| abstract | - In the alternate reality, Scott and McCoy talk about parallel universes. Scott suggests that there are an infinite number of parallel universes. McCoy realizes that that means infinite versions of himself and Scott. Scott agrees and comes up with an idea of a universe in which he is a poet. McCoy dislikes the idea. Scott proceeds to tell a story about a mirror universe that is the polar opposite of the one they live in. Captain's log, stardate 2258.56 Qo'noS. The Klingon homeworld. The day a new reality is born. The war is over. Hundreds of thousands dead on both sides. Entire worlds shattered. Finally it ends here, in the very heart of the enemy. The Terran Empire rules the galaxy alone. It is only logical. In an alternate mirror reality, Spock and Hikaru Sulu kill Chancellor Gorkon. Sulu then informs Spock that Kirk has won Praxis, but is now on Rura Penthe seeking revenge on the Romulan who killed his father. Kirk strangles Nero to death and takes his ship. Scott and McCoy join him on the Narada. Spock does not trust Kirk, but Uhura convinces him that Kirk will not commit treason. Unfortunately, Kirk does, and Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura join him. Kirk insults Spock. Kirk decides he has had enough of Vulcans being equal in status to Humans and destroys the ISS Enterprise. His next target is Vulcan. In the alternate mirror reality, Chekov informs Kirk, who has taken command of the Narada, that the ship's database suggests that the anomaly detected the day Kirk's father died is about to reappear. Kirk decides to intercept whatever comes through the anomaly, as Nero was planning to do. Kirk contacts Senator Pike in San Francisco, telling him that Spock was planning a Vulcan revolt against the Terran Empire and that the ISS Enterprise and Spock were destroyed. Kirk declares his intention to take the Narada to Vulcan to remind the Vulcans that the Terrans are their masters. Pike demands that Kirk return to Earth and not act without orders from the Imperium, but Kirk retorts, "I am the Imperium." At the anomaly coordinates, the Jellyfish emerges from the wormhole; Sulu captures it in the Narada's tractor beam. Spock Prime emerges from the Jellyfish and is taken prisoner. Under interrogation by Kirk, Sulu and Uhura, Spock Prime realizes that this is the mirror universe. He tells Kirk and the others that he comes from an alternate reality where there is no empire, but that he has encountered the Empire's reality before. Kirk asks if the red matter aboard the Jellyfish is a weapon; Spock Prime tells him that it was meant to stop a supernova in his reality. Scotty pages Kirk to tell him that he has figured out how the red matter works. Kirk leaves Spock Prime in Uhura's custody. The Narada arrives at Vulcan and begins to drill into the planet's surface. Spock Prime reflects that he has doomed his world, but is approached by a Vulcan seen in silhouette, who says, "It is not doomed yet." Kirk confronts the Vulcan elders in the katric ark, telling them that Vulcan will be destroyed. Suddenly, the seismic tremors cease. Kirk attempts to contact Scotty, but is answered by Uhura, who has killed Scotty and taken command of the Narada. Spock Prime appears in the katric ark and appeals to the "good man" inside Kirk, without success. As Kirk is about to kill Spock Prime, Spock appears and shoots Kirk dead from behind. Spock expresses regret at the necessity of killing. He contacts Uhura, who asks if he is sure he does not want to rejoin the ship. Spock says that with the alliance of Vulcan and Earth preserved, his place is on Vulcan for now. Aboard the Narada, Sulu, Chekov and McCoy express their willingness to serve under Uhura. McCoy asks how Uhura rescued Spock from the Enterprise before it exploded; she tells him she beamed Spock to the Narada while Kirk was boasting. Uhura prepares to bring the Narada to Earth. This is the end of McCoy's story. In the USS Enterprise lounge in the alternate reality, McCoy sums up Scotty's argument: "You're saying that everything that could possibly happen not only has happened... will happen... but is happening in an infinite number of realities right now, and it's possible to travel between them?" McCoy suggests that this means there is a reality where he is captain of the Enterprise. Scotty retorts, "This is science... not fantasy!"
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