Sybok Sybok was the firstborn son of the Vulcan ambassador Sarek and a Vulcan princess , and was the elder half - brother of Starfleet officer Spock . A revolutionary , Sybok sought experience and knowledge which were forbidden by Vulcan belief . Early life . After the death of his mother , Sybok was raised by Sarek as a half - brother to Spock . As a young student , Sybok was considered to be exceptionally gifted , possessing great intelligence , and it was assumed that he would one day take his place among the great scholars of . However , Sybok rejected his logical upbringing and chose to embrace emotion like his ancestors , believing that the key to self - knowledge was emotion , not logic . When Sybok encouraged others to follow him , he was banished , never to return . Quest . During his studies , Sybok received visions given to him by an entity whom he believed to be God himself , and began a journey for a place in Vulcan mythology known as " Sha Ka Ree , " from where all of existence was said to have originated . In 2287 , Sybok ' s visions led him to Nimbus III . During his travels , Sybok gained allies by asking the people he encountered to " share their pain " with him ; he used the telepathic abilities inherent to his Vulcan heritage to help them relive traumatic experiences in their lives , allowing them to face and subsequently overcome their most deep - seated regrets . These were very intense , powerful experiences that could sometimes be witnessed and shared by other people ( as was the case with Kirk , Spock , and McCoy ) . The recipients of Sybok ' s " therapy " were always thankful to be healed of their psychological trauma , and would readily join Sybok ' s quest out of gratitude toward him . This allowed Sybok to amass a large group of followers who dubbed themselves the Galactic Army of Light , and to easily capture Paradise City . In an effort to gain access to a starship , Sybok subsequently kidnapped three ambassador s to Nimbus III – St . John Talbot of the Federation , General Korrd of the Klingon Empire , and Caithlin Dar of the Romulan Star Empire – and successfully manipulated them into joining him . This eventually led to a failed rescue attempt by the crew of the , wherein Sybok was reunited with his brother , Spock . Commandeering the " Enterprise " , Sybok had the crew set a course for the center of the galaxy , where he believed Sha Ka Ree existed , beyond the Great Barrier . Although Captain Kirk insisted that the " Enterprise " would be destroyed attempting to penetrate the Barrier , Sybok was eventually vindicated when the ship was able to do so without incident , and discovered a planet on the other side . Traveling to the surface with Kirk , Spock , and Doctor Leonard McCoy , Sybok was eventually confronted with the fact that the being which had given him his visions was not , in fact , God , but rather who had been imprisoned within the Great Barrier , and who had manipulated Sybok into providing him with a starship with which he might escape . Realizing that he had made a terrible mistake , Sybok confronted this being , sacrificing his own life to save the crew of the " Enterprise " . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In the original story outline , Sybok was named " Zar " . The role of Sybok was written for popular actor Sean Connery ; however , this did not come to be and the role was , ultimately , played by Laurence Luckinbill . According to the and the , Sybok was born in 2224 , based on conjecture that Spock was born in 2230 . Sybok is Spock ' s older half - brother despite the fact that Laurence Luckinbill was more than three years younger than Leonard Nimoy . It was stated in that Sarek ' s first wife was from Earth . Clearly , this was intended to be a reference to Amanda Grayson and that Sarek was not married to a Vulcan princess . Admittedly , " Star Trek V " never explicitly says that Sarek ever married the princess , nor was it stated in " Sarek " that Amanda was Sarek ' s first Human wife , or how many previous wives he had , only that the Vulcan princess was Sybok ' s mother . It seems likely that Sybok would identify himself with the " V ' tosh ka ' tur " movement , but as that concept was invented for , the exact phrase was not used on - screen . Apocrypha . The novelization for " Star Trek V " and the novel " " both name Sybok ' s mother as , a " Kolinahr " adept who had been bonded to Sarek in childhood . She rose to become High Master , whereupon – per " Kolinahr " tradition , requiring the severing of emotional ties – her marriage to Sarek was annulled , explaining why Amanda is considered his " first " wife . The novelization goes on to explain that Sybok was banished from Vulcan for violating the mind of a Watcher in the Hall of Ancient Thought in order to locate the receptacle of his mother ' s " katra " , and discover the location of Sha Ka Ree .