Spock’s hearing, like all Vulcans’, is extremely acute. He is able to hear a whisper from across the room with no trouble and can identify how many people are walking in the halls in the level above him with only minor effort. Knowing this, whenever the Vulcan is being especially irritating, Bones makes sure to ask Scotty for a demonstration on his bagpipes.
I’ve had a personal headcanon for years that, for bonded Vulcans, being “stripped of their logic” during Pon Farr is not the violent affair that fanon writes it as and instead just means they become INCREDIBLY CUDDLY at inopportune times. Like on the bridge when you t’hy’la is conducting business in the captain’s chair. x3
“Spock, you climbed into my lap on the bridge and asked me to pet your hair! I think we really should go on leave!”
“Captain, I accept on your word that I did it, but I do not know why, nor do I remember doing it.”
I like the idea that there’s a telepathic dimension to Vulcan flirting (actually it’s probably mostly telepathic?), just little pings of affection that are as subconscious and subtle as human body language, and if you’re Vulcan you don’t know you’re doing it and if you’re human you don’t even know what’s happening, it’s just like inexplicable shivers or static shocks that leave you feeling kind of high. To the point that Kirk starts asking if anyone else has noticed this and has Scotty check the wiring on the bridge and in the turbolifts. And then halfway through “Journey to Babel” Amanda notices that Kirk keeps getting those “someone walked over my grave” shivers right after he does something cute and she’s literally the only person in the universe equipped to take him aside and tell him what that means.
This is just making me visualize dealing with spores/pon farr/in-any-way-compromised Spock as being like wrestling with an electric eel.
Now that I’m again keenly interested in Vulcans in general, I was reminded of Xon, who was supposed to replace Spock if Star Trek Phase II had been a thing. I couldn’t find much information about it anymore, all I have is my memories of reading a bit more detailed concept things in the past.
I know he was supposed to be a full-Vulcan, but if I remember right, his personality quirk was meant to be that he intended to blend with Humans and “act” emotions based on how he logically deducted Humans to expect him to. Which would no-doubt lead to some uncanny-valley moments, which kind of sound like proto-Data to me. Though since Vulcans aren’t emotionless, it not one-on-one.
But the concept very, very interesting, there’s been few instances exploring the idea of a Vulcan wanting to learn and blend with Humans, but no in this scale and seriousness. I would find it, to quote Spock, fascinating. The make-up tests and stuff gave him this amazingly gorgeous long hair I want to just run fingers through. The actor had cheekbones to rival Benedict Cumberbatch, I swear.
Then again, I might have invented all of this stuff in my head, I can’t find the sources anymore. But if Phase II had been a thing, I have a feeling I would have liked Xon quite a lot. I keenly remember reading that McCoy was supposed to have a sort protective and/or fatherly relationship him, to fully contrast the lovely bitchfighting he has with Spock. And if you think about Xon as being very young officer and trying to blend in a way that would agree on McCoy’s life philosophy and failing-failing-failing at it, it makes all the damn sense I could think of.
Now I’m trying to remember what I read of that character back then, and where it was. (Gerrold’s World of Star Trek? Surely that was too early to have Phase II material? It must have been in a fanzine.) Certainly what I remember reading was quite similar, that since they didn’t get Nimoy back they split Spock’s duties between Decker and Xon. Xon was going to contrast with Spock in being full Vulcan and consequently not nearly as concerned with keeping up the appearance of being Vulcan, and actually being curious and explorative of human emotional behavior. I don’t remember the tidbit about mimicking human emotion, or about McCoy, so you might have seen something more in depth than I did. Definitely I never saw any pictures (Long hair! I always thought of Xon as looking like Sonak). I do remember reading that the actor who was the station commander at the beginning of Star Trek I was who’d been picked to play Xon; I haven’t thought about this for a long time, and I realize now that that means Phase II was in actual preproduction till it was decided to do the movie instead, especially if there were make-up tests and stuff. The 80s DC Star Trek comics made Xon Saavik’s bondmate, but he doesn’t figure in the story enough for me to remember more'n that.
I definitely read some Phase II details in a magazine article at some point, there were a bunch of pics, including the engine room before they altered it for The Motion Picture. Definitely recall the bit about Xon not being worried about how Vulcan he seemed and the bit about exploring emotions. I thought the pics were in the big Art Of Star Trek book I have, but nope, had a quick look though and here’s some Xon with bonus Ilia from Phase II.
Thanks for the photos. I’d been imagining they’d be in ST:tmp uniforms. Anyone know whether Phase II planned to update the uniforms and just used stock for these test shots, or planned to actually keep the TOS uniforms?
All the art and photos I’ve seen have people in the TOS uniforms, Wiiliam Ware Theiss was back as designer and Wikipedia says he was just updating the original versions a little. Sadly the Art Of Star Trek book only has about eight pages and most of them are about the Enterprise redesign. Found the following on YouTube though, which has some brief footage of Xon, Ilia and the engine room tests.
Oh my GOD, I didn’t know there was a bit video available of Xon! That’s so precious, I’m weeping cos that’s so cool.
what if the real reason Vulcans kiss with their fingers is because their tongues are rough like a cat’s and that’s just uncomfortable for everyone involved
