Treknobabble is a continuing series of columns written by uber-Trekkie Reed Farrington in anticipation of the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.

Last Treknobabble, I was attending convention events and hoping to encounter the woman with whom I had made first contact during the first night of the 4-day convention. So far, she was as elusive as Khan in the Mutara Nebula. But I hadn’t given up hope. And now for the exciting conclusion!

I must admit that the title of this series of Treknobabbles concerning my experience at a convention is somewhat misleading, because I’m not going to be saying anything about common convention events such as singing filk songs, watching Star Trek clips edited to pop songs, dressing up for costume contests, entering plastic model competitions, and attending author/celebrity panel discussions. I’m sure I’m overlooking something. But the main events are always the appearances by Star Trek regulars.

This brings me to George Takei’s appearance at the CN Tower, which until very recently was the tallest free-standing, man-made structure in the universe. I haven’t been to many conventions, but I think George Takei has been at every convention I’ve gone to. This is purely coincidence. He has a fascination with architecture, so he always brings this topic up. (He was involved in politics and city planning at one point in his life.) I skipped getting his autograph even though there wasn’t much of a line. I didn’t even say hello. That’s just the way I am. At the time, he was promoting the paperback edition of his autobiography. I think I may have already had an autographed copy of his autobiography that I purchased some time before from a bookstore.

Next up was Gates McFadden, Dr. Crusher from The Next Generation. I can’t remember if her appearance was at the Ontario Science Centre or at the Ontario Place Cinesphere. I think I had to choose between her or James Doohan (Scotty!) who was appearing at the same time at another location. Now for those who have been following my preferences, there might be some bewilderment. True, my favourite of the Star Trek series is the original. And no, I had never seen Mr. Doohan at a convention, even though he’s probably attended more conventions than any other actor. Actually, this was the reason I chose to see Ms. McFadden. Her appearances were more rare. The irony is that Mr. Doohan’s Alzheimer’s became worse shortly after. So I never did get to see Mr. Doohan, and now I never will (unless the space capsule carrying some of his ashes survives another re-entry).

Anyway, Ms. McFadden talked about visiting the troops. I think she was wearing a leotard type outfit as befits her dancing background. Can’t remember what else she talked about. I don’t think she had any interesting Star Trek stories to tell. (The Star Trek actors rarely do.) I do remember lining up for her autograph. To speed things up, we were given a post-it note and told to write the name we wanted the photo personalized to. As we passed the autograph table, an assistant would take our post-it note and put it on the photo and pass it to Ms. McFadden. All I remember saying was “Hi” and “Thanks.” I don’t think Ms. McFadden looked up at me. I think she only paid any attention to children. That was fine with me.

Still no sign of the woman. My last chance to find her was at the screening of Star Trek: First Contact at the Famous Players’ Uptown theatres. The movie was playing on three screens, and the theatres were open to the general public, not just the convention attendees. What were the odds of finding my polished gem among the common people?

It was the evening. Darkness in the streets. Showed my pass at the theatre door. I don’t recall a line-up or crowd. My attention was elsewhere. And there she was. In the lobby. Was she happy to see me? Or disappointed that I had managed to track her down? Or had she been waiting for me? What was she feeling? I needed Counselor Troi to tell me.

Her mother was with her. I thought she didn’t watch Star Trek. I introduced myself. I don’t think she smiled. I wasn’t sure how much English she understood. Communication would be so much easier with a Universal Translator, although I doubted it would have been much help then and there in translating my stuttering.

I think I asked her if she minded if I sat with her and her mother. I can’t remember her response, but I don’t think she rebuffed me. I followed her, allowing her to choose where she liked to sit when watching a movie. Somehow her mom ended up serving as a buffer between her and me. I find that mothers usually like me because I’m courteous, quiet and employed, but I think the mother sensed my physical interest in her daughter and remained somewhat grim.

I offered to buy drinks and popcorn for the three of us. My treat. They politely declined. I went to the concession stand and noticed they had special Star Trek: First Contact cups with Worf’s head as a lid. I thought she might like it, so I bought a drink for her. When I returned to the seats, they had not moved, so that was a good sign. I offered her the drink, saying she could share with her mother. At least the cup would be a souvenir. She gladly took the drink. I felt smooth.

We had some time before the movie to talk. Her mother could speak English well, so I kept her in the conversation rather than ignore her. (She was between us after all.) Talked about non-Star Trek stuff. In our first conversation days ago, she had mentioned working at a radio station. I think I asked her what she wanted to do after she graduated. And then her mother said something which has since been buried in the recesses of my mind. But the implication was clear. She was graduating from high school!

Let’s do the math. I’m currently 45. So in 1996, I was 33. When someone graduates from high school, he or she is normally around 18, I think. That makes a 15 year difference. Isn’t that the approximate difference in age between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise? That’s cool.

Okay, I admit it sounds creepy. I wonder how old she thought I was. Still, this wasn’t going to dissuade me from having someone to talk Star Trek with. I figured I would rationalize this more later.

The movie wasn’t interesting enough to keep me from being distracted by her presence.

I thought we’d have a moment when the movie ended to talk about the movie. And then I could ask her for her phone number if I felt the right vibes. But everyone was filing out of the theatre rather quickly, so she took everyone else’s lead and was up and out of her seat in no time. I did manage to ask her what she thought of the movie. I think she thought it was fantastic.

As we were leaving the doors of the theatre among the tightly packed throng and quickly being separated, I blurted out, “May I call you some time?” I think she said, “Sure.” Neither of us had pen or paper, and the mother wasn’t offering either, so I told her to just tell me and I would memorize the number.

Flash forward some days later. I think I didn’t want to appear too anxious, so I let several days pass. I had written down the memorized number as soon as I had gotten to my car that night. Now it was time to see how faulty my memory was. Or perhaps she had given me some bogus number. Maybe it was her gynecologist’s number. Women can be so mean.

I called the number. Not sure what I would say. Maybe ask her out to dinner and a movie. Maybe invite her over to see my Star Trek collection. Wait, it was too soon for that. An older woman with an Oriental accent answers. This was a good sign. Could be her mom. I ask for her by name. She’s not home. I ask when she’ll be home. The older woman doesn’t know. I say I’ll call back tomorrow.

The next day, I call again. The same older woman answers. This time when I ask for her, the older woman tells me to hold. At least now I know the mom isn’t running interference. The daughter answers and I remind her who I am. I get the impression that she didn’t think I would remember her number. Amidst the small talk, she’s not providing much conversation. Then I get to the point and ask if she’d like to see a movie. A movie of her choice, and dinner beforehand if she’d like. She hesitates. To take some of the pressure off of this sounding like a date, I then say it would be nice to have someone to talk with about Star Trek. She says she’s busy this weekend. I ask about next weekend. She hesitates again. I’m thinking she’s trying to find a nice way to blow me off. And then I remember that having lunch is less intimidating for a woman, so I suggest even a matinee and lunch beforehand as an alternative. She says she thinks she’ll be busy next weekend, too. She doesn’t offer an alternative. I think I can take a hint. So I tell her it was nice talking to her again, and maybe we’ll bump into each other around town.

I haven’t seen or talked to her since. I wonder if she still has the Worf head cup.