREK, TERMINATOR, UNDERWORLD, WAREHOUSE 13, XENA, THE X-FILES, X-MEN and ZORRO. He has received three Scribe Awards from the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. Greg also works as a Consulting Editor for Tor Books, where he has edited such authors as Richard Matheson, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Harry Harrison, Tony Daniel, Rosemary Edghill, Graham Joyce, Keith R. A. DeCandido, S.P. Somtow, Christopher Bennett, R.S. Belcher, and many others. In addition, he has written more jacket and cover copy than he can possibly remember. ("They stood alone against galactic peril . . . !") He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Star Trek: Discovery is the seventh series set in the Star Trek universe. Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, Discovery was originally set roughly a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series, set primarily aboard the starship USS Discovery, before jumping from the 23rd century to the 32nd century. The series was announced by StarTrek.com on 2 November 2015. According to the press release, "The brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966." [1] It is produced by CBS Studios and Secret Hideout; the executive producers are Fuller, Kurtzman, and Heather Kadin. The first series to be developed for the CBS All Access subscription platform, it began airing on 24 September 2017, with a preview broadcast of the premiere episode, "The Vulcan Hello", on the CBS network; the second episode being released on All Access on the same day. In the US, subsequent episodes were released exclusive to CBS All Access. The first season ran for a complete fifteen episodes, being released on successive Sundays, finishing on 11 February 2018, with a mid-season break between November and January. [2] [3] The second season ran for fourteen episodes, between 17 January 2019 and 18 April 2019, again released via CBS All Access, this time on successive Thursdays. Outside the US, the series is available on Netflix, except in Canada, where Space and Z carry the series in English and French, respectively. CBS plans to air the first season of Discovery, beginning on 24 September 2020, exactly three years after "The Vulcan Hello" first aired. [4] Discovery has become the first official Star Trek live-action production the former franchise owner, Paramount Pictures, neither owned nor was involved with on any level. Dayton Ward (born June 7, 1967) is a science fiction author primarily known for his Star Trek novels and short stories, which began with publication in the Strange New Worlds anthology series. He published stories in each of the first three Strange New Worlds volumes[1], making him the first author to render himself ineligible under the rules of that series. As such, future authors who achieved the same feat were said to have earned a "Wardy". In addition, he has written numerous articles in Star Trek Communicator and Star Trek Magazine. He has also published a number of short stories in various magazines and collections. His frequent collaborator on these and other works is fellow author Kevin Dilmore. Ward has been nominated six times for, and has won twice, the Scribe Award from the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. The winning entries were Star Trek: The Next Generation: Armageddon's Arrow, in 2016,[2] and Star Trek: Discovery: Drastic Measures, in 2019.[3] Ward was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. After graduating high school, Ward enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he worked in information systems. He was eventually stationed in Kansas City, Missouri.[1] He served for more than eleven years, before being honorably discharged. He remained in and lives with his family in Kansas City. Ward worked as a software developer and part time writer before becoming a full time writer. He also consults for CBS on Star Trek licensee projects, including publications from Simon & Schuster and IDW Publishing.[1] His stated hobbies include reading, going to movies, and watching football, basketball, or beach volleyball. He is a fan of Canadian rock band Rush, and several of his stories have been named after Rush songs.

Leto Atreides, Duke of Caladan and father of the Muad’Dib. While all know of his fall and the rise of his son, little is known about the quiet ruler of Caladan and his partner Jessica. Or how a Duke of an inconsequential planet earned an emperor’s favor, the ire of House Harkonnen, and set himself on a collision course with his own death. This is the story. Through patience and loyalty, Leto serves the Golden Lion Throne. Where others scheme, the Duke of Caladan acts. But Leto’s powerful enemies are starting to feel that he is rising beyond his station, and House Atreides rises too high. With unseen enemies circling, Leto must decide if the twin burdens of duty and honor are worth the price of his life, family, and love.

Leto Atreides, Duke of Caladan and father of the Muad’Dib. While all know of his fall and the rise of his son, little is known about the quiet ruler of Caladan and his partner Jessica. Or how a Duke of an inconsequential planet earned an emperor’s favor, the ire of House Harkonnen, and set himself on a collision course with his own death. This is the story. Through patience and loyalty, Leto serves the Golden Lion Throne. Where others scheme, the Duke of Caladan acts. But Leto’s powerful enemies are starting to feel that he is rising beyond his station, and House Atreides rises too high. With unseen enemies circling, Leto must decide if the twin burdens of duty and honor are worth the price of his life, family, and love.

On this episode of the SciFi Diner, we look back on our favorite moments of 2020 (yes, there were some good moments amidst the chaos) and we talk about what we are looking forward to in 2021. We also spend a nice amount of time discussing Star Trek: Discovery and The Mandalorian.

Star Trek: Enterprise, titled simply Enterprise for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005, on UPN (see list of Star Trek: Enterprise episodes). The sixth series in the Star Trek franchise, it is a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, set in the 22nd century, a hundred years before the events of The Original Series and just prior to the formation of the United Federation of Planets. It follows the adventures of the Enterprise, Earth's first starship capable of traveling at warp five, as it explores the galaxy and encounters various alien species. Following the culmination of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and with Star Trek: Voyager scheduled to end, UPN asked Braga and Berman to create a new series to continue the franchise. Rather than setting it in the 24th century alongside Deep Space Nine and Voyager, the duo decided to set Enterprise in an earlier period, allowing them to explore new parts of the Star Trek fictional universe. Wanting a more basic, relatable, character-driven series, Berman and Braga concentrated on a core trio of characters: Captain Jonathan Archer (played by Scott Bakula), Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) and Sub-commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock). The show broke with Star Trek convention in several respects. In addition to dropping the Star Trek prefix, Enterprise used the pop-influenced song "Faith of the Heart" (performed by Russell Watson) as its theme. It was filmed on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, California, on the same stages that housed the Star Trek series and films since the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II in the late 1970s. The first two seasons were characterized by stand-alone episodes that explored topics like humanity's early relations with the Vulcan, and first encounters with the Klingon and Andorians, aliens already familiar to the Star Trek franchise. Seeking to attract a wider audience, UPN called for changes for its third season. The series was renamed (from simply Enterprise to Star Trek: Enterprise) and reconceived to focus on action-driven plots and a single, serialized storyline: the crew's mission to prevent the Earth being destroyed by a newly introduced alien species, the Xindi. In 2005, UPN cancelled the series after its fourth season, despite a fan-led campaign to continue it. The cancellation marked the first time in 18 years that no new Star Trek episodes would be produced, the beginning of a hiatus that lasted until the launch of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017.

Charles Dunbar is graduate of Hunter College, CUNY, where he received a BA in Religion and Anthropology and an MA in Cultural Anthropology. His thesis, Pilgrimage, Pageantry and Fan Communities was published in 2011 and focused on anime convention participation, including spending habits, cosplay, demographics, communal behaviour and convention culture. Charles has previously given talks before the Joseph Campbell Foundation, has worked in the music industry as an A&R talent scout and promoter, excavated a Roman Villa in the United Kingdom, studied Irish Literature at Trinity College in Dublin, acted as a teacher and mentor for at-risk students in a charter school, shipped books for a comic shop and had his own weekly radio show for 5 years. These days you can usually find him at a Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts, working diligently on whatever project is currently occupying his time, or traveling the roads of the East Coast to various anime conventions. In addition to his own site, he also has written for the websites Insert Disc and Real Otaku Gamer. He can be reached at charles@studyofanime.com Some random facts: -Charles is an audiophile, with over 2000 albums in his collection. -He loves military history (especially sarcastic military history) and urban exploration. -Loves watching the sun rise, despite not being a morning person. -Charles' favorite animated show of all time is "King of the Hill." Charles' favorite anime are: BECK Mongolian Chop Squad Cowboy Bebop Hell Girl His favorite manga are: Fullmetal Alchemist Chobits Rurouni Kenshin His favorite games are: Persona 3 Final Fantasy IX Chrono Trigger

There’s a flashback to Elena and Gavin making a bold move to defeat Erawan for the time being. Elide is trying to find Aelin and Celaena, for whom Kaltain has sent the mysterious stone. She is struggling, low on food and water. Lorcan spots her and tells what she is by her scent. He wants to question her but watches her first. Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, and Lysandra have traveled to a secret meeting area of Aedion’s. He’s called the lords he trusts to gather for a meeting. The lords want to meet at a different location. Manon is called to a meeting with Vernon and Duke Perrington. Erawan has totally taken over Duke’s body now. He gives Manon orders to attack Rifthold and bring Dorian to him if he survives. Aelin and her crew grudgingly comply and meet the men at the inn. Ren, Murtaugh, Darrow, and several others are there. Darrow is the speaker, is not impressed with her court, and does not accept Aelin as leader of Terrasen. The lords signed a document saying Aelin is not a queen, only a princess. If she defies it, it will be considered an act of war. Aedion says The Bane (his army) will follow her into battle with Erawan. Darrow says The Bane are at the discretion of the lords of Terrasen. He asks her to find him allies, perhaps through marriage to foreign royalty. A messenger arrives with news that the Ironteeth clan is flying to Rifthold to attack. The only one who might be able to make it in time to help is Rowan. Aelin tells him to rescue Dorian, get a boat, and go to Skull’s Bay. Dorian sees the witches approaching on their wyverns. They are sacking the city. Several of them are headed straight for his tower. He fights several witches. Manon enters. She tells him to escape. He now owes her a life debt. Rowan arrives, having flown two full days without food or rest. He’s too late to save Rifthold. He and Dorian leave. Manon killed one Yellowlegs witch and allowed Rowan to kill four others to save Dorian. Lorcan sneaks up on Elide. The human/dog things chase them. They run together since they have a common enemy. They get separated and each fight one separately, Lorcan with his sword and Elide with her mind. They find each other. Lorcan puts Elide over his shoulder, and they make a run for it with his Demi-Fae speed. Manon and her thirteen return to Morath. The three clans conduct a small trial about Dorian’s escape. They decide Manon made mistakes. Her second (Asterin) is sentenced to death. Aelin, Aedion, and Lysandra arrive at the kingdom by the sea, which contains the monument to Brannon. Aelin reveals part of her plan to her companions. They secure passage on a ship. The captain tells them about Maeve’s fleet moving now. Lysandra has suspicions about the gods’ possible role in this and a use for Aelin and Dorian. Aelin, Aedion, and Lysandra defeat Illiyum soldiers at the temple. Aelin burns one of the men from the inside out by merely breathing on him. Aelin brought them to Illiyum and raided the temple at Brannon’s request. He sent a private message to her through the little people of the forest. Aelin asks Brannon’s ghost how to kill Maeve. He doesn’t know. Brannon tells her to find the lock in the stone marshes to sink the wyrdkeys into the door and do away with them forever. Aedion eavesdrops. A troop of men led by an Endovier guard appears. They battle. He says they were sent to show her what’s waiting should they make it to Morath. Erawan is hiding in him and speaks to Aelin. He knows Rowan rescued Dorian. His soldiers are tracking them. Aelin starts burning away the body Erawan is speaking from with her fire magic. He hits her but somehow misses the amulet of orynth in her necklace by a few inches. He might’ve sensed its power had he landed a blow there. It’s the one piece of the puzzle he’s missing to open the doors to the other world and rule. Asterin arrives bloody and beaten to the morning of her execution. Manon’s grandmother is going to allow more beatings from the other clans before the execution. But Manon exercises the power of execution. Her grandmother is furious. She will kill Asterin to spare her the torture. Asterin could tell Manon’s secrets and be free. She remains silent. Asterin whispers where to bury her body. Manon draws her sword. Manon slashes at her grandmother. They fight with their iron nails and teeth. Her grandmother reveals Manon’s father was a Crochan prince. Manon is wounded and ends up intentionally falling over the side of the cliff. Abraxos catches her. They fly off. Two of Manon’s thirteen were waiting on their wyverns in case she got away. They take off, with Yellowlegs witches tailing close behind. They end up losing their followers through narrow rocky passes the Yellowlegs’ wyverns can’t negotiate. Elide and Lorcan arrive in a town and need to try to link up with a traveling group to negotiate the next part of their journey. In a tavern, they find a group in need of money to continue their travel. They will help them pay the tolls if they can perform with them. Rowan and Dorian arrive in Skull’s Bay and go to visit Captain Rolfe. Rolfe tells them what they have recently seen and heard from nearby Morath. Some of his men were captured and changed. Rowan tells Rolfe about Erawan and his plan. They ask Rolfe to join forces with him against Erawan. He doesn’t respond. He calls in two of his men, who are Fae. Rowan knows them, Gavriel (Aedion’s father) and Fenris. They’re not friendly. They’re bloodsworn to Maeve. They ask if Aelin is with them. They tell them Maeve is sending her armada to Ellywe right now. The men argue. Rolfe says he won’t talk to them until the queen arrives. Gavriel admits they’ve been sent by Maeve to kill Lorcan. Rowan asks his former cadre members to fight with him to defeat Erawan. He says it will be a battle talked about for years. And Lorcan will cross paths with them as he’s looking for Aelin. Rowan tells them he knows of Gavriel’s son. Gavriel doesn’t know he had a son. He’s speechless and intrigued. If Maeve hears of Gavriel’s son, the deal is off. Aelin and Aedion are on a ship headed to Skull’s Bay. Lysandra is perched on a high mast in bird form. Manon awakes in a forest. She’s injured. Only Abraxos is with her. One of Erawan’s minions appears across the stream from her. Manon poisons the bloodhound and escapes. Dorian is training (physically and magically) with Rowan as they wait in Skull’s Bay. They wait for news about Aelin or Dorian’s mother and brother, who Erawan wanted to lead Adarlan now that Dorian is gone. Dorian grows tired of waiting for real news. They make a fake letter that tells of big news. Rolfe’s spies see it. Mere hours later they are called to speak to him again. Aelin is in Rolfe’s office. She acts liked Celaena and flirts with Rowan and teases Rolfe. Rolfe commands the Fae to kill her to win his loyalty. Then Aelin introduces the other Aelin. It was Lysandra in disguise. She soon changes into her normal human form. Aelin challenges Rolfe to join them. If he does, she will make him the king of pirates. Gavriel demands to see his son, if he’s there. Aelin refuses to reveal where he is. Aelin, Rowan, and Dorian meet to swap information. Aelin thinks they’ll need the map on Rolfe’s hands. She still needs to convince him to work with them. Elide and Lorcan travel with their caravan, posing as newlyweds to sneak off to continue her descriptions of Morath to him. He asks why she wants to find Aelin. He shares a small piece of information…that Celaena Sardothien is in the employ of Aelin. They are forced to sleep in the same place for the first time on this journey. Lorcan gets water for Elide’s bath and stands guard outside while she bathes. He washes her clothes. His Fae hearing picks up on the moment she takes the necklace off and stows it under the hay mattress. He wonders what she’s been hiding. In exchange for the bath, Elide shares another piece of information with Lorcan. Her Uncle Vernon is a commander at Morath. He locked her in the dungeons. Lorcan asks if she wants him to kill her uncle. She asks what it will cost. He says nothing. Elide tells Lorcan of the breeding experiments and how Vernon was going to use her to see if his bloodline could mix with the Valg’s. Lorcan surmises the explosion was no accident. Elide confirms this but won’t say who did it. Aelin and Rowan talk with Fenris and Gavriel about Maeve, how their bond with her works, and what she might be planning. They don’t trust each other much, so limited information is exchanged. Aedion meets Gavriel at breakfast one morning. He is overcome by anger about what came of his mother when he sees his father. It doesn’t go well. Aedion and Lysandra leave to talk it over. Aedion’s afraid he may have ruined their chance to work with the two Fae. Lysandra assures him this is not the case. Rolfe tells Aelin and Rowan that Morath’s fleet is sailing for Ellywe. Aelin knows it’s in retaliation for what she did at Illiyum. She’s knows he’s striking there because he knows of her love for Nehemia. Aelin asks Rolfe to send his Mycenian fleet to fight with Ellywe. She promises to give him back Illiyum if he complies. A warning bell sounds. Rolfe looks at the maps on his hands, showing the Valg are approaching. Rolfe thinks they are coming because they are searching for Aelin after a surge of power she sent out a few minutes ago. She denies it and gathers her group to leave instead of help in this fight unless Rolfe agrees to her plan. He finally agrees to Aelin’s plan. He wants a lord title. She will only make him a lord of this area and recognize his heirs as such. Dorian knows Aelin lied. Her power surge is what called the Valg to Skull’s Bay. They make plans to save it. Aelin will sail into the fleet’s center. Lysandra shifts into a sea dragon. Aelin and Rowan join their power on the boat. She reaches so deep that she somehow changes into Malla through the wyrdkey. Aelin throws her out of her mind and body. Fenris recuses her from the water. Lysandra fights off sea wyverns. The last one escapes and swims toward Aelin and the men. Lysandra gets a mental message from Aelin to swim away. Three adult sea wyverns are swimming toward her. Aedion kills the last one to save her life. Aedion makes it to her first and promises to marry her someday. She can’t respond because she’s still in her sea dragon form. Aelin and Rowan meet with Rolfe. They discover the cost of the map tattoos was something he didn’t realize he was bargaining with…his mother and sister. Aelin needs to get out of town for just a little while. Rowan follows her. They are intimate on the beach. When the group is assembled together, Elena appears to them. She tells them the lock is in the center of a temple in a marsh. Her mother gave her life to preserve it. Gavin and Elena used it years ago to seal Erawan up (when they claimed they had killed him). Elena also shares who her mother (and thus Aelin’s relative) is…Malla Firebringer. They take off on a ship, headed for the marsh. They see Manon riding toward them on Abraxos. She is unconscious and falls off the wyvern and into the sea. Elide and Lorcan are performing now, fortune telling and sword play. Lorcan’s display is much more popular. They both realize they are attracted to the other. Demons attack their camp looking for Elide. They tell Lorcan her real name. He tells the demon she’s not there. He confronts Elide after the fight is over. They share some truths about their backgrounds. Manon awakes on a ship with Aelin watching over her. Aelin warns her not to run away or hurt anyone. Dorian is there when she wakes up again days later. She tells him how and why her injuries happened and asks him to find her thirteen. Elide and Lorcan go to several taverns for news of Aelin. Some of their carnival companions give them away. Lorcan hears them coming. The two escape on a boat. Lorcan kills the captain, which makes Elide furious. Something triggers Lorcan, and he examines the amulet Aelin gave him. He realizes it’s a fake and roars in anger. He steers the shop towards Ellywe, the best lead they got at the taverns as to where Aelin is. Aelin wakes up on fire. Rowan has to pull her back. He apologizes for panicking that Malla had taken her over again. They are intimate. Dorian goes into Manon’s cabin late in the night. She wants them to trust her enough to unchain her. She wants Dorian, too. He gives her neither. The next day, Dorian asks Aelin to unchain her and let her roam free on the ship. They go down to unchain her. There is an imposter, one of Erawan’s minions sent for Manon. He reveals her as a Crochan queen. Dorian kills him. Manon is furious but rushes up to the deck because they hear more demons landing. They’re attacking the other pirate ships. One of the creatures reveals to Aelin that Erawan knows she has a wyrdkey. Many of them are injured, Fenris the worst. Aelin heals him. Gavriel admits he only left Aedion and his mother at her request. He would’ve rather stayed but loved them enough to leave when she asked him. They are all trying to recover as they continue to travel. Something Fenris says sparks a memory. Aelin asks Manon if some witches can see the future. Manon confirms some of the ancient ones act as oracles. Baba Yellowlegs said something to Aelin before she killed her long ago that Aelin just now understands. She runs away, locks herself in the bathroom, and is sick over and over again. Rowan is worried. Aelin asks him to get Lysandra. Lorcan and Elide stop their journey for supplies. They separate to get different things. Elide is cornered by Uncle Vernon. He takes her to a box to carry her to Morath in. Lorcan sees her grab her uncle’s knife and move to kill herself. He helps her fight her way out instead. They make it back to their ship and continue on. The ship sails by Ellywe, which is burning. Aelin and Rowan try to put the fires out as they sail by. Rowan asks if she’s pregnant. She’s not. That’s not why she fled to the bathroom that night. The group has a day or two journey on foot to get to the marshes. Lorcan and Elide are getting close to the marshes, too. They kiss. Lorcan says they need to run; an army of demons are coming. Manon notices the eye of Elena charm on Aelin’s necklace. She says it has a different meaning to witches. She tells the story of the Crochan wars and the resulting curse on witches. Gavriel and Fenris warn Rowan they think Aelin and Manon have been pushed here together by some unknown force. They think he should take Aelin far away before it’s too late. They tell him who Maeve put in his place: Carin, a cruel male Rowan was never able to train. Aedion questions Aelin’s shows of power and lack of consultation with him and others. Rowan says they have to plan, so the Fae males begin. Aelin wants the first shot at their enemy, so she goes ahead of the others. When Lorcan and Elide arrive, he senses the immensity of Aelin’s power. He throws a magical shield over the two of them. Her power easily overwhelms the demons. Lorcan has never seen anything like it. The lion and white wolf attack Lorcan. Elide jumps in the way. The wolf accidentally latches onto her arm. Fenris and Gavriel can heal her if he takes the shield down. But then they’ll kill him because of Maeve’s order. He drops the shield. Rowan says it will be an act of war against Aelin if they continue their battle with Lorcan. They all comply. Lorcan runs to Elide’s side. Elide gives Aelin the stone from Kaltain. Manon introduces Dorian as the king of Adarlan. Aelin thanks Lorcan for bringing Elide and tells Manon she claims her. Rowan notices a difference in Lorcan. Dorian wonders if the gods guided them all here for a reason. Aelin opens the chest. No lock is inside. It’s ancient mirrors with the eye of Elena on the corner. Manon tells them about witch mirrors’ powers and the witch towers, which use the mirror weapons and could destroy them in a couple of blasts. The Fae males carry the mirror between them. Everyone is exhausted. When they return to the coast, they see 100 ships, Melisande’s fleet. Soldiers are already on shore. Aelin surprises everyone by striding directly toward them. The leader of the troops is Ansel of Briarcliff, who Aelin met years ago in the desert. Ansel brought these ships and warriors at Aelin’s request to repay the life debt she owes her. Ansel and her army from The Wastes sacked Melisande’s army and brought them to Aelin. Aedion and Lysandra want to start a relationship and decide to begin at friendship. They will all sail north tomorrow to protect Terrasen. Ansel says it’s Maeve, not Erawan, who had been setting the fires, trying to make it look like it’s Aelin. Rowan talks about the armies Aelin’s assembled and how he loves it when she surprises him. Dorian visits Manon in her room that same night. Lorcan and Elide talk quietly that night from their hammocks on the deck. Another armada is headed toward them. It’s Maeve. They know she will wait for daylight to ask for Aelin’s surrender so everyone can witness it. After Aelin is asleep, Rowan flies to many of Maeve’s ships one by one to make a request of his cousins aboard. They will each consider it. Dorian takes Aelin and Manon down to the mirror stowed below deck to show them something. He thinks Deanna’s riddle about it suggests that Aelin and Manon can use it to see the future, determine how to defeat Maeve, and use the keys. The two join hands, press them to the mirror, and disappear. Aedion is furious. Rowan says they’ll continue to ready for battle. Maeve sends messengers asking for their surrender. Rowan says the Queen is not on the ship to answer. He asks for safe passage for both fleets as they pass each other. Maeve answers with a barrage of arrows. Aelin and Manon are in the past, seeing Gavin and Elena. They see Elena use the stone in the eye of Elena and know it’s the lock. She used it to seal Erawan in that mountain. She distracted Erawan with Gavin. He’s injured now. She knows the lock can only be used once. Erawan’s minions tell Elena she was foolish to use the blue stone (a small witch mirror) to lock Erawan up. Instead, it was supposed to be used to unite the keys and eventually send them all back home. She says she will give them anything to undo what she’s done, to give someone who’s more prepared someday to end this using the stone for the right purpose. The demons look at Gavin. They say she will have to lead Malla’s bloodline to bleed again and use Malla’s gifts to forge the lock again, with Elena leading them. They will have to give every drop of their life force to do it, to send them home and eternally seal the lock between the worlds. Gavin only heard her words and ask what deal she struck when they are gone. Elena says the deal will be paid in the future. Nehemia, the princess of Ellywe, approaches the chest. Elena greets her. Nehemia thinks she’s there to pay the price to save them. Elena says it’s not her. She says its Malla’s bloodline who must pay. She says it must be two…Dorian and Aelin. She tells her to go north because these two houses will converge there. Elena tells her it’s necessary, but the price will be her life. While Aelin’s gone, the battle ensues. Lysandra fights in her modified sea dragon form, attacking the ships marked by Rowan. Some of Maeve’s ships are flying different flags, silver Whitethorn flags. These ships begin firing on their own fleet. Then Rowan asks his ships to open fire in full. Lorcan notices Maeve isn’t among her ships. He sees her ashore, near where he left Elide with a few guards for safety. Aelin and Manon then see glimpses of what happened afterward: Elena’s fight with her father over what she had done, her choice to live out her life as a mortal with Gavin, and Brannon forging and hiding the three wyrdkeys, labeling them and the room with wyrdmarks, hiding the third and final wyrdkey in Malla’s temple, and then descending into the fiery abyss for eternity. The last Crochan queen helps, too. Elena apologizes that Aelin is the one who must now pay for her mistakes. Aelin realizes Elena saved her that night when she should’ve died years ago so she could die later on. She had enough strength back then, but Elena couldn’t bear to let her die just yet. She revives Aelin and awakes the nearest adult, Arobynn Hamel, to come rescue her. Elena pays for this with her soul. She will not get to spend eternity with her husband or her children. Aelin asks why. Elena wanted her to grow up, be strong, and experience love, even briefly, with the man who had unknowingly been waiting for her for so long in Wendlyn. Elena says the mirror’s power and her power is almost expired, but she will tell them what they need to do and will be with them all the way to the end. Aelin and Manon crash back into the real world. They land near Maeve, who has Elide over her knee. The battle is vicious despite the help from Rowan’s cousins. Manon’s thirteen arrive, with Abraxos leading the way. They are a big help. Maeve reveals that she planned each thing Aelin has recently encountered to deplete her magic. She waited until it was on very low reserve to attack. Fire explodes around them as Aelin attacks Maeve. Lorcan uses the opportunity to kill the guards and rescue Elide. He wants her to run. She doesn’t want to be a coward. Maeve’s darkness lashes at Aelin. Maeve only stands a chance because Aelin’s magic is depleted. Elide begs Manon to help Aelin as Maeve gains the upper hand. Fenris and Gavriel arrive. All of Aelin’s magic is gone. The distant battle is quiet. Maeve tells Manon she’s free to go if she stays out of this fight. Manon agrees. Gavriel begs Maeve to leave Aelin alone and let them return home. Maeve scolds him for not killing Lorcan on sight, as they were ordered to. Gavriel asks her to take his life instead of Aelin’s, but Maeve refuses. Aelin wonders if the offer is to spare Aedion pain. Maeve severs his blood bond with her and takes away his title. Maeve tells Aelin she knew she would lead her to all three wyrdkeys. She saw it all. She saw her mate, Rowan. She knew their children would be powerful enough to rule the world. She knew how to get her to hand over the keys when she was strong enough to get them all. Maeve gave Rowan to his first mate, had her get pregnant, and then killed her while she was with child. She ensured their paths would cross when Aelin was of age. She knew Aelin would give her whatever if she pulled the right strings. Maeve couldn’t believe when they met they were so broken they didn’t recognize each other as mates for a long time. Aelin has known it since the battle with Manon at the temple months ago. She kept it from Rowan since then. She tells Aelin she would’ve had 1,000 years with him and she’s probably five years from settling in her Fae form. Maeve calls for Carin. Maeve says Aelin must come willingly. If she struggles, she’ll bring Elide along with them, too. Maeve orders Lorcan and Fenris to be perfectly still through the blood bond. Aelin surrenders. She gives Elide messages to give to Aedion and Rowan. Maeve makes Aelin bow before her and take off her shirt for Carin to give her ten lashes. She orders Aelin to count each lash. Aelin refuses. Maeve starts the ten lashes over and over again. They hear others approaching, so they stop the beating to leave. The put Aelin in a metal box, chain her with iron chains, and put an iron mask over her face. Aelin slipped the wyrdkeys into Manon’s pocket as she walked past her. Manon knows she needs to get them and Elide far away from Maeve. They carry the box towards Maeve’s boat. Maeve orders Fenris to follow them. Maeve releases Lorcan from the bloodbond and all of his titles and possessions. Maeve’s boat disappears. She has left without the wyrdkeys. Whether she thinks Aelin has them is unclear.

Star Trek: Voyager is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor. It originally aired from January 1995 to May 2001 on UPN, lasting for 172 episodes over seven seasons. The fifth series in the Star Trek franchise, it served as the fourth sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager as it attempts to return home after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. Paramount Pictures commissioned the series following the termination of Star Trek: The Next Generation to accompany the ongoing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. They wanted it to help launch UPN, their newly established network. Berman, Piller, and Taylor devised the series to chronologically overlap with Deep Space Nine and to maintain thematic continuity with elements that had been introduced in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. The complex relationship between Starfleet and ex-Federation colonists known as the Maquis was one such element and a persistent central theme. Voyager was the first Star Trek series to feature a female captain, Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), as the lead character. Berman served as head executive producer in charge of the overall production, assisted by a series of executive producers: Piller, Taylor, Brannon Braga, and Kenneth Biller. Set in a different part of the galaxy from preceding Star Trek shows, Voyager gave the series' writers space to introduce new alien species as recurring characters, namely the Kazon, Vidiians, Hirogen, and Species 8472. During the later seasons, the Borg—a species created for The Next Generation—were introduced as the main antagonists. During Voyager's run, various episode novelizations and tie-in video games were produced; after it ended, various novels continued the series narrative. Keith R.A. DeCandido was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians, which pretty much explains everything. He has written more than 50 novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, comic books, and blog entries, many of them in various media universes, among them Star Trek, Alien, Supernatural, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Marvel Comics, Cars, Farscape, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate, Serenity, Resident Evil, Kung Fu Panda, Doctor Who, Sleepy Hollow, Leverage, Orphan Black, and more. Among his many works of original fiction are the fantasy police procedural series of novels and short stories that started with Dragon Precinct, as well as a series of urban fantasy short stories set in Key West, Florida, many of which are in Ragnarok & Roll: Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet, fiction about cops in a city filled with super heroes, and an urban fantasy series about a nice Jewish boy from the Bronx who hunts monsters, starting with the novel A Furnace Sealed. Keith is also an editor (having supervised several book lines and put together dozens of anthologies), musician (percussionist for the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, the Boogie Knights, and others), pop culture commentator (he writes for both Tor.com and his own Patreon at patreon.com/krad) and a third-degree black belt in Kenshikai karate (he both trains and teaches). He still lives in New York City with various humans and animals.

Zenkaikon was created in 2006 through the merging of two Philadelphia-area events -- Kosaikon, an anime convention held at Villanova University, and Zentrancon, an anime and science fiction convention held on the University of Pennsylvania campus. In 2006, Zenkaikon held its first event at the Valley Forge Scanticon Hotel and Conference Center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Approximately 450 fans attended to attend educational panels, watch anime and science fiction screenings, meet celebrity guests, and participate in video gaming. By 2008, membership had nearly tripled. Having outgrown their previous venue, the staff decided to expand into the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge in 2009. In 2011, the convention grew again, using the combined spaces of both the Valley Forge Convention Center and Scanticon Hotel and Conference Center. In 2012, due to construction at the Valley Forge Convention Center Complex, Zenkaikon held its annual convention at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center complex. In 2013, Zenkaikon moved to the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Frank Herbert’s magnificent Dune saga sprawls across countless planets and tens of millennia. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have written thirteen international bestselling novels set in this epic universe. But the wealth of material leaves many side tales or interesting ideas that can be told, hors d’oeuvres to accompany the exotic main course.Sometimes, a short story is exactly what’s needed.Tales of Dune collects eight of Herbert and Anderson’s Dune short stories, ranging from the period of the Butlerian Jihad, to the time of young Paul Atreides, to a story set during the events of the novel Dune, to the very end of Frank Herbert’s future history. These are the missing pieces in the epic of Dune.

Frank Herbert’s magnificent Dune saga sprawls across countless planets and tens of millennia. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have written thirteen international bestselling novels set in this epic universe. But the wealth of material leaves many side tales or interesting ideas that can be told, hors d’oeuvres to accompany the exotic main course.Sometimes, a short story is exactly what’s needed.Tales of Dune collects eight of Herbert and Anderson’s Dune short stories, ranging from the period of the Butlerian Jihad, to the time of young Paul Atreides, to a story set during the events of the novel Dune, to the very end of Frank Herbert’s future history. These are the missing pieces in the epic of Dune.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. It originally aired from January 1993 to June 1999, in syndication, spanning 176 episodes over seven seasons. The fourth series in the Star Trek franchise, it served as the third sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it is based on the eponymous space station Deep Space Nine, located adjacent to a wormhole connecting Federation territory to the Gamma Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. Following the success of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Paramount Pictures commissioned a new series set in the Star Trek fictional universe. In creating Deep Space Nine, Berman and Piller drew upon plot themes developed in The Next Generation, namely the conflict between two alien species, the Cardassians and the Bajorans. Deep Space Nine was the first Star Trek series to be created without the direct involvement of franchise creator Gene Roddenberry, the first set on a space station rather than a traveling starship and the first to have a person of color—Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks)—as its central character. Changes were made to the series over the course of its seven-year run. For the third season, the starship USS Defiant was introduced to enable more stories away from the space station, while the fourth saw the introduction of Worf (Michael Dorn), originally from The Next Generation, as a main character. The final three seasons dealt with a story arc, that of the war between the Federation and an invasive Gamma Quadrant power, the Dominion. Although not as popular as The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine was critically well received. Following the success of Deep Space Nine, Paramount commissioned Berman and Brannon Braga to produce Star Trek: Voyager, which began in 1995. During Deep Space Nine's run, various episode novelisations and tie-in video games were produced; after the show ended, various novels and comics continued the crew's adventures.

Doug Drexler (born in New York City) is a visual effects artist, designer, sculptor, illustrator, and a makeup artist who has collaborated with such talents as Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Meryl Streep, and Warren Beatty. He began his career in the entertainment industry working for makeup artist Dick Smith on such films as The Hunger and Starman. He has also contributed to Three Men and a Little Lady, The Cotton Club, FX, Manhunter and Dick Tracy. Dick Tracy earned Drexler an Oscar,[1] as well as The British Academy Award[2] and the Saturn Award[3] for his special makeup effects on characters such as Big Boy Caprice (played by Pacino) and Mumbles (played by Hoffman). Two Emmy[4] nominations in the same field followed for three years working on Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he performed such tasks as aging Captain Picard for "The Inner Light". His final make-up job for the series was the Mark Twain makeup worn by Jerry Hardin in the two part episode "Times Arrow" In 1992 Drexler moved over to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as designer, digital artist and effects artist. He continued in that capacity on the subsequent Star Trek films as well as Star Trek: Voyager. In April 2001 Drexler worked as senior Illustrator and CGI designer on the fifth Star Trek series, Enterprise. Following Enterprise, he was hired by Visual Effects Supervisor Gary Hutzel as CG Supervisor on Battlestar Galactica, "Caprica", "Blood and Chrome", and "Defiance". Doug won two Emmy Awards and a Visual Effects Society Award for Galactica. Doug grew up on Long Island and attended Newfield High School. As of 2015, he is also a member of the board of directors for the Hollywood Science Fiction Museum.