Vulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, sometimes referred to as Vulcanians,[1] are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe and media franchise. In the various Star Trek television series and films, they are noted for their attempt to live by logic and reason with as little interference from emotion as possible. Known for their pronounced eyebrows and pointed ears, they originate from the fictional planet Vulcan. In the Star Trek universe, they were the first extraterrestrial species to make contact with humans.
"Vulcans" redirects here. For other uses, see Vulcan.Vulcans
- "The Cage"
- Star Trek: The Original Series
- 1965, unaired
Vulcanians
Beta, Alpha
ShiKahr
Vulcan, Vuhlkansu, High Vulcan
Vulcan philosophy and tradition
The most notable portrayal of a Vulcan character is by actor Leonard Nimoy, who first played the character Mr. Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969). There are 4 aspects of this fictional alien race that have entered the popular culture: (1) "Pointy ears"; (2) The Vulcan salute (hand gesture); (3) The Vulcan nerve pinch and (4) their adherence to logical thinking and severe lacking display of emotion.
Biology[edit]
Physical characteristics[edit]
Vulcans are depicted as similar in appearance to humans, as budget constraints in The Original Series did not allow for elaborate make-up.[3] All Vulcans have arched and upswept eyebrows and pointy ears. White actors portraying Vulcans are given a yellowish hue to their skin.[4] A Vulcan's on-screen blood is green due to copper-based hemocyanin. Vulcans are said to possess an inner eyelid, or nictitating membrane, which protects their vision from bright light, an evolutionary trait developed due to the fictional planet Vulcan being so close to its sun.[5][6] In addition, their heart is located on the right side of the torso, between the ribs and pelvis; as Dr. McCoy once says about Spock after the Vulcan has been shot through the chest: "Lucky his heart's where his liver should be, or he'd be dead now."[7]
Diet[edit]
Vulcans are vegetarians by choice and were omnivores in ages past.[8] It is a Vulcan custom for guests in the home to prepare meals for their hosts.[9]
Vulcans are said to not drink alcohol, though they are often depicted as doing so.[10]
In an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Quark alludes to Vulcans becoming inebriated by ingesting chocolate.[11]
An episode of Star Trek: Voyager mentions that Vulcan coffee is poisonous to humans.
Mating drive[edit]
Every seven years, Vulcan males and females experience an overpowering hormone imbalance known as pon farr. Once triggered, a Vulcan must have sexual intercourse with someone or the chemical imbalance may cause insanity, loss of self-control, and death.[12]
Despite popular opinion, TOS writer and story editor, D. C. Fontana, insists that pon farr is not the only time that Vulcans feel sexual desire or engage in sexual activity:
Psychology[edit]
Emotion[edit]
Vulcans are known as logical beings who have removed emotions from their daily lives. The Vulcan character, Spock, struggles with this throughout the original series as he is half-human. T'Pol states that paranoia and homicidal rage were common on Vulcan before the adoption of Surak's code of emotional control.
Surak's ideas were that all Vulcans should suppress emotions in order for the safety of the species. Before him, Vulcans were dangerously raging, emotional, war-like and religiously fanatical, to the point that it may have threatened the continuation of their society and species. Then, around the 4th century BC, he created a system revolving around these ideas intended to create a peaceful society. Some Vulcans disagreed, unfortunately, causing a war to break out. The two sides separated; causing the emotional ones to become Romulans and the logical ones to become what is referred to as modern-day Vulcans. Vulcans still possess and experience emotions, but make great efforts to keep them from being expressed or controlling their behavior. They occasionally have mental breakdowns.[20] Only those who follow the discipline of kolinahr have completely purged all emotions from their minds. Spock, in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, attempts to achieve kolinahr, but ultimately fails to do so.
Other Vulcans who did not believe in war but still wanted to embrace emotions made different choices. A group of renegade Vulcans who believed in this was encountered in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Fusion", while Spock's half-brother Sybok, seen in the film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, was also fully emotional. An episode of Enterprise titled "E²" featured an elderly T'Pol in an alternative timeline who had embraced emotion and allowed her half-human son, Lorian, to do likewise.
In the 1st pilot episode, "The Cage", Spock showed much more emotion. For the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Number One – Spock's superior officer, who showed little emotion – was removed, and it was decided that Spock would take on those traits.[21]
Vulcan emotions are seemingly more intense than those of humans. In the TNG episode Sarek, Ambassador Sarek warns Captain Picard that "Vulcan emotions are extremely intense; we have learned to suppress them", and that Picard would be overwhelmed by Sarek's unrestrained emotions while the two are linked during a Vulcan mind-meld. Picard does, in fact, have tremendous difficulty controlling himself while experiencing Sarek's emotions during the meld, including the ambassador's suppressed loves and hidden regrets.[18]
Culture[edit]
Language[edit]
Vulcans have their own language in the Star Trek universe. Several words are heard throughout the various television series starting with the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Amok Time". Words and dialogue are heard in the feature films Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.[25][26]
Linguist Marc Okrand is credited for creating the Vulcan spoken language for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. As in most of the films, the actors filmed their lines in English which was later dubbed with the Vulcan translation.[27]
Names[edit]
The treatment of Vulcan names has been erratic throughout Star Trek's production history. Early on, female Vulcans were typically given names beginning with "T" followed by an apostrophe then a "p". The earliest reference to Vulcan names following a set pattern dates back to a May 3, 1966 memo from TOS producer Robert H. Justman to Gene Roddenberry (later reprinted in the book The Making of Star Trek) in which Justman recommended that all Vulcan names begin with "SP" and end with "K", and have exactly five letters. (It is clear from the context of the book, however, that the memo was intended as a joke, as the series of memos ends up discussing the pronunciation of such names as "Spook", "Spilk" and "Spork".)[28]
Only non-canonical sources have provided any Vulcans with family names, which are usually spoken of as defying attempts at both human pronunciation, especially with English-language phonemes, and human typesetting, especially with the characters of the modern Latin alphabet used for the English language. Hence, no canonical source has given any family names to any Vulcan characters, and indeed, every one of the personal names previously mentioned are all officially described as being only Latin-alphabetical and English-phonetic approximations of the real ones. In the TOS episode "This Side of Paradise", Spock is asked if he has another name, to which he replies "You couldn't pronounce it."
Marriage[edit]
Vulcans practice arranged marriage,[29] in which a male and a female are bonded as children, with consummation at a later date. Spock explains that this childhood pairing has no one-for-one human analogue, as it is considered less than a full "marriage", but more than simply a "betrothal". This is why Spock first described T'Pring as his "wife", before later explaining that this was an incorrect approximation. Following adult union, it is customary for the couple to remain on Vulcan for at least one Vulcan year before conducting off-world travel, though it is possible 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-kal-if-fee", meaning "marriage or challenge", in which a challenger for marriage engages the bonded male in a fight to the death. Alternatively, the bonded male has the option of rejecting his intended bride and choosing another. It is acceptable for a male to "release" his mate from marriage (effectively the same as a divorce).[30] It is not established whether females have the same option, and T'Pring stated in "Amok Time" that a koon-ut-kal-if-fee challenge was the only way she could legally divorce Spock.[29]
While most Vulcan marriages are arranged in childhood, adult Vulcans who have no mates may also declare the "koon-ut-so-lik", the ritual Vulcan marriage proposal. As with arranged marriages, the Vulcan being proposed to may accept or challenge the union.
Family[edit]
It is customary for Vulcan children to undertake an initiation ordeal known as the "Kahs-wan" (sometimes spelled Kaswahn), in which they are left to fend for themselves in the desert for a specific period of time. Not all children survive this rite of passage. T'Pol underwent the ritual, while Tuvok experienced a variation known as the "tal'oth". The Kahs-wan was first introduced in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "Yesteryear", in which Spock's experience as a child was detailed.
Contrary to the Vulcan image of expressing no emotion, family bonds can be strong and affectionate just as they are for humans. Tuvok expressed his love for his wife on a few occasions (without actually using the term), Sarek openly expressed affection for both his human wives, and a clear bond of love existed between T'Pol and her mother, T'Les. The bond between Spock and his adopted sister, Michael Burnham, is a central theme of the Star Trek: Discovery second season.
Fighting and self-defense[edit]
In the TOS episode "The Savage Curtain", Surak explains to Kirk Vulcan's history of violence and the turn to peace that saved their civilization. He tells Kirk that he will not fight. Spock says that he has fought, and will fight again, but that he, too, is a "Vulcan, bred to peace."
Homeworld[edit]
The fictional Vulcan homeworld, also named Vulcan, was visited several times in the Star Trek series and feature films. The inhabitants are known as "Vulcans" or "Vulcanians". First seen in the TOS episode "Amok Time", Vulcan, a Class M planet, is an arid world with a thinner atmosphere than Earth. Upon beaming down, McCoy states "Hot as Vulcan, now I understand what that phrase means." In the TOS episode "The Man Trap", while Uhura is attempting to make conversation with Spock, he informs her that Vulcan has no moon.
According to Star Trek canon, the planet orbits 40 Eridani A. The authorized Star Trek book Star Trek: Star Charts[37] and Roddenberry himself[38] give this location. In addition, Commander Tucker's statement in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Home" that Vulcan is "a little over" 16 light years from Earth supports this location, as 40 Eridani A is 16.39 light-years from our own Solar System.[39] The planet's location is confirmed by a map shown in the Star Trek: Discovery episode "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad".
In several non-canon works, Vulcan is also claimed to be located in the triple star system 40 Eridani, less than 17 light-years from Earth.[37][38]
The Star Trek: Discovery episode "Unification III" reveals that after the Vulcans reunified with their ancient cousins, the Romulans, the Vulcan homeworld was renamed Ni'Var. Ni'Var had seceded from the Federation (due to the apocalyptic event known as The Burn); in the later episode "All Is Possible", Ni'Var rejoins the Federation.
In the 2009 film Star Trek, an alternate timeline is created in which Vulcan is destroyed by Nero, a Romulan renegade. By the time of Star Trek Into Darkness a Vulcan colony had been established named "New Vulcan".