Vulcans

[Jeff T]

Vulcan

A humanoid race, with copper-based blood, slightly green-tinted complexion and notably pointed ears, they are responsible in a large part for the founding of the Federation. Over the centuries, Vulcans have developed a culture dedicated to the complete mastery of logic, learning to suppress their once-violent emotions in nearly every aspect of their existence.


Physiology

Vulcans are generally a tall, thin people, falling in the upper average height range for humanoid/vulcanoid species. Adult males average between 6'-6'7" (1.8-2.0 m) in height, adult females 5'7"-6' (1.7-1.8 m). Weight is commensurate with height and build, although Vulcans weigh slightly more than expected due to tissue density. Muscle density and strong attachment to the skeletal structure make Vulcans much stronger for their size than most humanoids. Vulcans display a natural ability in many athletic events and martial arts. Their tall, thin body structure also aids in the dispersion of heat, the same as that of the similar body structure found in desert-dwelling aborigines on many worlds, including Earth.


Blood

The blood of vulcans is made up of hemoglobin based on copper. This copper-based blood is most obvious from its green color, which also tints the tissues of Vulcans greenish, much like the iron-rich red blood of many other races tints their tissues a pinkish or reddish color. Having copper-based blood aids in the utilization of oxygen under the low atmospheric pressure and low oxygen conditions on Vulcan. The Vulcan blood cells have a double-convex form, which in addition to helping to maximize oxygenation, also aids in cooling each blood cell, the blood stream, and ultimately the entire body. A lot of the waste heat conducted by blood cells is transferred into the lungs during respiration, thus making the exhaled breath of Vulcans fairly hot under most conditions, especially during exertion.


Senses

Vulcan vision is more acute in bright light but not as good as Human eyesight to adapt to darkness, a direct result of their homeworld's thinner atmosphere and brightness of their sky, even at night. The same higher ambient luminosity however has evolved in the native lifeforms, including the Vulcanoids, a second inner transluscent eyelid protecting the eyes from dust and sudden illumination and glare, even those that could cause blindness in most other species.

The hearing of the Vulcans is very acute under most conditions. While the Vulcan low frequency hearing range is nearly identical to humans, their high frequency hearing range is significantly higher.

Because of their evolution in a hot, arid environment, though, the nose of the Vulcans has become highly adapted to filtering dust and sand from the air during inhalation, and minimizing moisture loss during exhalation. Because the sinus spaces of the Vulcans contain moisture-reclaiming cells in place of what would be a large number of olfactory cells in other beings.


Skin

The epidermis of Vulcans is a twin-featured moisture-proof barrier to prevent dehydration. Vulcans lack sweat glands as an evolutionary development to conserve moisture in an extremely hot, arid climate. Excess heat is drawn away by the blood to be exhaled or stored and radiated from the skin when external temperatures are lower.

This is why Vulcans have a very warm breath and their skin is almost hot to the touch under most conditions. Another difference in the skin of Vulcans is the fact that, even though the skin does not give off moisture, it can directly absorb moisture from the surroundings if there is any. In prehistoric times, Vulcans would stand in rare fog or rainfalls nude to maximize absorption of precious water that the body then stored. This technique is taught to the present day as a survival tool.


Brain

A normal Vulcan brain is about 1600 cc in size, practically identical to that of humans. The olfactory center of the Vulcan brain is smaller due to function, while the Vulcan mid-brain is somewhat larger and more convoluted than that of a human, explaining the telepathic powers all Vulcans possess to one degree or another.


Heart

The Vulcan heart is located approximately where one would expect to find the liver in most humanoids. It is believed that the Vulcan heart was displaced to allow additional space for the lungs which, by necessity, are somewhat larger in order to extract sufficient oxygen from a thin atmosphere. In order to protect the heart region, cartilaginous ribs extend lower on the torso of a Vulcan. The adult Vulcan heart rate is approximately 240 beats per minute and normal blood pressure is 80/40, both far from the norm of most humanoids. The Vulcan heart is larger than humanoid/vulcanoid average for body size due to the increased workload of the heart in not only circulating blood to feed the tissues and remove wastes, but also to aid in the cooling of the body.


Liver

The Vulcan liver is much smaller than that of most humanoids because many of the functions it has in other humanoids is done elsewhere in the Vulcan body. For example, the Vulcan kidneys not only filter fluids, they filter out and store certain substances. Other parts of the digestive and circulatory systems also have additional functions.


Kidneys & Bladder

In some ways the kidneys of the Vulcan are more important than any other organ, since they manage the body's water retention system. In pre-technical times, kidney disease was the number one medical condition that caused a premature death, whereas cancers or heart disease were the cause in most other humanoids.


Digestion

Because civilized Vulcans have been vegetarians for many centuries, most Vulcans are unable to digest meat products of any kind should a survival situation require it. Most Vulcan first aid or survival kits contain packets of oral enzyme supplements for use in such emergencies. Replicated meat substitutes, based on plant proteins, do not require such supplements.


Reproduction

The Vulcan male can mate at any time, but very rarely choose to do so with their strict personal discipline putting work and responsibilties way ahead of any personal or pleasure pursuit. But the male of the species must imperatively seek out a mate once every 7 years during pon farr or he will die from the emotional and physiological stress of continence too long imposed by the strict cold logic of the Vulcan way of life. Furthermore, when this mate is chosen during childhood by the parents as tradition usually demands, a psychic bond linking them regardless of distance forces that mating to be between them alone, until consumption or rejection by the female during an antique ritual called Koon-ut-ka-lee-fee. Vulcans will not readily discuss this subject with non-Vulcans, as it is a last remnant of their savage, violent past nature they have no choice but to endure as the price for their pure emotionless logic today. However, Federation doctors and biologists have noted this 7-year cycle in all Vulcan animal life to one extent or another. It is believed that Vulcan males remain fertile during their entire adult life.

There are extremely rare cases of Vulcan females experiencing Pon Farr after abnormally deep and closeley repeated mind melds with an affected male; and some Vulcans involved in exceptionally deep space assignments and unable to reach Vulcan during their Pon Farr period had managed to alleviate and even consume it with the use of holodecks and a photonic simulation of their true mate. These cases strongly confirms the psychophysiological nature of Pon Farr.


Lifespan

The Vulcan lifespan is longer than that of humans. Vulcans have been known to live over 200 years, and the Vulcan Zakal lived to the age of 276 - dying just as Surak's teachings began to take hold in Vulcan society. After reaching adulthood, the aging process of Vulcans slowed a great deal. Vulcans who appeared to be young adults by human standards could actually be as much as two or three times older than their appearance indicated.


Psionic Abilities

The most famous aspect of the Vulcan brain is the inherent telepathic abilities, such as the Vulcan mind meld. Vulcans are natural touch-telepaths. Though considerable training is required to utilize this ability to the fullest (this would be performing the fal-tor-pan), simpler contacts do not require any concentration, training or even conscious knowledge of the act. Stronger minds are capable of non-contact telepathic projection and scanning, usually over short distances, but sometimes even over interstellar distances.

Another psionic ability of the Vulcan race is the telepathic suggestion/compulsion. In some rare cases this ability can be unconsciously performed Vulcans over the age of 200 more or less 'dumping' their normally regulate emotions into other persons in their proximity.

Besides the Trill, who achieve this through the zhian'tara ritual, Vulcans are the only other known humanoid race capable of performing a synaptic pattern displacement, or the transfer of one individuals consciousness into another, known as the Katra or the intellectual substance of the individual.

Some Vulcans in very rare cases have also demonstrated telekinetic powers, giving them the ability to move objects with their minds. This ability usually requires high levels of concentration, leaving the individual vulnerable. There are meditation techniques which help focus the mind to allow telekinesis to be performed without lengthy preparations, but these are only known to a handful of Kolinahr Masters.



Government

The Confederacy of Vulcan was governed by the Vulcan Council, a group of just seven ministers, each responsible for a different ministry. The seven ministries were the Ministry of State, Defense, Security, Trade, Thought, Science, and Health. Each was maintained various agencies to carry out it's functions. The Council's seven ministers each controled one of Vulcan's ministries, which in turn operated various government agencies. The ministries worked semi-autonomously, with each minister largely trusting the others to carry out their duties with expertise.

Elections were held every ten years, with candidates selected logically on their merit for the job. Other governing bodies were the High Assembly and the Vulcan High Command, with the Vulcan High Command's Administrator functioning as head of government, governing with the approval of the Council. The head of government also took the title of Vulcan First Minister.



History

Ancient History

Much of Vulcan pre-history was a mixture of myth and legends, one of which stated that their race was seeded by the Preservers, or the race that Sargon belonged to. Another myth spoke of the Vhorani, who were known as the Ancient Ones, who came from the Wellspring of Creation known as Vorta Vor. Once they reached the harsh world that was the planet Vulcan, they created the Vulcan species.

Among the Vulcan species, it was believed that the first of their kind, known as The Wanderer, was the one who developed speech and the first word. These same primitive Vulcans witnessed the intense damage done to their world by their sun's solar flare which wiped out much of the planet's surface and transform it into its desert form. In the aftermath, the planet was divided into numerous clans that sought refuge in the few locations left on the now desolate world. Locations that held water were prized locations but the dangers of day time travel meant that it was difficult to wage conflict when the sun was up.

However, one clan that possessed the Eye - the inner eyelid, held an advantage as they were able to travel during day time and they attacked the well spring at Pelasht. After taking it, they decided to hold their advantage by allowing other clans to breed with the clan of the Eyes women so that their own offspring would develop the trait. In exchange, they gained access to resources as well as bred with other clans that possessed their own unique advantages such as the ability to touch minds. This formed the basis of modern Vulcan marriage customs that stemmed from a primitive form of eugenics program. In time, various telepathic and other traits were passed down the gene pool of the Vulcan species and spread throughout their race.

During the earliest points on Vulcan, it difficult to gather sufficient metals and ores. This was not entirely because their world was resource poor but rather that they were deep below the surface and there was no means to access such metals. As such, Vulcan metal smiths had to work extremely hard in order to craft the items that they needed from simple weapons to agricultural tools. This changed as the mindsciences developed that allowed adepts to locate veins of ores and adepts were able to pull such materials from the crust itself through the power of their minds alone.

At one point during ancient Vulcan history, the world was invaded by a race of non-corporeal entities that relished in causing death and destruction. As non-corporeal beings, conventional means were incapable of killing them. Fortunately, the Vulcan Sajik created the Sword of Sajik, which was used to slay many of the creatures, eventually driving them away from Vulcan.

As early as the 3rd century Vulcans had the capacity for space travel. One group of Vulcans from this time crash landed on the planetoid Darien 224 where they formed the Last-of-all-Cities colony. They remained isolated there for two millennia.

Early Vulcan also developed several advanced psionic technologies, including psionic weapons such as the Tol par-doj and Vorl-tak. Most of these technologies were lost during the Time of Awakening. During these early periods, tribes of Vulcans were known to had consisted of skilled cultures. The arid climate of their home world was conductive to accuracy over long distances though the heavier gravity led to some challenges. However, those that learnt to shoot an arrow on Vulcan were capable of using the skill easily on other worlds.


The Time of Awakening

By the 4th century the Vulcan's had developed a violent culture, planet Vulcan was subject to violence and war as the Vulcan people fought one another in countless battles that stained the sand of the deserts with their green blood. Wars would arise from either conquest or need for water resources, which were scarce on the palnet. The most well recorded of the Vulcan warlords was the tyrant Sudoc, who gained power by assassinating the previous ruling leader. Using his powerful psionic abilities and skilled tactical mind, he led his vicious barbarian armies in campaigns that dominated most of the homeworld. Those who resisted would be slaughtered and those who fell under his rule would be subject to telepathic "adjustments" to make them loyal.

It was in this time that a young Vulcan boy was born in the city state of ShiKahr, known as Surak. His home city was one of Sudoc's chief rivals and he attempted to assassinate the ruling generals which included members of Surak's family. Surak became a skilled computer scientist, but his creations were used as weapons of war, which provoked Surak into developing the goals of logic and peace.

Surak's new beliefs spread across Vulcan and took hold in the populace. The warlords began to lose power and the captured territories of Sudoc began to fracture as his empire began to disintegrate. Sudocs rule and empire finally ended with the tyrant's death, though members of his loyal cadre that did survive formed the Children of Ket-Cheleb which were led by the warrior Tellus.

It was also known that at some point, thousands of years ago, a group of rational men who helped found the new Vulcan philosophy of logic decided to seek perfection by developing a method of removing their emotions and sealing them within bottles. However, this process diminished the soul of the individual and thus the device that accomplished this was destroyed. Instead, they devoted their life to teaching the value of logic instead. The bottles that contained the removed emotions survived through the centuries and in honor of their mentors, the Vulcan people created a shrine on the planet Beta IV where the artifacts remained hidden in Room 101 where they were meant to be preserved for all of life.

In the climate that followed, the Vulcan people were still fractured into various groups while Surak spread his message. It was at this time that the species made their first contact with another form of life which were people of Etosha who appeared at Shikahr before the assembled delegates as a peaceful race. While appearing as kind strangers from the heavens, the Etoshans were pirates that used deception as a tactic to capture slaves and hold planetary leaders for ransom which they accomplished at Vulcan where they took hold of numerous leaders along with Surak's student S'task. Surak himself was spared this fate due to transportation difficulties at a port facility which prevented him from attending the meeting.

What followed this event was labeled at "the Ahkh", also known as the War. This action reduced all previous conflicts to simple skirmishes as the Vulcan species worked to defeat the invaders. S'task proved instrumental in this move as he liberated many of his kinsmen and killed thousands of pirates in his escape from their vessels. While primitive compared to the advanced technology of the pirates, the Vulcans had a well developed skill in the psionic arts which allowed them to unravel the metal ships of the enemy or set their pilots on suicidal courses. Through such actions, was Vulcan itself finally freed from the invaders that had terrorized them.

Despite the changes spreading across Vulcan numerous opposing groups still existed, such as the Northeastern Alliance, the Southern Hegemony and the Te-Vikram Brotherhood, which threatened to further destabilize the planet and bring about the death of Vulcan-kind.

During the height of the conflict where various factions fought one another while Surak attempted to preach his belief in pacifism and logic; the planet Vulcan was visited by extraterrestrial life forms. However, instead of the peaceful encounter the Vulcan people were seeking, they were instead attacked by a faction of Orion pirates that attempted to enslave them.

Varying books portray a different period of the Sundering. The Vulcan's Soul books portray it as an inter-racial warfare while Spock's World states that it was an invasion by Orion pirates.

This era of unrest brought about the Sundering, as groups of Vulcans discontented with Surak's philosophy left Vulcan to develop their own cultures as they saw fit. The largest group were the Romulans who went on to form the Romulan Star Empire. Other groups included the Debrune and the Watraii.


The Age of Expansion

With the departure of the more violent element of Vulcan society the remainder of the Vulcan people were left to flourish in a new era of peace and logic.

The new Vulcan space age saw limited expansion within their own solar system, however, none of these planets was habitable on the level the Vulcan homeworld. At some time in this era a wormhole appeared near the system, from which came an invasion force of starships which attacked the Vulcans. Attempts were made for peaceful contact with these invaders, but these attempted were answered with by violence. Eventually, the Vulcan Council responded and defeated the incursions. Few knew the origin of these invaders, as the wormhole they appeared from was unstable and would open and close randomly. Some suspected that the invaders were actually the warriors of the self exiled Children of Ket-Cheleb, who became the Romulans.

The Vulcan's limited space technologies took a great leap when the scientist T'Vran discovered the secrets of warp drive in 1440. Unmanned automated probes were first used which were successful enough that T'Vran herself participated in a manned flight. This sparked a new age for the Vulcan people, who would produce exploratory vessels to travel space, catapulting the Vulcan civilization across the stars. The Vulcans soon established colonies on worlds such as T'Khut, Kethri and Mevet. This new age of exploration lasted six hundred years with the further aim of locating the hostile force that attacked them earlier, but they never discover the Romulan Star Empire during this time.

Early contacts with numerous primitive races which turned violent provoked the Vulcan belief in remaining hidden from such races until they "matured" or developed themselves. This would later form the initial basis for the Prime Directive. During their encounters in space, the Vulcans encountered the Andorian Empire and were distressed by the violent as well as emotional nature of the Andorian species to the point that they sought to guide that race. However, the Vulcans actions were seen as being both overt as well as covert attempts to coerce and control the Andorian people who reacted volently to their actions. This sparked a series of conflicts and skirmishes between the two races that ended with the signing of the Tau Ceti Accords and left a state of cold war between the two governments.

This was not the only attempt at the Vulcans guiding other species as they encountered the dilithium rich world of Coridan and sought to help the native inhabitants develop a stable world government. Whilst such an act would seemingly be against the policy of non-interference of developing worlds, the Vulcans logically reasoned that Coridan's resources would benefit the Vulcan government and by stabilising it they could facilitate a mining agreement.

This was crucial to the Vulcan state as the significant economic as well as material gains along with the tensions from Andoria meant that it was an exception to their usual policy. Vulcan kept both close economic and political ties with the Coridan government which spawned dissident rebellious factions who in turn were supported by the Andorians that sought to acquire Coridan's resources. The cold war for Coridan continued for many years as both sides sought to control the planet.

The Vulcans also kept sight on the planet Earth for some time though did not attempt to make first contact with the native human species.

The Vulcan Reformation

The Vulcan Reformation was a period of great upheaval and change in Vulcan philosophy that began in or around the month of July in 2154. The Reformation marked the beginning of the greatest changes on Vulcan since the Time of Awakening.

Over the centuries following the death of Surak, the father of the Vulcan logic movement, his teachings had been subject to numerous interpretations and possible revisions. As a result, much of the original intent had been lost.

The recovery of the Kir'Shara, an artifact (long considered a legend) containing Surak's original writings, allowed Vulcan society to reconsider the many choices made since Surak's death and especially the direction of the government under then Administrator V'Las.

Captain Jonathan Archer, Commander T'Pol, and a member of the Syrannite movement named T'Pau were responsible for recovering the artifact. During their search, the three were pursued by soldiers of the Vulcan High Command, who wished to put an end to the Syrrannites as a prelude to launching a pre-emptive strike on Andoria.

The High Command was successful in destroying one of the main sanctuaries of the Syrrannites. Archer and the others, however, succeeded in getting the artifact to the chambers of the High Command, undermining their efforts and bringing a new era to Vulcan.Archer was reported by some to have been led to the writings by the katra, or essence of spirit, of Surak.

After reflecting on the writings, the Vulcans decided to rededicate themselves to lives of peace and logic. They also decided that they would no longer oversee matters regarding Humans and space travel, a role they had played since first contact, allowing Humans to explore space on their own.


Society

Founded by an ancient Vulcan named Surak, the essence of Vulcan society is in arriving at the truth through logical process. Most Vulcans believe that emotions are illogical, thus making them impure, and deterrent to truth. However, Vulcans are born with the same emotions that afflicted their violent ancestors, but the continual mind conditioning, the t'an s'at, gives them the impassivity sought after by all Vulcans.

The t'an s'at is an intellectual deconstruction of emotional patterns, a lifelong process that strives for absolute detachment from all emotion. Though not all can arrive at the ultimate pure logical state, the exacting process of mental control gives Vulcans enough to conform to the ideals of Vulcan society. Vulcans of this creed are impervious to greed, deception, anger, and all other vices.

The majority of Vulcans follow a belief in logic known as Cthia and many aim to achieve a state without emotion known as Kolinahr. This philosophy meant that they relied on logic and reason to guide their lives, rather than emotion. All expression of emotions was completely forbidden, negative or otherwise. This did not mean that Vulcans had cast away all emotions they once had; they had merely made a choice not to let those emotions influence the decisions they were making.

This led to the mistaken belief amongst other species that Vulcans had no emotions which they did possess though they did not permit those emotions to show in public or allow them to control their actions. Few Vulcans managed to extinguish all their emotions but most had mastered the ability to contain them. This went in line with Vulcan philosophy that their race had adopted which stated that there was no reason why any emotion should have any influence on behavior or cloud the path of logic. Curiousity was one emotion which Vulcans admitted and even approved.

One Vulcan saying is 'The Vulcan knows there is a time for everything' which is an approximate translation from the Kahr-y-Tan which means the 'Way of the Vulcan'. An aspect of this is the herb gathering ritual which Vulcans engage in which is where they collect necessary herbs in preparation of tea for Vulcan Masters.

Vulcans are noted for their patience and believe it is a necessity among their species while it was a virtue among Humans. One of the most famous qualities among the Vulcan people was their high degree of honesty. This was to such an extent that many Vulcan's were highly reluctant to tell a lie which led to the saying that "Vulcans cannot lie" Despite this, it was known that, under logical reasons of course, that they were capable of accomplishing such a task or make an omission. No Vulcan admitted such a dishonesty and considered it an act of "lying".



Culture: From Birth to Death

Vulcans were noted for their more complex family relationships compared to Humans. Such family units consisted of the Eldest of House with normally a matriarch in charge of the affairs of the House. Traditionally, a male Vulcan was not present at the time when their mate was delivering their child during the pregnancy. Children when they were born were not given a name until their Naming Day. Similar to the ceremonies surrounding marriage and burial, the Vulcan rituals that concerned birth had remained intact over the millenia with event he logic of Surak failing to strip the Vulcan race of their dark and ancient rites.

Newborn children til the age of four were known to take part in visual mathematics, basical calculation as well as beginning the neurological organization of their brains which was followed by an identity meld. By the time they were four, they began mathematics and species identification as well as began to coordinate the use of their physical bodies. Furthermore, algebra, geometry and physics dominated their study life at this time. Typically, as part of Vulcan custom, children are betrothed at around seven Earth years of age when they undergo a Bonding ceremony which telepathically links the two. As a result the two Vulcans would seek one another during their pon farr cycle. This practice had been in place for thousands of generations. This was a parental arrangement which dated to ancient times as it served as a method of preventing wars and strengthening ties between neighbors whose ancestral lands adjoined.

When they were eight, children began preliminary telepathic communication and were taught etiquette as well as their clans history along with Vulcan anthropology, calculus and quantum physics. When the child was ten, they learn to suppress cortical stimuli in the dominant hemisphere as well as learn of their races cultural history and began a study of Vulcan rites of passage. By the time they were eleven, they learn of the pressure points needed for mind melding in addition to learning memory accuracy and internal time counting. Furthermore, they were introduced to logic and definition, the principles of analysis, concreteness of thought and physical deportment. These early years of study were expected to continue til the child was between the age of thirteen to fifteen after which their formal training began.

When formal training began, the first rite conducted was Tal T'Lee where they were assisted in their meditation by an adept of their clan council. They learn to control their subdominant cortices which was followed by Dwemish Hi-An where identity isolation was learnt along with brain control with numbers systems and equations. They also learn multiplication left to right whereupon they took part in Enok-Kal Fi Lar which was the processes of definition and the concepts of given. Once this was complete, the child took part in An-Prele between the age of sixteen to nineteen where they learn pain control meditation from a clan council adept. They were also expected to read Essays of Discipline and Analysis of Pseudodoxy as well as was expected to learn to segregate the lobes of their brains. As the child grew older, one of their rights of passage was the Kahs-wan maturity test which was a survival ritual that dated before the time of Surak. Those who survived took their first step into adulthood.

At the age of twenty to twenty four, the Vulcan was expected to learn of logical paradigms and behavioral modification through the Runes of T'Vish. They also learn multiplication right to left, diagonal and cross multiplication as well as learn to isolate their katra. This continued til the age of twenty five to twenty nine where the Sele-An-T'Lee was conducted which comprised of lessons in subdominant brain organization, advanced philosophy and logic, muscle coordination and the control of will. Part of this also included learning the five steps which were the belief discipline, reality awareness, sensory acuteness, visual calculation and fact analysis. There were further readings expected which included Logic and Definition, Equations, Systems of Logic, The Interior and Purpose as Prime Motivator. There were also taught advanced mind meld techniques as part of their training.

By the time the Vulcan was thirty to thirty five, they were expected to had conducted the Norn-La-Hal which involved superior control meditation and neurological organization. Furthermore, importance was placed on the dignity and tradition in Vulcan identity as well as the contemplations of infinity. The final stage of this training involved Venlinahr which was the state most adult Vulcans had attained and involved meditation by individual discretion. There was also further study of Vulcan dharma as well as advanced readings on the mystagogues of Surak, Scorus, T'Enne, T'Vish, Prisu and Seltar. It should be noted that the above events were in relation to children of the Lyr Zor clan and thus may not be true to all Vulcan children.

Vulcans youths were not allowed to guide the conversations of their elders, this was especially the case if the child in question was not past the age of the Ka nifoor. From a young age, Vulcans were geared towards the suppression of feelings of emotions and divest themselves from such traits. By the time a Vulcan was an adult, they had learnt a set of mind rules which governed their telepathic abilities as well as the necessary skills needed to shield their thoughts from outside emotions.

It was generally believed that the Vulcans did not possess any emotions though such a line of thought was false as they in fact hold the capacity to not only understand but deal with emotions. However, they had chosen not to do so and instead worked for the suppression of such feelings. Though ultimately logical creatures, it took many years of practice and training for young Vulcans who do demonstrate emotions at first before beginning the long process that was made by Surak centuries ago. To accomplish this, Vulcan parents used learning tools and techniques to train their children in the primary concepts of logic, and to gain control over their emotions. Eventually, through these processes young children began to learn emotional control. As part of their belief in honesty, Vulcan parents were known not to shield the truth from their young as they believed it would hinder their in coping with such difficulties. Furthermore, a parent's attachment to the child was not considered an emotion but rather as part of the parent's identity and without the child, the parent would not be complete.

Vulcans preferred not to dance with another man's wife which was attributed to their customs which stated that it was not appropriate for a man to his in his arms a woman that was not his. During the marital arrangements, it was possible for the male to pay a bride price to his future wife. These dowries were not paid by a bride's family on Vulcan but by the husband when he was seem to be fortunate enough to gain a life partner. At the time of the formal announcement of marriage, the husband paid a monthly sum to the bride's family until the wedding took place. This money was used to provide the future wife's needs until the husband officially took on his marital responsibilities. This was the case even if the woman was wealth or had a career of her own or even both. This meant that the bride price also varied and was determined by the husband's wealth with the more wealthy having to contribute more money to their future wife.

In addition, there were strict teachings that spoke against desecrating the dead.



Culture: Cuisine

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. Vulcans generally do not drink alcoholic beverages, though they will "indulge" on special occasions. Vulcans are immune to the effects of alcohol, but instead can become inebriated by ingesting chocolate.


Rites and Rituals of the Lyr Zor Clan

The Lyr Zor were a clan of Vulcans that resided on their home world.They lived on the more remote parts of their planet, namely in the Lyr T'aya region in the Vuldi Gorge.

The Bonding
The Bonding was a ritual that was present within the Vulcan civilization.It was typically part of the marriage custom and involved a telepathic link that connected both husband and wife after the official ceremony. No Vulcan marriage was complete without a Bonding which bound the two to a greater level than simple custom.

Another form of bonding was an ancient rite that had been losted for centuries by the time of the 24th century though it was discovered by time. This rite dated back to when the Vulcan race first began to harness their incredible telepathic powers which led to extremely deep as well as profound unions of the mind. These initial bondings were done with young helpless infants by the parents as it was believed that it was easier to meld with family members with whom one shared blood rather than distant relatives or friends. Once made, the child was capable of being linked to their parents more firmly which was both a sacred act as well as quite powerful.

Tal T'lee
Tal T'lee was a ritual that was known to the Vulcan race.It was part of the formal training of a young Vulcan who was reaching adulthood and was the first meditation they faced which was assisted by an Adept. This led to a control of the sub-dominant cortices thus leading to their mastery of emotions.

Dwemish Hi-An
Dwemish Hi-An was an aspect of the Vulcan civilization.It was part of the formal training a young member of the race took during their path to adulthood. This rite involved identify isolation as well as brain control with number systems and equations. In addition, the child learnt multiplication, left to right.

Enok-Kal Fi Lar
Enok-Kal Fi Lar was an aspect within the Vulcan civilization.Young Vulcans were expected to take part in this ritual as part of their formal training which required them to understand the processes of definition as well as the concepts of given.

An-Prele
An-Prele was a concept known to the Vulcan civilization.This was typically conducted between the age of sixteen and nineteen where the subject was to learn pain control meditations through the help of an Adept.

Kahs-Wan
The kahs-wan was a Vulcan rite of passage that young Vulcans were expected to accomplish. It involved a trial into the desert where the Vulcan was expected to survive in order to be considered an adult. (TAS episode: "Yesteryear") The rules of this maturity test meant that it was a test of individual survival and as such, teamwork was forbidden. Those children that were wounded and discovered by another were left until the kahs-wan student returned home at the end of the suvival course where they reported the dangers faced by the other student.

Runes of T'Vish
The Runes of T'Vish were an aspect known to the Vulcan civilization.At the age of twenty to twenty four, a young Vulcan was expected to take part in the Runes of T'Vish which were logical paradigms. They led to behavioral modification as well as multplication right to left, diagonal and cross multiplication. The teachings learnt at this stage also led to the isolation of the Katra.

Sele-An-T'Lee
The Sele-An-T'Lee was an aspect known to the Vulcan civilization.This ritual was conducted at the age of twenty five to twenty nine which comprised of lessons in subdominant brain organizations. It also included the teaching of advanced philosophy as well as logic along with muscle coordination and the control of will. There were a further five steps to the lesson which included belief discipline, reality awareness, sensory acuteness, visual calculation and fact analysis. There were also taught advanced mind meld techniques as part of their training.

Norn-La-Hal
The Norn-La-Hal was an event experienced by members of the Vulcan race.It was the time of transition from being a child to being an adult. Once they achieved this state did they get taught the blanket training that all Vulcans took during. This rite involved superior control over meditation and neurological organization. Furthermore, it taught the importance of dignity and the tradition of Vulcan identity with the contemplation of infinity.

Venlinahr
Venlinahr was a ritual known to the Vulcan race and was the normal state of adult discipline.


Other Vulcan Rituals

Koon-Ut-So'lik
The koon-ut-so'lik was a Vulcan ritual marriage proposal. It can be conducted when, or even before, the Vulcan is in the grips of pon farr. They may precede the koon-ut-kal-if-fee ritual.The koon-ut-so'lik is (apparently) made when a Vulcan wishes to choose their own mate, as Vorik - who was interested in choosing B'Elanna Torres as his mate - gave her the ritual proposal. Usually, in cases of marriage, Vulcans are bonded to their mate at childhood by their parents and when the time for Pon farr occurs, they seek the mate out. Howevever, on certain conditions the Vulcan might not be bonded and thus are free to choose a mate at which point they invoke the koon-ut-so'lik.

Kal-If-Fee
The kal-if-fee is a Vulcan challenge in which two male combatants fight for the right to mate with a certain female. During the Vulcan rating ritual known as koon-ut-kal-if-fee, a female can claim kal-if-fee if she doesn't wish to be with the male that was betrothed to her in childhood. Once the female has declared kal-if-fee, the male that was arranged for her must battle her chosen mate.

Koon-Ut-Kal-If-Fee
The Koon-ut-kal-if-fee is a mating ritual conducted by the Vulcan people and has been part of their culture since before the time of Surak.

The ritual means "marriage or challenge" and is essentially a part of the marriage ceremony. In most cases, if the female accepts the proposal made by the male's parents, and there are no other challengers the marriage ceremony will proceed without the need for combat. However, if two Vulcans desire the same mate, or if the female mate rejects the male's proposal (which was made during childhood by the parents), this will lead to combat. In this case and especially if both males are subjected to the urges of Pon-Farr, the Kal-if-fee is a fight of passion in which Vulcans fight over another's mate. These fights are to the death: they can only end with the death of one of the parties and no one is permitted to interfere during the ritual. As part of the ritual, the female can choose any defender to fight for her which can include either one of the candidates, herself, another male or even an alien present at the ritual. A male under Pon-Farr will snap out of it when the outpouring of emotional and physical tension will culminate and be totally spent to finally end immediately with the death of the other... or his own.

Rite of Tal'oth
The Rite of Tal'oth is a Vulcan desert survival ritual conducted by young adults who are required to survive for four months in the desert with only a ritual blade being in their possession. It was considered a more advanced version of the Kahs-wan ritual.


Mind Meld

The Vulcan mind meld (or mind touch) was a telepathic technique employed exclusively by Vulcans in which the minds of two individuals become a single entity. In the Vulcan language, it was known as Taroon-Ifla.

Typically, physical contact was required for a meld, however particularly powerful melders, such as Slovaak, are capable of performing melds remotely. Melding was a deeply personal experience, as the two minds of the medlees are entirely open to each other. However, melding can be used as an interrogation technique in which case the melder can block the medlee's access to their own mind. Those that learnt this discipline on Vulcan were required to take an oath that they would rather die before violating the privacy of another's consciousness against their will.

Melding can be dangerous, particularly so when conducted with a non-Vulcan but it can also be a useful tool, some neurological conditions can be cured by a mind meld. Further, melds often result in part of each of the participant’s knowledge and mental state being transferred to each other and are also the manner in which someone can deposit or obtain a katra.

Despite the practise of melding dating back to the time of Surak, by the mid-22nd century, something of a stigma had developed around melding. Those who were capable of or practiced melding were seen as an undesirable minority. As a consequence Pa'nar Syndrome, a condition contracted by melding also became taboo subject. Ironically, Pa'nar Syndrome can easily be cured by a meld with an experienced melder. Fortunately following reforms on Vulcan in 2154, melding once again became socially acceptable.


Katra

This word was the name the Vulcan language gave to their soul or spirit as well as the essence of their memories and life. The term katra was a word that no one had ever been able to translate with any degree of precision. It was not exactly a soul or a personality, it was more than a memory but less than a living being. Typically, when a Vulcan neared death, they transferred their katra into the mind of another in order for it to be interred in the Hall of Ancient Thought at Mount Seleya on the Vulcan homeworld. Once there, the mind was placed within a katric ark where it resided in peace within the chambers of the Hall. Similarly, the acolytes of the Kolinahr ritual who resided at the Kolinahru Monastery were known to have a chamber that contained the minds of former High Masters of the Kolinahru. In addition to this, there was the Fal-lan-tral near Seleya where individuals met with the Tral Katra in order to meet with the ancient minds of deceased Vulcan's.

Upon the transference of another's katra, the other individual often benefited from the experiences of that person's mind and memories. However, as the katra was capable of resisting the transfer, the procedure was not without risks and thus needed to be performed according to a specific ritual. This capacity to pass on a katra to another was not just limited to Vulcan's and other species were capable of having a Vulcan mind transferred to them. In non-Vulcan's, the experience was similar to those suffered from multiple personality disorders. Among Human's, they led to a severe shock upon the transfer as their nervous systems were quite vulnerable to the procedure. The restoration of a katra was normally done by a Vulcan priest who had experience in the use of katras.

A Vulcan's katra lives on after the death of the physical body, and can be released into the mind of a living host being to either communicate with or control the host. Among the Vulcan's who are known to have done this include the venerated Surak, the insane Zakal, and the Starfleet cadet, T'Priell. Typically, a Vulcan who held the katra of another were known as a Keeper. Whilst this was the case with those Vulcans who had died, it was considered dangerous to mind meld with a disembodied mind; one of those placed within a katric ark. The only time it was considered a necessity to engage in such an act was in the gravest of emergencies as the outcome could lead to madness. Those individual's that housed a katra in their mind against their will were known as Val'reth. It was also possible to restore a Vulcan if they had died if their katra had survived through the use of the Fal-tor-pan ritual.

The body of all living beings were noted to have katra points and stimulation of these regions helped in the promotion of healing. Furthermore, it was these locations that a Vulcan touched in order to create a mind meld. Humans were known to not possessing a katra and thus their minds were not capable of being held by a Keeper.



Vulcan Martial Arts

Kareel-Ifla

Created many millenia ago when the planet Vulcan suffered a more violent time in its history. Kareel-ifla was best described as the Vulcan equivalent of Karate and focused on the quick as well as direct application of force in order to end a fight as quickly as possible. Due to its unsavoury origins, it was often considered quite brutish to modern Vulcans. Despite this being the case, practitioners of the art were quite formidable and effective in combat allowing them to fight against such opponents such as Klingons and Nausicaans.

The Tal-Shaya was a method of execution performed by the practitioners of Kareel-Ifla. Tal-Shaya involved breaking the neck of an individual in a very precise method designed to cause instant death, and was in Vulcan's past to be considered a merciful form of execution.


Ponn-Ifla

It was created by the warrior poet Ladok in the 1600's who developed a technique known as the "eye of the storm". The discipline's tenent involved resistance as well as moderation with a master being able to "transform a fight into a poem, and a poem into meditation." In later years, it became a popular martial art of the Vulcans with more modern schools borrowing some skills from other Vulcan arts.

It was considered a very young discipline by Vulcan standards. Ponn-ifla was the opposite of Kareel-ifla in that it was non-violent in nature but was still quite an effective hand-to-hand combat art. Much like Terran Aikido, this discipline focused on the use of minimum force and movement by turning an attackers own force back at them rather then initiate combat. Such master practitioners were known to take on a dozen opponents as well as incapacitate them without even moving a foot or two from their starting position. Other moves from Ponn-ifla included:

Kroika: a central move of the art which involved deflecting an opponent's fist downwards in order to put him off-balance.

Taroon: this aspect of the fighting style was to use the opponent's own attack as a means of getting an opening for a nerve pinch.

Ponn-K'sin: borrowed from the more aggressive kareel-ifla but modified by ponn-ifla masters, this move involved a leg sweep.

Narilk: a joint lock with the addition of applying agonising pain without giving them any permanent damage. The style's naming origins came from an ancient Vulcan saying which regarded the calmness in the eye of the storm. Practitioners were required to be an eye of peacefulness in the storm of violence.


Suus Mahna

This martial art focuses on a special move known as the Navorkot which teaches the practioner a way to evade incoming blades. This is done by jumping to the side and rolling based on reading the movement of the enemy and to forsee when, as well as where, they intend to strike. Suus Mahna takes many years to master and is reminescent of Terran Capoiera.Some Vulcan children were taught this dance-like fighting art.

V'Shan
It features a comprehensive study of pressure points and their effects on the central nervous system like the Terran arts of Chin Na and Kwappo. By the 24th century, it was taught at Starfleet Academy.Some V'Shan moves are:

Sok-Pal: a grabbing maneuver which can be used in pretending to turn over a sidearm, and from there go into the dangerous rol-shaya grip.

Rol-shaya: a grip in which the forearm is held against an opponent's neck, in a potentially fatal manner.

Tael-Shaya: a swift grip aimed at breaking the neck vertebraes, either to permanently paralyse or even kill the opponent. Its very deadly nature brought it much into discredit in the last centuries and is rarely, if ever, taught anymore, even to the most advanced and trusted students. It may have been lost forever, as Ambassador Sarek was rumored to have been the last exponent of this technique and no such thing as a Vulcan death grip is known to offworlders . In ancient times, it was mostly taught to executioners as it was considered a merciful form of killing.

First Contact

During the early 1900s, an unmanned Vulcan robot probe prevented a cometary fragment from wiping out half of central Europe by diverting the body in order to force it to explode over an uninhabited region of Siberia. Though unaware of this activity, between 1955 to 2018, there were at least eighteen legitimate two dimensional photographs taken of the Vulcan probe ships. However, they were without exception dismissed as being frauds and hoaxes.

Vulcan society was well aware of the existence of sentient life on the planet Earth as far back as 2063 and the Vulcan Science Academy also knew of a devastating planetary conflict that raged on its surface. The Vulcans suspected that the native life forms known as Humans would ultimately destroyed themselves in the war. At some point, the Vulcan Science Academy authorised a probe mission to chart gravitic anomalies in the Alpha Centauri system. However, three months before reaching its destination, a new order was sent from the communications division of the Vulcan Science Academy that diverted it to the Sol system in order to track wormhole eddies that were suspected to be generated by Jupiter's intersection with its sun.

On April 5th 2063 the Vulcan starship T'Plana-Hath, detected a warp flight from the planet Earth and became the first alien species to formally make contact with Humans. The T'Plana Hath landed in Montana, the launch site of the warp ship, to greet its creator, Zefram Cochrane.

This marked humans' first official true encounter with an alien species.


Relations with the Federation

With their new Human allies, the Vulcan High Command established the Vulcan Advisory Council which coordinated with United Earth Starfleet Command and monitored Earths progress. The Vulcans refused to provide their technology to Earth, which resulted in Earth's first warp five starship launching a century after Humanity first developed warp technology. For some Humans this was a source of much resentment; they believed that the Vulcans had impeded their progress.

Eventually, the Vulcans realized the error of trying to direct another civilization's destiny and relented, providing by their own example the final incentive to bring about the most important and famous of all Federation laws, the Prime Directive.

In 2155 the Vulcan government signed the Coalition Compact which made them officially part of the Coalition of Planets, alongside Earth, Andoria, the independent colonies of Alpha Centauri and Tellar. In 2161 this Coalition worlds joined together to from the United Federation of Planets.

Although one Commander T'Pol served onboard the Earth ship Enterprise before then as a Vulcan observer, there were no Vulcans among the Starfleet personel dedicated ot maintain peace and security within the UFP, as their pacifism did not accept well this military duty of the peacekeeping space organization, until Spock, son of Sarek, son of S'kon, went again his father's wishes and enlisted in Starfleet Academy in 2252. His quadrant famous career soon inspired other Vulcans to join Starfleet (like Commander Sonak who died in a transporter accident in 2271) so that today they are well represented within Starfleet ranks, although in considerably less numbers than the more adventurous Humans and mostly in scientific or technical positions, although a few like the famous Lieutenant Tuvok of the ill-fated USS Voyager served in security and tactical between 2371 and 2378. More than one Vulcan reached as high as the Admiralty and the Joint Chief of Staff, doing much to curtail Starfleet and the Federation from the warlike tendencies that the Dominion War brought about in the other, emotional species.

In fact, many Vulcans end up such careers as respected diplomats and ambassadors, bringing the voice of peace and reason throughout the galaxy after so many experiences beyond the confines of their own world (and some say beyond the confines of their own logic).

[Jeff T]

additional information: Vulcan species template
(by Kheren)
 

STAR SYSTEM
 
The Vulcan homeworld, Vulcan, orbits around the star 40 Eridani A, also known as Omicron 2 Eridani, or Keid, from the Arabic word qayd, (egg) shells. It is a triple star system less than 16.5 light years away from Earth, in the constellation Eridanus. it is known as Nevasa to the Vulcans.
 
The primary star of the system, 40 Eridani A, is a main sequence dwarf of spectral type K1 easily visible to the naked eye from Earth. 40 Eridani B is a faint star, white in color: a 9th magnitude white dwarf (spectral type DA4), the first white dwarf discovered by Earth astronomers. 40 Eridani C, is an 11th magnitude red dwarf flare star (spectral type M4.5e) which has the variable star designation DY Eridani. while B was originally a main sequence star and was then the most massive member of the system, billions of years ago it ejected most of its mass before it became a white dwarf. B and C orbit each other approximately 400 astronomical units (AU) from the primary star, A. Their orbit has a semimajor axis of 35 AU, which is also the approximate average distance between B and C and is rather elliptical (eccentricity 0.410).
 
The primary component of the main star, 40 Eridani A, has a metallicity of about 65% of the solar metallicity, thus providing a sufficient heavy element abundance for the formation of terrestrial planets.
 
There are no habitable planets around the B star because planets circling 40 Eridani B have been destroyed by its evolution into a white dwarf, not even leaving an asteroid field of any magnitude.
 
As for 40 Eridani C, it is prone to flares, which cause large momentary increases in the emission of X-rays as well as visible light, lethal to any form of life on the planet in its own habitable zone.
 
 
HOMEWORLD: VULCAN
Native Name: T'Khasi or Ti-Valka'ain
 
Vulcan is a reddish Minshara-Class planet. Its inhabitants were sometimes called Vulcanians until the second half of the 23rd century when the name Vulcans was officialized.
 
The habitable zone of 40 Eridani A, where can orbit a planet with liquid water, is near 0.63 (calculated from habitable zone) AU from it. At this distance, Vulcan completes a revolution in 203 Earth days and 40 Eridani A appears about 30% wider than the Sun does on Earth. from that same point of view from the surface of Vulcan, the B/C pair of stars appears as unusually bright (magnitudes -8 and -6) white and reddish-orange stars in the night sky. This is not bright enough to diminish the darkness at night, though they are clearly visible in daylight because of the thinner atmosphere. (By comparison, Earth's full moon is magnitude -12.6, and Venus at its brightest is -4.7.).
 
Vulcan has no natural satellite but there is T'Khut, a smaller planet with which it shares an orbit around a common center of gravity; the two worlds are a mere 149,895.3579 kilometers apart, and T'Khut fills the sky of the single hemisphere of Vulcan it is visible from, due to the planets being tidally locked.
 
Because of this huge reflecting body in the sky, those two bright stars and the thinner atmosphere, the Vulcan night is much brighter than a full moon night on Earth is; and adding the number of short but intense solar eclipses due to T'Khut regularly passing before the sun, it is easy to understand why the Vulcans' have lower nightsight adaptability compared to Humans and, consequently also, a glare-protecting second eyelid.
 
Vulcan revolves around itself in an astonishingly similar time frame of 24 hours. The similitude with Earth's own revolution, despite the gravitational and volume discrepancies and so close to another massive stellar body, is of much interest to planetologists and cosmologists. Artificial tampering from some as yet unknown method and reason has been theorized but, as of now, no evidence backs up this.
 
Because of its closeness to its sun, most of its surface consists of deserts and mountain ranges, and large areas are set aside as wilderness preserves. It is much hotter, it has a stronger surface gravity, and its atmosphere is thinner than that of Earth. As a result of these factors, humans tend to tire out and dehydrate more quickly than native Vulcans.
 
The planet's population has stayed stable at six billion inhabitants for the last two centuries as rational birth control methods, emigration policies and widening interests for space exploration has been systematically, and of course, logically applied with planetary resources efficient exploitation and sustenance in mind.
 

Geography
 
Vulcan is a harsh, desert planet with barely a quarter of its surface area containing water. It has a thin atmosphere and high gravity (1.4 G).
 
Vulcan has three primary continents called Na'nam, Han-shir and Xir'tan. The first are enormous land masses that were divided into various provinces whilst the third is an island somewhat larger than the Earth continent of Australia. Due to the strong tidal forces brought about by the planet's interaction with T'Khut Vulcan is highly volcanically active. This generated a number of impressive lava spectacles, such as the Fire Plains.Vulcan's geology and desert environment produced starkly up-thrust craggy and inhospitable mountains, with jagged and steep formations cut out by wind swept sand.
 
Vulcan maintained the oxygen in its atmosphere by deriving phytoplankton from its oceans, which existed as microscopic organisms that make up 90% of all planetary oxygenation processes, including those of Earth. Despite being a desert planet and not having a suitable source of oxygen in viable plant-life throughout most of their year, there is a sufficient amount of oxygenation occurring within the environment from the microbic water.
 
 
ShiKahr (The Capital City)
 
The primary facilities of the Vulcan Science Academy were located on the outskirts of ShiKahr. The city was also home to the ShiKahr Academy. During the age of Surak, it was also home to the Vulcan Space Institute.
 
The city was built over artesian wells and through the use of solar power; water was easily pumped to all parts of ShiKahr. This meant that they did not irrigate the outdoor gardens whilst the water table was low, there was adequate water for a small greenhouse.
 
They made use of recyling which included the water from the shower which was cleaned after which it was filtered and added to the system.
 Beyond the outskirts of ShiKahr was a small shrine which housed the city's dead. There were no bodies located at the shrine but instead consisted of merely polished black markers, each of which were inscribed with two names; the first being the name which the deceased was known to all which was written in modern Vulcan and the second was the family name that was written in an ancient script. The markers did not contain the actual physical remains of the dead as the sand was too soft as well as shifting for burial. Instead, the deceased were cremated with their ashes scattered to the desert wind.
 
 
Artisan Quarter
 
This region of the city held the best artists on the planet Vulcan and was similar to the Old Quarter in that travellers had to look carefully in order to obtain a valuable craft instead of a replicated Ferengi knockoff. Amongst the actual artists, there were several renowed masters that still made their home in this quarter.
 
 
Old Quarter
 
This part contained most of the oldest architecture in the city and was where Vulcans had gone through great lengths to keep at close to its original ancient design as possible. Within this region was the Suta temple which was given special care even though few Vulcans worshipped there any more. However, despite this being the case, it held a special place in the city's history was it was one of the first areas that allowed Surak along with his followers to preach their publicly.
 
Many people came to the Old Quarter in order to learn more about Vulcan history but the sheer number of tourists along with visitors had resulted in it being an odd combination of history and modernity. Subspace links rested in ancient minerats whilst merchants weighed out kevas trinkets on antique balances during the time they were recording transactions on top quality PADD's. A number of good quality hotels and inns were also found in this quarter though one had to deal with tourist junkets along with guided tours.
 
The Vulcan residents of the area tended to avoid the quarter during the time tourists were around as they were constantly asked to have their holo taken which most Vulcans consider the action being rude. The Tav'Sal'Nava hotel was located in this area.