"Fascinating."
(Best read in Leonard Nimoy's voice. Zachary Quinto and Ethan Peck's voices are also acceptable.)
Greetings. I am Spock, son of Sarek, of the planet Vulcan. I was originally slated to be a scientist, studying under the Vulcan Science Academy, but due to certain... disagreements with the heads of the Academy, I was instead motivated to pursue a career in Starfleet. For most of my service history I have been stationed on the Federation starship Enterprise, where I previously served under Captain Christopher Pike, but more recently I have served under Captain James Tiberius Kirk. My assigned role as a crew member of the ship is to serve the dual role of first officer and science officer. In addition to this, I advise the captain and ensure that his human emotionalism does not lead the ship into danger.
It appears you have found the page that details me as a person, so I presume you must in some way be curious about the subject. I must warn you beforehand that by your human standards, we Vulcans might come across as highly private people, and we do not tend to think of ourselves or personal lives as subjects of very much interest, and indeed, I am myself rarely disposed to discuss personal matters. But I shall attempt my best to accommodate and satisfy your inquiries into the matter.
However, given certain events must not be discussed under penalty of treason, I will be forced to classify all information in regards to them. You may select to read them at your own risk.
Tropes in which I have been involved include:
- Accidental Hug: This nearly occurred when I discovered that I had not killed Captain Kirk during a moment of insanity. I was, after all, relieved that Starfleet had not lost a highly efficient captain.
- Ambadassador: Though I left Starfleet to pursue a life of peace-making, I am still fully capable of defending myself if necessary.
- Arranged Marriage: I was betrothed by my family when I was seven years old. My intended bride and I parted under less-than-positive circumstances. (I believe this is what humans refer to as "an understatement".)
- Back from the Dead: I was resurrected with the help of the Genesis planet, which is recorded in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
- Badass Pacifist: Though my Vulcan teachings have led me to avoid violence whenever necessary, I do not concede in the face of danger. You may wish to discuss with the Decepticon's former second in command how his inability to recognize logic failed to serve him properly. note
- Baritone of Strength: In my elder years, my vocal cords registered at a deeper tone.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Ordinarily, I am a vegetarian, a stoic, and a Technical Pacifist. However, undoing my emotional control or forcing me to do my duty in protecting Captain Kirk is...unwise.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: The fact that my physiology differs from that of humans (notably, the location of my heart and liver) pleases me to no end. And my inner-eyelids certainly proved to be extremely convenient on one occasion.
- Blue-Green Blood: The meaning of this idiomatic term is implied to be accurate. My father is a prestigious Federation ambassador and T'Pau, one of the most powerful people on Vulcan, officiates at (what should have been) my marriage.
- Boomerang Bigot: While it is true I have human blood, I much preferred to be associated with Vulcan for much of my life, perhaps due to my relationship with my father and the Fantastic Racism I experienced whilst growing up on Vulcan. This altered in my later years.
- Catchphrase:
- I frequently use the term "Fascinating", in conjunction with a Fascinating Eyebrow.
- I also use the traditional Vulcan salutation "Live long and prosper" in conjunction with the accompanying gesture.
- Character Development: Why, of course. If there ever was a universal constant that I have encountered throughout my travels with the Enterprise, it is that all living beings learn and change through lived experience. You might even say that this change is the essential process of all existence. As for myself, the lesson I need to understand was that logic merely represents the beginning of wisdom, not the end of it.
- Character Tics: I tend to raise one eyebrow if I am curious, intrigued, or believe someone is being irrational. This is normal for my species, however, so I would not technically describe it as a "tic".
- The Comically Serious: Given my lack of emotions and frequent misunderstandings, I found myself creating merriment.
- Court-martialed: I found myself on trial for traveling to Talos 4. I admit that I expected this, but what I did was necessary to help Captain Pike.
- The Creon: I only took command of the Enterprise when Kirk was promoted, and returned the position when the opportunity arose. Additionally, despite being already a captain and in command of the Enterprise, I never received my own commission: I kept my position as first-officer under Kirk.
- Subordinate Excuse: There are some who theorize that I continued to serve as first officer to Kirk even after my promotion to Captain out of friendship.
- Cuteness Proximity: It is not very logical to allow such a subjective measurement as "cuteness" to cloud your better judgement. This is why I am completely immune to the effects of small "fuzzy" creatures such as the so-called "Tribbles"... I do, however, find that petting Tribbles whenever you come across them seems perfectly logical. I have also observed that they have an affinity for Vulcans. They are, after all, very perceptive creatures. There was also one occasion where I petted a housecat... or, at least, I thought she was a housecat.
- Dark and Troubled Past: As a child, I was nearly assassinated by extremists who considered me an abomination. My adopted sister was killed as collateral damage before Father resurrected her. She then inflicted a severe emotional wound upon me in a misguided attempt to protect me from further harm, as she thought she had been the target.
- Deadpan Snarker: Sardonic comments are often required among the illogical humans with whom I serve. Doctor McCoy seems especially intent on deliberately bringing this out in me.
- Defrosting Ice King: It took years of time with my human crewmates for me to accept my emotions.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: I once shot a highly powerful being with a Klingon ship's disruptor cannon. It was threatening the captain.
- Emotions vs. Stoicism: For a long time, this was one of the central struggles of my life. As a Vulcan, I am taught to value a logical and objective approach to situations, and not let my judgement be clouded by emotionalism, something which has admittedly been somewhat difficult at times due to the human part of my biological makeup. Ultimately, one of my most pivotal moments of personal growth was realizing that I should not give myself completely over to one side, but that I to some degree need both of them in my life. After all, logic is just the beginning of wisdom, not the end.
- Fantastic Racism: Though I myself often speak poorly of humans and their tendencies towards emotion, I have observed that much of my life has been built around others questioning my own existence. Evidently, there are still those who feel Vulcans with Earth ancestry do not belong in society, which I fail to see the logic in.
- Forgets to Eat: When fascinated by something, I sometimes forgo comestibles, as recorded in "Amok Time" and "The Paradise Syndrome". Depending on the situation, this state of affairs may continue for days or weeks.
- Friendless Background: I had not even what comradery Vulcans are permitted as a child, owing to the Half-Breed Discrimination on Vulcan.
- Good Is Not Nice: Doctor McCoy has no compunctions about telling me that I am "a cold-blooded, computerized alien", but even he acknowledges that I always have the best interests of the ship and her crew in mind.
- Guile Hero: Violence is not a logical response to a problem and Vulcan philosophy promotes pacifism. I would rather out-think my adversaries than out-fight them. Though I must admit that Captain Kirk has occasionally proven better at this task, as his unconventional tactics have sometimes successfully found a way where my logical approach was insufficient.
- Half-Breed Discrimination: I have been forced to confront this issue a great deal of my life. On Vulcan, few would accept the son of Sarek for being half human. Even to my own father, who wished to have a descendant of human origin, the more emotional tendencies I displayed in my youth lead me to believe he felt I was a shame to his family. Though I have spent many a years working to hone my emotions, there are times when this notion being brought up in a negative context triggers my more human side.
- Half-Human Hybrid: My father was the Vulcan ambassador Sarek. My mother was human. I admit that I have at times spent too much time denying this aspect of myself, and eventually coming to terms with it was a primary part of my personal growth.
- Handicapped Badass: You may not know this about me, but I am actually dyslexic. (The Vulcan term for this is "L'tak Terai".) However, when the so-called "red angel" and I came into contact, my dyslexia, combined with my Vulcan physiology, prevented me from losing my sanity.
- Heroic Sacrifice: During the second encounter with Khan, I performed necessary repairs on the warp drive and subsequently died from radiation exposure. Although Doctor McCoy would probably dismiss it as a "bad excuse", it seemed a perfectly logical decision at the time to offer up my own life rather than let the crew perish. This act is something I would relay to my younger self in an alternate timeline when he too faced a similar threat.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Many have noticed that myself, Captain Kirk, and Doctor McCoy are often inseparable, each relying on the other's wisdom and experience to solve a crisis, or perhaps take shore leaves together, often discussing the philosophical impact that our careers have had on our lives. There are few instances I can recollect where we were apart in our service together.
- Insult Backfire: Doctor McCoy has frequently attempted to chastise me for my lack of overt human sentimentality, to which I would respond with my thanks.
- Interclass Friendship: I come from a high-ranking lineage going back thousands of years, the Vulcan equivalent of what you humans call "nobility". Captain Kirk, by contrast, was a farmer from Iowa before he joined Starfleet, and Doctor McCoy claims to be "just an old country doctor". This has not been deleterious to our friendship.
- Interspecies Friendship: To an extent. I am half-human, and my closest friends, to the extent that Vulcans can have friends, are fully human.
- Interspecies Romance:
- One time, I became romatically involved with Leila Kalomi, who is not Vulcan. However, we were both under the effects of some psychotropic spores. Similarly, when Harry Mudd created a Love Potion, I temporarily became infatuated with Nurse Chapel, who is a full-blooded human, while I am only half-human.
- When I traveled in time, which was documented in "All Our Yesterdays", I became involved with a human woman named Zarabeth. However, at the time, I was behaving more like a pre-Reformation Vulcan, and it is doubtful she and I would be romantically attracted under normal circumstances.
- In an alternate timeline, I was involved with Lt. Uhura.
- On the subject of one-sided love, Nurse Chapel and Uhura, who are both full humans, have unrequited infatuations toward me.
- I was also infatuated with an Ardanan woman named Droxine once.
- Living Legend: My intended mate referred to me as "much known among our people" and my reputation only grew through my efforts to achieve a lasting peace with the Klingons and my subsequent ambassadorial career.
- Long-Lived: Vulcans have lifespans that are shown to be longer than those of humans. I aged far less than Doctor McCoy during the interlude between our time and that of the Enterprise D.
- Long-Lost Relative: I do have, shall we say, undiscussed relatives, but the circumstances surrounding their existence are convoluted and... controversial in both official and less official circles. It should tell you everything that I never mention one of them unless asked directly, and I will never discuss the other one because I am simply not allowed to.
- Ludicrous Precision: As a Vulcan, it is logical to our species to always strive for punctuality, and I always frequently give time estimates down to the second.
- Martial Pacifist: As much as I deplore violence, I will fight if it is necessary to defend my captain, my crew, or The Federation itself.
- Mate or Die: It is true that a quirk of Vulcan biology means that this is an occasional risk to every member of our species, and that includes me. But I would... prefer not to discuss this in detail.
- Mating Season Mayhem: I once suffered from pon farr and caused... inconvenience to the crew, but I would prefer not to go into detail. It was documented in "Amok Time" if you're curious.
- Mayfly–December Friendship: Vulcans can live for over two of your centuries, but humans are less long-lived.
- Momma's Boy: The pejorative connotations of this term aside, I do hold my mother in great respect. My decision to reject the Vulcan Science Academy in favor of Starfleet came when the headmaster called my mother a "disadvantage" for being human.
- My Future Self and Me: At one point, I was required to visit my personal history to save my younger self from death.
- My Greatest Failure:
- Upon my arrival in the parallel reality, I expressed the destruction of Romulus as this, for I had failed to arrive in time to stop the supernova from destroying the very home of a once proud race. Few things in my life have ever caused me such distress, but to have allowed this to happen? I will be forced to bear this failure, and all that has come from it, for the rest of my days.
- Some have theorized that I felt this way regarding the death of Captain Kirk. Considering how the captain was as much a friend to me as few others were, I do not believe they are wrong. Is it little wonder that, in one of the few moments of emotion in my life, that I felt some sense of joy to see the younger version of him?
- Nerves of Steel: In such situations encouraging fear, I as ever have it under control to deal with the matter at hand.
- Never Accepted in His Hometown: Despite the Vulcan culture being focused on embracing logic, other Vulcans still held the human part of part of my biological makeup against me, despite my intellectual and academic performance according to all tests being on par with theirs. When I was faced with it once more during my successful application for the Vulcan Science Academy, I finally realized that I would never be fully able to escape it as long as I lived amongst other Vulcans. The only logical answer to that conundrum, from my point of view at least, was to join Starfleet, where I could excel in the scientific field without the distraction of always being reminded of my "disadvantage".
- Not So Above It All: I have allowed myself the occasional instance of emotional satisfaction. Notably, I did take pleasure in tricking the Captain into ordering himself to take shore leave. It was logical to do so of course; the ship would not be able to operate efficiently if he was not functioning at his best.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: I only played one practical joke in my entire lifetime, and that was at age five, yet when I was seven, this caused me to have a reputation as a practical joker.
- Only One Name: My full name has never been officially revealed. Some have advanced the possibility that it is S'chn T'gai Spock. It matters not, as it is unpronounceable to humans.
- Pragmatic Hero: It would be extremely self-aggrandizing to call myself "heroic". Nevertheless, my career has forced me to make decisions that my human colleagues found logical yet distasteful. I have occasionally deceived enemies or fellow crew members and have been willing to sacrifice allies or myself in service of a mission.
- Proud Scholar Race Guy: As a Vulcan, I strive for a logical and intellectual understanding of the universe.
- Ret-Gone: I was temporarily erased from existence due to a mistake with Time Travel. The existential implications of this are fascinating, but also, admittedly, disturbing.
- Sarcastic Devotee: My loyalty to the captain is matched by few others. However, this will not prevent me from delivering a sardonic comment.
- Science Hero: While I would not call my actions heroic as they were simply performed in service of my duties, I am educated in various scientific disciplines as a result of my Vulcan heritage. Throughout my career, I received a number of opportunities to demonstrate this knowledge. I regularly repaired various devices and I once helped develop vaccines with the good doctor for an alien virus that killed those that entered human puberty. Additionally, I once helped artificially synthesize the hormone epinephrine (known colloquially as adrenaline) to cure a virus that rapidly aged those infected.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Though I will always defer to Starfleet regulations and proper logic to defuse a potentially destructive situation, there are times in my career where I have deferred to a morally obligatory choice (purely by logic, of course). To have allowed Captain Pike to suffer from his injuries was a far greater consequence than risking a death sentence. Nor would have I allowed the threat of Khan to terrorize the new reality, no matter the consequences to the timeline.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: I would prefer not to discuss how... overemotional I became when Nurse Chapel exposed me to Harry Mudd's Love Potion; nor the instance on the Omicron Ceti III colony.
- Sick Episode: I once got a severe infection in my blood that nearly killed me.
- Signature Move: The neck-pinch. It incapacitates my opponent without causing serious harm, which makes it ideal for a pacifist.
- Smart People Play Chess: When off-duty, I frequently engage Captain Kirk in a game of 3-dimensional chess.
- Soul Jar: I was forced to use Doctor McCoy to house my katra before my death. Fortunately, he seems to harbor no resentment towards me.
- Spock Speak: Some people have reported to, and even complained about finding the Vulcan manner of speaking both bizarrely eloquent and overly complicated, but we find that adhering to as objective and precise use of verbal language as possible remains the most efficient manner of communicating information with other sapient beings.
- The Stoic: Owing to my Vulcan ancestry and upbringing, I refused to show emotion for years. I even attempted undergoing a traditional Vulcan rite to purge myself entirely of all emotions. A large part of my personal growth as an individual, however, was coming to the realization and acceptance of the fact that — though troubled as I may be by them at times — my emotions ultimately remain a part of who I am.
- Not So Stoic: Though I do not like to admit it, part of me is still and will always be irrevocably human, and despite striving to I cannot always keep it subdued. As a result, I have experienced occasional lapses in my emotional control and better judgment in times of extreme stress.
- Stoic Woobie: Many seem to pity me for my difficult past and my lack of reaction to the same. But as long as said past does not immediately influence or impair my judgement or my ability to carry out my duty, I simply do not see it as a subject worth dwelling on or discussing for any extended period of time.
- Super-Strength: My Vulcan physiology makes me three times more powerful than a human.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: It is an accurate assessment that my hair is dark and that my height is greater than many humanoid beings. I also engage in sardonic comments when necessary. However, I fail to see how this inspires the attraction human females seem to have for this combination.
- The Not-Love Interest: The captain is extremely attached to me, also doing things such as staring at me for long periods, and being more attached to me than to his "lady" the Enterprise. On my side, Edith Keeler judged I belonged "at his side, as though I had always been there and always would be." However, despite rumors, the relationship is not romantic. The Captain's interest in the female sex should make that quite clear.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Vulcans do not "squee"...yet, admittedly, I did briefly suffer a lapse in emotional control upon meeting Surak. However, I quickly deduced that Surak was no more the historical figure than Lincoln.
- The Spock: It would be illogical to assume otherwise. Many others have followed in my footsteps. One I had crossed paths with, and the android astounded me with his desires to become human, in spite of lacking their many flaws. My sister attempted to be this, but the circumstances of what happened to her indicate that not even our father could have molded her into the ideal Vulcan.
- The Teetotaler: Vulcans prefer to avoid alcohol, as my father's race was spared the dubious benefits of it. I have imbibed on extremely rare occasions, however, such as the instances where I have engaged the Klingons in what has been called "bloodwine diplomacy".
- This Is No Time for Knitting: I will approach problems with the methods of my choosing within proper professional considerations and I will let the results speak for themselves.
- This Is Unforgivable!: As a young child, my sister insulted my heritage in an attempt to prevent me from fleeing the confines of our parent's home, believing she was sparing our family from logic extremists. While what she said was hurtful, I found her actions in bearing responsibilities that were not hers to bear, to put it in emotional terms, selfish. As such, I refused to reconcile with her for years, only working with her to defeat a common foe. Only when she acknowledged my misgivings that I was willing to accept her apologies. I can only hope that my words may have impacted her choices in the future, and that she does not forget the words I spoke of to her.
- Token Nonhuman: I was the only visible non-human in the crew during the early days. Later, others like Lieutenants Arex and M'Ress were introduced.
- Touch Telepathy: The Vulcan mind meld. I am capable of influencing minds without physical contact, though.
- Undying Loyalty: I once told Captain Kirk that "a starship runs on loyalty to one man and nothing can replace it or him." In my case, Captain Kirk is that man.
- I was also fully ready to risk execution by breaking Federation regulations about staying away from Talos 4 in order to help my former commanding officer, Captain Pike. As he had complete faith in me, I in turn held the same of him. I also owed it to him, as I deduced that by accepting his fate, he saved me from suffering the same.
- Unwanted Spouse: I admit to being less than eager for my union with my intended bride, and she had become involved with another Vulcan. Her efforts to avoid the marriage could have been quite disastrous if not for the good doctor.
- Verbal Tic: While I would not refer to it as a "tic", I tend to fit the word "logic" and the permutations thereof into sentences endlessly.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Although Doctor McCoy and I frequently engage in battles of wit and exchange of barbs, we do have a certain... regard for each other. I admit that logic cannot fully explain it.
- Will Not Tell a Lie: While I can and do lie if the situation calls for it, being a Vulcan, I generally refrain from lying unless it's required of me.
- The Worf Effect: I have been defeated by some creatures, which were deemed formidable adversaries.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: If I ever forgo Captain Kirk's title for his nickname, "Jim", it is a sign of extreme circumstances.
- You Didn't Ask: Like most Vulcans, I am not exactly forthcoming with details about my personal life. In our culture, you do not really tend to broach that subject, unless it is directly relevant to the situation at hand. This has occasionally let to my colleagues getting surprised or even shocked when certain facts about my background are revealed to them. In my defense, I would not have hesitated to tell them, had they actually asked me first.
