Siren's Pull Application
Player Information
★Name: Fishbone
★AIM SN: Aceonist
★email: Phantomblues at gmail dot com
Character Information
General
★Canon Source: Star Trek XI
★Canon Format: Movie
★Character's Name: [S’chn T’gai] Spock
★Character's Age: 11, as per his age in the XI novel adaption.
★★Conditional: If your character is 13 years of age or under, please clarify how they will be played: Though a child, Spock is tremendously smart, enough to make most adults appear shamefully stupid - provided, of course, that the topics of debate are physics, space, or some other lesson commonly taught to Vulcan children. He is full of child-like curiosity but extremely mature in his manners on account of his Vulcan upbringing, and also attuned to the idea of logic. As a result, he is capable of being more self-sufficient than most children around his age would be, and could make responsible, logical decisions to live in Siren's Port. He is still a child, however, and, given time, will likely latch onto various other islanders to fill the void of his parents' absences. This is especially probable after his first encounter within the Darkness, as he will then see that the security of others will increase his survival rate.
★Netvice: Starfleet communicator. It looks like this and is the size of an average cellular phone. It will include a pop-out keyboard for typing, visual capacity of video chat and holographic projection, and ports all around the sides to allow it to be plugged into other machines for interfacing. It has a GPS and other common NV programs. Spock will be modifying this later (he is more than capable).
Abilities
★Character's Canon Abilities: Spock is Vulcan. As such, his physiology differs from a human's in several ways and grants him natural possession of a type of telepathic ability.
☆Strength and endurance are beyond a human's. He is physically about three times stronger, is built tougher and is thereby able to handle more harm before injury occurs; he requires less food, water, and sleep, and is overall highly adaptable, given time, to foreign environments and foods. His sense of hearing is very sensitive. He is, of course, much more intelligent than even the above average person on Earth. An exception to his seemingly endless list of advantages over humanity would be how disagreeable colder temperatures would be to him. This is because he comes from a very hot, very dry, desert-like planet; however, this also means that he is comfortable in temperatures considered much too hot for a human.
☆As a Vulcan, his mind is of utmost importance to Spock, but not only due solely to intelligence. His extreme levels of control are not limited to emotional output; he is able to control the organs and very functions of his body directly by his own willpower. This is an especially useful ability if he becomes badly injured, as he can put himself into a healing trance, consequently becoming nearly dead by appearance, to focus bodily energy into healing whatever was harmed. These are skills learned with time and concentration.
☆A natural skill, which requires no conscious effort, is contact telepathy. Vulcans are very firm believers in the concept of personal space and respect of all life forms. They hide their emotions from everyone around them while all it would take is a single touch to betray their thoughts and feelings to another Vulcan they are in contact with. Physical contact is generally considered uncomely, as they do not want to accidentally invade another being's mind. Private thoughts are meant to stay that way unless a situation arises where it is the most logical choice to intrude upon that privacy. Through touch, a Vulcan can read feelings and even thoughts.
☆A concentrated use of touch telepathy, often with fingers pressing into pressure points on the face, can actually join Spock's mind with another. This is referred to in the Star Trek series as a Vulcan mind meld. They are capable of transferring thoughts, feelings, memories, suggestions, images, and, with much training, a Vulcan's own soul/lifeforce. This telepathy not only works with sentient beings, but with creatures, animals, and even non-organics. With enough concentration, it's possible to initiate a meld without contact. The actual connection of minds, considered to be extremely personal, initiates the sharing of everything in both minds, unless the initiator (in this case it would be Spock) blocks his side of it by constructing mental shields. This would result in a one-sided meld where Spock can simply probe into the mind of the other unless they have the mental strength powerful enough to challenge his and keep him out. A mind meld can be strenuous to one or both parties and can result in difficulties returning to oneself. Often, there will be a lingering presence of the other after the meld is ended. They can be used in attempts to restore memories or proper mindset, such as in the case of amnesia of insanity.
As a child, Spock will not be significantly skilled with mind melding, though his contact telepathy will work just fine.
☆Though he represses the hell out of his own emotions (and will outright claim to not have them), Spock is able to read the emotions of others around him if they are feeling the weight of them too heavily. For instance: while the person standing next to him may not be expressing their overactive concern over something, they would be practically oozing worry by the Vulcan's senses. This applies to strong emotions only. Vulcans share a special bond with other Vulcans, and can sense their deaths, particularly when a group is killed together.
With all that the mind is in control of and capable of, having their mind impaired is very problematic for a Vulcan. Therefore, if he were psychologically traumatized, it could lead Spock into insanity or actually cause parts of his brain to shut down in its attempts at self-preservation.
Spock is extremely skilled with computers, obviously less as a child but still significantly so when compared to Earth technology in the twenty-first century. He is very intelligent and knowledgeable in areas of science, physics, and ethics, mostly, but his insistence in applying logic to everything can keep him from understanding emotional responses or actions, and he will be unfamiliar with many Earth terms, behaviors, or cultural idioms.
★★Conditional: Dormant Ability: Spock will not be receiving a new ability, nor an enhancement. I propose, rather, a simple after-effect of the Core's presence after a length of time that is two to three times longer than when another arrival's new ability would have kicked in. Simply put, months will pass before Spock will start to feel different, the Core slowly adding stress to his Vulcan control. His human half will not be affected at all, which only mean his emotions will occasionally fight being constantly repressed. It will still be possible for him to remain his usual stoic, logical self, but it will start to require more effort on his part to keep his human side under control and not give the hint of a smile once in a great while. Four to six months down the road, twitches of a smile or frown become easier to spot. Hey, Spock, your humanity is showing. Given his mental capacity for self-will, any temporary fluctuations in his control will be, for the most part, few and sporadic - this being after significant time spent on the island only.
★Weapons: N/A, only Vulcan strength and logic suitable for his age.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
★Character History: Memory Alpha Link
★Point in Canon: After fighting with the older Vulcanians, but before talking with his father. I'm pulling Spock from when he is a child.
★Character Personality:★
Even from his beginning, Spock is faced with conflict. He is a child of two worlds, born to an interspecies union between a human and a Vulcan. While both humanoids with similarities, the two species could hardly be more different culturally. For instance: at his birth, the Vulcans caring for Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother, are confused why she was crying despite her child being strong and healthy. To a human, it would have been obvious that she was crying because she was happy and overcome with emotion in the moment of her son's birth. One Vulcan simply pointing out that "she is human" was all it took for the instance to suddenly be understood. Amanda was human, and therefore emotional and prone to illogical behavior that many Vulcans are unfamiliar with firsthand.
The Vulcan race is composed of a stoic, prideful people, rigid in their beliefs and their logic. When interacting with a Vulcan, it is not difficult to uncover that "logic" seems to be their favorite word to throw around. Logic, logic, logic; it's ingrained in their very being. From the time they are infants, Vulcans are subjected to teachings and training. They are educated and encouraged to expand their knowledge and to strive for logic in all aspects of their lives, to act according to the most logical and beneficial outcome of any action. While still children, Vulcans are taught to step away from their emotions and keep them repressed in favor of using logic in all of their decisions, words, and actions. Speaking to a Vulcan is very much like speaking with a talking computer. They are calculating, giving factual responses, and can come off as quite cold for ignoring their own emotions or not attempting to sympathize with the emotional needs of other races. They are, however, very protective of all life forces and have strong beliefs in ethics. It is said that Vulcans cannot lie because of their devotion to honesty; however, they will bend the truth if it's for a logical reason, and simply refuse to call the instance a lie.
Spock is no exception to intense, early education nor to the instruction to suppress his emotions. Notably, he is a fast learner. Vulcans are taught by means of processing a continuous avalanche of information as quickly as they can, answering question after question while faced with a stream of overlapping questions. During his instruction periods, he was often admired by teachers for how rapidly he was progressing in his studies and even considered for early advancement in level. He is something of a Vulcan prodigy - that is undeniable, even by other Vulcans - despite being half-human. Knowledge is not the only thing he is capable of excelling at, as he can also be much better at offensive/defensive arts than a Vulcan older than himself. This is shown when Spock is provoked into attacking the older boy and proceeds to flatten him to the ground with little-to-no difficulty.
Spock is comfortable with his skills in learning and reciting information, comfortable with the detached, neutral intelligence Vulcans are known for displaying. Hesitation is not shown when questions are asked of him; he answers them correctly, with precision
and confidence. Where he is less sure of himself is with his humanity, where logic grows thinner. He hesitates when confronted by a "human" situation, questioning his sudden emotional interest in whatever the instance may concern. Being half-human in a world where emotions are considered inferior in the quest for ultimate prosperity, Spock often wars with himself. He has to struggle extra hard to appear as a generic, impassive Vulcan because of his hybrid genetics, especially around the constant judgment found in the company of other Vulcans. In particular, as a child, Spock is often tormented by his peers at the learning facility where he receives his education. Aware of his half-breed status, other children treat Spock as an experiment, trying to provoke emotional responses from him through words and, sometimes, action. Though their insults are painful to hear time and again, Spock nonetheless did his best to not react and treat the abuse with patience and logical refutes.
By the time he is eleven, according to the film novelization, Spock has already come to resignedly expect the abuse from the other children on Vulcan. Not only is he a child with feeling floundering within a world of emotionally-distant people, but he is subjected to ostracism by them that is actually quite illogical and against their own teachings. He is very much alone with his self war, different enough at his core that Vulcans find themselves judging him, perhaps without meaning to. This may be why, as mentioned in The Original Series, Spock was so attached to his pet sehlat. I'Chaya offered companionship that the boy needed and could not find elsewhere. Amanda was aware of her son's suffering, but no one else, not even Spock's father, would take preventative action or heed her arguments that Spock's human side should not be neglected. Instead, they concluded that it was Spock who must overcome his emotions with logic when faced with negative confrontations.
Emotions are considered to be highly illogical by Vulcans, ultimately superfluous factors in making decisions that do nothing to improve the quality of whatever that decision may be. On the contrary, emotions often prove more caustic than beneficial. This is the opinion of Vulcans, and with good reason. In actuality, and despite what they will say, Vulcans do have emotions. Their emotions are actually exceptionally passionate, often violent, and extremely intense. In the past, when Vulcans let their emotions run wild, their violence resulted in wars that nearly led to their own destruction. It was the decision to mentally condition themselves into emotional suppression that allowed Vulcans to become a peaceful and more prosperous race of people. They now despise having this control taken from them. Acting in an illogical manner, no matter the reason (such as chocolate consumption, which essentially causes inebriation in Vulcans), is disapproved of by general Vulcan society. There are, of course, those who chose to embrace their emotions during the post-war Time of Awakening instead, but they need not be mentioned in detail.
His father attempts to explain this to Spock, saying that it is imperative that Vulcans control their emotions so that their emotions do not control them. Being half human, this is especially difficult for Spock to accomplish. Amanda's mothering for her son and tending to his distressed human side adds to his confusion when it comes to accepting emotions. For instance, it's harder to dedicate himself to being fully Vulcan when it means not returning her expressions of love. His inner turmoil of not knowing if he should live as a human or as a Vulcan certainly does nothing to give him the serenity that Vulcans claim their emotional suppression brings. For the most part, he would still be considered "unemotional" by a human observer, though he is more expressive than Vulcans typically allow themselves to be. He expresses shame in trying to avoid his father's gaze after he attacked another boy at the Vulcan learning facility. His momentary loss of control that resulted in the attack was due to battering insults from the bullies finally getting beneath his skin. Hearing his parents being insulted, their marriage dissed, sparks a fire in Spock that releases in the form of explosive rage. He outmaneuvers and beats a bigger, older Vulcan to the ground as he is overcome by his anger. The emotions he tries so hard to control take over his mind, all-consuming for a moment, when they are allowed to reach the surface.
It seems obvious that Spock is concerned for his parents' marriage, having observed how they argue - constantly, according to Spock - though he tries to avoid being around it. Their disagreements generally stem from his Vulcan father's perspective clashing with his more-emotional human mother's. Hearing talk from his peers of his father being a traitor and his mother being a whore does nothing to soothe the young boy's unease. His worry for their union is also apparent judging by his expression of alarm when his father mentions "choosing" between something and how he automatically concludes he must decide between a parent. Though assured otherwise, Spock again shows how insecure he is with his humanity by hesitantly questioning his stoic father's motive for marrying a human. He wants to understand how someone against emotion could want to be with someone emotional.
Although he wants his young son to be reasonable and logical, Sarek does recognize that Spock has trouble with his emotions. At least, enough to point out to him that Spock's unique heritage, the internal conflict he feels every day, presents a problem which Spock alone can solve. In time, Spock will have to figure out which path, either human or Vulcan, he wishes to follow. This unsettles the youngster. Ultimately, Spock does not know where he stands. Presented with his father's revelation of his destiny (of being the only one capable of deciding his future) causes the boy to feel pressured by something much bigger than himself and his eleven years of life. He respects his father and wants to do his best to fit in with the Vulcans, despite their unwarranted judgments of him. Being a child of two worlds, he has no true place until he finds it for himself. This realization, too, will have to be discovered by Spock as, from his canonpoint, he has not had this discussion with Sarek.
★Character Plans: Spock's plans are to live long and prosper--I mean, his intentions are definitely to survive and further his education on Earth and its cultures. He will be fascinated by the concept of the "Core" and want to know more about it, even want to be able to inspect it some day. He'll seek out places of interest where his talents and intelligence will be beneficial to a morally sound group on the island, likely working with computers, perhaps while attending school with the intention of earning several Earth college degrees, and finding something sciencey to preoccupy his remaining time. He is far beyond an overachiever, by human standards.
★Appearance:★
Writing Samples
★First Person Sample★
[The blank face of a small boy with black hair, slanted eyebrows, and pointed ears appears moments before the child's voice addresses the network, entirely monotonous. Because he is not speaking English, the movements of his mouth do not match the audible words translated by the NV, like watching a poorly dubbed kung fu film. There is a greenish bruise on his cheek and his lip is split open and crusted over with green.]
Ambassador Sarek. I divulge that my actions earlier, while not without merit, were illogical and incongruous of an educated Vulcan. [A pause, Spock considering how much he ought to say in his message. His gaze turns downward with his next line before flickering back up.] It was wrong of me to create a disturbance at the educational facility today. I have gathered from the thick atmosphere, the abundance of dihydrogen monoxide, and testimonies of occupants in this vicinity that I have been sent to Earth for an unknown length of time. I find this planet's temperature to be disagreeable with my physiology.
[Spock's eyebrows furrow up slightly, betraying his worry over the situation he finds himself in, despite his attempts to remain composed.]
Ambassador Sarek, please respond at your convenience.
[The tacked on "please" also serves to express the young Vulcan's unease. He terminates the message.]
★Third Person Sample★
This was the planet Earth. Spock based his affirmation on the information he had acquired in the five hours spent on the planet's surface. Though he was not presented with a particularly wide region in which to submerge himself in analytical study, there were, nonetheless, many obvious evidences to be found.
The atmosphere here was nothing like the atmosphere on Vulcan; the air was much thicker, filled with moisture. In fact, the entire city, which Spock was informed possessed the unusual title of Siren's Port, seemed chill and damp to someone used to the hot, desert-like climate on Vulcan. If that were not enough to convince him of his unexpected arrival to another world, there was the appearance of it to consider. The blue sky, for one thing, was instantly noticeable and captivating. This world was rich with alien colors and green life and water; its architecture was substantial but quite unlike anything Spock was familiar with. To consider as further proof were the testimonies of the locals and those claiming to be other worlders, caught in a situation that sounded too similar to his own.
Most evidently, he was on Earth, and had no means of contacting anyone that he knew. The device he was provided with seemed incapable of interstellar communication of any sort. The circumstances should be frightening to an eleven year old, but Spock pushed his fears down in favor of logical thought, as he had been taught. At first, he speculated that his presence in this other world was penalization for his behavior earlier that day. Allowing his peers to provoke an emotional response from him after his lessons had been illogical. Spock was aware of that. He had no intention of satisfying the other Vulcans' experiments with him but his control had been snapped when his parents (Mother, specifically) were insulted.
He would not expect to be unpunished for attacking another boy and causing him injury, however superficial the wounds may have been; yet, to be sent, without announcement, as far away as Earth presented an unpredictability that he failed to find logic in. If that were indeed the case, perhaps his father would explain his intentions after retrieving Spock, and simply refused to return his communications until then. If that were not the case, Spock reasoned that his absence would still be noted and he would be searched for. Whether or not he would be located on Earth in any length of reasonable time, however, was another matter entirely, and not one that gave the child any sense of comfort.
Spock had investigated the quarters he was given with muted curiosity. The room was nothing particularly special but nonetheless strangely Earthen. Rummier still was the fact that he was handed a place to stay with nothing asked of him in return. The Vulcan wondered whether the humans of this area always behaved in this welcoming manner. They didn't seem to know what a Vulcan was, but there were still plenty of people jumping to help him as he made his way to the housing towers. It was as if they suspected him of being incapable of self-sufficiency due to his age - if that were true, they really didn't know Vulcans.
He had been informed of the strangeness that occurred after the sun set, listened with interest as people attempted to explain all manners of creatures, but he had yet to see any of it. There were an estimated twenty-six minutes until the sirens would blare, so Spock felt it was safe to remain outdoors a while longer. It had begun drizzling approximately eight minutes and sixteen seconds ago, steadily turning into a heavy rain. Spock stood outside of the towers, under the overhang by the doors. He was far enough away to not become soaked, though the chilly air carried moisture to his face, settling a wet shine on his skin as he watched the rainfall.
Other people seemed to have fled indoors the moment the storm started up, but Spock had been drawn outside. Rain on Vulcan was exceedingly rare, and he had never before witnessed a storm so heavy as this. He felt an illogical urge to step out of the building's cover and into the rain. There was no need for this, as he didn't require extra water to be absorbed by his body at this time. There was plenty to drink available and the misty air alone felt unusual, causing a tingle-like feeling to pass over his skin that was not quite a shiver. With the rain came an expected temperature drop that Spock found disagreeable.
It was cold.
If he allowed himself to become drenched, it would increase the likelihood that he might fall ill.
That was an objectionable outcome that he wished to avoid.
Nevertheless, as he stood watching the rain with his arms behind his back, Spock's hands clenched and unclenched to betray his restlessness. He resisted the feeling, the desire to feel the rain. Tilting his head slightly to one side to better pick up the torrent of sound as thousands of individual water droplets struck the ground across the city street, the young boy murmured out a single word.
"Fascinating."
★Name: Fishbone
★AIM SN: Aceonist
★email: Phantomblues at gmail dot com
Character Information
General
★Canon Source: Star Trek XI
★Canon Format: Movie
★Character's Name: [S’chn T’gai] Spock
★Character's Age: 11, as per his age in the XI novel adaption.
★★Conditional: If your character is 13 years of age or under, please clarify how they will be played: Though a child, Spock is tremendously smart, enough to make most adults appear shamefully stupid - provided, of course, that the topics of debate are physics, space, or some other lesson commonly taught to Vulcan children. He is full of child-like curiosity but extremely mature in his manners on account of his Vulcan upbringing, and also attuned to the idea of logic. As a result, he is capable of being more self-sufficient than most children around his age would be, and could make responsible, logical decisions to live in Siren's Port. He is still a child, however, and, given time, will likely latch onto various other islanders to fill the void of his parents' absences. This is especially probable after his first encounter within the Darkness, as he will then see that the security of others will increase his survival rate.
★Netvice: Starfleet communicator. It looks like this and is the size of an average cellular phone. It will include a pop-out keyboard for typing, visual capacity of video chat and holographic projection, and ports all around the sides to allow it to be plugged into other machines for interfacing. It has a GPS and other common NV programs. Spock will be modifying this later (he is more than capable).
Abilities
★Character's Canon Abilities: Spock is Vulcan. As such, his physiology differs from a human's in several ways and grants him natural possession of a type of telepathic ability.
☆Strength and endurance are beyond a human's. He is physically about three times stronger, is built tougher and is thereby able to handle more harm before injury occurs; he requires less food, water, and sleep, and is overall highly adaptable, given time, to foreign environments and foods. His sense of hearing is very sensitive. He is, of course, much more intelligent than even the above average person on Earth. An exception to his seemingly endless list of advantages over humanity would be how disagreeable colder temperatures would be to him. This is because he comes from a very hot, very dry, desert-like planet; however, this also means that he is comfortable in temperatures considered much too hot for a human.
☆As a Vulcan, his mind is of utmost importance to Spock, but not only due solely to intelligence. His extreme levels of control are not limited to emotional output; he is able to control the organs and very functions of his body directly by his own willpower. This is an especially useful ability if he becomes badly injured, as he can put himself into a healing trance, consequently becoming nearly dead by appearance, to focus bodily energy into healing whatever was harmed. These are skills learned with time and concentration.
☆A natural skill, which requires no conscious effort, is contact telepathy. Vulcans are very firm believers in the concept of personal space and respect of all life forms. They hide their emotions from everyone around them while all it would take is a single touch to betray their thoughts and feelings to another Vulcan they are in contact with. Physical contact is generally considered uncomely, as they do not want to accidentally invade another being's mind. Private thoughts are meant to stay that way unless a situation arises where it is the most logical choice to intrude upon that privacy. Through touch, a Vulcan can read feelings and even thoughts.
☆A concentrated use of touch telepathy, often with fingers pressing into pressure points on the face, can actually join Spock's mind with another. This is referred to in the Star Trek series as a Vulcan mind meld. They are capable of transferring thoughts, feelings, memories, suggestions, images, and, with much training, a Vulcan's own soul/lifeforce. This telepathy not only works with sentient beings, but with creatures, animals, and even non-organics. With enough concentration, it's possible to initiate a meld without contact. The actual connection of minds, considered to be extremely personal, initiates the sharing of everything in both minds, unless the initiator (in this case it would be Spock) blocks his side of it by constructing mental shields. This would result in a one-sided meld where Spock can simply probe into the mind of the other unless they have the mental strength powerful enough to challenge his and keep him out. A mind meld can be strenuous to one or both parties and can result in difficulties returning to oneself. Often, there will be a lingering presence of the other after the meld is ended. They can be used in attempts to restore memories or proper mindset, such as in the case of amnesia of insanity.
As a child, Spock will not be significantly skilled with mind melding, though his contact telepathy will work just fine.
☆Though he represses the hell out of his own emotions (and will outright claim to not have them), Spock is able to read the emotions of others around him if they are feeling the weight of them too heavily. For instance: while the person standing next to him may not be expressing their overactive concern over something, they would be practically oozing worry by the Vulcan's senses. This applies to strong emotions only. Vulcans share a special bond with other Vulcans, and can sense their deaths, particularly when a group is killed together.
With all that the mind is in control of and capable of, having their mind impaired is very problematic for a Vulcan. Therefore, if he were psychologically traumatized, it could lead Spock into insanity or actually cause parts of his brain to shut down in its attempts at self-preservation.
Spock is extremely skilled with computers, obviously less as a child but still significantly so when compared to Earth technology in the twenty-first century. He is very intelligent and knowledgeable in areas of science, physics, and ethics, mostly, but his insistence in applying logic to everything can keep him from understanding emotional responses or actions, and he will be unfamiliar with many Earth terms, behaviors, or cultural idioms.
★★Conditional: Dormant Ability: Spock will not be receiving a new ability, nor an enhancement. I propose, rather, a simple after-effect of the Core's presence after a length of time that is two to three times longer than when another arrival's new ability would have kicked in. Simply put, months will pass before Spock will start to feel different, the Core slowly adding stress to his Vulcan control. His human half will not be affected at all, which only mean his emotions will occasionally fight being constantly repressed. It will still be possible for him to remain his usual stoic, logical self, but it will start to require more effort on his part to keep his human side under control and not give the hint of a smile once in a great while. Four to six months down the road, twitches of a smile or frown become easier to spot. Hey, Spock, your humanity is showing. Given his mental capacity for self-will, any temporary fluctuations in his control will be, for the most part, few and sporadic - this being after significant time spent on the island only.
★Weapons: N/A, only Vulcan strength and logic suitable for his age.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
★Character History: Memory Alpha Link
★Point in Canon: After fighting with the older Vulcanians, but before talking with his father. I'm pulling Spock from when he is a child.
★Character Personality:★
Even from his beginning, Spock is faced with conflict. He is a child of two worlds, born to an interspecies union between a human and a Vulcan. While both humanoids with similarities, the two species could hardly be more different culturally. For instance: at his birth, the Vulcans caring for Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother, are confused why she was crying despite her child being strong and healthy. To a human, it would have been obvious that she was crying because she was happy and overcome with emotion in the moment of her son's birth. One Vulcan simply pointing out that "she is human" was all it took for the instance to suddenly be understood. Amanda was human, and therefore emotional and prone to illogical behavior that many Vulcans are unfamiliar with firsthand.
The Vulcan race is composed of a stoic, prideful people, rigid in their beliefs and their logic. When interacting with a Vulcan, it is not difficult to uncover that "logic" seems to be their favorite word to throw around. Logic, logic, logic; it's ingrained in their very being. From the time they are infants, Vulcans are subjected to teachings and training. They are educated and encouraged to expand their knowledge and to strive for logic in all aspects of their lives, to act according to the most logical and beneficial outcome of any action. While still children, Vulcans are taught to step away from their emotions and keep them repressed in favor of using logic in all of their decisions, words, and actions. Speaking to a Vulcan is very much like speaking with a talking computer. They are calculating, giving factual responses, and can come off as quite cold for ignoring their own emotions or not attempting to sympathize with the emotional needs of other races. They are, however, very protective of all life forces and have strong beliefs in ethics. It is said that Vulcans cannot lie because of their devotion to honesty; however, they will bend the truth if it's for a logical reason, and simply refuse to call the instance a lie.
Spock is no exception to intense, early education nor to the instruction to suppress his emotions. Notably, he is a fast learner. Vulcans are taught by means of processing a continuous avalanche of information as quickly as they can, answering question after question while faced with a stream of overlapping questions. During his instruction periods, he was often admired by teachers for how rapidly he was progressing in his studies and even considered for early advancement in level. He is something of a Vulcan prodigy - that is undeniable, even by other Vulcans - despite being half-human. Knowledge is not the only thing he is capable of excelling at, as he can also be much better at offensive/defensive arts than a Vulcan older than himself. This is shown when Spock is provoked into attacking the older boy and proceeds to flatten him to the ground with little-to-no difficulty.
Spock is comfortable with his skills in learning and reciting information, comfortable with the detached, neutral intelligence Vulcans are known for displaying. Hesitation is not shown when questions are asked of him; he answers them correctly, with precision
and confidence. Where he is less sure of himself is with his humanity, where logic grows thinner. He hesitates when confronted by a "human" situation, questioning his sudden emotional interest in whatever the instance may concern. Being half-human in a world where emotions are considered inferior in the quest for ultimate prosperity, Spock often wars with himself. He has to struggle extra hard to appear as a generic, impassive Vulcan because of his hybrid genetics, especially around the constant judgment found in the company of other Vulcans. In particular, as a child, Spock is often tormented by his peers at the learning facility where he receives his education. Aware of his half-breed status, other children treat Spock as an experiment, trying to provoke emotional responses from him through words and, sometimes, action. Though their insults are painful to hear time and again, Spock nonetheless did his best to not react and treat the abuse with patience and logical refutes.
By the time he is eleven, according to the film novelization, Spock has already come to resignedly expect the abuse from the other children on Vulcan. Not only is he a child with feeling floundering within a world of emotionally-distant people, but he is subjected to ostracism by them that is actually quite illogical and against their own teachings. He is very much alone with his self war, different enough at his core that Vulcans find themselves judging him, perhaps without meaning to. This may be why, as mentioned in The Original Series, Spock was so attached to his pet sehlat. I'Chaya offered companionship that the boy needed and could not find elsewhere. Amanda was aware of her son's suffering, but no one else, not even Spock's father, would take preventative action or heed her arguments that Spock's human side should not be neglected. Instead, they concluded that it was Spock who must overcome his emotions with logic when faced with negative confrontations.
Emotions are considered to be highly illogical by Vulcans, ultimately superfluous factors in making decisions that do nothing to improve the quality of whatever that decision may be. On the contrary, emotions often prove more caustic than beneficial. This is the opinion of Vulcans, and with good reason. In actuality, and despite what they will say, Vulcans do have emotions. Their emotions are actually exceptionally passionate, often violent, and extremely intense. In the past, when Vulcans let their emotions run wild, their violence resulted in wars that nearly led to their own destruction. It was the decision to mentally condition themselves into emotional suppression that allowed Vulcans to become a peaceful and more prosperous race of people. They now despise having this control taken from them. Acting in an illogical manner, no matter the reason (such as chocolate consumption, which essentially causes inebriation in Vulcans), is disapproved of by general Vulcan society. There are, of course, those who chose to embrace their emotions during the post-war Time of Awakening instead, but they need not be mentioned in detail.
His father attempts to explain this to Spock, saying that it is imperative that Vulcans control their emotions so that their emotions do not control them. Being half human, this is especially difficult for Spock to accomplish. Amanda's mothering for her son and tending to his distressed human side adds to his confusion when it comes to accepting emotions. For instance, it's harder to dedicate himself to being fully Vulcan when it means not returning her expressions of love. His inner turmoil of not knowing if he should live as a human or as a Vulcan certainly does nothing to give him the serenity that Vulcans claim their emotional suppression brings. For the most part, he would still be considered "unemotional" by a human observer, though he is more expressive than Vulcans typically allow themselves to be. He expresses shame in trying to avoid his father's gaze after he attacked another boy at the Vulcan learning facility. His momentary loss of control that resulted in the attack was due to battering insults from the bullies finally getting beneath his skin. Hearing his parents being insulted, their marriage dissed, sparks a fire in Spock that releases in the form of explosive rage. He outmaneuvers and beats a bigger, older Vulcan to the ground as he is overcome by his anger. The emotions he tries so hard to control take over his mind, all-consuming for a moment, when they are allowed to reach the surface.
It seems obvious that Spock is concerned for his parents' marriage, having observed how they argue - constantly, according to Spock - though he tries to avoid being around it. Their disagreements generally stem from his Vulcan father's perspective clashing with his more-emotional human mother's. Hearing talk from his peers of his father being a traitor and his mother being a whore does nothing to soothe the young boy's unease. His worry for their union is also apparent judging by his expression of alarm when his father mentions "choosing" between something and how he automatically concludes he must decide between a parent. Though assured otherwise, Spock again shows how insecure he is with his humanity by hesitantly questioning his stoic father's motive for marrying a human. He wants to understand how someone against emotion could want to be with someone emotional.
Although he wants his young son to be reasonable and logical, Sarek does recognize that Spock has trouble with his emotions. At least, enough to point out to him that Spock's unique heritage, the internal conflict he feels every day, presents a problem which Spock alone can solve. In time, Spock will have to figure out which path, either human or Vulcan, he wishes to follow. This unsettles the youngster. Ultimately, Spock does not know where he stands. Presented with his father's revelation of his destiny (of being the only one capable of deciding his future) causes the boy to feel pressured by something much bigger than himself and his eleven years of life. He respects his father and wants to do his best to fit in with the Vulcans, despite their unwarranted judgments of him. Being a child of two worlds, he has no true place until he finds it for himself. This realization, too, will have to be discovered by Spock as, from his canonpoint, he has not had this discussion with Sarek.
★Character Plans: Spock's plans are to live long and prosper--I mean, his intentions are definitely to survive and further his education on Earth and its cultures. He will be fascinated by the concept of the "Core" and want to know more about it, even want to be able to inspect it some day. He'll seek out places of interest where his talents and intelligence will be beneficial to a morally sound group on the island, likely working with computers, perhaps while attending school with the intention of earning several Earth college degrees, and finding something sciencey to preoccupy his remaining time. He is far beyond an overachiever, by human standards.
★Appearance:★
Writing Samples
★First Person Sample★
[The blank face of a small boy with black hair, slanted eyebrows, and pointed ears appears moments before the child's voice addresses the network, entirely monotonous. Because he is not speaking English, the movements of his mouth do not match the audible words translated by the NV, like watching a poorly dubbed kung fu film. There is a greenish bruise on his cheek and his lip is split open and crusted over with green.]
Ambassador Sarek. I divulge that my actions earlier, while not without merit, were illogical and incongruous of an educated Vulcan. [A pause, Spock considering how much he ought to say in his message. His gaze turns downward with his next line before flickering back up.] It was wrong of me to create a disturbance at the educational facility today. I have gathered from the thick atmosphere, the abundance of dihydrogen monoxide, and testimonies of occupants in this vicinity that I have been sent to Earth for an unknown length of time. I find this planet's temperature to be disagreeable with my physiology.
[Spock's eyebrows furrow up slightly, betraying his worry over the situation he finds himself in, despite his attempts to remain composed.]
Ambassador Sarek, please respond at your convenience.
[The tacked on "please" also serves to express the young Vulcan's unease. He terminates the message.]
★Third Person Sample★
This was the planet Earth. Spock based his affirmation on the information he had acquired in the five hours spent on the planet's surface. Though he was not presented with a particularly wide region in which to submerge himself in analytical study, there were, nonetheless, many obvious evidences to be found.
The atmosphere here was nothing like the atmosphere on Vulcan; the air was much thicker, filled with moisture. In fact, the entire city, which Spock was informed possessed the unusual title of Siren's Port, seemed chill and damp to someone used to the hot, desert-like climate on Vulcan. If that were not enough to convince him of his unexpected arrival to another world, there was the appearance of it to consider. The blue sky, for one thing, was instantly noticeable and captivating. This world was rich with alien colors and green life and water; its architecture was substantial but quite unlike anything Spock was familiar with. To consider as further proof were the testimonies of the locals and those claiming to be other worlders, caught in a situation that sounded too similar to his own.
Most evidently, he was on Earth, and had no means of contacting anyone that he knew. The device he was provided with seemed incapable of interstellar communication of any sort. The circumstances should be frightening to an eleven year old, but Spock pushed his fears down in favor of logical thought, as he had been taught. At first, he speculated that his presence in this other world was penalization for his behavior earlier that day. Allowing his peers to provoke an emotional response from him after his lessons had been illogical. Spock was aware of that. He had no intention of satisfying the other Vulcans' experiments with him but his control had been snapped when his parents (Mother, specifically) were insulted.
He would not expect to be unpunished for attacking another boy and causing him injury, however superficial the wounds may have been; yet, to be sent, without announcement, as far away as Earth presented an unpredictability that he failed to find logic in. If that were indeed the case, perhaps his father would explain his intentions after retrieving Spock, and simply refused to return his communications until then. If that were not the case, Spock reasoned that his absence would still be noted and he would be searched for. Whether or not he would be located on Earth in any length of reasonable time, however, was another matter entirely, and not one that gave the child any sense of comfort.
Spock had investigated the quarters he was given with muted curiosity. The room was nothing particularly special but nonetheless strangely Earthen. Rummier still was the fact that he was handed a place to stay with nothing asked of him in return. The Vulcan wondered whether the humans of this area always behaved in this welcoming manner. They didn't seem to know what a Vulcan was, but there were still plenty of people jumping to help him as he made his way to the housing towers. It was as if they suspected him of being incapable of self-sufficiency due to his age - if that were true, they really didn't know Vulcans.
He had been informed of the strangeness that occurred after the sun set, listened with interest as people attempted to explain all manners of creatures, but he had yet to see any of it. There were an estimated twenty-six minutes until the sirens would blare, so Spock felt it was safe to remain outdoors a while longer. It had begun drizzling approximately eight minutes and sixteen seconds ago, steadily turning into a heavy rain. Spock stood outside of the towers, under the overhang by the doors. He was far enough away to not become soaked, though the chilly air carried moisture to his face, settling a wet shine on his skin as he watched the rainfall.
Other people seemed to have fled indoors the moment the storm started up, but Spock had been drawn outside. Rain on Vulcan was exceedingly rare, and he had never before witnessed a storm so heavy as this. He felt an illogical urge to step out of the building's cover and into the rain. There was no need for this, as he didn't require extra water to be absorbed by his body at this time. There was plenty to drink available and the misty air alone felt unusual, causing a tingle-like feeling to pass over his skin that was not quite a shiver. With the rain came an expected temperature drop that Spock found disagreeable.
It was cold.
If he allowed himself to become drenched, it would increase the likelihood that he might fall ill.
That was an objectionable outcome that he wished to avoid.
Nevertheless, as he stood watching the rain with his arms behind his back, Spock's hands clenched and unclenched to betray his restlessness. He resisted the feeling, the desire to feel the rain. Tilting his head slightly to one side to better pick up the torrent of sound as thousands of individual water droplets struck the ground across the city street, the young boy murmured out a single word.
"Fascinating."