Pen Pals and Envelope Art by Marisha Goodman

I never realized how interesting having a pen pal could be - especially when they share some of the same interests. I got my first pen pal a while ago (since elementary school, at least), and she is really wonderful. For Christmas she sent me some Star Trek cards, a book, a pin, and a comic - all of which by some miracle I did not yet own, and I recently sent her a package as well. I look forward to reading her letters, but she often also adds something special which I admire when I pick up my mail and later when I pin it on my wall. She gave me permission to share these drawings.

On one of the envelope flaps she drew me a Dalek (which caused me to burst out laughing in the drugstore):

I'm not sure what it wanted me to obey, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with orders to wipe out the human race.

On the front of that same envelope was a beautiful drawing of myself in my Vulcan Priestess robes as I appeared at the 2013 Central Canada Comic Con. It is now one of my favorite drawings - everything about it looks so graceful and serene:

On another envelope she drew what I assume is her own Vulcan self, looking equally as beautiful and stoic:

I would like to sincerely thank everybody who has sent me a letter, package, or drawing. If you have sent me something and have not yet received a reply, I finally got to send out my letters the other day and they are on their way.

If you are interested in exchanging letters with me, please contact me at vibrant.oxymoron@gmail.com and I will give you my mailing address.

A Surprise Package - Ri-gishu New'a'lek

The other day, while checking my PO Box before shopping for baking supplies, I was surprised to find something unusual - I was to go to the desk to pick up a parcel. I didn't remember ordering anything other than zines lately, so I was honestly quite confused. I signed for the package, and they brought out a box wrapped in brown paper - I looked at the return address smiled one of the biggest smiles that I have smiled in a very long time.

It was a package from my dear friend T'Puhku in Germany, to whom I had been sending Star Trek books and with whom I run the Vulcan Language tumblr.

I hurried through my shopping and ran home, not even taking off my shoes and hat before sitting on the floor and unwrapping and opening the package.

Onside was a chocolate Nicolaus (she explained to me that every December 6th, people from German-speaking countries put a boot in front of their door, which is then filled with these exact chocolate santas, nuts, mandarins, and small presents. I found that absolutely fascinating, and I munched on his head while I read it. I then did some further research online.), a cashmere pashmina handmade in the Nepalese Himalayas (one of the softest things I have ever owned, I actually slept with it last night), a bumper sticker, and the small canvas with art and writing.

The bumper sticker is in the Vulcan language, and says "Vath-hali t'nash-veh ek'tal-hali T'Khasi" which translates to "My other vehicle is a Vulcan Science Vessel". I don't have a car to put it on, but it looks just as dashing on my wall.

The painting that she did for me is definitely my favorite, however - it says "Sochya eh dif" (Peace and long life) in Traditional Vulcan Calligraphy (vanu-tanaf-kitaun) and has an idic in the corner. I love everything about it - the colors, the design, the texture! She even sent a little eisel with it, so I had no problem finding a place to display it - it is now on the shelf right next to my bedroom door, beside my dead bird and a framed photograph of Richey Edwards. It is truly a place of honor.

(insert preferred holiday greeting here)

T'Laina

C4 Comic Con Adventures Day Two and Three

Day One

For the last three days, I have been spending my days at C4 - Central Canada Comic Con 2012. It was - as usual - an amazing experience with beautiful people, intricate costumes, and great displays and exhibitions.

Day Two

I got up early in the morning to get my costume ready - Robes, ears, a headdress, six inch heels, my dress, tights, makeup... I decided to do my makeup and ears before I left the house, and to bring the rest of my costume with me on the bus. Luckily I had my amazing mother to accompany me, and she helped me carry my stuff when I was in costume later in the day.

After going through the same process as Friday in order to get my mother into the convention (with the additional steps of getting into costume and posing with people for pictures), we got in line for Nichelle Nichols' Q&A. The Q&A was absolutely amazing, and she ended up singing for us at the end. I got her singing on video and took pictures, which I will be posting later.

After that I got professional photos taken with Marina Sirtis and Sir Patrick Stewart (separately) and walked around the convention, having my photo taken and talking to people. One person came up to me and asked what Legend Of Zelda character I was.

A friend of mine dresses as a Klingon every year, and volunteers at the Con. We happened to both be dressed up at the same time for once, and I got a photo:

I also came across this wonderful young lady who came as the Borg Queen, and she agreed to have her picture taken with me. I neglected to ask her for her name, but she was wonderful:

Finally it was time for the Q&A session with Sir Patrick Stewart which I had gotten passes for the day before. He was absolutely amazing - intelligent, down to earth, and hilarious. I also got my photo taken with him professionally. I will be posting photos from the photo-op and Q&A in a later post.

Here is a photo of me waiting patiently in the conference room for Patrick Stewart to come on stage. Whenever I sat down, the layers of my costume separated and had to be reset:

On the way back upstairs, I saw the most amazingly adorable family. The father was the Eleventh Doctor, the mother was Amy Pond, and their three children were dressed as Daleks. One of the little girls was in a stroller, and instead of a Dalek skirt and hat they actually dressed the stroller.

Here is a closer look at the skirts:

Finally, it was time for the costume contest. After being in six inch heels for ten hours already, my feet were so sore that I never wanted to stand or walk again. Unfortunately, I had to stand in line for another few hours.

I had never entered any kind of costume contest before - I had worn a Vulcan Priestess costume before, but after fixing it up and adding embellishments (Ozhika in traditional vulcan script, red lined with black instead of plain holes in the chest, ribboned edges, etc.) I decided that this would be the year - I even brought along my hand-sculpted Vulcan meditation lamp. I entered Miss C4, which was a great experience, and the Sci-fi/Movies/Fantasy category  which I won. I honestly did not expect to win at all - when they called second place, I though I knew for sure that I would not win because her costume was so much better than mine, and so were others! As my prize, I received a trophy and 75 dollars in gift certificates for comic and costume stores.

I met a husband and wife who were dressed as a Klingon and Borg. Her husband had made her bat'leth with materials like aluminum foil and either duct or electrical tape (I can't remember which). He also had a mouth piece which made everything he said sound like it was actually being said by a borg drone. Their costumes were both amazing, and they were really nice people:

Oh, and remember I said there was a second place winner who I thought had a better costume than me?   Here we are after the contest (she is dressed as the Diva Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element, one of my favorite movies):

I also had my picture taken with the Best of Show Costume winner - by far the most impressive costume I had seen all day. I forget what character she was, if it was a character, but I do know that it was from World of Warcraft.

Finally, after more photos and waiting, I got to take off my hot costume and painful heels. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring anther pair of footwear so I had to put my heels back on to go home. I was so exhausted by that time that I kept falling asleep on the bus. It took an hour to get home on the bus, and so my mother and I were playing games on our phones and taking pictures.

I spent the rest of the night watching Canada's Worst Driver and taking photos of myself in my costume (because this was probably the last time I will ever wear it... probably) before collapsing into bed.

In this photo you can see the bulletin board in my room, and I am holding the trophy I received for my costume:

Day Three

I woke up today (Sunday), ready for the last day of Comic Con. I had to do a couple of things today - first the Marina Sirtis Q&A session (which was amazing and, once again, will be posted about with photos in a later post), and then a photo-op with Nichelle Nichols. I was supposed to have had my photo taken with her yesterday, but I was (along with hundreds of other people) kept downstairs because the main exhibition room was filled to capacity. Because of this, I missed her completely and they asked her to come in today. She is absolutely adorable, and I am so glad the photo-op ended up working out.

I didn't wear a costume today, just a sweater, jeans, and chucks (along with my new Tom Baker scarf). I also re-bleached my eyebrows this morning because the marker I used for my Vulcan brows dyed parts of them brown. I spent most of the day in the conference hall:

I had some extra time after the photos and Q&A, so I decided to walk around one last time to look over the merchandise. I'm glad I did, because I just so happened to find an Ambassador Sarek action figure:

I also ended up purchasing an Andorian action figure (wearing a fuzzy pink jacket for some reason), a small Spock in the environmental suit from The Tholian Web, the Star Trek Chronology, Star Trek TNG SkyBox Episode Collection Cards Seasons three and seven (the full sets), and the 200th issue of Starlog.

All in all, this year's Central Canada Comic Con was absolutely amazing. It was not organized very well, but that is a difficult job - I don't blame anybody for that. Everything worked out (for most people), I met some amazing people (and some of my heros), I entered my first costume contest, and I have added some amazing items to my collection.

If you have never attended a convention, I would highly recommend that you consider involving yourself in and upcoming con in your area. They can be a lot of work and running around, but I feel that it is all worth it in the end.

IDIC Star Trek Shirt Photos

I haven't been blogging a lot - I have been working and pursuing other interests, such as photography. I have also been spending a lot of time on the Vulcan Language tumblr, which I started and now run with T'Puhku. I feel like the Vulcan language and culture are very separate from Star Trek, in a way. Like they are two very distinct obsessions (which they are) and I almost forget at times that the vulcan language ever had anything to do with Star Trek at all.

A couple of months ago I received an IDIC shirt in the mail, and it is definitely one of my favorite articles of clothing. I found it while I was browsing ebay, and immediately went out to buy a prepaid visa, came home, registered my visa, and bought the shirt. Luckily, I had another shirt in my closet which was the same style, and so I got my measurements from that.

I went outside to take some simple photos of myself wearing the shirt, but that somehow turned into a full-blown self photography project (which included using a tutu as a headdress).

The best place for taking photos happened to be in front of my apartment building, right beside the main street and a sidewalk. I had people watching me from their cars, and a couple of people asked if they could take my picture. One person (an amazingly nice woman) even directed me, asking me to look through the lens of my camera like I was taking a photo. We spoke for a while, sitting on the grass - and I taught her how to say "dif-tor heh smusma".

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations - a philosophy that I think more people should adopt. If you would like one of these lovely IDIC shirts for your own, you can get it here (women's) or here (men's).

Vulcan Conference Hall on Minecraft - IDIC and Kolinahr

A few days ago while I was working as a respite worker, the kids finally convinced me to try playing Minecraft on the Xbox. I became addicted almost immediately, and promptly got a version for my mac - a better version, in my opinion, because there is a creative mode as well as a survival mode.

I spend my time now in Minecraft writing books "written by Surak" in the Vulcan language, and building Vulcan temples. I am even creating the city of Shi'Kahr.

But my favorite building that I have created so far is my Vulcan Conference Hall:

I built an IDIC into the end wall using gold, iron, and emerald blocks. In order for it to be visible in the night, I then covered only the IDIC in torches. In this way, the IDIC is visible throughout the nearby city:

On the side wall I built in the Vulcan symbol for Kolinahr with clay blocks and, once again, covered the shape in torches so that it is visible at night:

The rest of this large structure is constructed from nether brick, and the roof is outlined with torches:

On the other two sides of the building are three sets of doors - around which are adornments in gold, iron, and emerald (matching the IDIC). Surrounding the building are often members of the delegation and ambassadors (actually "villagers").

Because of the gold adornment and and the torches inside of the building, the doors are easily visible at night, and have a glowing quality.

The same is true from the inside of the building:

The flooring inside is made of wooden planks, and is lined with torches. The IDIC is fully visible within the dimly lit hall as well as outside, but the symbol of Kolinahr is not.

Here you can see the inside of the building, as the final wall was not completed at this time. The major reason I did not light up the symbol of Kolinahr on the inside of the building was that unlike the IDIC, the symbol does not read as anything when reversed:

Minecraft is absolutely one of the most addicting games. Well, that and any Legend of Zelda game - both of which I am obsessed with at the moment.

Lank and Discipline.

I drew a picture of a lanky Vulcan with a large head while I was at work today on my Macbook Pro. I haven't been updating this blog as much as I would like to lately, so I thought I would dump it on here.

Dif-tor heh smusma - Live long and prosper.



That is all.

My visit home - Yaret ha-kel t'nash-veh

Vokau du wak lu yaretal nash-veh ha-kel fi'T'Khasi - eh vesht kum-tor t'hai'la nash bikuv t'nash-veh fa'wuh t'huhrik kahrlar ha.

Remember that time that I visited my home on Vulcan, and a friend took this picture of me in front of one of the major cities?

Fai'ei vokau nash-veh.

because I do.

Sucrose and it's effect on Vulcans.

It is generally accepted in the Star Trek fandom that Vulcans get "drunk" after ingesting chocolate. I have always felt, however, that to get drunk off of something as specific as chocolate was highly illogical - it would have to be one of the ingredients. I eventually ended up reading "Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home", which is a novelized adaptation of the movie, written by Vonda N. McIntyre. The great thing about this novel is that is informs the reader on exactly what it is that causes this "drunkenness".

Remember when Spock went swimming with the whales? It turns out he was not thinking clearly because of a wafer that was given to him by Kirk when they were attempting to get change for the bus:

"Admiral," Spock said, "my understanding is that the amounts of money we possess are not too small to permit us onto the bus, but too large." 

"Very astute, Mr. Spock." 

"In that case, we must purchase something that costs less than the difference between one piece of paper money and the amount of metallic money we must give to the bus."

Kirk ends up buying mint wafers, one of which he gives to Spock. Spock unwraps the foil, sniffs the package, puts one in his mouth to melt, and gets on the bus.

"Admiral," Spock said, "I believe this confection you have given me contains sucrose."

Of course, Kirk can't hear him because of the stupid punk with the boom-box. When they get to the Cetacean Institute, Spock begins thinking differently while watching the whales:

"Spock wondered if it was proper Vulcan behavior to be amazed by the two creatures playing. He decided he did not care, for the moment, about proper Vulcan behavior. He merely wanted to watch the whales." 

"Spock felt quite strange. He wondered if he were being affected by human emotions. T'Lar and the other Vulcan adepts had warned him against them. Yet his mother, also an adept, had urged him to experience them rather than shutting them out. Spock wondered if now might be the time to take her advice. 

He then begins worrying about the whales, and what they are thinking - and he can think of only one solution:

"The hot sunlight poured down on Spock. He gazed across the surface of the pool, dropped his robe, and dove."

Of course, we know what happens after that. Later, he is confronted about this incident by Kirk, and this is when we learn about sucrose and it's effect on Vulcans:

"I didn't know you could swim, Spock," Jim said with some asperity.

"I find it quite refreshing, though I wonder if it is proper Vulcan behavior," Spock said, oblivious to Jim's irritation. "It is not an ability that is common, or even useful, on my home world. Admiral, I do not understand why Dr. Taylor believed I wanted the hell to swim with damned pikes."

"What possessed you to swim with damned whales?" Jim exclaimed. 

Spock considered. "It seemed like the logical thing to do at the time." 

"In front of fifty people? Where's your judgement, Spock?"  

Spock hesitated. "It is perhaps not at it's peak at the moment, admiral. Sucrose has been known the hell to have this effect on Vulcans. I do not usually indulge." 

"Indulge? Spock, do you mean to tell me you're drunk?" 

"In a matter of speaking, admiral." He sounded embarrassed. 

"Where did you get it? Why did you eat it?" 

"You gave it to me. I did not realize that the wafer's main constituent was sucrose until I had damned already ingested it."

It is there that Kirk abandons the topic and suggests that he refrain from attempting to use "colorful idioms".

So there you have it. It is not specifically chocolate that causes "drunkenness" in Vulcans, but the sucrose. Mystery solved.

I would also like to highly recommend this book, and all of the other novel adaptations of the original cast movies - they are fascinating.

Sarek as a Teenager

I started sketching a Vulcan on a piece of thick paper that was going to go in the garbage, and then I turned it into a teenage Sarek. And then I figured I may as well paint it. So I did. And now it looks like this:

I even added tiny chest hairs.

Click to enlarge. Gouache, acrylic, and india ink

Xon and the Star Trek That Never Was

X is for Xon!

Today I have been making my way through File Magazines' "The Star Trek That Never Was" from 1985. It holds an interesting collection of planned episodes and characters from what was going to Star Trek: Phase II, with Xon (a young full Vulcan) replacing Spock, and with Decker and Ilia on board.

I got this book on a dusty old shelf behind strange romance novels!

I have always been fascinated by Xon, from what I have been able to find out about him - I wish I could have seen his character in action.

Xon is quite young, only 22 - extremely young for a Vulcan - and is a genius, personally selected by the Vulcan Academy of Science as their representative on the Enterprise. Xon realizes that part of the reason why Spock did so well was his ability to better comprehend the crew's emotions due to his human half. Because of this, he tries to copy human emotions (without actually experiencing them) so that he can better understand humanity. Xon is also a much stronger telepath than Spock, and is able to easily link with Ilia.

Full profile... I wish it had happened.

The image used for the above profile is not that of Xon, but of Sonak in The Motion Picture. Xon was to be played by David Gautreaux:

The first episode draft, "In Thy Image", was eventually adapted into the Motion Picture and involves Ilia being used as a probe and V'Ger (spelled Vejur in the article), Xon, and Decker. There are many differences - Ilia and Decker resume duty aboard the enterprise, and Xon is Science officer throughout. Kirk beams down to earth with the probe and it is amazed at the beauty of it. But through Ilia "Vejur" begins to like Kirk, and when the time comes to destroy earth it decides that the biological units have a reason to live, and that it cannot learn from them.

Ilia materializes naked in Kirk's shower...

Not the most unique story.

The pictures that accompany the episode's overview don't have much to do with "In Thy Image" specifically - the first is from the Motion Picture with Ilia, and the second is Kirk with Nomad (it is suggested that the episode would have been too similar to "The Changeling").

Still, I would have loved to see Xon in action!

T'Puhku's 4000 Word Character Analysis of Sarek.

I do not consider very many people "friends" - but when I do, I care about them deeply. Two of my friends, unfortunately, live in other countries - one of which is across the ocean.

One of my friends is T'Puhku, who shares my fascination with the Vulcan language and culture. I send her boxes of Star Trek memorabilia when I can, and we send each other messages in Vulcan. In fact, we started a tumblr blog dedicated to the Vulcan language where we post lessons, translations, and a phrase of the day. You may visit it here: Gen-lis Vuhlkansu - Gol’nev heh Zhit-Ballar

In particular, she shares my fascination with Sarek - in fact, her obsession with him may have surpassed mine. On her tumblr, "Benjisidrine and Frozen Glass", she posted this wonderfully in depth (exactly) 4000 Word Character Analysis of Sarek and kindly permitted me to share it here:

Although he is not a prominent or regular member of the Star Trek cast, the character of Ambassador Sarek is one that seems uncharacteristically popular among fans of the series. After Sarek’s first appearance in the thirty-ninth episode of The Original Series, Journey to Babel, a lot of the interest came from his obvious connection to Spock – the fans’ all-time favourite – as his father, but it did not take the fans very long to realise that in Sarek, they had been given a second Vulcan, a full one this time, whose character depths and complexities very nearly equal those of his son.

Sarek was born in 2164 (or 2165, according to Memory-Alpha.org) on Vulcan. His father was Skon, son of Solkar. His mother is never mentioned, although some non-canonical sources like to use T’Pau, who can be seen in The Original Series episode Amok Time. Sarek was very possibly born in or near the metropolis Shi’Kahr, where he raised his son Spock (and his other son Sybok, if you consider Sybok canon) and continued to live until his death on an estate named D’H’riset. Semi-canonical works have used S’chn T’gai as a first name for both Sarek and Spock. The original script of Journey to Babel states that before going into politics, Sarek was an astrophysicist. This information was not included in the actual episode – which did, however, indicate that Sarek possesses a significant amount of computer-technological knowledge. Either way, his diplomatic expertise allowed him to climb the hierarchical ladder of politics rather quickly, and he became the Vulcan Ambassador extraordinaire to Earth and the Federation. According to his third wife, Perrin, Sarek “owes the Federation a lifetime of service”, and he had soon established his reputation as one of the most significant politicians of his time.

First Officer William Riker of the USS Enterprise-D once says, “I remember studying his career in school.” Sarek’s most distinguished political achievements that are considered canonical, many of which led to him being immortalised in numerous Starfleet history records, include the admission of Coridan into the Federation, his involvement in the Klingon Treaty of Alliance and the Khitomer Accords, as well as the treaties of Alpha Cygnus IX and Legara IV. The latter took the incredible effort of 93 years and was finalised less than two years before Sarek’s death with the help of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise-D.

It was on this mission in 2366 that Sarek was diagnosed with Bendii Syndrome, a debilitating, slowly progressing and untreatable lethal condition that only affects Vulcan males over the age of two hundred Terran years. The effects of the disease have been compared to those of Alzheimer’s in humans. The major component of Bendii Syndrome is, however, not primarily dementia, but rather the loss of the emotional control that is a quintessential part of any Vulcan’s culture and pride, making the condition far more frightening and painful than many others. Furthermore, the disease affects neurochemical pathways, leading to gradual deterioration of the brain. The later symptoms therefore include loss of memory, confusion and dementia as well as loss of more delicate motor functions. The latter leads to one of the most touching and heart-breaking scenes of The Next Generation, in the episode Unification I, where Captain Picard helps Sarek put his fingers in the right position for a ta’al (Vulcan salute), only days before his death.

The Next Generation has done a great deal to unveil Sarek’s personality in several ways. In the aptly titled episode Sarek in season three especially, we learn a lot about the man’s personal pride and the feeling of great dignity that his majestic appearance already suggests. To summarise one could say that Sarek is “a very Vulcan Vulcan” in the same way his second wife Amanda Grayson has been called “a very human human”.

Sarek, like most Vulcans, believes in logic and rationality as the source of peace and progress. Often, the Terrans of Star Trek, such as Dr Leonard McCoy, can be found accusing their neighbours of being cold and ‘heartless’. Sarek, however, never appears deliberately mean, unlikeable or arrogant. On the contrary; the way he delivers his logic, while always calm and quiet, has a certain quality of warmth to it, and sometimes there is almost a naiveté of some kind that seems to sincerely ask “Because what else would I do?”, as in for instance the last scene of Journey to Babel.

It is, of course, hard to describe the character of someone who never really shows any emotion in depth. For a Vulcan, however, Sarek seems to be more susceptible to emotions than would be considered average. Whether that is natural or rather a result of having two human wives, working with humans at the Terran embassy and in the Federation and also dealing with his constantly ostracised son Spock is another question. At least in The Original Series, however, it is clear that Sarek is at peace with himself and whatever emotions he may have. In many Star Trek novels that are generally considered fanon, such as The Pandora Principle by Carolyn Clowes, Sarek’s utter conviction that peace can and has to be achieved no matter the case and that any violence has to be avoided at all costs is mentioned and praised as a quality that makes him such a valuable Federation ambassador.

Another attribute worth mentioning is Sarek’s ‘darkness’. In Diane Duane’s novel Spock’s World, his entering a room aboard the USS Enterprise is described with the words “Darkness walked in: Sarek, in his usual diplomatic dress” (Spock’s World, p. 89). This thought-provoking word choice can be interpreted many different ways. Sarek obviously is not someone who takes things lightly. Like most Vulcans, he is very serious about his job and responsibilities and work in general – however, most of the situations depicted in Star Trek are rather dangerous and often consist of life-threatening adventures and risks, so a certain amount of professionalism is usually present in and expected from all the characters. One could also say that “darkness” relates only to Sarek’s appearance, which, as has already been mentioned, does in fact have a very dark, solemnly majestic and dignified quality.

Both Spock’s World and A. C. Crispin’s novel Sarek also tend to show his character with a tinge of very dry, sarcastic humour. This, fortunately, is never overplayed and never seems out-of-character. Diane Duane wrote, for example:

“Father”, Spock said. “Are you and Mother well?”  

The dry voice, far away, got an ironic tone to it. “I had not thought you gone so far into human behaviour, my son, as to begin indulging in ‘small talk’ with me.” (Spock’s World, p. 10)

In fact, Journey to Babel may have started the notion by the following conversation between Sarek and the Tellarite Ambassador Gav who is later murdered:

GAV: Vulcan, I would speak to you! 

SAREK (suppressed sigh, rather sarcastic tone): It does seem unavoidable.

Sarek’s hard-working serenity, sincere logic and this dry edge combine to give an extremely charming individual. It is canonically established that Sarek had at least three partners and was married to at least two of them. His first wife or bond mate was the Vulcan princess T’Rea, with whom he had his first, semi-canonical son Sybok. But Sarek was not content with his Vulcan wife for reasons unknown to us. Many fan fictions like The Vulcan’s Wife by Aphrodite420 have suggested that after constantly being around humans while working on Earth, Sarek became rather accustomed to them and found himself actually missing their warmth und unpredictable emotionalism.

Understanding human behaviour has always been a difficult task for the Vulcans, and their struggles have been a focal point of many Star Trek episodes and even entire series, for example with Spock The Original Series or T’Pol in the newer ‘prequel’ Enterprise. Sarek is one of the few Vulcans that seem to have more or less mastered this task. He accepts and even enjoys new cultures and philosophies, especially the Terran ones, making him a well-liked colleague among his fellow politicians. Unlike many other members of advanced societies, he never judges humans and seems to instead tolerate and respect them. In Sarek, he beams aboard the USS Enterprise-D with a small but welcoming smile on his face, a contraction of facial muscles that Spock would have never allowed himself. Sarek, on the other hand, uses it as a diplomatic tool, not to manipulate, but to signalise open-mindedness and goodwill.

A lot of Sarek’s understanding of human behaviour is undoubtedly the doing of his second wife Amanda Grayson, an Earthwoman from Canada, later usually known as ‘The Lady Amanda’. The relationship between Sarek and Amanda is an interesting and unusual one. There are hundreds of stories illustrating how the two of them met and fell in love, but none of them have ever been approved by Gene Roddenberry. Sarek himself humorously answers his son’s question why he married Amanda with “At the time, it seemed like the logical thing to do”, drawing an affectionate smile from her. In the movie Star Trek from 2009 – usually referred to as the Reboot – Spock asks the same question, and years later, after Amanda’s untimely death during the destruction of Vulcan in the alternate timeline, Sarek simply says, “I married her because I loved her.”

Either way, it is obvious that an inter-species marriage requires a tremendous amount of sacrifice and devotion from both partners. Amanda had to give up her home to move to Vulcan and then endure the constant patronising of her neighbours there. Sarek also is very likely to have encountered a lot of dismay regarding his bonding with a being as ‘unworthy’ as a human – even the children of Shi’Kahr openly call him a traitor.

In addition to that, it is more or less established that Amanda went through several miscarriages due to incompatible gene combinations before Spock was created with assistance from the Vulcan Science Academy or, in proper Vulcan, Shi’Oren t’Ek’tallar T’Khasi. Such experiences are usually said to either destroy marriages or make them stronger, and for Sarek and Amanda, it was definitely the latter case. In Journey to Babel the two appear almost inseparable without ever seeming ‘clingy’ or disrespectful of each other. Sarek answers Amanda’s humorous inquiries calmly and rationally, but still seems amused by them. He explains everything with the sweetest patience, without ever appearing patronising or even condescending. In one of the most famous (and only) dialogues between them in Journey to Babel, Sarek tries to explain his actions rationally for quite a while, finishing with:

SAREK: …Do you understand? 

AMANDA (affectionately): Not really, but it doesn’t matter. I love you anyway. I know. It isn’t logical.

Amanda herself also shows a great understanding and acceptance of her husband, as can be seen in the following lines:

I know that you love me, she thought, gazing up at him. But I will not embarrass you by telling you so… (Sarek, p. 113)

And although Sarek logically knew that he was going to outlive Amanda by up to one hundred years, his pain after her death, even decades later, is truly heart-breaking. The grief of her loss is probably the most prominent emotion that manifests itself in The Next Generation, when Sarek, after being diagnosed with Bendii Syndrome, decides to mind-meld with Captain Picard in order to gain the emotional stability needed to finish his treaty with the Legarans, leading Picard to experience all of Sarek’s repressed emotions. Picard is in his quarters, accompanied by Dr Beverly Crusher for support. After the mind-meld, the human captain is close to a nervous breakdown, crying and screaming as Sarek’s grief and regret roll over him.

Because although he always has an air of serenity and contentment around him, Sarek has accumulated a devastating number of such regrets throughout his life. Most of them regard the relationship with his son Spock, which will be analysed later in this essay, as well as the fact that his Vulcan identity and upbringing have made it impossible for him to ever show his wives and son the love and devotion he felt for them. The following is a transcript of Sarek‘s soliloquy that is delivered though Captain Picard:

SAREK (through PICARD): No! It is wrong. It is wrong! A lifetime of discipline washed away, and in its place… bedlam. Bedlam! I am so old… there is nothing left but dry bones… and dead friends. Tired, oh so tired. …No! This weakness disgusts me! I hate it! Where is my logic? I am betrayed by… desires. I want to feel. I want to feel everything. …But I am a Vulcan. I must feel nothing. (Starts crying) Give me back my control… Perrin. Amanda. I wanted to give you so much more. I wanted to show you such… tenderness. But that is not our way. Spock. Amanda, did you know? Perrin, can you know how much I love you? (Sobbing) I do love you! 

PICARD (as himself again): It is quite difficult. The anguish of the man, the despair pouring out of him, all those feelings. The regrets. (Sobbing) I can’t stop them…

Sarek’s relationship with his third and last wife Perrin, another human, is different from the one with Amanda. In many ways it appears more serene and less ‘youthful’, although it is not clear whether that is based on age or simply on the metaphorical ‘chemistry’ between the two personalities. Although their relationship lacks the sweet, flirtatious qualities of Sarek’s marriage with Amanda, it is in no way short of the love and devotion we have seen before. In the end of Sarek, when the couple takes their leave of Picard, the Captain and Perrin exchange the following words:

PERRIN: Thank you, Captain. 

PICARD: …He loves you very much. 

PERRIN: I know. I have always known.

After all this praise of Sarek’s character, it has to be said that he was never intended to be perfect, and his greatest flaw has always been his son Spock. The relationship of father and son has always been exceptionally strained, and it raises an important question: How come Sarek, the personification of tolerance, who was married to and worked among humans for most of his life, never seemed to accept his son’s human half, never seemed to acknowledge the ostracised child’s difficulties? Why was he never satisfied, no matter how hard Spock tried to please him? Sarek himself stated that it was his and Amanda’s dream to create a child as a symbol of their people’s unification and equality. In the 2009 Reboot, Sarek tells his son, “You will always be a child of two worlds. I am grateful for this. And for you.” So why does it never show?

There are people who do not consider The Animated Series canon. However, most people agree that a certain episode entitled Yesteryear is indeed canon, especially since it was written by Dorothy C. Fontana, who also created the script for Journey to Babel. Yesteryear features Spock having to go back into his own past to save his seven-year-old self from being killed by a Vulcan le-matya during his kahs-wan (a ritual that involves young children proving themselves by surviving out in the desert of Vulcan’s Forge without any assistance for ten days). Pretending to be a distant cousin of the family, Selek, Spock spends some time in his parents’ house, and we get a chance to observe their early family dynamics.

In the episode, Amanda says that Sarek does not understand his son very well, and much later, in The Search For Spock, Sarek himself admits to the High Priestess T’Lar, “My logic is uncertain where my son is concerned.” Even though that may not be intended to carry a negative connotation, other conversations between father and son like this one in Yesteryear are actually quite shocking:

SAREK: I do not expect you to fail. 

SPOCK: What if I do, Father? 

SAREK: There is no need to ask that question. You will not disappoint me. Not if your heart and spirit are truly Vulcan.

We already knew that Sarek was a stern, no-nonsense leader, but such uncompromising, relentless coldness is entirely untypical of him. He obviously has extremely high expectations of his son, and he does not accept any human notions in him. In a deleted scene of the Reboot, he tells Amanda that “his humanity is the very source of his ostracism”. Spock’s well-known personality, his attempts at complete flawlessness and perfection and his inherent difficulty with the processing of emotions is undoubtedly the product of this harsh upbringing. After Sarek’s death in Unification I, Captain Picard tells Commander Data:

“Father and son - both proud, both stubborn, more alike than either of them were prepared to admit. A lifetime spent building emotional barriers; they are very difficult to break down. And now the time has come and it’s too late… it’s a difficult moment. It’s a lonely one. It’s a moment that Spock is about to face.”

Their strained relationship reaches its peak when Spock decides to join Starfleet instead of fulfilling his father’s expectations of him going to study at the Vulcan Science Academy. Sarek himself is not particularly fond of Starfleet as he disapproves of their use of violence, even if it is only hypothetical – the fact that the Fleet’s ships carry weaponry is enough of a reason for the pacifist Vulcan. As every fan of Star Trek probably knows, since it is the type of information that tends to be displayed and included everywhere, Sarek and Spock did not talk “as father and son” for eighteen years after Spock’s decision. During most of Journey to Babel, they tend to pointedly ignore each other’s presence, and if they do interact, there is no trace of affection behind their words, only cold, professional logic.

The conflict that makes Journey to Babel such a fantastic episode is one of Spock’s loyalties. Spock is the only one who can save his father’s life by giving him a blood transfusion, but on the other hand, Spock needs to replace the wounded Captain on the bridge because the Enterprise is under attack from an alien vessel. While he does not want his father to die, he knows it would be logical to stay on the bridge during the time of danger. As he puts it, “Can you imagine what my father would say if I were to agree, if I were to give up command of this vessel, jeopardise hundreds of lives, risk interplanetary war, all for the life of one person?” Obviously, Spock is trying so hard to please his father by acting rationally and in true Vulcan fashion that he is prepared to accept his father’s very death in exchange.

In the end, of course, Sarek gets the transfusion, and there is a definite feeling of family reconciliation in the air. For a few years, father and son redevelop respect for each other, and in the end of The Voyage Home we see the following dialogue:

SPOCK: Father? 

SAREK: I am returning to Vulcan within the hour. I would like to take my leave of you. 

SPOCK: It was most kind of you to make this effort. 

SAREK: It was not an effort. You are my son. Besides, I am most impressed with your performance in this crisis. 

SPOCK: Most kind. 

SAREK: As I recall, I opposed your enlistment in Starfleet. It is possible that my judgment was incorrect. Your associates are people of good character. 

SPOCK: They are my friends. 

SAREK: Yes, yes of course. Do you have a message for your mother? 

SPOCK: Yes. Tell her… I feel fine. Live long and prosper, Father. 

SAREK: Live long and prosper, my son.

The state of peace, however, did not last long. After leaving resigning from his post as science officer aboard the USS Enterprise, Spock finally follows his father’s footsteps and becomes an ambassador to the Federation as well. It is assumed that the two attended several diplomatic missions together. However, they soon split again over the Cardassian issue of the mid-2350’s, when they began publically contradicting and objecting each other. As Perrin puts it: “They had argued for years. That was family. But when the debates over the Cardassian war began, he attacked Sarek’s position publicly. He showed no loyalty to his father.” While Sarek pointed out errors in Spock’s logic and accused him of endangering the Federation by ignoring historic precedents, Spock argued that Sarek’s logic is too inflexible and conservative, clashing with the reality of changing times. In Unification II, Spock explains to Captain Picard: “I always had a different vision than my father. The ability to see beyond pure logic. He considered it weak.”

More importantly, Sarek strongly disapproved of Spock’s intention of reuniting the Vulcan people with the Romulans and his friendship with the Romulan senator Pardek, who also supported reunification. Sarek was correct in his presumption, since Pardek, “after spending decades building a reputation as an advocate for peace and supporting Vulcan-Romulan reunification, lured Spock to Romulus for false reunification talks; secretly, he had launched a Romulan invasion fleet to Vulcan.” (Memory-Alpha.org: Pardek)  - even though Sarek was already dead during these events.

These incidents, again, led to father and son almost refusing to acknowledge each other’s existence. Only much later, after Sarek realised that he would have no more than a year left to live, he expressed his wish for reconciliation. As Perrin told Captain Picard in Unification I: “He wants to see his son. He wants to heal any rift that may still remain. Now it may be too late.”

And it was too late, indeed. While his father was on his deathbed, Spock was involved in his campaign of reunification on Romulus, and for unknown reasons, he never came home, even though he was informed about Sarek’s illness. They had never chosen to mind-meld, so Sarek never had the chance to personally tell his son that despite all their conflicts, he always felt love and an exceptional pride for him and that secretly, he “admired him, the proud core of him that would not yield.”

Picard fulfils Sarek’s last wish and allows Spock to touch the memory of his father’s mind – which the Captain gathered during Sarek – by mind-melding with him. When Picard finds Spock on Romulus, the have the following conversation:

PICARD: He is a great man. 

SPOCK: He was a great representative of the Vulcan people and of the Federation. 

PICARD: I was with him before coming here. He expressed his pride in you. His love. 

SPOCK: Emotional disarray was a symptom of the illness from which he suffered. 

PICARD: No, those feelings came from his heart, Spock.

The episode Unification II ends with Spock initiating the mind meld. Before the screen goes dark, we see him silently crying for his loss and regret as he finally sees his father’s true feelings – it is one of the most mournful and touching scenes of the entire franchise.

In conclusion, it is probably clear now that Sarek is one of the most complicated and multi-facetted characters of the Star Trek universe. Not every bit of information regarding him has been analysed in this essay, but hopefully, the main points have given the reader an outline of his personality and an invitation to consider him and his implications independently. Not everyone views Sarek as one of the ‘good guys’. While he was an advocate of peace, acceptance and equality, many fans feel that his failure to administer these philosophies during the upbringing of his son make it impossible to see him as the proud and loving father he was – to the Federation in a metaphorical sense, and finally for Spock as well. Either way, taking sides in this discussion seems redundant at this point. Let it just be said that with Sarek, Gene Roddenberry gave us one of his deepest, darkest and most complex characters, and I am grateful for his creation.

Primitive Vulcans - A History

P is for Primitive Vulcans!

The first Vulcans appeared much like the paleolithic humans of Earth. They were slowly learning to use tools, and without formal speech. When these primitive Vulcans inhabited the planet, most of the it flowed with water and was covered with lush vegetation. The area surrounding Mount Seleya was one of the exceptions, much like we know of it today.

These primitive Vulcans were generally peaceful, communicating telepathically and living off of the abundant supply of food and water given to them by the planet. They did not understand why the nourishment was there, about death, or why urges would come upon them every so many years that sent them to act strangely upon one another (perhaps what we now know as the Pon Farr). These Vulcans could go without food and water for at least a week, although they very rarely needed to do so.

I once drew a picture of how I imagined these primitive Vulcans, but with some modern touches - less hair, attention payed to aesthetics, etc. I posted it before, but I am going to show it here as well: 

As I mentioned, there was no formal speech for a very long time - there were no names. They seemed to believe in a higher power referred to later as "the Other". They were without worries, as "the Other" always knew what was best for them.

Eventually there would be one who desired exploration rather than mere "being" - it is said that this Vulcan often walked farther than any other , eventually realizing that by hollowing out a gourd-like plant and dipping it in the water, one could drink more easily as well as store water for later. Because of this discovery, a Vulcan would be able to travel father, and for longer. It is said that he walked until the water and vegetation were gone, after which he pressed on to the monstrous sight of what would later be called Mount Seleya.

It is also said that it is in the desert leading to Mount Seleya that the concept of language was discovered - a gift from the Underlier (also known as the A'kweth, and sometimes as the Tcha'besheh). This gift was passed on by telepathically or physically presenting an image or item, and uttering a sound/series of sounds which would become it's name. The Vulcan was named the Vulcan equivalent of "the Wanderer", and was called upon to come up with names - soon, song was also be invented.

This was shortly before an intense solar flare from 40 Eri A transformed the planet into what we know today - burning the forests and boiling seventy percent of the oceans until all that was left of the ocean beds were scorched sand and mud, and all in no more than a day. Most of the living creatures on the planet died, and only the toughest Vulcans survived.


Note: Information taken from "Spock's World" by Diane Duane.

Board Games - Star Trek Scrabble and Monopoly: Continuum Edition

B is for Board Games!

I have always been a fan of board games, even if I did only use them to line up the pieces and make organised designs. After years of peerless, repetitive board game play, I finally found some friends. Some friends who also liked Star Trek. And then I acquired these:

My father has a friend who has a son who is a Star Wars fanatic. For Christmas, his grandmother got him a brand new "Star something-or-other" Scrabble game. It turned out to be a Star Trek scrabble game, obviously. Graciously, however, he allowed me to take possession of the game for free. I picked up the Monopoly game (the Continuum Edition) at this year's Comic and Toy Expo - there was a Klingon Monopoly as well, but I wanted to own Vulcan and stare at the captains' faces while I played.

Behold: I actually play this game with real-life people:

While we were playing, one of my friends rolled the dice and this happened:

Every main captain is featured on the board (Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway) and instead of "Chance" and "Community Chest" cards, there are "Sensor Readings" and "Subspace Transmission" cards. The paper money is labeled as "Gold Pressed Latinum Bars".

I was surprised to find that Vulcan could be bought for only 120, being one of the cheapest planets to buy in the game. The most expensive properties are Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets Headquarters.

The important thing is that Sarek is on the board somewhere.

Romulus and Remus are on the board as well, and looking quite sexy:

The property cards are actually fascinating, because not only are the photos used absolutely beautiful, but each card has information on the planet or piece of property.

The Subspace Transmission cards are also very interesting to look at - here you can see a borg, the top of Doctor Phlox's head, the Gorn, and Uhura playing Spock's Vulcan lyre (or a ka'athyra/ply'muth).

Some of the messages on these cards include:
"Learn all that is learnable and return that information to the creator - pay 50 for confusing V'ger"
"Take lessons from a holographic doctor on how to be more human - pay 50"
"Fight to free the Drill Thralls from the Providers - collect 100".

Moving onto the Sensor Readings cards - but not only are they interesting to look at, but they are entertaining to read. For example:

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few - pay each player 50"
"You have been selected by a Vulcan shipmate to satiate his Pon Farr - collect 10"

Star Trek Monopoly: Continuum Edition also comes with "6 collectible pewter tokens". I went out onto the balcony to take some detailed photos.

Below, a Klingon blood wine goblet and a phaser.

A TOS communicator and a shuttlecraft:

And finally, a Vulcan "harp" and the Captain's chair. Can you guess which piece I take every game? Here's a hint: the ka'athyra. I actually squealed when I saw it for the first time, and then I felt like I would make a terrible Vulcan - I just get so excited.

Onto the scrabble game, I couldn't quite get good pictures because of the lighting. I don't know why I always do these things at night. I don't have as much to say about Star Trek scrabble, but I can say that it is equally entertaining. Just look at that beautiful design (notice Mark Lenard in the bottom corner):

If you look closely, you will see that instead of the word "triple" on the triple word and letter squares, it says "tribble". Funny stuff. When I first saw it, I almost choked on my milk.

In this game, one may gain extra points by making any of the bonus words, some of which being Babel, Balok, Stonn, TPau, Zeon, Horta, Tribble, Vulcan, Ponfarr, Khan, and Krako. One may also use words in Klingon, Klingonese, or tlhlngan Hol.

Actually, I will just post another picture with the bonus words, because I had it anyways:

I also have a couple of TNG interactive board games that I got as a gift, but a few of the pieces are missing and I have yet to actually sit down and play it, much less find a person to play it with. I'm sure one of my friends will be willing to sit in front of a VCR for a few hours...

Dif-tor heh smusma -

T'Laina