ans worried that Star Trek's geek factor can no longer make it past 10 on the warp chart should check out Star Trek: Paper Universe. This new release from Pocket Books combines Gene Roddenberry's beloved science fiction series with, of all things, the ancient Japanese art of origami.
The book’s stated premise is simple--video games promise to transport players to strange new worlds, but they don’t deliver. So author Andrew Pang offers to help readers create those worlds in "real" life with ships made of carefully folded paper.
Pang is certainly the right guy for the job. He’s a 20-year-old origami enthusiast who is also a self-professed Star Trek fanatic. To help readers combine those two hobbies, he first introduces them to the 13 traditional origami techniques for folding paper, as well as two methods he created. After readers have a chance to familiarize themselves with the basics, Pang walks them through the creation of 16 different starships, including the original Enterprise, the Enterprise E, the Defiant, a Klingon Bird of Prey, a Cardassian Galor-class warship, and even a Jem’Hadar Attack Ship.
Making each ship involves following step-by-step directions that consist of simple illustrations combined with a smattering of descriptive text. Each graphic uses standard origami symbols to show readers where to fold their paper, or when a gentle tug or push is needed. Each ship requires 50-60 folds, and some need multiple pieces of paper ("official" origami involves only one sheet of paper). The book comes with 10 sheets of colored paper to get readers started, and the author makes recommendations about what sorts of materials can make the models look even more "starship-like."
Hours instead of minutes
At first glance, origami and science fiction seem to make a strange, even bizarre, combination. But SF fans should remember that Rick Deckard’s colleague in Blade Runner spent a considerable amount of time crafting all kinds of things from paper, including swans and a certain all-important unicorn. So if origami is cool enough for one of the best SF movies ever made, it should be cool enough for Star Trek. Ahem.
Okay, maybe that's a weak argument. And, truth be told, it is more than a little weird to craft an armada of starships from a few sheets of paper.
But it's also kind of fun. The actual process of building the ships is an equal mix of satisfaction and frustration. The problem lies mostly with the illustrations, which are detailed but difficult to understand (especially when it comes to conveying perspective).
The back cover of Star Trek: Paper Universe claims that readers can "create and command a fleet of starships in just minutes," but realistically it will take at least an hour--and probably two--to build one of the ships. It would have helped if the book--targeted at origami newbies--came with a CD or had a related Web site that included QuickTime movies showing how to do the folds.
The end result is worth the effort, though. The ships look surprisingly realistic, and as Pang says, they will make excellent additions to the office Christmas tree. It's doubtful that Star Trek: Paper Universe will inspire many people to take up origami as a serious hobby, but the book makes a good rainy-Saturday-afternoon diversion for those looking to take their Star Trek obsession to the next level.
