Trek Talk Tuesday #5: Space Elves (Part 1)

Intro

A pointy-eared stoic race with a dedication to logic and reason - these are the Vulcans. Gene Rodenberry's Space Elves are easily the most iconic alien race of the Star Trek universe thanks to Mr. Spock. Other Vulcan characters of note include Surak, Sarek, Tuvok, and T'Pol. I have not seen Voyager aside from a few episodes so I have no opinion of Tuvok but T'Pol is probably the least enjoyable Vulcan of the bunch. She conveys less the idea of logic and more a sense of resentment for being stuck with humans.

Vulcans have always struck me as quite inconsistent as despite their professed adherence to logic they are nonetheless deeply mystical. The Enterprise episode "The Andorian Incident" features a Vulcan Monastery, for example, and of course, we have the classic TOS episode "Amok Time" in which we learn just how violent the Vulcan mating ritual is. Granted, this is seen as logical, a releasing of emotions for an intense but short period, but I think this points to the underlying message of the Vulcan race - they're flat out wrong.

Logic is a good thing, God made the world with a logical order as seen in the structure of the creation days of Genesis. Logic is simply the idea that truth is consistent with itself and reality. This is why we have "the law of non-contradiction" for example. The problem for the Vulcans, I believe, is that they equate logic with the absence of emotion. The two aspects of our thinking need not be at odds - you can grasp the logical solution to a problem and also understand the emotional importance of a decision. Emotion should not rule logic but logic should not remove emotion - God gave us both and even though both are corrupted by our sinful human natures because of the fall, they both serve a purpose.

With the logic question out of the way, let's jump into a few topics on the Space Elf Race.

Design

Alien design is always important for a Sci-Fi production and the Vulcans have a number of positive and negative design features. The pointed ears are a nice touch because it conjures up images of magical beings like fairies or elves - an otherness than alien designs need. In the context of TOS, the ears provided a simple, inexpensive visual cue that Spock and his fellow Vulcans are different. On the negative side, however, this minimal design is rather dull aside from the ears. Sure, they have green blood and thus a green tinted skin but seriously, does anyone actually notice the green?  This reduces the Vulcans to being humans with pointed ears on a design level.

However, their presence is distinct enough to make up for the less imaginative visual design. You always know when a Vulcan is present because they react and interact in a different manner from the human crews. Spock's movements and speech patterns are so separate that when he is affected by a space virus or mind controlling race he is unrecognizable.

Another feature of their design is their impressive physical strength, especially seen with the "Vulcan nerve pinch" in which a Vulcan can knock out an opponent by simply pinching nerves (radical, right?).  I did some research but I have not found any particular reason for this great strength outside of the evolutionary setting of the series and the conditions on Vulcan causing the race to develop a stronger physicality.

History

I'm not going into a detailed history on the Vulcans - you can find that on Memory Alpha if you want, but the general outline is that Vulcans were a highly violent race for most of their early history with constant wars and nearly destroying their entire civilization. These wars eventually involved the use of atomic weapons. It was Surak the philosopher introduced the discipline of logic and ushered in "the time of awakening." Of course, not everyone adopted the life of logic, and so we have the Romulans as a sort of rogue Vulcan species dedicated to the old warlike ways.

Vulcan history provides context for their extreme suppression of emotions - when unleashed, they become violent. This is "all or nothing" lifestyle contrasts with the human ability to handle both emotions and reason at the same time if not with equal ability. The Romulans exist in a Jekyll and Hyde relationship with the Vulcans to show us what emotions in Vulcans can lead to. In a sense, they are a parable, especially in TOS, a warning about what happens when violence rules a society and how extreme measures must take place to undo the damage that violence causes.

That all for this week, next time I'll continue with a look at some specific Vulcan characters (Spock and T'Pol) and then close out the Space Elves with a look at the Romulans.

Live long, and Prosper!