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Vulcan (planet)/Provinces of Na'nam: Difference between revisions
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{{Vulcan}} | {{Vulcan}} | ||
''For canon information on the planet Vulcan and its system, please refer to the [ | ''For canon information on the planet Vulcan and its system, please refer to the [[ma:Vulcan_%28planet%29|Memory Alpha]] article.'' | ||
=Introduction= | =Introduction= | ||
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Of course, since even the most expert practitioner of the lirpa can do little against a capacble foe with a ranged energy weapon like a phaser, much of this training has no practical application except for ceremonial exhibitions. However, the real value of the stringent VIDA regimen is the manner in which it disciplines the body in the same way that the practice of logic disciplines the mind. | Of course, since even the most expert practitioner of the lirpa can do little against a capacble foe with a ranged energy weapon like a phaser, much of this training has no practical application except for ceremonial exhibitions. However, the real value of the stringent VIDA regimen is the manner in which it disciplines the body in the same way that the practice of logic disciplines the mind. | ||
Although past students of the Institute include such prominent Federation personages as Captain [ | Although past students of the Institute include such prominent Federation personages as Captain [[ma:Hikaru_Sulu|Hikaru Sulu]], the VIDA may soon play a much different role in Vulcan affairs. VIDA's weapons masters have a natural affinity for the ancient tales of the exiled sons of Vulcan who became the wellspring of the Romulan race. They have thrown in their lot with Ambassador Spock's attempts to negotiate some sort of reunification with the Romulans. To that end, the Institute complex presently houses two young Romulan warriors, Rual and Khazan, who have been brought to Vulcan in secret to learn more of the ancient ways. It is Ambassador Spock's hope eventually to sponsor these young men for admission into the Vulcan Science Academy at ShirKahr, if they can successfully stay out of trouble. | ||
=Khomi= | =Khomi= | ||
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==Places and Persons of Note in Khomi== | ==Places and Persons of Note in Khomi== | ||
===Ku'Vel'Di=== | ===Ku'Vel'Di=== | ||
Translating roughly as "Place of the Fallen," this large complex in the Llangon foothills is a research center set up by the government and [ | Translating roughly as "Place of the Fallen," this large complex in the Llangon foothills is a research center set up by the government and [[ma:Sarek|Sarek's]] family to study the ways of treating [[ma:Bendii_Syndrome|Bendii Syndrome]], and of giving those elderly Vulcans suffering from it a chance to live, and eventually die, with dignity. The facility came into existence mainly because Sarek's third wife [[ma:Perrin|Perrin]], after seeing Sarek lose his very selfhood with no assistance or even acknowledgement from his government, was determined that it would not happen to other Vulcans afflicted with the disease. | ||
At first the government simply tried to ignore her, but that only made her more determined. When it became clear that a public debate was beginning to form about what many considered a private matter, the government relented, and agreed to help fund the research center. The center is not only trying to find a cure for Bendii Syndrome, but provides aides for those who have the disease, so that they can maintain mind control for as long as possible. A number of these aides are human volunteers, since Vulcans still largely prefer to avoid contact with Bendii sufferers. | At first the government simply tried to ignore her, but that only made her more determined. When it became clear that a public debate was beginning to form about what many considered a private matter, the government relented, and agreed to help fund the research center. The center is not only trying to find a cure for Bendii Syndrome, but provides aides for those who have the disease, so that they can maintain mind control for as long as possible. A number of these aides are human volunteers, since Vulcans still largely prefer to avoid contact with Bendii sufferers. | ||
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Kir occupies the eastern equatorial area of Na'nam, directly east of Shi'al, and then extends southwest to the borders of Khomi. It contains a varied ecology with temperate lowlands along the coast of the Thanor Sea, arid grasslands beyond, and broken volcanic plains radiating out to the north and west of Mount Tarhana, Vulcan's best known active peak. | Kir occupies the eastern equatorial area of Na'nam, directly east of Shi'al, and then extends southwest to the borders of Khomi. It contains a varied ecology with temperate lowlands along the coast of the Thanor Sea, arid grasslands beyond, and broken volcanic plains radiating out to the north and west of Mount Tarhana, Vulcan's best known active peak. | ||
Indeed, Kir is in many ways wholly typical of average daily life on Vulcan. It holds within its boundaries the estates of several Great Houses and well-connected political personages, including those of the late Federation Ambassador [ | Indeed, Kir is in many ways wholly typical of average daily life on Vulcan. It holds within its boundaries the estates of several Great Houses and well-connected political personages, including those of the late Federation Ambassador [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]]. It contains a number of small villages and towns, and one fairly large city, also known as Kir (pop. 140,000), which was traditionally ruled by Clan K'vek, one of the leading merchant families in Vulcan's spacefaring history. | ||
In short, an offworlder could observe Vulcan in microcosm by spending a few months here; but with few tourist attractions or religious pilgrimage sites to draw attention, only a small number of short-term visitors will ever see more of Kir than the view from the day-shuttle to the Tarhana Observation Tower. | In short, an offworlder could observe Vulcan in microcosm by spending a few months here; but with few tourist attractions or religious pilgrimage sites to draw attention, only a small number of short-term visitors will ever see more of Kir than the view from the day-shuttle to the Tarhana Observation Tower. | ||
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An order of silent monks occupy this monastery, whose grounds occupy a hillside along the Thanor coast. The sect of ''Ulann'' emphasizes the power of deeds over words, and encourages its adherents to participate in performing useful works along with their studies. In ancient times, the monks operated a lighthouse that adjoined the property to aid seafarers in need. | An order of silent monks occupy this monastery, whose grounds occupy a hillside along the Thanor coast. The sect of ''Ulann'' emphasizes the power of deeds over words, and encourages its adherents to participate in performing useful works along with their studies. In ancient times, the monks operated a lighthouse that adjoined the property to aid seafarers in need. | ||
Today, the lower floor of the monastery is set up as a printing plant and computer datanode, employed to disseminate both the teachings of [ | Today, the lower floor of the monastery is set up as a printing plant and computer datanode, employed to disseminate both the teachings of [[ma:Surak|Surak]] and those of the sect of ''Ulann.'' The Vulcan holiday of ''Kal Rekk'', a day of atonement and silence, derives from the reachings of these monks. Many Vulcans will not speak on ''Kal Rekk'' for any reason. | ||
===Mount Tarhana=== | ===Mount Tarhana=== | ||
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Tarhana's peak has been forever immortalized in art, poetry, and even cheap souvenirs wholesaled on a hundred different worlds (including the Old Quarter of ShirKahr), by Ferengi entrepreneurs. Unlike Mt. Fuji in Japan, however, Tarhana is recognized but not worshipped, storied but no longer mythologized. | Tarhana's peak has been forever immortalized in art, poetry, and even cheap souvenirs wholesaled on a hundred different worlds (including the Old Quarter of ShirKahr), by Ferengi entrepreneurs. Unlike Mt. Fuji in Japan, however, Tarhana is recognized but not worshipped, storied but no longer mythologized. | ||
===[ | ===[[ma:Sarek|Sarek]]'s Estate=== | ||
The privacy of the personal residences of public officials, like all privacy, is sacred to Vulcans. As such, access to an estate like [ | The privacy of the personal residences of public officials, like all privacy, is sacred to Vulcans. As such, access to an estate like [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]]'s is by invitation only, and invitations are not loosely given. The houses of similarly influential diplomatic personnel (from old families) will be comparable. Like [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]], such officials will have a country estate as well as a town house in ShirKahr. | ||
[ | [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]]'s estate centers on a low, sprawling villa with thick, protective walls, set upon a nountain hillside with a panoramic view. The interior of the building is decorated in typical Vulcan fashion - austerely, with only the most essential furnishings. All items, from the chairs and desk to the muted wall hangings, are carefully selected to give each room an overall sense of harmony. Yet the feature that gives the estate its most unique character is its outdoor gardens, tended lovingly for almost 150 years by [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]]'s two human wives, [[ma:Amanda_Grayson|Amanda]] and [[ma:Perrin|Perrin]]. The gardens include a small climate-controlled greenhouse where the only roses and tomatoes on Vulcan are grown. Well away from the house, in a shallow volcanic declivity (possibly a long-dormant crater), lies the family ceremonial site where [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]] underwent his marriages, and where [[ma:Spock|Spock]] annulled his first ([[ma:T%27Pring|T'Pring]]) and celebrated his more successful second one ([http://startrek.wikia.com/wiki/Spock#Saavik Saavik]). | ||
[ | [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]]'s library contains several hundred volumes, and among them they manage to summarize much of the great teachings of both Vulcan and Earth. However, the estate's computer system, reprogrammed over the years by the genius of both [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]] and [[ma:Spock|Spock]], is a marvel which in the proper hands could be used to gain virtually unlimited access to any Vulcan, Earth, or Federation database, no matter how classified. [[ma:Sarek|Sarek]]'s estate has its own scrambled subspace uplink, which is decidedly rare, even among Vulcan diplomatic families. | ||
=Raal= | =Raal= | ||
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Finally, Vulcana Regar is also the headquarters of the ''V'Shar'', the Vulcan bureau of internal security. For most of the past two centuries, the ''V'Shar'' had become little more than a glorified spaceport police, checking manifests and apprehending offworlder pickpockets, and making ceremonial appearances at meetings of the Vulcan Council. Even its traditional technical information-gathering role had slipped to the Science Academy. As the activities of the '''Vulcan Isolationist Movement (VIM)''' have increased in intensity over the past several years, however, the presence of the ''V'Shar'' grows steadily more visible and important. | Finally, Vulcana Regar is also the headquarters of the ''V'Shar'', the Vulcan bureau of internal security. For most of the past two centuries, the ''V'Shar'' had become little more than a glorified spaceport police, checking manifests and apprehending offworlder pickpockets, and making ceremonial appearances at meetings of the Vulcan Council. Even its traditional technical information-gathering role had slipped to the Science Academy. As the activities of the '''Vulcan Isolationist Movement (VIM)''' have increased in intensity over the past several years, however, the presence of the ''V'Shar'' grows steadily more visible and important. | ||
====Sutok==== | ====Sutok==== | ||
A heavy-set, olive-skinned man of almost 150 years, Director Sutok has been head of the ''V'Shar'' for almost forty years. He has a deep, sonorous voice and a regal bearing, and always prefers if possible to reflect upon a situation before choosing a course of action. A graduate of both the Science Academy (in molecular chemistry) and the Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts (VIDA), Sutok has never been off-world. There are those who allege that Sutok holds a degree of sympathy for some of the political agendas of the '''VIM''', and may have moved slowly to infiltrate their ranks as a result. Now that the '''VIM''' has stepped up its activities to include treasonous plots such as the recent attempt to locate and reassemble the [ | A heavy-set, olive-skinned man of almost 150 years, Director Sutok has been head of the ''V'Shar'' for almost forty years. He has a deep, sonorous voice and a regal bearing, and always prefers if possible to reflect upon a situation before choosing a course of action. A graduate of both the Science Academy (in molecular chemistry) and the Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts (VIDA), Sutok has never been off-world. There are those who allege that Sutok holds a degree of sympathy for some of the political agendas of the '''VIM''', and may have moved slowly to infiltrate their ranks as a result. Now that the '''VIM''' has stepped up its activities to include treasonous plots such as the recent attempt to locate and reassemble the [[ma:Stone_of_Gol|Stone of Gol]], Sutok has dedicated the ''V'Shar'' to rooting out its members and bringing them to justice. | ||
====T'shanik==== | ====T'shanik==== | ||
A lithe young Vulcan woman with black hair and hazel eyes, T'shanik enrolled in the ''V'Shar'' upon returning to Vulcan in 2366, after just failing (as runner-up to Wesley Crusher) to qualify for admission to Starfleet Academy. Although a strict adherent to the ways of [ | A lithe young Vulcan woman with black hair and hazel eyes, T'shanik enrolled in the ''V'Shar'' upon returning to Vulcan in 2366, after just failing (as runner-up to Wesley Crusher) to qualify for admission to Starfleet Academy. Although a strict adherent to the ways of [[ma:Surak|Surak]], T'shanik seems to possess an unusually high degree of curiosity about the customs and ways of offworlders, and she has been employed on several occsions as a liaison when the ''V'Shar'' is called upon to interact with other non-Vulcan Federation personnel. | ||
===Vulcana Regar=== | ===Vulcana Regar=== | ||
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=Shi'al= | =Shi'al= | ||
Unlike Tat’sahr, the province of Shi’al is often called a province of contrasts. Being on the equator, it is known for several different types of climate. On its northern border with Tat’sahr, harsh deserts make up Shi’al’s part of the Cheleb-khor. To the east, the terrain turns to rolling hills, which run down to the Thanor Sea. Here many different types of plants and animals seen in few other places on Vulcan live. Going south leads to the oasis at ShirKahr, where some of the oldest trees on the planet somehow survive. | |||
Beyond the capital at ShirKahr lie the Shival Flats, a large open desert area that reminds visiting Terrans of the Bonneville Salt Flats on the North American continent. Unlike the flats of Earth, the Shival flats offer people a chance to watch the solar flare activity of Vulcan’s star 40 Eridani A safely. The shows are considered spectacular, but can only be viewed during Vulcan’s winter months, since during the summer the flares create deadly lightning storms in the ionosphere that scour the flats clean. | |||
Shi’al, being one of the most tectonically stable areas on Vulcan, has one of the largest populations of Vulcans on the planet. After the Awakening, the province turned from an area constantly wracked by war into the cultural center of all Vulcan. But the scars of the past still remain in some ways, just as the lava flows from Mount Tarhana still steam just over the horizon from ShirKahr’s suburbs. | |||
==Places and People of Note in Shi’al== | |||
===Caves of Kulvir=== | |||
Located on the southern side of the Cheleb-khor, these former vents of a now inactive volcano have become a place that day hikers or those who want to do some light exploring come to visit. There are several caverns that have unusual rock formations, as well as the remains of a former temple partially destroyed by lava. The tours always have a guide, and at least two people equipped with stunners, as the tunnels have sometimes been known to be used as dens by various desert creatures. | |||
===Da’kum’Ulcha=== | |||
Its name translates to “City of Shadows” in Standard, and while individuals can visit the ruins, it’s not a subject many Vulcans like to talk about. It’s left as a reminder of what happens when life comes to mean nothing, and the horrible consquences that often result. | |||
''more to come'' | ''more to come'' | ||