WarpGirl wrote:Hi this had been on my mind for a bit so I thought I would put it out there... I've read a lot of fics out there by many different people that make T'Pol a direct descendant of Surak, sometimes even giving her the title of Queen. Now I have to say I like the idea, but I'm wondering about two things. 1. Where did the idea come up? and 2. Are people descended from Surak actually given titles as T'Pol has been? So I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's thoughts. Dif-tor heh smusma
Yeah, you saw this in YMAM1, no doubt.
Early on, I intended for this to be sort of a driving force behind their trials & tribulations w/ the Romulans, but as the more core points about their relationship, their struggles to have a child, their involvements in the war, came to the forefront of the story I wanted to tell, I kind of let this slide into the background.
Tell you what, I was far more interested, an remain far more interested, in the fact that Solkar is (in my construction) a descendant of Surak, than for T'Pol to be. To me, unless you're going to go off and write a big long series or suggest a big long series of events in which T'Pol becomes like a serious influence on Vulcan ideological thought and basiaclly grabs onto that Surakian heritage, I don't think that it does a lot in terms of literary interest to suggest that. But, on the other hand, it just fits Solkar like a glove.
Now, let me say something about my opinion on the concept of Vulcan royalty. I wouldn't consider royalty in Vulcan society to be the same as ours. I think that royalty
is something you could very well have seen in the past in Vulcan, or at least a sense of status around certain families, whether they be as a result of association to Surak, or some other important figurehead, but IMO it's kind of a cultural constant as opposed to a human constant. Even though it's illogical, we accede and accept that Vulcans had an illogical past, I think it makes sense to suggest that some kind of feudal or monarchy like system once existed. They have such an obsession and love for their traditions that I could see some holdovers lasting a little bit longer. By TNG's time, maybe even late TOS time, they are fading out. Let's not forget how regal T'Pau or whoever the "Priestess" (another very archaically descriptive title for someone) is supposed to be in TSFS.
Now, in terms of what kind of status say, for instance, Solkar would have because he's a descendant of Surak, or what T'Pol would have, I don't think it is the same as our sense of royalty. This is a kind of Buddhist type royalty, or, this is a stretch, but sort of the way Saudis feel about themselves in the Muslim world. I don't want to overstep or insult anyone's religion or culture in any way, but I am told by muslim friends of mine (who are non saudis) that the Saudis are very... proud, and possessive of Islam in the sense that there are still families in existence that draw lineage to strong figureheads in the Islamic religion, even the prophet Muhammed. They feel connected to it, and even feel like they "own it" more than non-Saudi muslims, in a way that has to do with feeling like they've lived there and been a part of its history since the beginning. By the way, that's not actually the House of Saud, at least I don't think so. Not necessarily. In other words, what I'm driving at is, I see the whole "descendant of Surak" thing as a kind of honor title, not something that would grant someone a bunch of palaces and wealth and power and political position. It would be more like being the Dalai Lama.
That is, if by happenstance, people came to know about it. Naturally, you can imagine that to Vulcans it is not something they would celebrate. It may even be something they would keep secret, as I suggested in my story, how basically Solkar kind of saw how the Romulan Empire was coming after Vulcan society and the Alpha Quadrant, how they were harboring a long term grudge, and that maybe it wasn't the best idea for them to know who he was and where-and-in-whom some of the oldest knowledge passed down from Surak resided.
