The Vulcan series: Character Highlights Table of Content: Ep. 1: The Needs of the Many Ep. 2: The Needs of the Few Ep. 3: 'T' Minus Negative Ep. 4: A Pon Too Farr Ep. 5: Seeing is Believing, Part 1 Ep. 6: Seeing is Believing, Part 2 Ep. 7: Mind in a Vat Ep. 8: The Job The Vulcan Character Highlights Table of Characters S'Talla - Captain of Vulcan, post #1 - Kospak - S'Talla's father, post #1 - S'Tajia - S'Talla's mother, post #1 Samantha Kelly (Sam), post #1 Skyvik - S'Talla's No. One, post #4 T'Pia - Head Engineer, post #4 Ya & Ne - Helm & Defence, post #13 Damian Apollonias - power systems, post #25 Chang Sanfeng (Charlie) - Warp drive/ computers, post #32 T'Perl - Sensors/targeting sys., post #33 Mr. Naxx - Intelligence Specialist, post #35 Sadek - Shields engineer, post #36 Arthur Santayana (Art) - aka: Billy Gruff, post #38 Cialoa (Cia) - Astro-robotics, post #39 T'Pree - Transporter/Replicator Engineer, post #42 Professor Kazzak - Gravitics scientist, post #46 Dr. Francesca Gödel - Scientist, post #51 Spalloz - Life Support Engineer, post #55 Randool Harrix - mechanical engineer, post #62 Vulcan - Vahklas class starship, post #67 - S'Talla - 28 year old Vulcan priestess/special tactics agent (spy). Playing the role of a priestess disillusioned with the priesthood and Vulcan society, when she "discovers" the existence of the ship Vulcan, designed for espionage and the stealing of technology by her people, supposedly a people of peace. She takes the opportunity during a Romulan raid to capture the Vulcan and steal her from the space dock to effect her and her companions' escape into the Neutral Zone. S'Talla is the main character, as captain of the Vulcan. She has been trained as a Vulcan monk from early childhood. Her enrollment was originally as a young student who's parents felt a monastic upbringing was the best education for their daughter when they had little time to properly raise her themselves. The practice of sending children away to monastic training was a common practice among the wealthier Vulcans as well as among the most needy. Vulcan monks practice dedicated mental and physical discipline from an early age. They utilize deep meditation and a number of ancient mental techniques. Vulcan Monastic Martial training has parallels to Chinese Shaolin training and is believed to hone the body and improve mental awareness and control. S'Talla was a top student and excelled both in mental and physical disciplines, attracting the attention of the OSS. S'Talla's personality is quiet and introspective. She does not ask questions about the thinking of others nor assign blame. Her personal motivations center around being true to herself and understanding how everything fits together with herself as an essential piece. She starts out with typical Vulcan disdain for emotional beings, but slowly comes to understand that emotions often are simply a manifestation of logical motivations and values. She even comes to realize that there are times when emotions have their advantages. Control is the key. She does have an appreciation for music and plays a Booch (a three stringed cello type instrument that uses a hollow reed for a bow that emits a quiet soft background tone when played across the strings of the booch) as well recites the occasional piece of Vulcan poetry. Kospak - S'Talla's father, a University President and Counsel Representative. Formal and distant, but his actions demonstrate a strong caring for his family, especially for his daughter. He knows about S’Talla’s mission and acts as a source of information and an occasional coordinator. Kospak discovers the subterfuge of his fellow councel member and tries to warn S’Talla. His message is interrupted and before S’Talla can reach him again, news of his death prevents her from hearing his revelation. S'Tajia - S'Talla's mother, a linguist and cultural liaison for the Vulcan Interplanetary Relations Cooperative. S’Tajia later learns that her husband’s death was a murder and informs S’Talla. Samantha Kelly (Sam) - S'Talla's friend, and cognitive developmental and computer scientist to the Vulcan Space Development Agency. Daughter of Earth Diplomat, Nathaniel Kelly. She helped design the Vulcan's distributed matrix computing structure and wrote the code for its AI learning algorithm. Sam, middle name Colleen, befriended S'Talla as a 10 year-old child while touring the Vulcan temple and getting into a discussion of philosophy and ethics with the young student S'Talla. She has an adventurous soul and enjoys looking at life's little twists as part of a great adventure. Her sudden involvement with S'Talla's mission and involuntary inclusion in the crew of the Vulcan is just an exciting adventure to be embraced. Sam spent most of her life on Vulcan but has never fully understood the Vulcan ideals of pure logic. She is a lifelong friend of S'Talla's and feels there have been many pleasures her friend, as well as other Vulcans, have missed out on because of their insistence that only logic should dictate how they act and feel. She can be cold and calculating in the face of superior force, but she is a soft hearted proponent of the underdog. She is moderate in her passions, yet clear in her focus. She will stand against the unjust use of power against those who can't defend themselves. -Will RETURN TO BEGINNING
Skyvik 109 year old male Vulcan with typical green skinned lineage. Skyvik is exceptionally tall (1.95 meters) and heavily muscled. He retired from the Vulcan Defence Ministry where he and his special reconnaissance unit, of eight other soldiers under his command, fought in skirmish wars in remote regions of space such as the Eulia Asteroid Belt Police Action and the Ca'Ukutt Border Conflict. All of these conflicts took place near the edges of the Romulan and Klingon Empires. They were considered aid missions in support of one ally or another. Vulcan itself did its best to stay out of conflicts with other planets except as support for its allies. As a young trainee, Skyvik attended the prestigious Vulcan Naval Academy where he served his first officer's post aboard the VNS Yel-Nel-Dath XII, an historic, restored, antique, sailing ship, maintained as a reproduction from Vulcan's early military past. The Yel-Nel-Dath XII is a training and exhibition, planet-bound wind powered ship, kept for historical memory and diplomatic exhibitions. The Yel-Nel-Dath XII has no strategic value. Her purpose is to be a living museum, a tribute to Vulcan's past, and offer a training ground in ship organization and handling. Skyvik officially retired from the VDM four years prior to his mission with S'Talla. He was immediately recruited into Operations to train agents in infiltration and reconnaissance techniques. Skyvik has field medical training and is an expert in close quarters combat and small group maneuvers and engagement strategies. The mission with S'Talla is to be his last mission before full retirement. Skyvik never married, but has had five serious relationships that could not hold up to the stress of constant deployment in the field of battle. There are numerous other women in his past. As a young Vulcan soldier, he played the field in whichever theater of combat he was stationed in. He is the third oldest Vulcan aboard and no longer suffers Plak Toh during Pon Farr. Other than a slight elevation in energy and the need for extra fluids, he barely feels the pull of it anymore. His combat training and discipline have long since brought his Pon Farrs under control. His personality is all business, speaking almost exclusively when spoken to or in the execution of his duties. He is generally quiet, confident, and sure of his success. He can not be intimidated, but he does not race thoughtlessly headlong into conflict. He is a highly experienced combat strategist and knows when to be bold and when to be cautious. His primary concern in his current mission is to keep his newest and youngest graduating operative safe on her first field assignment. Skyvik has grown fond enough of S'Talla that his closely held personal plan is to encourage S'Talla to return to the priesthood after her current mission is over. He does not think the life of a soldier is enough for S’Talla. - T'Pia 118 year old female Vulcan. She is the Yon-Ha'gel project leader and head engineer. She was working on the warp drive with Chang Sanfeng, among twelve other warp drive specialists working under her. She was also in charge of the entire engineering crew, and is acting head engineer aboard Vulcan. In her mature late middle years, well past Vulcan menopause, she, in her Vulcan way, acts as a mother figure for her subordinates. The younger crew, especially Charley, as the youngest crewman, receives most of her maternal attention. T'Pia is the one thinking of the safety and needs of the "impetuous" youth. She will make sure their gear is packed, their supplies are replenished and their health is looked after. In episode S1E4: A Pon too Farr, T'Pia says, "I have been an engineer for eight decades. My one surviving son, out of six children, is on a long range deep space adventure of his own and I have been thinking about retirement, to help take care of my grandchildren" T'Pia's family has been scattered to space, both dead and alive. Her husband died recently, at the respectable age of 169, of natural causes. She had one surviving son and eight grandchildren being raised by their surviving parents. T'Pia has been interested in travel since graduating with an advanced degree in warp theory and warp drive engineering, 83 years ago. She had wanted to become an engineer aboard a starship, but too many small, family related things had made planet-based work the more logical choice. She loves Vulcan poetry and listening to traditional Vulcan music. She appreciates art, but it must be logical. Her own grandmother taught her how to cook traditional Vulcan dishes. T'Pia also loves to cook, but like most professional Vulcan's, rarely gets the time. It is more logical to let a replicator cook for her, even if she could make it better herself. -Will RETURN TO BEGINNING
Vulcanopause.... Very much liking the biographies. I suspect most writers here have some sort of backstory written for their main characters - or at least largely imagined. Having the biographies helps keep the characters straight since we don't have actors actually embodying them on screen or voicing them for an audio play. Thanks!! rbs
On the sailing forum I participate on, if you hold the [like] button for a moment, a small selection of emojis opens to allow you to express more than a simple "like" of a post. One of the choices is a laughing emoji to say, "that is funny". The others are a normal "like" (thumbs up), light bulb, to mean a post is helpful or informative, and an astonished emoji for "WOW!" I would definitely give your post a . -Will
I usually create as I go. I have a vague, general idea of the story, a couple of the characters, and a few specific plot elements, then, as I write, the rest fills itself in. When I write something specific, such as a character's name, an element of backstory, physical characteristic, or personality trait, I scroll to the bottom of my document and begin or add to their character bio. It is sometimes hard to remember the things I've already written. For example, I forgot Spalloz's name and started writing him as Sparro. That's the name I had chosen for S'Talla's monastic mentor in most of her flashbacks. S'Talla will never lose her balance and fall off her feet, if at all physically possible to avoid. It was Father Sparro who taught her that lesson. We'll get to that at some point. Thanks for all the comments. They are very much appreciated and enjoyed. -Will
I just thought of another one. "Ponn Passant" For those chess enthusiasts out there. I know, I know, too Farr. -Will
I wrote the crew manifest that appears at the beginning of each STH episode first. I pretty much knew these people and their histories before I started writing. I created a rule book that listed all variations from what most writers think of as canon and all the other rules that my trekverse operates by. There was just too much background to keep in my head. I had to write it all down as a way of getting it straight. I had already written the first 3 episodes when I started writing the rulebook (other than the crew list.) I published it on Ad Astra (largely as a way of preserving it): STH Background. Wondering how that would work in 3d chess. Thanks!! rbs
Ya (One Zero Zero One) and Ne (Zero One Zero Zero), Coupled name: (Ya) 001101010110 + (Ne) 000101100011 = 010010111001 are a 30 year old coupled pair of Bynars. Ya and Ne have been recruited by S'Talla and the OSS as Information Systems Engineers, to aid in taking over the Vulcan. They knew the actual mission of the V5-Beta from the beginning and, like S'Talla, are working to help avert war with the Romulans, and working to expose corrupt Vulcan authority. Their inclusion in the team furthered the plan to expand non-Vulcan members of the crew to help distance the V5-Beta's existence, if found out, from a strictly Vulcan controlled event. Ya and Ne were dissatisfied on their own home world. They are considered less evolved than other Bynars because their individualist values. This also gives them greater ability for separate autonomous actions. For this reason, they left Bynar to explore other worlds with a particular interest in Vulcan culture. The Vulcan philosophy of Logic is seen by Bynar as positive, but Vulcans remain individually isolated; a curiosity to Bynars, but also seen as a weakness. While Bynar was an early member planet in the UFP, they rarely venture out of their social collective. Their history of interplanetary exploration is predominantly motivated by the search for resources and the need for room to grow. They are not typically curious about the universe for the sake of curiosity nor adventure. Ya and Ne have adopted, non-Bynar names to better interact with the greater interplanetary community. Ya and Ne applied for and achieved off-world statesman status. They were granted a position on Vulcan to study with the Vulcan priesthood through the Operations of Special Strategies. Operations was looking for non-Vulcan operatives to aid in off-world operations. T'Rai selected them as perfect additions to her project for S'Talla and Skyvik. Bynars have a psychic connection between them and can communicate over several kilometers. They can feel each other’s feelings over many thousands of kilometers. Notes about Bynars: Bynar couples do not show gender differences. Male and female is not a Bynar concept. Reproduction is decided environmentally as determined by the stress-related unconscious biology of the couple. It cannot be predetermined, scientifically, which half of a Bynar couple will host the fertilized egg to infancy. Both have that physical capability. The one of the pair best situated for motherhood will become the "mother". It is not uncommon for both halves of a Bynar couple to become pregnant at one time. Uncoupled Bynars don't reproduce. Bynars don't have a male/female reference in their language, except as newly adopted words from other worlds. They make no distinction between other objects and themselves. They exist or do not exist, on the same binary level as everything else, just as a table or a fruit or a rock exists. Their pronouns for such things do not change; everything is an it, or a that, or a thing. Out of respect for gendered species, they use conventional addresses for the other gendered species. - I'm still working Ya and Ne out. There is little established cannon that I have discovered. I welcome your suggestions and input. I've already screwed the story up around them when They had to borrow Prof. Kazzak's coil spring watch. Of course their positronic implants would include a clock that would give them a perfect sense of time. If it comes up, I figure the watch was a security backup incase the signal suppression properties of their space suits interfered with that connection. But Ya and Ne have never experienced a loss of mental connection with each other. They were able to act as one, even through the suits. About their gender physiology. This is not an area I find compelled to get into on any level except as it relates to a good sci-fi story. However, it may seem odd that I define the Bynar species as being unisex where their defining characteristics are their binary features. This is because, from their original introduction, a paired set of Bynars showed no signs of gender distinction. There is a yin and yang relationship between every coupled pair, and I debated about extending that to gender. I was originally planning on having Ya and Ne show an uncommon Bynar trait of distinct gender markers leading to their subtle persecution on their home world, but I'm really not interested in picking up that issue. It isn't that interesting as a sci-fi story and feels kind of strained with regard to background building. On the other hand, I think Ya and Ne are among the most interesting character elements among the crew. I have a couple of psychological (mind-based) episodes in which they are the main heroes. They offer a unique cross-over between machine and biological thinking. -Will RETURN TO BEGINNING
Actually the sexual / reproductive aspects that you have created for the Bynars provide a rich vein for storytelling. Imagine a nascent romance gone momentarily awry and one of the star-crossed lovers locked away somewhere with the Bynars. The Bynars would be curious - this is part of what they came out to learn about. And their unique perspective could be informative and possibly therapeutic to their heartsick crew mate. Science Fiction isn't so much about science as it is about sociology (at least that's what my dad taught in his Sociology through Science Fiction course.) And Star Trek was founded in this ideology. The original series was largely a series of morality plays, giving commentary on our culture that no other series could because it presented us as an evolved culture exploring our current foibles projected onto less (culturally) evolved aliens. At the moment, there is no bigger flashpoint in modern American culture than sexual and gender identity. I don't know what the writers who created the Bynar would think about your further critter-design on them, but I bet Roddenberry would buy you a beer. Maybe not a craft beer, but a Milwaukee's Best or a Pearl... Thanks!! rbs
that's too bad. I'm a dark Belgium quad lover all the way. Your Dad's absolutely right. SF is an exploration of social possibilities. I'm not interested in making a social commentary on today's perspective on sexuality. It's not an issue to me. I'm about to turn sixty, I have reproduced all that I'm going to. I have a steady, rock solid partner. I really don't care what others decide to do in that regard. It's none of my business, interest, or right to be involved. But, if there's an interesting SF perspective to explore for a story, Ya and Ne can bring something of that to the subject. I just am not planning to make my story a moral platform, only a what if..., isn't this an interesting way to see things..., something like that. I have started off with a strong direction on the subject of Orion's right to practice slavery and plan to knock on that prime directive door pretty hard. As a would-be writer and a recent and long time college student, the subject of gender neutral writing has been covered a few times. I have opinions and I have an open mind around various aspects of it. Our current social state of flux makes it a bit of a mine field to trip along in. Ya and Ne will not be referred to as he or she in my story because they are not defined by gender at all. The are not even gender neutral. They are it, that, and thing. It is sort of a writing challenge. Their pronouns are their names. I recently had a conversation with a young woman whose sibling was gender neutral and this young woman was very careful to refer to her sibling as "they". It threw me until I realized what she was doing. I respect it, but it does remove some of the clarity that previously existed. How does a writer convey this without long explanations? Maybe that just the new standard. Standards are meant to make things more clear, more concise, but there are times when standards interfere with the specifics needed for understanding. -Will
YES!!! [Eurika lmoji?] The next episode of the Vulcan is to feature Ya and Ne. The idea for it is still nebulous, and involves an interaction with a new life form that has no concept of physical existence. I am still percolating on the details, but I think you have provided me with some ideas and inspiration. Thanks -Will
It sounds like we're of an age - I trip over the big 60 very soon. The number one killer of old men is... we forget we're old. I didn't make a moral meal out of Carrera's relationship with Buttans. It was simply a relationship and everyone took it at face value. But that is the moral point I was making - very quietly. Buttans complains that the relationship is largely sexual and while he's willing to continue that, it's plain he wants more. But Carrera's young, driven, absorbed with his career and astoundingly horny... A new character will soon be introduced whose gender changes with mood. No one really knows what pronoun to use, but Dragomut's people consider "it" to be desexualizing and a horrible insult. Since there's no adequate pronoun available, Dolphin instructs the crew to simply avoid using pronouns altogether for this character. Chekov observes, "That's exhausting." STH also addresses polyamory and various other currently hot sexual/gender issues - the point being that no one passes any judgement on these. Dolphin is eager to pursue a relationship with Red, even though he knows she has a large number of lovers. None of these issues are in the spotlight. They just show up because in the middle of the adventures and horrendous crises these people have to deal with, they're still just living their lives. Thanks!! rbs
Thanks 0110, there's so much about them that hasn't been done that it is almost a blank slate. I am vary happy with my concept of coupling or pairing. Each Bynar has an individual name, such as 0110 or 1001 or 0100, then they append that half byte name to a one and a half byte family or unit name to get a full sixteen bit distinguishing name. There's more, of course. Sixteen bits doesn't come close to providing enough combinations for a planet+ full of technologically advanced beings with a million plus years of reproduction and growth. There are bytes that represent birth year, regional origins, etcetera. But then, when two Bynars pair, they simply do a little binary addition to get their new coupled name. I don't know what happens when enough pairings adds up to a number in excess of 12 bits, maybe they reset, add a new value to their date bits, and start over. I'll have to write it to learn more about Bynar culture and traditions. -Will
That would be 4,096 pairings. It might help to think of it in the context of Egyptian and Sudanese names. We all know Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi. Siddig to his friends. He currently works under the name Alexander Siddig. Bynars might have very limited use for binary code. When I was programming binary (I briefly majored in computer science before switching to math and eventually to English), I rarely got below the hexadecimal representation. Everything breaks down to binary, but pretty much all the root languages are coded in hex (base 16). I would think that base 128 might be a bit slow for Bynars - but that would require 128 unique symbols to represent, so at some point the efficiency of a higher base would be hampered by having to interpret too many unique symbols to represent it. For us slow-brained humans, hex sits at that corner. Thanks!! rbs