10 Star Trek Fan Concepts That Became Real
2. Vonda N. McIntyre - The Entropy Effect
This novel by Vonda N. McIntyre was released in 1981 and actually had a large impact on Star Trek canon, though its impact would not be felt until 1991 and 2009 respectively.
The novel deals with the transfer of a dangerous criminal, via the Enterprise. Spock wants to work with this man, Dr Mordreaux, to investigate the rise in entropy in the galaxy. However, one of the novel's main protagonists is not the most famous Vulcan in Starfleet, but rather the helmsman, Hikaru Sulu.
This is the first piece of the novel that has had a lasting impact on Star Trek, for it was in McIntyre's The Entropy Effect that 'Hikaru' was established as the officer's first name. It would not be spoken on-screen until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in 1991. Later in the novel, another similar event takes place.
'Nyota' is stated as Uhura's first name, something that would not be confirmed on-screen until J.J. Abrams' Star Trek in 2009. She was in fact the final member of the main crew of the original Enterprise to receive a first name in visual media, while she actually had her name all the way back in 1981.