Title: What's in a Name?

Author: Saavant

Contact: saavaant @ yahoo . com

Series: TOS

Rating: [All Audiences]

Codes: Saavik

Part: 1/1

Summary: Saavant has too much time on her hands.

Archive: Fine with me.

Disclaimer: Saavik belongs to Paramount/Viacom. I thank them for the nonprofit use of their ideas.

***

Sometimes, when a fan fiction writer spends too much time at the computer, the characters of her favorite show start appearing and having conversations with her. I've seen stories written about this, and apparently it was happening to me now. Saavik was standing next to my desk with her arms folded, foot tapping in impatience.

"Um, hi," I mumbled. "Do you need something?"

"It is you who appears to be in need of help," she said evenly. "You are loudly broadcasting your emotions, one of which is an extreme curiosity about a piece of information I happen to have."

"Oh," I said. "You mean..."

"Yes, the information about my name. Ask your question, and I shall attempt to answer it. I would rather get this whole business done with than stand here listening to you wondering all day."

I took a deep breath.

"Well," I began, "a lot of us, actually, are wondering what the 'kam' ending means. We only heard it once, in The Wrath of Khan... when Spock talked to you about Kirk. He called you Saavikam... or Saavik-kam... see, we don't even know how it's spelled."

"Yes," she replied, "I have noticed various spellings in different works of pro fiction and fan fiction. I have also seen varied interpretations of the meaning."

"Yeah. One of the main theories is that it's a diminutive form, or an endearment. But I somehow have trouble believing that-- you see, when we hear it in the movie, it's in Vulcan with English subtitles, and the subtitle translates it as 'Saavik,' not 'little Saavik' or 'Saavik honey.'"

"Indeed." She raised an eyebrow, looking at me expectantly.

"And if 'kam' does mean 'little,' then what does the name mean all together? They say 'Saavik' means 'little cat.' Assuming, for example, that 'Saav' means 'cat' and 'ik' is a diminutive ending, then adding another diminutive would make something like 'Little Tiny Cat' or 'Little Kitten.' Is that really what Spock calls you?"

"What do you think?" she inquired, her eyebrow rising yet farther.

"I don't know! I think maybe 'Saavikam' is just the Vulcan way of saying 'Saavik.' But in that case, why change the name when you speak English... why not just go by 'Saavikam'? And in The Search For Spock, when you told the young Spock in Vulcan what your name was, you didn't say 'Saavikam,' you said 'Saavik.'"

"That is true."

"So what's the deal? Is it a form of address? I think that's what they said in the novelization of The Search For Spock."

Saavik clasped her hands behind her back and took a few steps closer to me. "It is not," she finally answered. "It is a website."

"What?"

"It is not spelled 'Saavikam' or 'Saavik-kam," but 'saavik . com' ...it is my personal domain, and 'littlecat @ saavik . com' is my personal email address. Spock and I communicate a great deal by email, and it has come to be something of a custom between us simply to call each other by our email addresses or domain names when we are speaking privately."

I stared at her.

"Really?" I finally managed to say.

"Indeed. And now that I have answered your question, I hope you will excuse me; I have an online chat scheduled with 'hybrid @ spock . net.'"

She disappeared.

I sat there staring blankly at the computer screen for a few moments. Then I started up my browser and typed in 'saavik . com.' I got a freeware solitaire site.

I had *really* been spending too much time at the computer...

***

 

 

END

 

 

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