Amanda Grayson--biography

A Girl on a Beach

AMANDA JAQUITH GRAYSON was born August 12, 2254, on an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Massachusetts near where the peninsula of Cape Cod once lay before the “Big Shake” of the 21st Century. “AJ,” as she was called in those days, grew up in this sparsely populated region of Atlantic beachfront, the beloved only child of her widowed father, Reese. Her most prized possession was, and would always be, her ever-increasing collection of books in paper volumes.
After graduating from high school in the spring of 2272, AJ began work on a degree in developmental psychology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The following year, having been awarded the Waddington Scholarship, she began her sophomore year at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Truly on her own for the first time in her young life, it was here in the late summer of 2273 that the 19-year-old met the man that she would, in little more than a year, marry—the distinguished Vulcan scientist, Sarek (T’Pirikan).

Faculty Wife

The couple married in 2274, and by January 2275 had relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts where Sarek had secured a position as visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to enable him to remain on Earth. For a number of weeks speculation ran high as to which undergraduate in the Cognitive Sciences program the new professor was married. The mystery was revealed at the School of Science’s annual formal affair when the 20-year-old newlywed appeared in an exotic gown of Vulcan “starlight” gauze.
That spring semester was a glorious one for AJ and her “dear Zar”—Math Department cookouts, the faculty/spouse softball team, and the forging of professional relationships that would last a lifetime. Sometime in the early summer of 2275, Sarek was given the opportunity to apply to the newly forming Vulcan outworld diplomatic corps. Although it would mean relocating to a strange, distant world, AJ insisted that Sarek make the trip back to Vulcan to pursue the possibilities. By that autumn (2275/8867), AJ had packed up the townhouse in Cambridge and left to join her husband on his homeworld. It was the first time in her life that she had been more than a short ride from the Atlantic Ocean.

Young Mother

There were no welcoming arms when it was discovered by his tribespeople that AJ was Sarek’s wife. The new diplomat-in-training moved his wife into one of several (by Vulcan standards) modest homes on a court not far from the desert wasteland itself. AJ (now 21) continued her studies from M.I.T. under the auspices of the Federation University node in ShiKar while Sarek began training for the anticipated diplomatic position. With no one to turn to but each other, the couple settled into a quiet life alone until, in the dark hours of the Lost Days of 8868, nothing short of a miracle happened.
In the seventh month of (Vulcan year) 8869, AJ gave birth to a son whom she and Sarek named Spock. Although the birth was complicated by his unexpected Vulcan physiology, the little boy rallied and thrived. By this time at work on a masters degree, AJ kept careful records of their son’s rapid growth, noting—as did his amazed father—the advanced physical and intellectual development uncharacteristic of Vulcan children of similar age. In 8879, when their son was 10 years of age, AJ (now more commonly called “Amanda” by her husband) accepted a teaching position in the local “first school” as an instructor in the English language until their son withdrew for private tutoring at age 15. Amanda’s graduate work had continued during this period, culminating in a Ph.D. in Cognitive Sciences. Her thesis analyzing Vulcan learning processes and her dissertation comparing developmental milestones in sentient Federation species (mammalia) are widely referenced to this day.

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A Most Distant Blood
LLWELLYN S. MACLEOD
Illustrated by MARY STACY