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| “ | I am, and always shall be, your friend. | „ |
| ~ Spock's most famous quote, to James T Kirk |
| “ | Live Long and Prosper! | „ |
| ~ Spock's Vulcan Salute |
S'chn T'gai Spock is the deuteragonist of Star Trek: The Original Series and of the first six Star Trek motion pictures.
Spock was portrayed by the late Leonard Nimoy in the TV series Star Trek, the first six films, the 2009 film Star Trek, and in its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness . Zachary Quinto portrayed Spock's alternate reality counterpart in the 2009 film and its sequels. Ethan Peck portrayed Spock in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery.
History
| “ | The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. | „ |
| ~ Spock's philosophy |
Spock was a Human/Vulcan hybrid who became one of the most distinguished and respected figures in the United Federation of Planets in his lifetime. He was born on Vulcan in the Earth year 2222, the son of Sarek and Amanda Grayson.
In 2249, Sarek was given a choice between having either Spock or Michael Burnham admitted to the Vulcan Expeditionary Fleet. Sarek chose Spock and told Burnham that the Vulcan fleet had rejected her. Spock turned down admission to the Vulcan fleet to pursue a career in Starfleet, leading to an 18 year rift between father and son.
Spock in 2257, following the war
Shortly after the end of the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-57, Spock took leave from the Enterprise when the mysterious Red Angel began making its presence known to the galaxy. Soon after taking leave Spock checked himself into a psychiatric hospital on Starbase 5. Spock did not remain at the hospital long, apparently killing several people at the hospital before escaping.
Suffering from a mental breakdown due to contact with the Red Angel, Spock was hidden on Vulcan by his mother. Tracking him down, Michael took Spock to Talos IV where the Talosians were able to heal Spock. He revealed to Starfleet that something or someone was on a mission to annihilate all sentient life in the galaxy.
It was soon discovered that Section 31's Control artificial intelligence had gone rouge and was trying to evolve to become fully sentient and kill all sentient life in the galaxy. Having forgiven his foster sister, Spock worked with Burnham and Discovery to keep Control from succeeding in its goals.
Spock initially intended to travel with Burnham 930 years in to the future, to keep the data Control needed to evolve out of Control's hands. When his shuttle was damaged Spock was forced to remain in the 23rd century, and watched as his foster sister and the Discovery entered into a wormhole, disappearing from the current timeline. Before disappearing, Burnham told Spock there was a galaxy of people wanting to reach out to him, and advised him to seek out those who seemed farthest from him and let them guide him.
Spock in 2258.
Following this, Spock was debriefed by Starfleet command. Telling them that Discovery was destroyed, Spock recommended that those involved in the recent events be barred from ever speaking publicly about what happened to his foster sister and Discovery under penalty of treason. Starfleet agreed to take it under advisement. Sarek and Amanda both agreed to never speak publicly of Burnham ever again to honor the sacrifice she and Discovery's crew made. Once Enterprise was repaired, Spock resumed his duties as science officer on board the Enterprise As a Starfleet officer in the latter half of the 23rd century, Spock served aboard the starship USS Enterprise as science officer under Captain Christopher Pike for over a decade. He then served as first officer and science officer under Captain James T. Kirk, and as the Enterprise 's commanding officer during her tenure as a training vessel.
First Death and Rebirth
Spock met his first death in the feature film The Wrath of Khan. Spock died due to radiation poisoning he suffered in the ship's dilithium crystal chamber, bringing the warp engines back on line so the Enterprise could get out of range of the Genesis Device before it could explode. Before his first death Spock expressed that he did what he did in recognition that the lives of the many Enterprise crew members were more valuable than his own single life. Before Spock had entered the dilithium crystal chamber, he initiated a mind meld with Dr. McCoy, which he used to transfer his katra into McCoy's mind.
A funeral was held following the Battle of the Mutara Nebula a short time later. Spock's body had been placed in a torpedo casing, which was fired over the newly formed Genesis Planet. Spock had dictated in his will that his body not be returned to Vulcan, and Kirk had decided on firing his casket over the Genesis Planet with the intention that Spock's body be cremated by the heat generated by entry into the planet's atmosphere.
However the gravitational fields were in flux, and instead of crashing into the planet or burning up in the atmosphere the torpedo soft landed on the surface of the Genesis Planet. The remnants of the Genesis wave regenerated his body into that of a small child, that rapidly aged along with the planet as protomatter had been used in the matrix.
Risking their lives and careers Spock's shipmates rescued his body from the Genesis Planet - at that point Spock's body had aged to the same point as he was before his first death.
| “ | He...got better. | „ |
| ~ Janice Rand on Spock's resurrection. |
Going to Vulcan Spock's father Sarek requested Fal-Tor-Pan, the refusion. The Vulcan priestess T'Lar told Sarek that it had not been performed in many years, and that it was possibly only a legend, but Sarek was insistent. T'Lar transferred Spock's katra back into his living body, resurrecting him.
In his first moments after the Fal-Tor-Pan, Spock approached Kirk to inform him that Sarek had told him that Kirk had been his friend who came back for him. He asked Kirk why he had done that, to which Kirk replied that in this case the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many. Spock asked if the Enterprise was out of danger, to which Kirk confirmed that Spock had saved them all. He then remembered that his friend's name was Jim, and told Kirk that as the Enterprise crew gathered around their resurrected friend.
Over the next three months Spock underwent an intensive retraining program designed in part by his mother to ensure that his knowledge was intact. Spock also underwent a series of mind melds with Doctor McCoy to ensure that any residual portions of his personality in McCoy's mind were transferred back to his mind.
At the end of his retraining program Spock decided to return to Earth with his Enterprise shipmates to offer testimony on behalf of them. Enroute to Earth the Whale Probe had arrived looking for the extinct humpback whales, and when it could find none it began devastating Earth in retaliation. Deciding that they would have to travel back in time to retrieve whales, Spock calculated the equations necessary to enter a sling-shot time warp, all from memory. Back in 20th century San Francisco Spock communicated the Enterprise crew's intentions to George and Gracie, and also helped come up with a solution to the decrystalizing Klingon dilithium. The Enterprise crew was able to take George and Gracie aboard before they could be killed by whalers, and brought them back to the 23rd century.
After helping to save Earth from the effects of the probe, Spock stood with his shipmates at their trial. Because of their actions all but one of the charges against them were dismissed by the Federation Council. The remaining charge of disobeying a superior office was directed solely at Admiral Kirk, who was demoted to Captain as punishment. Immediately after the trial Sarek admitted to his son that he was wrong in opposing Spock's joining Starfleet, and that his associates were people of good character. When Sarek asked if he had a message for his mother, Spock said to tell her he felt fine.
Spock then returned to active duty in Starfleet, as first officer of the new USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk.
Later life
In 2293 Spock participated in the first overtures of peace to the Klingons following the explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis. At his father's request he reached out to Chancellor Gorkon, and developed a working dialog with the Klingon leader. Gorkon was assassinated on his way to Earth by a conspiracy of individuals in the Federation, Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Empire who wanted to derail the peace process. Spock and the Enterprise-A crew defeated the conspirators and ensured the signing of the Khitomer accords.
Following his retirement from Starfleet Spock began following in his father's footsteps by focusing on diplomacy. Soon Spock became an ambassador in his own right.
During debates over the Cardassians in 2327 Spock publicly disagreed with his father over how the Federation should proceed. Although Sarek himself did not appear offended, Sarek's new wife Perrin was offended over Spock's actions, and demanded that he either apologize or else consider himself unwelcome in Sarek's home. Spock did not back down, stating he would not trouble them by visiting again. This caused a rift that would last until Sarek's death in 2367.
In his 140s by the 2360s Spock traveled to the heart of the Romulan Empire. On Romulus he helped Romulans who desired peaceful reunification with their Vulcan brethren. Still feeling responsible for what happened to Kirk, McCoy, and the others on the Enterprise-A during the initial overtures of peace to the Klingons, he was unwilling to risk anyone else's life except his own, and undertook the mission on his own.
He refused to return to the Federation, getting Captain Jean-Luc Picard to accept his reasons for remaining on Romulus. Spock continued to work with the Romulan dissidents in the hopes that some day the Vulcan and Romulan peoples would come together in peace.
In the 2380s Spock tried to help prevent the destruction of Romulus, but the Hobrus star destroyed the planet before he could do anything. He was able to use red matter to keep the supernova from doing any more damage, but along with Nero was sucked in to the resulting black hole, which deposited him in the 23rd century.
Alternate Reality
Nero's actions upon arrival in the 23rd century created an alternate reality. Destroying the USS Kelvin Nero caused the death of George Samuel Kirk, Sr as his son James T. Kirk was born.
25 years after Nero arrived in the 23rd century Spock arrived and was quickly captured by Nero. Nero forced Spock to watch as he used red matter to destroy Vulcan. Afterwards Spock saved the life of a young James T. Kirk after Kirk was marooned on Delta Vega by the alternate reality Spock. Going to the local Starfleet outpost the pair met up with Montgomery Scott, and assisted them in returning to the Enterprise.
After Nero was defeated Spock returned to Earth, where he watched the young Kirk being promoted to Captain and being given command of the Enterprise. Meeting with his younger self Spock advised him to remain in Starfleet, and to become friends with Kirk. He wished the younger Spock good luck before leaving to help establish the Vulcan species on a new home world which would come to be known as New Vulcan.
Initially the Vulcans planned to settle on Ceti Alpha V. Some Vulcans blamed him for the destruction of Vulcan, but listened when he warned them to stay away from Ceti Alpha V and instead settled on the second planet of the Simon-316 star system.
Spock then took a vow to not divulge what he knew, feeling that it would interfere with the natural progression of the new reality. However the younger Spock contacted the elder Spock a year later for advice in defeating Khan Noonien Singh of that reality. Spock warned the young Vulcan that Khan was a very dangerous individual and that defeating him in the prime reality came with a great cost.
An image of Spock from shortly before his 2263 death.
Spock died on New Vulcan in March of 2263, being over 160 years old at the time. After his final death two Vulcans traveled to meet the younger Spock on Yorktown Station, to give him the news and to present him with some of Spock's personal property. Included was a picture of Spock and his shipmates taken sometime before 2293 in the prime reality.
Over the next 3,000 years, Vulcan civilization would flourish on New Vulcan, Spock would come to be revered by the Vulcan people. By the year 5259, a statute of Spock was placed on New Vulcan, unlike many of the surrounding monuments, which were larger than life, this statute was life sized. According to legend, this had been at Spock's request, as he felt a larger than life depiction of him would not be logical.
Gallery
Images
