Vulcan

"I thought it was generally accepted, sir, that Vulcans are an advanced and most honorable race."
"They are, they are – and damned annoying at times."
"Yes, sir."
– Data and Leonard McCoy, 2364 ("Encounter at Farpoint")

The Vulcans, or Vulcanians,[1] were a warp-capable humanoid species from the planet Vulcan. They were widely renowned for their strict adherence to logic and reason as well as their remarkable stoicism.
In 2161, their homeworld became a founding member of the United Federation of Planets. (TOS: "Mudd's Women", "Amok Time"; TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "Data's Day", "Gambit, Part II"; Star Trek: First Contact; ENT: "Broken Bow", "Zero Hour", "Awakening", "These Are the Voyages...") Vulcans were known by the Borg as Species 3259. (VOY: "The Raven")

## History & Politics

In 2154, T'Pol stated that Vulcans had evolved on Vulcan. (ENT: "The Forge") Roughly a century later, however, Spock theorized that the Vulcans might be descendants of Sargon's species. (TOS: "Return to Tomorrow") In 2369, evidence was discovered that several species including the Romulans, and therefore also the Vulcans, could be traced back to DNA that had been seeded on many planets by ancient humanoids 4.5 billion years ago. (TNG: "The Chase")

The Vulcans were once an extremely violent and emotional people (even by Earth standards) who waged almost constant warfare on one another. (ENT: "Impulse", "Awakening"; TOS: "Balance of Terror", "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"; VOY: "Random Thoughts") Paranoia and homicidal rage were common. (ENT: "Impulse") They believed in a variety of gods, such as war, peace, and death. (TNG: "Gambit, Part II") As their level of technology increased, the Vulcans eventually reached a point where their violent nature threatened the extinction of their own species. (ENT: "Awakening")
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. (TAS: "Yesteryear")

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. (ENT: "The Forge", "Awakening")

Eventually, however, those who opposed logic left Vulcan and founded colonies elsewhere (TNG: "Gambit, Part I", "Gambit, Part II") – most notably on the planet Romulus, where they founded what eventually became the Romulan Star Empire. (TOS: "Balance of Terror", "The Enterprise Incident"; TNG: "Unification I", "Unification II") At some point in history, the Romulans and the Vulcans engaged in a hundred-year-long war against one another. The war was instigated by the actions of a member of the Q Continuum. (VOY: "Death Wish")
Another group that rejected Surak's philosophy was known as the "V'tosh ka'tur", or "Vulcans without logic". The V'tosh ka'tur believed in controlling emotions by allowing themselves to actively experience them rather than suppressing them. Some of these also left Vulcan, and took up a nomadic existence. (ENT: "Fusion")

The Vulcans conducted a series of survey missions to the Sol system, as early as 1957. (ENT: "Carbon Creek") Vulcans were, in fact, one of the first species to develop warp drive, though a century passed between the first warp flight and the breaking of the warp 2 barrier. (ENT: "First Flight") T'Pol told Archer that Vulcans "don't share" Humans' "enthusiasm for space exploration," but a Syrrannite on Vulcan later advised Archer that this may not have been true. (ENT: "Fight or Flight", "The Forge")
The official First Contact between Vulcans and Humans came on April 5, 2063, when a Vulcan survey ship, the T'Plana-Hath, detected the warp flight of Zefram Cochrane's Phoenix. The Vulcans met with Cochrane at his launch site on the day following the flight. (Star Trek: First Contact)

Subsequently, the Vulcans offered their technological guidance to Humans, but were criticized on Earth for holding back their development. (ENT: "First Flight", "Broken Bow") A century after First Contact, the High Command had become worried about Humans, who, like Vulcans, had had devastating wars, but after which had rebuilt and started traveling to the stars much faster. There were those on the High Command who wondered what Humans would achieve in the century to come, and did not like the answer. (ENT: "The Forge")

By the mid-22nd century, Vulcan culture had strayed from the path that Surak had originally laid out for them, to the point that Surak's katra did not recognize it as the culture he had helped to create. They had ceased being explorers and the High Command, once devoted to that goal, had instead become involved in a conflict with the neighboring Andorians. (ENT: "Awakening", "The Forge")

The Vulcan High Command used an ancient monastery at P'Jem as a secret listening post to spy on the Andorians until June of 2151, when the listening post was discovered by the Andorians and a landing party from Enterprise NX-01. Later, the Humans helped negotiate a peace between the Vulcans and Andorians over a disputed class D planetoid known to the Vulcans as Paan Mokar. (ENT: "The Forge", "The Andorian Incident", "Cease Fire")

Vulcans also became less tolerant of political and philosophical challenges towards the High Command's operations, notably engaging in purges of the Syrrannite group, who claimed that Vulcan society was no longer following the teachings of Surak. These tensions came to a head in a crisis called the Vulcan Reformation, which resulted in the overthrow of the High Command (and its leader, V'Las, who was secretly allied with the Romulans), as well as a restructuring of the Vulcan government including the dissolution of the High Command. T'Pau became a minister in this government. A less aggressive policy towards Earth was also adopted. (ENT: "The Forge", "Awakening", "Kir'Shara", "United")
By the 21st and 22nd centuries, the Vulcans had also made contact with the Cardassians, Trill, Tholians, Klingons (as early as 2016), and scores of other races. (DS9: "Destiny"; ENT: "Broken Bow", "Future Tense")

As of the 23rd century, Vulcan had never been conquered in its collective memory. That memory went so far back that Vulcans could not conceive of a conqueror. (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome")
By the 24th century, Vulcan remained one of the principal Federation members, and was deeply involved at all levels of that society. Vulcans were present in the Federation colonies found within the Demilitarized Zone established between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union by the terms of the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370; they were among the colonists' representatives during discussions with the Cardassians concerning terrorist attacks by the anti-Cardassian Maquis movement established in the Zone. At least one Vulcan, Sakonna, acted as a gun runner and interrogator for the Maquis and made use of her people's ability to mind meld in the latter role. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I", "The Maquis, Part II")

The Vulcans' tradition of exploration continued; in the 24th century, a Vulcan ship was the first to make formal contact with a Gamma Quadrant civilization, upon encountering the Wadi. (DS9: "Move Along Home") The Vulcans were at the forefront of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant, encountering the Rakhari and finding the remains of the Hur'q civilization. (DS9: "Vortex", "The Sword of Kahless") In the 24th century, the Vulcan ministry of security was known as the V'Shar. (TNG: "Gambit, Part II")

By 2369, the Vulcans had a saying known to the Federation: "We're here to serve." (DS9: "Captive Pursuit")

Despite the enmity between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, some Vulcans attempted to forge a more cordial relationship with their cousins, ultimately hoping to reunify the two cultures. Many of these efforts met with little success. (TNG: "Unification I", "Unification II")

## Physiology

Species which shared some physiological and behavioral traits with Vulcans were categorized as Proto-Vulcan humanoids. One example of this were the Mintakans. (TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers") In addition, Rigelian physiology was very similar to the Vulcan one. (TOS: "Journey to Babel")

Vulcans were generally similar to Humans in appearance, distinguished mainly by their pointed ears and upswept eyebrows. Their skin color was most commonly pale with a bronze or greenish tint, though some had brown skin. Vulcan physiognomy could resemble Humans of European, Asian, or African descent. (Star Trek: The Original Series; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Star Trek: Voyager)

Most Vulcans had straight, glossy black hair, though brown and/or curly hair was also possible. Vulcans had body hair similar to Humans, and some males could be very hirsute. Vulcan males were capable of growing facial hair but most chose to shave it. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror", "Patterns of Force"; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; VOY: "Year of Hell"; ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"; Star Trek)

Vulcan teeth included anterior tricuspids, which could be protected from decay for decades by sealing them with a trifluorinate compound. (ENT: "Dear Doctor")

In contrast to their external similarities, Vulcan internal anatomy differed radically from that of Humans. For instance, their heart was where a Human's liver would normally be, (TOS: "Mudd's Women", "A Private Little War", "The Omega Glory"; Star Trek Beyond) and beat several hundred times per minute. (TOS: "The Naked Time", "Journey to Babel") Vulcans also had no appendix. (TOS: "Operation -- Annihilate!") They did, however, have mitochondria. (TNG: "Data's Day")

Vulcan blood was copper-based and was copper- or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins and green when oxygenated - in the arteries, or when when bleeding. Bruises and dermal abrasions took on a greenish color. (TOS: "The Naked Time", "Patterns of Force"; DS9: "Field of Fire"; VOY: "Repression"; ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem", "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")

Vulcan body chemistry used little, if any, sodium chloride compared to that of Humans. (TOS: "The Man Trap")

Vulcans possessed a highly efficient respiratory system to extract the oxygen they needed from Vulcan's thin atmosphere. They were most comfortable in high temperatures. A Vulcan of advanced age could become more sensitive to lower temperatures. (TOS: "The Deadly Years"; ENT: "The Forge")

The Vulcan digestive tract was highly adaptable. Although alien foods, notably Human food, would occasionally disagree with a Vulcan, given time, their body could adapt to the alien food. (ENT: "Unexpected")

Vulcan hearing was very sensitive. (TOS: "Return to Tomorrow", "The Way to Eden"; ENT: "Singularity") Vulcan females possessed a heightened sense of smell. (ENT: "Broken Bow", "The Andorian Incident")

Having evolved on a planet which was mostly desert, Vulcans developed ways of surviving in desert conditions. For example, they could survive for several days without water and had inner eyelids which protected their eyes. (TOS: "Operation -- Annihilate!"; ENT: "Strange New World", "The Forge")

Vulcans had a superior metabolism to Humans. Caffeine and sapotoxins had little effect on them. (ENT: "Breaking the Ice") They were also capable of surviving for long durations without food or sleep. Under stress, Vulcans could do without sleep for weeks. (TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome") Tuvok once claimed that, as a Vulcan, he was capable of going without sleep for two weeks, (VOY: "Muse") although, shortly after making this claim, he was observed to fall asleep in the command chair after having gone a little over ten days without sleep. (VOY: "Muse")

Vulcans were, on average, three times physically stronger than Humans, and had considerably faster reflexes. (DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite")

Vulcans were very sensitive to nitrous oxide gas, which rapidly rendered them unconscious. (TAS: "The Practical Joker")

Vulcans typically had a lifespan of two hundred years or more. (ENT: "Broken Bow"; TNG: "Sarek")

### Brain

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Vulcan physiology was the brain. The Vulcan brain was described as "a puzzle, wrapped inside an enigma, housed inside a cranium." (VOY: "Riddles")

A Vulcan's brain was in direct control of most of the bodily functions, acting as a control unit for many organs. Despite this, a Vulcan body from which the brain had been removed was capable of functioning and even walking around (albeit in a zombie-like state) with a portable life support system. (TOS: "Spock's Brain")

Unlike most humanoid species, traumatic memories were not only psychologically disturbing to Vulcans, but had physical consequences as well. The Vulcan brain, in reordering neural pathways, could literally lobotomize itself. (VOY: "Flashback")

Vulcans learned to gain conscious control of many of these functions, allowing them to regulate their bodies to a high degree by simple will power. When injured, a Vulcan could go into a trance-like state, using this ability to concentrate all of his or her energy on repairing the injury. (TOS: "A Private Little War") However, Vulcans did have certain levels of pain they were unable to suppress, forcing them to endure the experience. (VOY: "Resistance")

This trance could be self-induced and gave the physical appearance of near-death. It was similar, in principle, to Vulcan neuro-pressure techniques which could be used to relax the mind and body. (TOS: "By Any Other Name"; VOY: "Riddles"; ENT: "The Xindi")

The substance trellium-D acted as a neurotoxin to Vulcans, destroying the neural pathways which controlled their emotions. Treatment had to be provided quickly after exposure; otherwise, the damage was irreversible. (ENT: "Impulse")

The most famous aspect of the Vulcan brain were the inherent telepathic abilities, such as the mind meld. Vulcans were natural touch-telepaths. Though considerable training was required to utilize this ability to the fullest (like performing the fal-tor-pan), simpler contacts did not require any concentration, training, or even conscious knowledge of the act. (VOY: "Blood Fever")

Vulcans called focal points in the bioelectric field of the brain qui'lari. (DS9: "The Muse")

Stronger minds were capable of non-contact telepathic projection and scanning, usually over short distances, (TOS: "The Devil in the Dark", "The Omega Glory"; VOY: "Random Thoughts", "Prey") but sometimes even over interstellar distances. (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome"; Star Trek: The Motion Picture; DIS: "Lethe" )

Another psionic ability of the Vulcan race was the telepathic suggestion or compulsion, consciously performed by Spock, (TOS: "Dagger of the Mind", "A Taste of Armageddon", "The Omega Glory") Sybok, (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) Tuvok, (VOY: "Repression") and T'Pol, (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly") and unconsciously performed by Sarek. (TNG: "Sarek")

Although Vulcans did not, typically, allowed themselves to experience uncontrolled strong emotions, they could sense them in others. (ENT: "Fallen Hero")

Vulcans were capable of performing a synaptic pattern displacement, or the transfer of one individual's consciousness into another. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
The psycho-suppression system responsible for the Vulcan suppression of emotions was located in the mesiofrontal cortex. (VOY: "Meld")

Approximately every seven years, adult Vulcans had to endure pon farr, the Vulcan mating period. It was marked by intense emotions and primal urges (known as plak tow, or "blood fever") that could kill the Vulcan if not satisfied. Physiological symptoms included elevated dopamine levels and fever. For such an orderly society of quiet sobriety, the madness which accompanied the outbreak of pon farr was an unavoidable evil. (ENT: "Bounty", "In a Mirror, Darkly"; TOS: "Amok Time"; VOY: "Blood Fever")

## Society

The government on Vulcan was a representative democracy. Individual political advancement was based on meritocratic principles. (ENT: "Awakening")

The Vulcans held a number of spiritual beliefs. Their religious system was polytheistic. They also believed in the katra, the soul and consciousness of a person, which could be transferred psionically prior to death. (TAS: "Yesteryear"; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; TNG: "Gambit, Part I"; ENT: "The Forge", "Awakening")

Vulcans were generally non-violent, but logic dictated that combat was sometimes necessary. Vulcans could and did use weapons and practiced martial arts called tal-shaya and Suus Mahna. Most later Vulcans were vegetarians. (TOS: "Journey to Babel"; ENT: "Marauders"; DIS: "Context Is for Kings")

Vulcans were also known for their high degree of honesty. They were extremely reluctant to tell a lie, and indeed it was said that "Vulcans could not lie." However, they would do so for what they perceived as logical reasons, though they rarely referred to their dishonesty as "lying." (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident"; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) For instance, an elder denied the existence of technology and spies at the monastery at P'Jem in order to protect an ongoing surveillance operation. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident"). Also, T'Pol's second foremother directly lied to another Vulcan, telling the commander of a rescue party that her crewmate had died in a crash, so that he could remain on Earth to "study" Humanity. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")

In 2259 of the alternate reality, Spock managed to deceive Khan Noonien Singh into transporting armed torpedoes aboard the USS Vengeance, as Khan believed they still carried members of his crew. Khan wasn't aware that Spock had anticipated his betrayal and removed Khan's crew from the torpedoes with the intent to detonate them and cripple the Vengeance. When Khan stated that he'd know if they weren't his, Spock assured him that "Vulcans do not lie" and that "the torpedoes were his". This demonstrated that Vulcans, while still technically telling the truth, didn't always necessarily tell the entire truth if it was to their advantage. (Star Trek Into Darkness)

Tuvok at one point stated, when responding to Seven of Nine questioning him as to whether Vulcans were capable of lying "we are capable of telling lies. However, I have never found it prudent or necessary to do so." (VOY: "Hunters")

Naturally, the development of a Vulcan's lifelong devotion towards logic was encouraged at a very early age. Vulcan parents utilized careful and gentle methods to train their infants in primary logic. (VOY: "Human Error") Vulcan children learned, by example, how to detach themselves from their emotions as well, and it often aided in difficult childhood situations. (ENT: "Fusion", "Home"; TAS: "Yesteryear"; VOY: "Innocence", "Gravity") Despite logic being paramount in education, Vulcan children were allowed much freedom as well, and enjoyed a number of passions their controlled states allowed themto coordinate.

As parents, Vulcans never restricted their children from real life. Doing so only hindered their ability to develop their own identity. A Vulcan parent's attachment to their children could not be described as an emotion. They were part of the parent's identity and the parent was incomplete without them. (VOY: "Innocence")
hen Vulcan Children came of age, having sometimes been betrothed to childhood companions by age seven, underwent the pon farr, the link compelled them to follow through with full marital rituals, which cemented their relationship. (TOS: "Amok Time"; ENT: "Breaking the Ice")

If, for whatever reason, the female did not wish to go through with the marriage, then the ceremony of koon-ut-kal-if-fee ("marriage or challenge") was invoked. The male fought for the right to keep his mate against a challenger of her choosing. The female became the property of the male who won the contest, unless he chose to release her. The koon-ut-kal-if-fee was a fight to the death. (TOS: "Amok Time")
As of 2266, hearsay held that Vulcan men treated their women strangely. (TOS: "The Naked Time")

Contrary to stereotype, Vulcans did possess emotions. For instance, emotions like remorse, relief, joy, and embarrassment were all displayed by Spock when he thought Captain Kirk was dead. (TOS: "Amok Time") Additionally, T'Pol showed romantic interest in Commander Tucker on Enterprise, especially due to imbalances caused by exposure to trellium-D. (ENT: "Damage") Indeed, Vulcan emotions were far more intense, violent, and passionate than those of many other species, including even Humans. (TNG: "Sarek")

It was this passionate, explosive emotionality that Vulcans blamed for the vicious cycle of wars which nearly devastated their planet. As such, they focused their mental energies on mastering them. The essence of their logical society was in arriving at the truth through logical process. Emotions were illogical, thus making them impure, and deterrent to truth. Vulcans were born with the same emotions that afflicted their violent ancestors, but continual mental conditioning generally gave them the impassivity they sought. (TAS: "Yesteryear")

Though not all could arrive at the ultimate pure logical state, the exacting process of mental control gave Vulcans enough to conform to the ideals of Vulcan society. The ultimate level of logical thought was achieved through the attainment of kolinahr, which was said to purge them of all remaining emotions. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

Vulcans believed knowledge to be the best defense against unknown dangers, and pursued it with the intellect and logic that made them some of the finest scholars in the Federation.

Vulcans considered death to be the completion of a journey. Therefore, they did not fear it happening; however, the loss of one's katra was to be avoided if possible, since the katra lived on beyond the physical death. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) They also practiced euthanasia for the infirm and elderly, and saw nothing wrong with practicing ritual suicide when they reached a certain infirmity with age. (VOY: "Death Wish") As they knew death was an inevitability, they believed that fear of death was ultimately illogical. (Star Trek Beyond)

Although Vulcans were highly integrated into the Federation, in the 23rd century, some Vulcans viewed service in Starfleet to be less prestigious than attending the Vulcan Science Academy, (TOS: "Journey to Babel") though in the twilight years of that century, this apparently became much less of an issue. (VOY: "Flashback") Furthermore, among all the Federation members whose people served in Starfleet, Vulcans were the only ones to be accommodated with starships crewed entirely by their own species, such as the USS Intrepid and the USS T'Kumbra. (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome"; DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite")

## Culture & Tradition

Meditation was central component of Vulcan life.
Vulcans were fermenting wines, notably Vulcan port, during the 21st century. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I")
Although not always, most Vulcans were primarily vegetarians. They also did not touch food with their hands unless wearing special gloves. (ENT: "Broken Bow", "Home")

Guests in a Vulcan household were expected to rise before sunrise to prepare the morning meal. (ENT: "Home") Plomeek broth was considered a traditional Vulcan breakfast. (ENT: "Unexpected")

Vulcans played a game known as kal-toh. (VOY: "Alter Ego", "The Omega Directive", "Endgame")

What little is known about Vulcan religious beliefs indicates that, beginning prior to the "Time of the Awakening", they were polytheistic. Surak's teachings became the primary focus of Vulcan spirituality/mysticism, but, as late as the 23rd century, it was still not unheard of to find Vulcans honoring the traditional gods. There were, however, no demons in Vulcan literature. (TAS: "Yesteryear"; TNG: "Gambit, Part I"; VOY: "Heroes and Demons")

Many Vulcan females had names beginning with "T'P" (T'Pol, T'Pring, T'Pau, T'Pel, T'Pan), but not all (Valeris, Sakonna, Saavik, Selar); many males had names beginning with "S" (Spock, Sarek, Sybok, Surak, Stonn, Soval); again, though, there was variation (Tuvok, Lojal, Vorik, Taurik, Koss).

Touching each other with both the middle- and the forefinger was a custom practiced by married couples and was part of the Vulcan marriage ceremony. (TOS: "Journey to Babel"; VOY: "Bliss"; ENT: "Home") It could also help to calm down male Vulcans during pon farr. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

Vulcans had a traditional funeral dirge. (VOY: "Tuvix")
Vulcans occasionally gave gifts. However, Vulcan custom did not include receiving a gift back from a recipient. (Star Trek Beyond)

## Education

Children at Vulcan nursery schools danced. (TOS: "Whom Gods Destroy")

When they were older, they learned in skill domes. The Vulcan Learning Center employed these. (Star Trek, DIS: "The Vulcan Hello", "Battle at the Binary Stars")

A Vulcan program suitable for young children which taught basic problem solving skills was available at Deep Space 9's school in 2370. (DS9: "Whispers")

The Vulcan Science Academy and Vulcan Medical Institute were two notable post-secondary institutions.