Admiral Christopher Pike gets free lunches from the Science Department at Starfleet Academy when seminar season comes around. Undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral researchers come from all over to a renowned symposium held in San Francisco, open to all researchers looking for funding and flaunting their projects. Not to mention, it’s a good time to recruit the many budding scientists eager to join the ranks of S’chn T’gai Spock, Science Officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise. Most would be content with a minor credit on one of Spock’s many publications, or the barest promise of a character reference, without daring to hope for the chance to serve with him on the flagship of the fleet. Though he is a Vulcan, and much is expected of him, he still devotes considerable time to original research.