Secret of the Vulcan Katra by Savok

[Kheren]

SECRET OF THE VULCAN KATRAby Savok





Savok stacked the irregularly-shaped blocks slowly, letting his mind guide his hands unconsciously. It is a simple exercise, to bring order from chaos and focus the mind.

A structure cannot stand without a foundation.
Logic is the foundation of function.
Function is the essence of control.
I am in control.
I must remain in control.


The keethara blocks fell in a miserable disarray as the sound of laughter in the next room broke his concentration. Humans. All of them no doubt celebrating their academy graduation. The fact that vulcans never celebrate much of anything did little to prevent the slightest tug of loneliness deep inside of Savok. Of course the young academy graduate took this as yet another dismal personal failure.


This is not logical. I can deconstruct this complex. My failure cannot be undone, logic dictates that I accept having succumbed to emotion and improve my mental discipline. Logic also dictates that I require no companionship or other emotional interpersonal relationships. Vulcans do not participate in revelry...


Another burst of joyful noise from his neighbor's dorm room broke his train of thought again. Savok decided to try mathematics instead.


We begin with Von Neumann cardinal assignment.
The mathematical universe begins as an empty set {} because nothing has been defined.
Thus we have the first finite ordinal and cardinal number.
Building on that, next we take the power set of the empty set {{}} to create the second ordinal.
Likewise we construct the third as the powerset of the second, listing all possible subsets. {{}, {{}}}
Thus we define any finite ordinal number X = the power set of (x - 1).
To obtain our first trans-finite number (aleph-not), we take the union of all possible finite ordinals. This set has the same cardinality as all natural and rational numbers.
The power set of this set (aleph-1) may or may not be equivalent to the set of irrational numbers, depending on which axioms we choose.
From these mathematical sets, we define algebraic structures and operators based on the properties of equivalence, reflexivity, and transitivity. From this we can derive relations, mappings, and ultimately functions as a subset of all possible arbitrary mappings between sets.
The next logical step of this mathematical construction is the concept of a limit of some function f(x) as x approaches some number L.


The comm unit beeped once, interrupting Savok's solitude and train of thought. The computer reminded him that it is nearly time for graduation ceremonies. The young Vulcan had spent all night meditating on abstract mathematical logic. The last time this happened he had been running though the principles of locally convex topological vector spaces, which humans call "Banach" spaces.

Savok put on a fresh cadet dress uniform and made for the auditorium, intending to arrive exactly on time. Anything else would be illogical. It was time to face his far less than optimal graduation of 95.8%, having scored less than perfect in more than one benchmark.


Character: A measure of the affective aspects of human consciousness; an abstract conceptual personality dynamic. It is not logical. I do not understand the point of the exercises.


Savok’s request to re-take the exams, or even the entire academy was vehemently denied, as Starfleet has neither the time nor resources to allow a “do over”. There is a war on, thus the front lines have a greater need for fresh personnel. Once again, logic dictates that Savok’s failure should be merely accepted, since there is no possibility for improvement.

There are some rather inconvenient limitations to first order logic. It may only refer to specific objects in a given universe of discourse rather than properties of those objects. Thus every predicate variable may only range over the finite number of elements contained in the predicate.

Thus in order to create a logical predicate that would allow, say the representation of "every set of objects" based on some quantifier, then we need a logic of higher order.

The first function of a higher order of logic, is to allow the creation of a system to categorically describe trans-finite structures. Thus we introduce second-order logic, and formulate a companion axiomatic system that will allow it to detail the infinite sets of sets that we have previously constructed.


The Vulcan's musings were interrupted by the voice of a fellow cadet, a human named Deckard Trent. "Savok, wait up!"

Deckard was a tall young man, with brown hair, green eyes, and a short-trimmed beard. There was no mistaking the look of youth and exuberance that typefies starfleet cadets of this age, "Why did you bail out on our graduation reception last night? You were certainly invited."

"Vulcans do not participate in frivilous revelry." The answer was strictly correct, but the full truth of the matter was somewhat more complicated.

"Is this about your grades again? You did fine, in fact better than I did. Why dwell on that and sulk all night, instead of spending time with friends?" Over the last few weeks, Deckard has frequently displayed an almost preternatural knowledge of the inner workings of Savok's mind.

"I assure you Mr. Trent, that I am incapable of any feelings on the matter. I would also remind you that Vulcans do not form affective personal relationships."

Deckard smiled, knowing that he had the Vulcan, "I know you better than that, and you know exactly why. All we wanted was a chance to thank the person who is responsible for many of us still being here."

Savok shook his head, "Your gratitude in unnecessary. I am a Vulcan. We possess no romantic notions of bravery or heroism. To be absolutely perspicuous, when the plasma conduit ruptured during the fire-fighting exercise, logic alone dictacted that I attempt to rescue my fellow cadets. I do not require much oxygen to breathe. I can tolerate much higher ambient temperatures. I can survive prolonged exposure to hazardous levels of radiation, and my inner eye-lids allowed me to see better in the thick smoke."

"And our mind meld?"

"You had experienced severe cranial trauma, I initiated the meld to keep you conscious and alert until medical help arrived." There had not been any other choice. Savok initiated the meld to bring Deckard back from the brink of unconsciousness. Deckard responded and focused on Savok's calm voice, as their minds temporarily merged. Unfortunately for Savok, that meld had allowed the minute seeds of emotion to flow back into his consciousness unbidden. Since then, the vulcan had to date experienced shame, loneliness, desire, and even an episode of burning hate-filled rage, though he would never admit it. He had assumed that those feelings had been permanently cast out on the hot sands of Vulcan years ago. Savok spends every evening in solitude, dealing with the problem in the traditional vulcan fashion. It may take years to correct the problems introduced by one meld with a comparitively unstable human mind.

"Like it or not Savok, I saw how you really think. In some ways I AM you, and in my opinion, there's hope for you yet, " the human smiled broadly. "Someday when you find a sense of humor, you may even thank me."

"Mr Trent, I find that highly unlikely."

“That’s Deckard to you.” The pair continued their walk to the auditorium, "I heard something really funny last night from a Klingon at the party..."

"Another colorful anecdote I assume?" Savok closed his eyes briefly. The vulcan rarely sees the ironic twist in these stories that makes them 'humorous'.

"Better than that, a joke. So a human walks into a bar with a fuzzy pink animal the size of a fist. Bartender says ‘We don’t server their kind here, you’ll have to take that tribble outside.’”

At times like these, Savok often wonders why humans feel the need for so much superfluous verbal communication. If he didn't know better, he would deduce that humans lack a synaptic connection between their vocal apparatus and prefrontal cerebral cortex.

“So then a vulcan comes in with giant fanged bear, so the bartender says the same thing, ‘We don’t serve their kind here, you’ll have to take your pet sehlat outside.’”

This engineer in particular definitely has a highly developed prefrontal cerebral cortex, in fact he is one of the most brilliant starfleet cadets that Savok has met. His new theories regarding a better warp core intermix formula may someday help create much more efficient engines. Sadly his potential did not translate effectively into academic success. Deckard Trent had an illogical prediliction for abandoning his studies in order to engage in the continual pursuit of human females.

“Finally a klingon walks in with an medium size four-legged canine looking animal, so the bartender says, ‘We don’t serve targs in here Klingon, you’ll have to take your pet outside’. The klingon replied, ‘This isn’t a targ, it’s my mother-in-law!’” The human laughed loudly as they strode into the auditorium, “Oh come on, that was funny. It was even better when K’fang told it.”