"Mind-Sifter" is a Star Trek (TOS) short story by Shirley S. Maiewski, published in the anthology The New Voyages in March 1976.

Summary

Captain Kirk is stranded on 1950s Earth in a mental hospital, having been abducted by Kor, subjected to a Klingon mind sifter, and transported through the Guardian of Forever. Spock is promoted to captain and spends a year looking for Kirk.

References

Characters

Blair (reporter) • Christine Chapel • Pavel Chekov • Fred (20th century) • Guardian of Forever • Jan Hamlin • Josephs • James T. Kirk • Kyle • M'Benga • Leonard McCoy • José Méndez • Kevin Riley • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Thomas (engineer) • Frank Thomas • Nyota Uhura • Leonard Wright

Referenced only

God • Edith Keeler • Kor • Superman

Starships and vehicles

car • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • USS Lexington (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • UFO

Locations

the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant

Earth (Korea) • Talos IV

the galaxy's Beta Quadrant

Omicron Ceti III • Organia • Gateway • Starbase 11 • unnamed "Open Planet"

Races and cultures

Human (Oriental) • Klingon • Organian • Vulcan

States and organizations

Klingon Empire • United Federation of Planets (Starfleet: Starfleet Command) • United States of America (Federal Bureau of Investigation • United States Military Forces: United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy)

Other references

American English • Berthold ray • boatswain's pipe • boot • casserole • coffee • dress • fork • grass • jacket • mind-sifter • Saurian brandy • selector • spoon • straitjacket • subcutaneous transponder • sweater • tape • transporter • turbolift • uniform • water

Chronology

1950s decade

2267

Appendices

Related stories

• DS9 - Strange New Worlds IV short story: "Isolation Ward 4"

Background

• The absence of Captain Kirk from the Enterprise for an entire year, and Spock's temporary promotion and uniform change make this story difficult to reconcile with the timeline later established in canon. One possibility is that the use of the Guardian of Forever caused the reversion of these events from the characters' history, even though they might still carry memories of these events.
• The sections in the 1950s have not been chronologically placed in The Star Trek Fiction Timeline for reasons that can just be assumed. However, in "Voyages of Imagination" the reconcilation of the story within the given canon is left to the reader. This might explain, why the anyway not closer defined timing of those scenes led to their ignoring therein. A corresponding placement does not seem necessary as it would be completely arbitrary within that decade and the corresponding events within the story don't affect any other events or stories anyway.

Connections

Star Trek: The Original Series collected short stories, novellas and short novels
The New Voyages	The New Voyages ("Ni Var" • "Intersection Point" • "The Enchanted Pool" • "Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited" • "The Face on the Barroom Floor" • "The Hunting" • "The Winged Dreamers" • "Mind-Sifter" • "Sonnet from the Vulcan: Omicron Ceti Three") • The New Voyages 2 ("Surprise!" • "Snake Pit!" • "The Patient Parasites" • "In the Maze" • "Cave-In" • "Marginal Existence" • "The Procrustean Petard" • "The Sleeping God" • "Elegy for Charlie" • "Soliloquy")
Star Trek II & III Short Stories	Star Trek II Short Stories ("The Blaze of Glory" • "Under Twin Moons" • "Wild Card" • "The Secret Empire" • "Intelligence Test" • "To Wherever") • Star Trek III Short Stories ("The Azphari Enigma" • "The Jungles of Memory" • "A Vulcan, A Klingon, and an Angel" • "World's End" • "As Old as Forever")
Strange New Worlds	I ("A Private Anecdote" • "The Last Tribble" • "The Lights in the Sky" • "Reflections") • II ("Triptych" • "The Quick and the Dead" • "The First Law of Metaphysics" • "The Hero of My Own Life" • "Doctors Three") • III ("If I Lose Thee..." • "The Aliens Are Coming!" • "Family Matters") • IV ("A Little More Action" • "Prodigal Father" • "Missed" • "Tears for Eternity" • "Countdown" • "First Star I See Tonight" • "Scotty's Song" • "The Name of the Cat") • V ("Disappearance on 21st Street" • "The Trouble with Borg Tribbles" • "Legal Action" • "Yeoman Figgs" • "The Shoulders of Giants") • VI ("Whales Weep Not" • "One Last Adventure" • "Marking Time" • "Ancient History" • "Bum Radish: Five Spins on a Turquoise Reindeer" • "A Piece of the Pie") • VII ("A Test of Character" • "Indomitable" • "Project Blue Book" • "The Trouble With Tribals" • "All Fall Down" • "A Sucker Born" • "Obligations Discharged") • 8 ("Shanghaied" • "Assignment: One" • "Demon" • "Don't Call Me Tiny") • 9 ("Gone Native" • "A Bad Day for Koloth" • "Book of Fulfillment" • "The Smallest Choices") • 10 ("The Smell of Dead Roses" • "The Doomsday Gambit" • "Empty") • 2016 ("Dilithium Is a Girl's Best Friend")
Constellations	"First, Do No Harm" • "The Landing Party" • "Official Record" • "Fracture" • "Chaotic Response" • "As Others See Us" • "See No Evil" • "The Leader" • "Ambition" • "Devices and Desires" • "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" • "Make-Believe"
Star Trek: Explorer	"All That Most Maddens and Torments" • "The Way to Exile" • "Cumulative Damage" • "Explorers of the Storm" • "The Guardian" • "The Trouble with Jones" • "Sundering" • "A Dish Served Cold" • "Forewarned and Three-Armed" • "Working Miracles" • "Cat and Mouse" • "Housewarming" • "Memoriam"• "Chekov's Challenge" • "My Name is Mudd" • "The Lost Noel"
Misc. short stories	"Though Hell Should Bar the Way" • "Conflicting Natures" • "The Avenger" • "Night Whispers" • "Just Another Little Training Cruise" • "Safe Harbors" • "Ill Winds" • "The Greater Good"
Misc. novellas & short novels	"The Business, As Usual, During Altercations" • "The Badlands, Part I" • "One Giant Leap" • "The First Artifact" • "The Sorrows of Empire" • "A Less Perfect Union" • "The Chimes at Midnight"

Timeline

published order
Previous story: The Winged Dreamers	The New Voyages	Next story: Sonnet from the Vulcan: Omicron Ceti Three
Previous story: The Winged Dreamers The New Voyages	TOS short stories	Next story: Sonnet from the Vulcan: Omicron Ceti Three The New Voyages
Previous story: First Star Trek story	Stories by: Shirley S. Maiewski	Next story: Most recent work
chronological order
Previous adventure: As Others See Us Constellations	Pocket Books Timeline	Next adventure: If I Lose Thee... Strange New Worlds III
Previous adventure: As Others See Us Constellations	Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (2264 to 2270)	Next adventure: If I Lose Thee... Strange New Worlds III

Translations

1983

Japanese : 精神探査機, translated by Hiroshi Saito. (Hayakawa Bunko)