Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ T'pol

My brother sent me something he read on another board.

According to this post, this person from this other board believes T'Pol is in fact Romulan, or a Romulan/Vulcan hybrid. To this person, this would explain many questions they have had about T'Pol.

I thought I'd see what you all thought about that thought.

For me, I sure hope they don't do that. I see T'Pol as being the bridge between the Humans and the Vulcans. Which I suppose would still be possible if she were a hybrid.

However, I can't imagine what would bring a Vulcan and a Romulan together at this point in time. And if it did turn out that she were a Romulan spy... Well, then there would just be to many questions.


Please be a Vulcan! Please be a Vulcan! Please be a Vulcan!


Just thought of something that could possibly make it all make sense. What if she were a Romulan/Vulcan hybrid from the future sent back in time to ensure the Enterprise's overall mission?

The watcher of sorts to make sure Enterprise always gets back on course. It still would bring up more questions then it would solve.

I think I better go lie down.

P.S. If the person who had the thought and posted it on the other board is also here, I don't mean to step on any toes, just thought I'd see how it floats here.

At this point in Earth's history, how long have the Vulcans and Romulans been separated?

Could T'Pol really be a "hybrid" if Vulcans and Romulans are basically the same species? Sure, the Vulcans are logical and all that, and the Romulans are more warlike, but they are the same species.

People from Earth who may in the future live on Mars would still be humans. Even those way down the descendant (sp?) line are still humans (unless another species jumps into the mix).


Anyway, I don't think we've seen anything to suggest that T'Pol is Romulan (or even part Romulan for that matter). She hasn't even shown us the superior Vulcan strength. She's never (except under extreme circumstances) dropped out of the Vulcan demeanor.

So I'm going to say, no, T'Pol is not a hybrid.

While Romulans and Vulcans come from the same root species, they have both evolved down their own side of the family tree.

Right here on earth we have different ethnic groups, that all though they come from the same beginnings are worlds apart. One group will be quite and content, while the other is hot headed and uncontrolable.

Even during TNG era there were Romulan/Vulcan hybrids that were in a constant fight between their two halves.

I'm still with you on the fact that I don't see it being true about T'Pol.

The history of the Romulan exodus from Vulcan is kind of dicey and has had a number of contradictions here and there, but it's currently believed that they had had their origins on Vulcan around the 4th Century. Speculation hints that a large number of the early Vulcan population actually disagreed with the teachings of Surak that were quickly becoming the basis of society on the planet, and that they ultimately felt compelled to leave and continue their earlier way of life on a new world of their own.

They didn't actually become Romulans until after they colonized the planet Romulus.

Interesting enough, the TNG episode "Who Watches the Watchers?" showed that some of these early Vulcans settled on the planet Mintaka III and became Mintakans. Like the Romulans, the Mintakans had rejected the logic-only path of the Vulcans. But unlike the Romulans, the Mintakans did not evolve into a warlike species either. The Mintakans can best be described as well...almost Amish, really, with women generally in charge.

I went off track there again, sorry--back to the Romulans...

The Vulcans and Romulans were involved in a century-long war that ended around the time Vulcans made first contact with Earth in the 21st-Century. Nobody on Vulcan, however, knew who the Romulans really were until they were encountered by the crew of the USS Enterprise in the 23rd-Century.

(Whew!)


Now the point of that long-winded rant above is that nobody knew that Vulcans and Romulans were related until TOS--in fact, nobody even knew what a Romulan even looked like until the 23rd-Century. If T'Pol goes ahead and says she's half-Romulan in ENT, it would violate continuity.

Now unless ENT's creators want to go ahead and break that continuity--and once and for all declare ENT as truly being in a separate timeline from TOS, TNG, DS9 & VOY--my guess is that T'Pol's "big secret" later this season (other than she might be pregnant with Trip's kid) is she's half-Human like Spock...


BTW, the upcoming episode "E^2" features a NX-01 from the not-too-distant future commanded by a part-Human/part-Vulcan male captain likely descended from T'Pol...

I had always thought the Mintakans looked pretty much Vulcan. Did they actually say in that episode that Mintakans are descendants of Vulcans, cuz if they did, I think I missed it.

They were referred to as "proto-Vulcan," which is probably similar to "prehistoric Vulcan."

Hmm...you've given me something to think about, styler--perhaps the Mintakans left Vulcan even earlier than the Romulans did...

These are interesting theories, but I don't believe Mintakka III was colonized by Vulcans that left the planet Vulcan in the manner that has been described here. I think it more likely that they were possibly abducted by aliens from Vulcan and put on Mintakka III. Another possible explanation is one similar to the one described in TNG episode "The Chase".

The Mintakkans were too primitive to have left Vulcan on their own and there was long term pre-history brought out in the episode "Who Watches The Watchers".

These are interesting theories, but I don't believe Mintakka III was colonized by Vulcans that left the planet Vulcan in the manner that has been described here. I think it more likely that they were possibly abducted by aliens from Vulcan and put on Mintakka III. Another possible explanation is one similar to the one described in TNG episode "The Chase".

The Mintakkans were too primitive to have left Vulcan on their own and there was long term pre-history brought out in the episode "Who Watches The Watchers".

I have to side with C'pok on this one. I can't remember the exact reference made by the Federation personnel who were observing the society from their location, which used holographic equipment to make it look like it was just a part of the mountain (and which broke down, causing the conflict for that episode). But I got the impression that they evolved on their own on that planet and were simply "Vulcan like" in appearance and demeanor, but not Vulcans per se. The society seemed to be reaching towards a "Surak like" philosophy, but they still retained some of the destructive emotional tendencies, ala when one of them shot Picard.

Also, C'pok makes a good point that they were awfully primitive for a people who had left Vulcan in space ships 2,000 years ago. I mean, for crying out loud, these people virtually thought the Federation people were gods because of their technological advancements! It was even suggested by one of the Federation observers that, as a result of the contamination of their having discovered them and their technology, there could even be religious wars fought over the interpretation of the events and people (or gods?), involved. Yeah, yeah, it's possible that they had forgotten all that technological stuff, forgotten or not recorded it, etc, and started over, but I don't think so.

As to T'Pol, and the original purpose of this thread, I would be greatly disappointed if she turned out to be part Romulan, for the same reasons that Excalibur would.

These are interesting theories, but I don't believe Mintakka III was colonized by Vulcans that left the planet Vulcan in the manner that has been described here. I think it more likely that they were possibly abducted by aliens from Vulcan and put on Mintakka III.

I never said how the Mintakans left Vulcan, only that they did leave.

As a I said to styler, the fact that they were described as "proto-Vulcans" got me thinking--specifically of the Preservers, which had a history of transplanting ancient and primitive civilizations from one world to another...usually without them even knowing it.

And also don't assume that all civilizations evolve at the same rate or even move in the same direction--that's Human thinking. Some civilizations--like the Ba'ku in "Star Trek: Insurrection" (and even the Amish here on present day Earth) choose deliberately to abandon or ignore technology and live a more simplistic life. Apply that to a race that hasn't had off-world contact in millennia, and you eventually end up with people that may truly believe their world is flat and that they're all alone in the Universe.

Just to play devils advocate here, you could take a ship full of Starfleet personnel and crash them on a planet, and come back 2,000 years and find that they had reverted.

There are signs that show that people here on earth were more advanced several thousand years ago, then we are today. Look at the Pyramids.

Suppose this group of "Vulcans" decided that technology was evil, and turned their backs on it. They could have chosen a life that went back to the bare essentials, and over the many generations completely forgotten it all.

It's could happen.

Y'know, I think T'pol being a Romulan agent would make for some good stories. Conflict of interests and whatnot. But yeah, if they want to keep Enterprise in the same continuity they can't do that.

Maybe a little off topic, but I always thought it should have been Savik who was the traitor in Star Trek VI. It would have given the story a harder punch. They had already changed actresses for her once, doing it a second time wouldn't hurt.

Believe it or not, Valeris was originally meant to be Saavik in an early draft of Star Trek VI's script. I don't know for the life of me why they decided to change her into an all-new character...


Although it was never said so on screen, many believed that Saavik was half-Vulcan and half-Romulan...

Not necessarily, you're not thinking covertly enough. Secrets my good man, secrets. It was said in TOS episode "Balance Of Terror" that no one had seen a Romulan before but I say maybe there were a few covert dealings between Earth, Vulcan and Romulas via Section 31, Tal Shiar and Vulcan security. I don't remember the name of the Vulcan security agency. T'Pol could either be Vulcan security or Tal Shiar. Conspiracies. you got to love it.

These covert inter-government agencies very rarely inform the regular military of their dealings let alone the general public. I feel there has been covert dealings with Vulcan and Romulas even in Archer's time.

Personally I hope T'Pol is not a spy or a Romulan, I want her motives aboard Enterprise to be genuinely for the good of the Humans overall and for the Enterprise's crew specifically. There is plenty of room for conspiracy in ENT without making T'Pol a Romulan, even a hybrid.

Believe it or not, Valeris was originally meant to be Saavik in an early draft of Star Trek VI's script. I don't know for the life of me why they decided to change her into an all-new character...


Although it was never said so on screen, many believed that Saavik was half-Vulcan and half-Romulan...

According to the commentary for Star Trek VI, if I remember correctly, Lt. Valeris did replace the character of Saavik in the script, because the director wanted Kirstie Alley to reprise the role, and she wasn't available, or didn't want to do it. It could have been neat, but Robin Curtis would have been just as good.

In the end though, I'm glad Saavik wasn't the bad guy.

Me too.

I do!

Gene Roddenberry said, when he first heard the pitch for ST6, "My Saavik would never do that."

In fairness, the quote in the post above belongs to Darth Ravage, not me.

The voices in my head are telling me that Spock and Saavik were supposed to get married, and that they even took that into one of the novels.



The problem I see with Vulcan/Human relationships, is the fact that Vulcans live so much longer then humans do.

Let's say T'Pol were to become involved with Trip or Archer, she would long outlive them. Even for a Vulcan that would be hard. I know that Sarek had to deal with his feelings before he died, and to go on so long after losing someone you love is hard.

I wonder how soon after Amanda died that he married Perrin? I mean, with that 7-yr. "itch" of his, he couldn't go too long... Amanda supposedly died at 90 or so (according to the novels). Perrin didn't seem older than 60 at the most. TNG was set 80 years after Kirk's era. Hmmm... Higher math, anyone?

It could have been around 40 to 45 years, IMO.

Perrin could have met Sarek during the initial Federation-Cardassian conflict of the mid 2340s--about 20 years or so before TNG. She admitted in one episode of TNG that she resented Spock for publicly humiliating Sarek by attacking his position on how to deal with the Cardassians at the time...