Vulcan (Star Trek) Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Vulcans are a humanoid alien race in the the fictional Star Trek universe who reside on the planet Vulcan and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic.Note: most of what follows is based upon canonical references in the various Trek TV series and movies; many other aspects of Vulcan culture have been conjectured by fans over the years, or discussed in non-canon sources such as novels and comic books. Many so-called fanon conjectures conflict with what has been revealed in the various series.
series. Perhaps the best known Vulcan.]]
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2 Culture 3 History 4 Vulcans in Starfleet 5 Language 6 Famous Vulcans 7 Trivia 8 Bibliography 9 External Links |
The main external characteristics that distinguish Vulcans from humans are arched eyebrows and pointed ears, along with a slight greenish skin tint due to their copper-based blood. Vulcans exhibit racial traits, with Vulcans resembling human Caucasians, Negros, and Hispanics known.
Vulcans are contact telepaths. By means of a procedure known as mind-meld, which involves physical contact with a subject (though instances of mind-melds without contact have been seen), it is possible for them to share all their thoughts, experience, memories and knowledge with another individual. Vulcans can perform a mind-meld with members of most other species, most notably humans. Ferengi are one of the few races known to be impervious to the mind meld.
For some reason, the use of the mind meld was taboo for a period of time, perhaps because by the time of Surak, Vulcans were using their telepathic abilities to kill, or because of the apparent transmission of the incurable condition Pan'aar Syndrome between mind-melders. However, following contact with humans, Vulcans eventually came to accept their telepathic abilities. By the mid 23rd century, the mind meld was an accepted part of Vulcan society, and was even used once to rejoin Spock's katra with his healed physical body. Not all Vulcans are genetically capable of initiating a mind-meld.
Many Vulcans are skilled in a self-defense move known as the Vulcan nerve pinch or neck pinch, which targets a precise location overlying the baroreceptors of the carotid sinus at the base of the humanoid neck, instantly rendering the victim unconscious. While practiced mainly by Vulcans, it is not exclusive to their race; for example, Data and Jean-Luc Picard have also mastered the technique, the latter probably acquiring it during his mind-meld with Sarek.
In addition, Vulcans tend to be stronger and longer-lived than humans—Sarek lived just over two centuries and it has been suggested that Vulcans have a life-expectency of at least 250 Earth years. A Vulcan of less than a century in age is still considered young. The strength of Vulcans is often attributed to Vulcan's gravity being significantly greater than Earth's. Due to the strong sunlight on the planet, Vulcans also evolved an inner eyelid which can come down to protect the eyes from particularly strong flashes of light. Vulcans can also tolerate higher temperatures than humans can. In the episode "The Deadly Years" when Spock was affected by rapid aging he noted how cold the ship seemed, and he responded by turning the temperature in his room up to well above 100 °F (38 °C).
Vulcans have a strong sense of smell, and Vulcans serving on Earth vessels initially required medication to lessen the odor of humans (and their ship's canine mascots).
It was initially believed that Vulcans and humans could not mate, however the birth of Mr. Spock to a Vulcan father and a human mother, plus an offspring of T'Pol and Trip Tucker in an alternate timeline, proved that it is possible.
Periodically (every seven years for males, an undisclosed interval for females), Vulcans experience an overpowering mating drive known as pon farr. Once triggered, Vulcans must have sexual contact with someone, preferably their mate, or else face insanity and death. It was originally thought that Vulcans could only mate with Vulcans, but Vorik of Voyager pursued B'Elanna Torres during his pon farr, and T'Pol said she simply needed to mate with someone - anyone. When he experienced pon farr in the Delta Quadrant, Tuvok of Voyager made use of a holodeck simulation of his wife to relieve his condition. Pon farr can also be triggered by infection, as T'Pol discovered during an early voyage of Enterprise NX-01. It is not known for certain when Vulcans first experience pon farr; T'Pol, who was in her 60s when she experienced her premature pon farr told Dr. Phlox that "it wasn't time" but it is not known if this means she had never experienced it previously. It has been suggested that bonding triggers the pon farr cycle. Vulcan males and females are capable of engaging in sexual relations outside of pon farr.
Some Vulcans practice a form of acupressure known as neuropressure, which involves massaging and manipulating muscles and nerve centres on the body in order to relieve stress. Neuropressure is considered an intimate act, as some of the postures involved are pseudo-sexual in nature and can elicit responses similar to sexual arousal. Specialized training is required in order to properly administer neuropressure, otherwise injury to the recipient can result.
Vulcans suppress all emotional influence by living lives of rigid emotional self-control through meditative techniques and training of mental discipline. It is incorrect to say that Vulcans have no emotions; although they themselves make this claim, Vulcans are in fact a very emotional people and have learned to suppress these emotions because of the damage they can cause if unchecked. Some Vulcans, such as T'Pol, Sarek, and Ambassador Soval, carry their emotions close to the surface and are prone to emotional outbursts, even without outside influences or illness.
Vulcans are vegetarians. They do not like to touch their food with their hands, preferring to use utensils whenever possible. It is a Vulcan custom for guests in the home to prepare meals for their hosts. Traditionally, Vulcans place high importance on family, placing the will of their family above their own.
Vulcan males usually have named which begin with 'S' and end with 'k'. Vulcan females usually have names which begin with 'T' and an apostrophe, followed by three letters. However, there are many exceptions to this rule; by the 24th Century, for example, many Vulcan females have adopted the male form of naming, and it is known that as early as the 20th Century (Earth time), Vulcan males used names beginning with other letters (Mestral). (note: Although the practice of using non-S and T' names for Vulcans became commonplace in more recent Star Trek series, the practice actually dates back to when Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was planning the aborted series in the 1970s which would have featured a Vulcan named Xon.)
Vulcans practice arranged marriages, in which a male and a female are usually matched as children, only to officially marry at a later date. Following the marriage, it is customary for the female to remain on Vulcan for at least one Vulcan year before conducting off-world travel (presumably in order to sire offspring), though it is possible for the female to defer this requirement until a later date, upon negotiation with the male's family. The state of pon farr is not required for marriage to occur.
A Vulcan female can challenge the proposed bonding by calling for koon-ut-kalifee (spellings vary), in which a challenger for marriage engages the bonded male in a fight to the death. Alternately, the bonded male has the option of rejecting his intended bride and choosing another.
It is customary for Vulcan children to undertake the kahs-wan ritual (sometimes spelled kaswahn), in which they are left to fend for themselves in the desert. Not all children survive the ordeal. T'Pol of the Enterprise NX-01 underwent the ritual, while Tuvok of Voyager experienced a variation known as the tal'oth. It is also assumed that Mr. Spock also underwent kahs-wan. (''Note: the kahs-wan ritual was introduced in the ' episode "Yesteryear" in which Spock does indeed experience the ordeal. However, the animated series is not considered canon. The ' episode "The Catwalk", in which T'Pol discusses undergoing the ritual, was the first canonical reference.)
It is speculated that a species that was known on Earth as the gods of ancient Rome traveled to ancient Vulcan in antiquity, thus influencing those that would later become Romulans. It is thought that the Vulcans themselves are representative of ancient Greece, in which the intellectual and philosophical connotations are greater upheld than in Rome, supposedly the opposite vein of the same people. In this ideology, the Romulans are the Roman Empire while the Vulcans are the Byzantine Empire.
In about 850 BCE, Vulcans established a monastery on the planet P'Jem.
In about the second century BCE, Vulcans emerged under a philsopher named Surak from their violent tendencies and civil wars. Surak advocated the suppressing of emotion in favor of logic. This period was known as the Great Awakening and almost all of present-day Vulcan philosophy emerged from this period. This lifestyle was not universally accepted, and a portion of society left Vulcan for the stars. These would eventually become known as the Romulans. (Dates for the Great Awakening vary, but Romulans existed as a distinct race as early as 200 CE, so it would have to have been prior to this.)
The Vulcans fought a hundred-year war with the Romulans. (The date for this event is unrevealed, but it was over by 2044.)
In 1930, Spock of Vulcan was one of three Starfleet officers from the 23rd Century who travelled back in time to Chicago, Illinois. To date, this is the earliest confirmed contact between humans and Vulcans, although in the Vulcan timeline it occurred long after First Contact. Spock would also briefly travel to earth c.1968-69 on a mission. (Technically speaking, these two events occurred after the founding of the Federation, but are included here as they constitute pre-First Contact encounters with contemporary humans.)(Episodes: "City on the Edge of Forever" and "Assignment: Earth")
In 1957, the launch of Sputnik I, Earth's first artificial satellite, was observed by a Vulcan vessel that subsequently crashed on the planet, marooning several crewmembers for a number of months; this constituted the first true contact between humans and Vulcans; however it was never recorded as such as the humans were unaware of the alien nature of their guests. One Vulcan, Mestral, chose to stay on Earth; his fate has yet to be revealed.
In 2053 the Vulcans made first contact with the Arkonians.
On April 5, 2063 Vulcans and Humans made official first contact following the successful test of Earth's first warp-powered starship.
In 2097 the Vulcans annexed the Andorian planetoid Weytahn and renamed it Pan Mokar.
In 2105 The Vulcans and Andorians agree a compromise over the planet Weytahn/Pan Mokar. Still, tensions continue due to the threat of mutual annihilation.
In 2151, Subcommander T'Pol joins the crew of the Earth Starfleet vessel Enterprise, within a couple of weeks setting a Vulcan endurance record for serving aboard a human vessel. In 2154, T'Pol becomes a commissioned officer with Starfleet.
On August 12, 2161, Vulcan becomes one of the founding members of the United Federation of Planets.
The first Vulcan to serve in Starfleet was former Subcommander T'Pol, who received the rank of Commander and served aboard Enterprise NX-01 during the mid-22nd Century, following her resignation from the Vulcan High Command.
The best known Vulcan to serve in Starfleet was Mr. Spock, who served aboard the Enterprise NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A under Captain Christopher Pike and Captain James T. Kirk. Spock eventually rose to the rank of Captain, briefly commanding the NCC-1701 when it was used as a training vessel.
There is a misconception that Spock was the first Vulcan to serve in Starfleet (a fact seemingly contradicted by T'Pol's appointment). In fact, an examination of all episodes and films failed to uncover any such reference, though Spock may have been the first to attend Starfleet Academy. During the time of The Original Series, an entire Federation starship of Vulcans, the Intrepid, was destroyed.
The Vulcan spoken language has been heard intermittently throughout the various Star Trek series. Most of the official spoken Vulcan occurred in Spock's kolinahr ceremony in Star Trek The Motion Picture, and a short fourteen word conversation between Spock and Saavik in '. Other words and short phrases have also been heard elsewhere, most notably in '.
A more thorough treatment of the Vulcan language can be found at the Vulcan Language Institute.
The Vulcans appear to have three written languages; two of which which can be used separately or in combination with each other. The most common script on Vulcan is a vertically-written script, having a central staff line on which vertical spirals and horizontal dashes are written, along with dots in various combinations. While no official translations for these symbols exist, it is assumed that the dots and dashes represent consonants and the spirals are the vowels. The script is written in vertical columns from top to bottom, left to right (like Mongolian). The second script written in the same direction consists of swirly curved symbols (like Japanese hiragana). It is assumed that these symbols are also phonetic, perhaps syllabic or consonantal. The first two scripts can be used seperately or in combination with each other. When this is the case, the swirl symbols accompany the staff writing symbols as annotation written to the right of the staff.
A third script consists of rectangular blocks cut into geometric shapes. They have only ever been seen on the hulls of some Vulcan ships and bear no relation to the first two scripts.
Vulcans are also fluent in English, usually speaking it with a American-like accent, though occasionally British and Slavic accents have been heard.
This is an Article on Vulcan (Star Trek). Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Vulcan (Star Trek) Biology & Abilities
Culture
History
Antiquity
The Vulcan race are thought to be the descendents of a colony from Sargon's planet, with settlement of Vulcan occurring in approximately 500,000 BCE At some point, the settlers seem to have lost their technology and reverted to barbarism. Sargon's planet may be remniscient of Akkad or Assyria.Pre-Federation interstellar activity
Vulcan first contact with the Andorian race was promising, but relations soured in time. The threat of mutual annihilation existed as early as the 1950s.Vulcans in Starfleet
Language
Famous Vulcans
Trivia
Bibliography
External Links