The Rack

The Rack was a Star Trek: The Original Series fan fiction story by J. Emily Vance (a pseudonym for Nancy Kippax, Beverly Volker and April Valentine) published in Contact #4 in 1977. Art has been included on Fanlore with the permission of the publisher or the publisher's heirs.
In the story, Starfleet Command suspects Kirk and Spock of having an affair, and court-martials them. At the end of the story, Kirk attempts suicide.
This story was later reprinted in a collected volume along with its sequel. See The Rack & All the King's Horses, All the King's Men.
==A K/S Response==
According to Joan Verba, the novel-length story was a response to K/S -- the authors wrote the story to show what, in their opinion, would "really" happen if Starfleet suspected, even erroneously, that Kirk and Spock were having an affair.Verba, Joan. Boldly Writing. F T L Pubns, March 26, 2003, pg 45 
"[The story] created quite a stir, for its premise, its characterization, and its ending. The story prompted sequels--both their own ("All the King's Horses, All the King's Men") and unauthorized ones by other fans.
 
As explained in the editorial for the later collected volume, the story was written "to show the danger of rumor--whatever the reason, of bigotry and personal prejudices, especially if they occur in places of authority October 7, 2008 comment by klangley56 on LiveJournal. Accessed October 11, 2008.
From Nancy Kippax: 
==Reactions and Reviews to the Content of the Story Itself==
===Unknown Date===
===1978===
===1990===
 
===1984===
 
==Sequels by the Original Authors==
* "All the King's Horses, All the King's Men," a sequel by the original authors, was published in The Farthest Star #1 in 1978
* "The Rack & All the King's Horses, All the King's Men" is the collected sequel, issued in 1981
* "A Letter" by April Valentine, published in The Farthest Star #1
==Responsefics and Riffs==
* Trial by Mariann Hornlein, an alternate version in (Nexus) #1. In it, Kirk is not dead and Spock decides to face court-martial. One interesting note is that this author contacted the authors of 'The Rack' and gotten permission to write this story, yet nowhere in the zine does it explain this; instead it simply states it is a story written as an alternative version, perhaps leaving less-experienced writers, at the time, with the idea that prior permission was not needed. 
* A Different End by Toni Cardinal-Price. It is an alternative to "The Trial" which in turn is an alternative to "The Rack": Kirk & Spock really are lovers, and after the trial are now safe from invasive speculations. In (Nexus) #1
* A la récherche de l'avenir by Genevieve Lapierre, a very controversial story, written "without permission"
==Controversy Regarding an Unauthorized Sequel==
It is unclear if the story discussed below is "The Trial" or "A Different End," both stories in (Nexus) #1, or another story entirely, OR perhaps even A la récherche de l'avenir.
In 2006, Catalenamara wrote: 
Joan Verba wrote in Boldly Writing: 
In 1980, Leslie Fish commented on unauthorized sequels and "The Rack": 
==Controversy Regarding A la récherche de l'avenir==
A la récherche de l'avenir was a story which caused a lot of discussion about plagiarism, permissions, and shared universes. 
A personal statement was printed in Scuttlebutt #16 in 1979 by Bev Volker, April Valentine, Nancy Kippax regarding to an "unauthorized sequel" to their story: 
A fan, Mary Lou D, commented on "The Rack's" authors' complaints: 
== References ==
Category:Star Trek TOS Fanfiction
Category:1977 Fanfiction‎