Vulcans

The Vulcans (rare: "Vulcanians") are a humanoid species known for their logical minds and stoic culture. Hailing from the planet Vulcan.
Culturally the Vulcans were once an extremely violent and emotional people (even by Earth standards) who waged almost constant warfare on one another. They believed in a variety of gods, such as war, peace and death. As their level of technology improved, the Vulcans eventually reached a point where their violent nature threatened species extinction. 
In an effort to avoid this fate, a Vulcan named Surak developed a new philosophy thereby igniting the Time of Awakening. Surak maintained that the root cause of all the problems on Vulcan lay in the uncontrolled outpouring of the people's emotions. His followers swore to live their lives by an ethical system devised by Surak and based purely on logical principles. Emotions were to be controlled and repressed.
Although this new philosophy spread rapidly across Vulcan, a minority, many of whom were known as "those who march beneath the Raptor's wings", rejected Surak's ideals. A destructive war began including the use of atomic bombs and among the victims was Surak himself. Eventually, however, those who opposed logic left Vulcan to found colonies elsewhere, fate unknown.
Vulcan has possessed warp drive for nearly five hundred years, but other than the a small number of very old colonies have not expanded from their home world. They contacted the remains of the Great Orion Empire, now known as the Vegan Tyranny and avoided space to avoid the attention that would doubtlessly lead to a war, a war the long peaceful Vulcans could ill afford. They are just now expanding into space again in the last hundred years. Earth studies were abandoned when the last mission reported a global war, and the use of radar. That mission then when dark. Violence was feared.
In 2008 The space cruiser Donald F Slayton rescued the surviving members of the last Vulcan survey mission. They indeed had suffered damage, but by a mundane rock, not the Humans. The Gadget was used to call to Vulcan via subspace radio to come get their people. This was the opening of contact with Vulcan. In 2010 the Vulcans returned for The Trial for Peoplehood, both as witnesses and to file amicus briefs. They signed the Ane Confederation's Sentient Rights Agreement. They also set up the current Embassy in Geneva.
==Physical Characteristics==
Vulcans are similar to Humans in appearance, the chief exceptions being the Vulcans' notably arched and upswept eyebrows and external ear structure, the top of which tapers into a clearly defined point.
Most Vulcans have straight, glossy dark brown or, more commonly, black hair and skin pale to brown skin with a very subtle greenish-yellow tinge. Vulcans have body hair similar to Humans, and some males can be very hirsute. Vulcan males are also capable of growing facial hair, but rarely do so. Vulcans possess teeth that Humans do not have. These include anterior tricuspids, the presence of which implies that Vulcans also have posterior tricuspids. Vulcan teeth may be chemically capped, as Human teeth may be since the 20th century, in order to prevent decay. 
In contrast to their external similarities, Vulcan internal anatomy differs radically from that of Humans. For instance, their heart is where a Human's liver would normally be, and beats several hundred times per minute are a much lower blood pressure. 
Vulcan blood is copper-based and is copper- or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins and green when oxygenated in the arteries. Bruises and dermal abrasions therefore take on a green color. Vulcan body chemistry uses little, if any, sodium chloride compared to that of Humans. 
Vulcans possess a highly efficient respiratory system to extract the oxygen they need from Vulcan's thin atmosphere. They are most comfortable in high temperatures, which is natural given the hot, arid climate of their homeworld. The Vulcan digestive tract is highly adaptable. Although alien foods, notably Human food, will occasionally disagree with a Vulcan, given time, their body will eventually adapt to the alien food. Vulcan hearing is very sensitive. Vulcan females possess a heightened sense of smell.
Having evolved on a planet which is mostly desert, Vulcans have developed ways of surviving in desert conditions. For example, they can survive for several days without water and have inner eyelids which protect their eyes from harsh light. They are capable of surviving for long durations without food or sleep. Under stress, Vulcans can do without sleep for a week or more. Vulcans are on average three times physically stronger than Humans, and have considerably faster reflexes. 
Vulcans have a different metabolism from Humans. Caffeine and sapotoxins have little effect on them. Sucrose or common sugar is an intoxicant. Vulcans are very sensitive to nitrous oxide gas, which rapidly renders them unconscious.
Vulcans typically have a lifespan of two hundred years or more. 
==Vulcans and Magic==
The Vulcan people have not ignored magic. To them it is considered another branch of the sciences and they do not see it as ignoring causality. The causality is there, but not intuitively observable. 
In the Vulcan locality the use of magic is heavily tainted with violence and mayhem. Under the philosophy of Surak the practice of magic has waned due to this heavy taint. True Surakian followers seek technological solutions for things that used to be done by magic.
This is not to say that every segment of Vulcan has abandoned the practice of magic. The Priests of Gol have spent centuries attempting to chant the violence out of the magic. They have had noticeable success, but the magic field is far from pure.
==Vulcan Psionics==
Vulcans are known for their psionic abilities even if these are seldom if ever seen in public. Vulcans are touch telepaths. They are also capable of psychometry, telekinesis, healing, and extra sensory perception. Vulcans engage in a mating bond that telepathically links the married couple. Vulcans rate from 55 to 75 on the Kraith Scale.
Magic and Vulcan psionics are heavily entwined. The result is a deep reluctance to use the psionics and a highly ritualized use that controls the tendency to violence.
==Current Political Situation==
Earth has had formal contact. They found a Vulcan Survay ship straded in Saturan orbit and conducted The Vulcan Rescue mission. Vulcans are concerned that Earth technology is advancing too quickly. Humans are still at war with each other. The Vulcan Ministry constantly advises caution. Vulcan is a signer of the Sentient Rights Agreement, and consider it only common sense. They are if anything worse nags than the Ane, but there are fewer of them locally.
The Vulcan Ministry is located in Switzerland, chosen for the fact they have had the least war of anyone. They have an office in Washington DC. The Mission is ten Vulcans total. 
*Mr. Stenn -- Ambassador to Earth. 
*T'nara -- Counselor to the US.
Vulcan Survey Mission -- Stranded in Saturn orbit and rescued by the Warp drive project.
*Spark -- Mission Commander. 
*Spork -- General Sciences. 
*T'wow -- Engineer 
*Stern -- Sociologist. 
*S'torn -- Physics guru
*T'nenda -- Medicine and Biology.
*Stenn -- Sociologist and diplomat, later stayed on as Ambassador.
*Strak -- Pilot and navigator.
Two members of the crew T'fal and Stark were killed when the warp drive failed.
Category:Groups
Category:Politics
Category:Psionics
Category:Alien Races