For fans of Pocket's Enterprise Relaunch/Rom War books...

[crystalswolf]

This topic actually goes well with what I've been thinking about when it comes to Vulcan genetics. I was toying around with the idea that the Vulcan colonists display more of the rarer genes because of their small genetic pools. This would also explain a few questions I'd had when they first introduced dark-skinned Vulcans when there were none before. It also would explain why most Vulcans shown before tended to have around the same skin and eye colors that would suggest a homogeneous distribution of dominant and recessive genes.

With this idea, perhaps the lumpy forehead is a recessive gene that shows up in the colonies mostly but once in a while among the main population on Vulcan. Among Romulans, because they know what their cousins look like, the non-bumpies may be undesirable and will have a harder time finding a mate.

Just some thoughts I was having while writing one of the stories.

[Alelou]

Though, to tie back to the T'Pol's father thread, I'd like to hear that explination. You can cosmetic surgury a Romulan into a Vulcan all you want, whatever other differences there may be, but if T'Pol's father really was a Romulan, genes don't lie. If she was half-Romulan, she'd have half of the Romulan genes, including the bumpy-headed gene. Now, it might be a dominant/resessive thing, the bumpy head, but that would have to bank on the fact that her supposedly Romulan father was carrying that gene and was lucky enough to have it passed on to her - 1in4, if he was a de-bumped Romulan, 1in1 if he just so happened to be a bumpless Romulan....

Sorry for the bio lesson. Genetics and organic chem were always my fav in school....

Vulcans and Romulan populations split so relatively recently (2,000 years or so ago, wasn't it?), that I don't see why the Vulcans would notice any genetic difference unless they went looking for it -- and even then wouldn't you expect it to be somewhat equivocal? Given that timeline, it makes the most sense that it was a population that already had the bumps that mostly got up and left.

I wish they hadn't added them. Romulans are supposed to be cool sexy violent Vulcans, and if you ask me the bumps just get in the way -- AND screw up TOS canon.

[Rigil Kent]

I've always presumed that the bumpy foreheads come from the early Rommies breeding with other species in order to maintain their population. In my corner of the universe, by the time of TOS, the smooth-heads were a dwindling minority of elites who had "pure" bloodlines, and by TNG, they were so rare as to no longer be an effective power bloc.

But I too loath the bumpy foreheads. Romulans were awesome during TOS (sort of like the Klingons, actually) but once the movies & TNG rolled around, they lost something for me.

[honeybee]

When I wrote my story Family Secrets - I wasn't even thinking bumpy-headed Romulans - I totally had the TOS Romulans in my head and went with them - Vulcans but without Surak's logic - that fit in with the fun I wanted to have with Romulans as space Romans - decadent and passionate and dangerous. TNG Romulans just weren't quite as lush. They seemed too uptight - TOS Romulans seemed like they would conquer your ass and then *invite* you to an orgy.


And, in the ENT era, if a doctor was looking at a Romulan's genes - without knowing Romulans are related to Vulcans - they would just assume it was a Vulcan with a few anomalies. I have Phlox say as much - as well as saying there's nothing in T'Pol's genes that would make her less Vulcan.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

TOS Romulans seemed like they would conquer your ass and then *invite* you to an orgy.

Mmmm... an orgy with some hot female Rommies.... Count me in!

And I subscribe to the same theory as Rigil; that the proto-Romulans who left Vulcan bred with some humanoid (vulcanoid) aliens with bumpy foreheads. I recall some vulcanoid species from a TNG episode whose name escapes me at the moment. There could presumably be more species like that out there, just as there are many aliens who look just like humans in the Trekverse.

[aadarshinah]

I like Rigil's idea rather a lot, but....

One, if they interbred with other species, why do Romulans not have more noticably non-Vulcan charectoristics?

and,

Two, given the way they treat the Remans, would Romulans ever seriously consider having non-full-blooded Romulans carry on their lineage when, presumably, they'd futuristic options such as cloning available to them? I find it a more viable idea that Romulans might've stockpiled genetic samples of their early leaders (or took stockpiles from Vulcan, if such things existed) and used that to pepper their society (like the decendants of the original crew of the Phoenix in Chyrryh's Foreinger saga) with fresh genes. Otherwise I'd expect to see more of an inflexible caste/heiarchy system in the Romulan empire than we do - more Farscape's Scarrans than Roman-sytle meritocracy....

[EntAllat]

I've always presumed that the bumpy foreheads come from the early Rommies breeding with other species in order to maintain their population. In my corner of the universe, by the time of TOS, the smooth-heads were a dwindling minority of elites who had "pure" bloodlines, and by TNG, they were so rare as to no longer be an effective power bloc.

I really like this explanation. It makes sense given they were probably a smallish population (at least in terms of eventually covering a planet) when they left Vulcan. And I vaguely remember hints of social stratification in pre-Awakening Vulcan society though I don't remember if my sources are canon or not.

But I too loath the bumpy foreheads. Romulans were awesome during TOS (sort of like the Klingons, actually) but once the movies & TNG rolled around, they lost something for me.

Yeah, me too.

[EntAllat]

Breaking news on the Romulan War series/Enterprise relaunch books:

According to Pocket Books via the latest issue of Star Trek Magazine and TrekMovie.com, Star Trek Enterprise: Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor’s Wings will be reprinted as a mass market paperback in February 2011, and it will be followed by Michael A. Martin's next installment, Star Trek Enterprise: Romulan War: In Shariel’s Jaws in trade paperback format in October 2011. I guess Book 1 made enough money to justify continuing. Details here:

http://trekmovie.com/2010/06/19/2011-st ... -revealed/

Thanks for the info! After they trimmed the list of upcoming Trek books - and knowing the financial troubles publishing in general is having - I was wondering if anything Enterprise might be nixed. It's good to hear that the publisher's still continuing with them.

I have to admit, even though I have all of the Enterprise novels (I have all of the Star Trek novels, going way back to the TOS series ones that weren't numbered) and will gleefully snatch up anything ever published for Enterprise, I'm ... not as thrilled with them as I have been with other Trek novels. Honestly, I really only like the relaunch books and then only the B-story (or is it the A-story?) that follows Trip (and in the latest one, the related TnT story line.)

I don't know if that's because the writers just aren't doing a good job writing the other six main characters or if the plots involving them just aren't that exciting. Either way, it's disappointing since I'd love to see more Enterprise novels on my bookshelves. It makes me even more glad there's some good Enterprise fanfic out there and folks who are still writing it.

[honeybee]

Putting aside my unabashed shippiness - I think the TnT/Vulcan intrigue plot in the Romulan War was the strongest part of the last book. I thought using Gannett Brooks as a way of showing the scope of the attitudes toward the war was a good one - but I think Martin fell in love with the character to the determent of the main crew. Also, I think big, honking space battles work best onscreen - while spy plots work really well in prose. Trip's "who can I trust?" situation really worked well - and although I was SPOILER ALERT - frustrated that after getting TnT together in a big way, Martin contrived to separate them.

On the other hand, he knows well that TnT fans are a big portion of the fan base and has said he plans on getting them together. The big terrible cliffhanger event at the end of the book - will likely get Enterprise (and T'Pol) to Vulcan. And I'll bet you a dollar that T'Pol husband of the historical record will be Trip's Vulcan cover identity. They are in a Syrranite marriage at the end of the book.

I'm glad the series is continuing it. Martin seems like a good egg - and for all its imperfections - it's nice to see the story continue (and *the_abomination* being undone) in an official capacity.

[aadarshinah]

And I'll bet you a dollar that T'Pol husband of the historical record will be Trip's Vulcan cover identity.

True, though, based off the end of Last Full Measure, we know Trip has a human appearance again around the time the NCC-1701 is being built... So either he manages to outlive T'Pol or.... I really don't like the or's.

[Rigil Kent]

LFM also kind of implied that he hadn't had much (if any) contact with the other Main Characters of ENT for a significant amount of time, so unless they've completely altered their original plan (which honestly wouldn't surprise me too terribly), an actual, permanent "happy ending" for TnT just doesn't seem like its in the cards. *shrug*

[Zane Gray]

T'Pol was deliberately not mentioned, however, so she could have been waiting for him at the spaceport for all we know. An elderly, non-descript human male, walking around the war memorial, wouldn't likely be recognized. That same human male with an elderly Vulcan female at his side would raise eyebrows and questions, even in young Kirk's time. There can't have been that many publically known human-Vulcan pairings or Spock in that era.

By the way, I'm continuing to really enjoy Divergent Paths, Rigil.

[honeybee]

Also, I believe Clark, Martin and Mangels have all said that while they wanted to resolve the TnT relationship and/or leave it open, they did not decide to get TnT together in earnest until KM. So, The stuff in the Last Full Measure was not written with the idea that TnT were together. The team thought the ship was working, got good fan reaction and decided to give them their "happy ending" (Martin's words).

[aadarshinah]

*sigh* If it took them that long to figure out that the ship was working, I've even more reservations about the quality of people writing the books...

[honeybee]

They are committed to it now, and apparently Margaret Clark walked on broken glass (metaphorically speaking) to be allowed to relaunch Enterprise, to undo all the wrongs of *the_abomination* and to allow TnT to be together. She fought for it at every turn and got laid off for her trouble. I don't think the books are perfect by any means - but I do appreciate the Herculean effort that she and the writers made to do right by fans. Martin has appeared on many forums to answer questions - and all three of the people involved in the relaunch (Martin, Mangels and Clarks) have appeared at cons to answer questions.

I've never heard of them being anything other than personally gracious, even in the face of sneering derision from the very fans they worked so hard to please.