Thread:Hiromichi/@comment-5802826-20140928184101/@comment-1471931-20140929005556

The Vulcans or Vulcanians were a warp capable humanoid species from the planet Vulcan. They are widely known for their logical minds and stoic culture. In 2161, their homeworld became a founding member of the United Federation of Planets.

Commander Spock once theorized that Sargon's people may have colonized Vulcan some half a million years ago. Sargon believed that Humans and Vulcans might even be descendants of their early travelers. (TOS: "Return to Tomorrow")

With the discovery of ancient humanoid progenitors in the 24th century, most humanoid lifeforms in the known galaxy were found to have a "seed" genetic code guiding their evolution to the humanoid form. (TNG: "The Chase")

Commander T'Pol revealed, regarding Vulcans and the planet Vulcan, that her "species evolved on this planet." (ENT: "The Forge")

Culturally one of the most fascinating species in the Federation, the Vulcans were once an extremely violent and emotional people (even by Earth standards) who waged almost constant warfare on one another. (TOS: "Balance of Terror"; 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 improved, the Vulcans eventually reached a point where their violent nature threatened species extinction. (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", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Unification II (TNG 5x08)">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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Death Wish (VOY 2x18)">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. Many of these also left Vulcan, and took up a nomadic existence. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Fusion (ENT 1x17)">Fusion")

At least one planet studied by the Federation was inhabited by "proto-Vulcan humanoids" without warp technology or any direct ties to the Vulcans or the Romulans. The Mintakans possessed technology identified as Bronze Age, but their culture was described by Federation scientists as generally peaceful and highly logical, much like their Vulcan brethren. Eventually, an error during a Federation science mission led to the exposure of Mintakans to Federation technology and society, exempting them from the Prime Directive. (TNG: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Who Watches The Watchers (TNG 3x04)">Who Watches The Watchers")

The Vulcans conducted a series of survey missions to the Sol system, as early as 1957. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Carbon Creek (ENT 2x02)">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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="First Flight (ENT 2x24)">First Flight") T'Pol told Archer that Vulcans "don't share" Humans' "enthusiasm for space exploration," but a Syrrannite on Vulcan advised Archer that this may not be true. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Fight or Flight (ENT 1x03)">Fight or Flight", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Forge (ENT 4x07)">The Forge")

The official First Contact between Vulcans and Humans came on April 5, 2063 when a Vulcan survey ship 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)

The Vulcans eventually became Earth's "big brothers" in a way, advising Earth officials on how to proceed into the galaxy. The Vulcan High Command considered Humans volatile and similar to Vulcans before the Time of Awakening, and so attempted to slow down Humanity's move into the galaxy until the time was right. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Broken Bow (ENT 1x01/02)">Broken Bow", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Forge (ENT 4x07)">The Forge")

By the 21st and 22nd centuries, the Vulcans had also made contact with the Cardassians, Trill, Tholians, Klingons, and scores of other races. (DS9: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Destiny (DS9 3x15)">Destiny"; ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Broken Bow (ENT 1x01/02)">Broken Bow", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Future Tense (ENT 2x16)">Future Tense")

In contrast to their tradition of peaceful exploration, the Vulcans had a long history of border skirmishes with the neighboring Andorians. The Humans helped negotiate a peace between the two over the disputed Class D planetoid, known to the Vulcans as Paan Mokar. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Cease Fire (ENT 2x15)">Cease Fire")

In the 22nd century, the Vulcan High Command, once in charge only of space exploration and planetary defense, gained much more control over civilian affairs. Under the High Command's leadership, Vulcan policy toward other planets became more aggressive and interventionist, using the ancient monastery at P'Jem to spy on Andorian activities. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Andorian Incident (ENT 1x07)">The Andorian Incident")

Vulcan 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 the 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) and a restructuring of the Vulcan government under the leadership of Kuvak and T'Pau. One of the first acts of the new government was to end the policy of holding back Human expansion into the galaxy. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Forge (ENT 4x07)">The Forge", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Awakening (ENT 4x08)">Awakening", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Kir'Shara (ENT 4x09)">Kir'Shara")

As of the 23rd century, Vulcan had never been conquered in its collective memory. That memory goes so far back that Vulcans could not conceive of a conqueror. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Immunity Syndrome (TOS 2x19)">The Immunity Syndrome")

By the 24th century, Vulcan remained one of the principal Federation members, and was deeply involved in all levels of that society. Their 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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Move Along Home (DS9 1x10)">Move Along Home") They were at the forefront of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant, encountering the Rakhari and finding the remains of the Hur'q civilization. (DS9: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Vortex (DS9 1x12)">Vortex", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Sword of Kahless (DS9 4x09)">The Sword of Kahless")

By 2369, the Vulcans had a saying, known to the Federation, "We're here to serve." (DS9: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Captive Pursuit (DS9 1x06)">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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Unification I (TNG 5x07)">Unification I", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Unification II (TNG 5x08)">Unification II") In the wake of the Reman uprising, as well as the improved relations between the Romulans and the Federation after the Dominion War, it was unclear what the status of this movement was.

In the 24th century, the Vulcan ministry of security was known as the V'Shar. (TNG: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Gambit, Part II (TNG 7x05)">Gambit, Part II")

Genetically, Vulcans and Humans were similar enough that they could produce offspring without any problems. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Terra Prime (ENT 4x21)">Terra Prime")

Externally, Vulcans were generally similar to Humans, the chief exceptions being the Vulcans' notably arched and up-swept eyebrows and distinguished external ear structure, the top of which tapered into a clearly defined point.

Most Vulcans had straight, glossy dark brown or, more commonly, black hair and pale skin with a very subtle greenish tinge, much as the skin of Humans of European descent had a very subtle reddish or pinkish tinge. However, some Vulcans, including Tuvok, had brown skin, tightly coiled black hair, and physiognomic features similar to those found in Humans of African descent.

Others shared physiognomic features similar to those found in Humans of East Asian descent. However, most Vulcans had a vaguely Eurasian appearance. (Star Trek: The Original Series; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Star Trek: Voyager)

Vulcans had body hair similar to Humans, and some males could be very hirsute. Vulcan males were also capable of growing facial hair (as evidenced by Sybok and both Spock and Soval in the mirror universe), but rarely did so. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Mirror, Mirror (TOS 2x10)">Mirror, Mirror"; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; VOY: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Gravity (VOY 5x13)">Gravity"; ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (ENT 4x19)">In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"; Star Trek)

Vulcans possessed teeth that Humans did not have. These included anterior tricuspids, the presence of which implied that Vulcans also had posterior tricuspids. Vulcan teeth may have been chemically capped, as Human teeth may have been since the 20th century, in order to prevent decay. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Dear Doctor (ENT 1x13)">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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Mudd's Women (TOS 1x03)">Mudd's Women", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="A Private Little War (TOS 2x16)">A Private Little War") and beat several hundred times per minute. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Naked Time (TOS 1x06)">The Naked Time", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Journey to Babel (TOS 2x15)">Journey to Babel") They also had no appendix. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Operation -- Annihilate! (TOS 1x29)">Operation -- Annihilate!")

Vulcan blood was copper-based and was copper- or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins and green when oxygenated in the arteries (although it is unclear if this transport mechanism was a hemocyanin as in Earth molluscs). Bruises and dermal abrasions took on a greenish color. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Naked Time (TOS 1x06)">The Naked Time", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Patterns of Force (TOS 2x23)">Patterns of Force"; DS9: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Field of Fire (DS9 7x13)">Field of Fire"; VOY: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Repression (VOY 7x04)">Repression"; ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (ENT 4x19)">In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"); (see also hemocyanin at Wikipedia)

Vulcan body chemistry used little, if any, sodium chloride compared to that of Humans. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Man Trap (TOS 1x05)">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, which was natural given the hot, arid climate of their homeworld. A Vulcan of advanced age may become more sensitive to lower temperatures. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Deadly Years (TOS 2x11)">The Deadly Years"; ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Forge (ENT 4x07)">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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Unexpected (ENT 1x05)">Unexpected")

Vulcan hearing was very sensitive. (TOS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Return to Tomorrow (TOS 2x22)">Return to Tomorrow", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Way to Eden (TOS 3x20)">The Way to Eden"; ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Singularity (ENT 2x09)">Singularity") Vulcan females possessed a heightened sense of smell. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Broken Bow (ENT 1x01/02)">Broken Bow", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Andorian Incident (ENT 1x07)">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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Operation -- Annihilate! (TOS 1x29)">Operation -- Annihilate!"; ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Strange New World (ENT 1x04)">Strange New World", "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Forge (ENT 4x07)">The Forge")

Vulcans had a superior metabolism to Humans. Caffeine and sapotoxins had little effect on them. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Breaking the Ice (ENT 1x08)">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: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Paradise Syndrome (TOS 3x03)">The Paradise Syndrome") Tuvok once claimed that as a Vulcan he was capable of going without sleep for two weeks, (VOY: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Muse (VOY 6x22)">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.

Vulcans were on average three times physically stronger than Humans, and had considerably faster reflexes. (DS9: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Take Me Out to the Holosuite (DS9 7x04)">Take Me Out to the Holosuite")

Vulcans were very sensitive to nitrous oxide gas, which rapidly rendered them unconscious. (TAS: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="The Practical Joker (TAS 2x03)">The Practical Joker")

Vulcans typically had a lifespan of two hundred years or more. (ENT: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Broken Bow (ENT 1x01/02)">Broken Bow"; TNG: "<span style="cursor: help;" title="Sarek (TNG 3x23)">Sarek")

there's more information about Vulcans here.