The Entropy Effect The Entropy Effect is a Pocket TOS novel , written by Vonda N . McIntyre . The first original novel published by Pocket Books , it was first released in . Summary . A priority message summons the to the mining colony Aleph Prime , interrupting Spock ' s study of a new singularity before he can confirm his findings , which seem to indicate that the Universe has less than a century of life left to it . On Aleph Prime , prosecuting attorney Ian Braithewaite – who finds Spock oddly familiar – claims that no such message was sent ; however , since the ship is now here , he asks Kirk to transport a dangerous prisoner to Rehab Colony Seven . Spock is surprised to learn that the prisoner is the noted scientist Dr Georges Mordreaux , who has been found guilty of murder and experimenting on unwilling subjects . Convinced that there ' s more to the story , Spock orders new security chief Mandala Flynn to have Mordreaux confined to a VIP cabin rather than the detention cells , and to discontinue the regime of drugs that have reduced him to a state of near catatonia . Kirk is reunited with an old flame , Captain Hunter , and Sulu , who has been considering a transfer for some time , applies for and receives a transfer to Hunter ' s ship , the " Aerfen " . Before Sulu leaves , he and Flynn confess their love for each other , but agree that this is the best move for Sulu ' s career . The " Enterprise " sets off for Rehab 7 , but Scotty catches a glimpse of Spock in the transporter room when he should be on the bridge , and Spock refuses to explain the discrepancy . Mordreaux escapes from custody and forces his way onto the bridge , where he injures Braithewaite and shoots both Kirk and Flynn with spiderweb slugs , bullets that choke the Human nervous system with organo - metallic fibers . However , the security detail insists that Mordreaux never left his cabin , and a search turns up no sign of the gun . Kirk is soon brain - dead , and Spock convinces the reluctant Doctor Leonard McCoy to terminate life support ; however , the semi - conscious Braithewaite misinterprets what he ' s seeing . Believing that he saw Spock on Aleph Prime before the " Enterprise " arrived , he becomes convinced that Spock and McCoy are in league with Mordreaux and have deliberately killed Kirk . Spock questions Mordreaux , who reveals that he ' s invented a method of time travel that he used to send his friends into the past , where they felt they could find a better life . His discovery has been suppressed by higher - ups in the Federation who fear its potential as a weapon , and he was framed for murder and his research destroyed . It seems that a future version of Mordreaux is responsible for murdering Kirk , and the present - day version agrees to help Spock construct a time - changer to put matters right on condition that Spock not betray Mordreaux ' s friends . Spock travels back in time , but fails to save Kirk – and he is spotted in the transporter room by Scott , rousing the engineer ' s suspicions when the past version of Spock claims never to have been there . Spock returns to the present , where Braithewaite and Scotty now believe that he and McCoy are conspiring to free Mordreaux . Hunter and Sulu return to the " Enterprise " to help investigate , just as Spock uses the time - changer to go further back – this time to Aleph Prime . McCoy tries to cover for him , but is eventually forced to admit the truth , and despite the lack of evidence , Hunter agrees to give Spock twelve hours in the past when Sulu speaks up on his behalf . Spock bumps into the younger Braithewaite in Aleph Prime , explaining why the prosecutor believed he ' d been there before . He tries to stop Mordreaux from sending the call that summoned the " Enterprise " , but discovers too late that he ' s stunned yet another version of Mordreaux , who had traveled back in time to stop his younger self from committing murder . Mordreaux explains that his experiments have caused the entropy effect that Spock noticed , shortening the Universe ' s life span to less than a century ; the knowledge drove him mad , and he traveled back in time to take his revenge on those who ' d allowed him to live – including Kirk , who helped Spock defend Mordreaux in the timeline in which he was sent to rehabilitation . The older Mordreaux releases Spock from his promise , and Spock goes back one last time to convince the younger Mordreaux not to send his friends back through time in the first place . Mordreaux and his friends are skeptical until the older Mordreaux materializes before their eyes and crumbles to dust , his body finally succumbing to the strain of this dangerous means of time travel . Realizing that his older self found death preferable to living with what he ' d done , the young Mordreaux agrees to abandon his research of his own accord . Spock returns to the present , where he destroys the time - changer and finds that the Universe is now safe , since none of these events ever happened . Memorable quotes . " " Hikaru , let me give you some advice . Nobody will believe in you for you . " " " " I shall endeavor not to return before I leave . " "