Happy Anniversary Star Trek!

In honor of the 46th anniversary of The Original Series, here's a short piece of real person fiction for your reading pleasure, entitled Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited, by Ruth Berman.

Trek actors William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley switch places with their 'real' future counterparts, finding themselves transported off-set and onto the 'real' Enerprise, far in the future. The plot actually reminds be a bit of the movie Galaxy Quest...

I originally read this story in the anthology Star Trek: The New Voyages (released in 1976), which I picked up at a book sale back in 2005. Apparently, this tale has a sister story, which was actually written first and by different authors, entitled (coincidentally) "Visit to a Weird Planet". That story tells us what happens to Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they try to 'play actor' on the plywood Star Trek sets, 300 years in the past. I haven't been able to find that story online anywhere (I think it only appeared in magazine form, and was never officially published), but if anyone has, let me know. I'd really like to read it.

"Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited" has been out for quite a while, so chances are you've read it, but I thought it appropriate for the occasion. Anyway, enjoy, and make sure to check out today's Trek-themed Google Doodle. It's pretty well done :)