Do Comets Dream?
Star Trek The Next Generation
By S P Somtow 

     Captain Picard and his crew have arrived at a new planet called Thanet, to meet with the erratic and colorful Dr Halliday and his genius 12-year-old son Adam. The pair have been living there for the past two years and have made a study of the planet's unique and highly complex culture. Now the world is about to end, as it does every five thousand years and everybody on it will be killed, and their culture will rise again from the ashes. But Picard soon discovers that the "doom" is actually a comet, whose impact will destroy Thanet but which can easily be destroyed. Of course, it is easy for this to be harmlessly averted but as well as the dreaded Prime Directive to consider Deanna discovers that the comet is sentient just before it is about to be shattered. Clearly there is a lot more to Thanet's history than the sacred texts reveal…

     The world of Thanet is well realized, and with its many castes and rituals, it brings to mind classical India. Similar to Genesis Force (also reviewed on this site), this is a tale of a complex society driven by tradition and religious believes and about to be annihilated by a devastating force. It involves star-crossed lovers, moral dilemmas, intricate customs and glimpses into the long-distant past. This is a satisfying and well-rounded tale with an ending that seems a bit of a cop-out in some ways but which is ably written and just the right length. It would have cost a lot to put this one on TV, but it has much of the appeal of a typical Trek episode involving as it does an ethical quandary, exotic aliens, mysteries uncovered and the main Trek characters put through their paces.