Spockanalia #1: Excerpt from the Young Vulcan's Handbook of Emotional Control
By Shirley Meech
Art by DEA
Excerpt from The Young Vulcan's Handbook of Emotional Control
translated by Shirley Meech
(The following is an excerpt from a Vulcan book-tape, obtained via the Baggins method, from the possessions of Commander Spock, on his recent visit to Earth. The tape is well worn, and sensor readings show that it is nearly as old as the subject himself, suggesting that he made frequent use of it from an early age.)
Historical fact: Actions based on primitive emotion nearly destroyed our race, our culture, and even our planet. Actions based on reason and logic prevented this catastrophe.
Sociological fact: The preservation of our civilization depends upon the suppression by every individual of all emotions. One uncontrolled emotion leads to another as a spark leads to a roaring inferno, and one person's unrestrained emotion can lead to the breakdown of control in many others. Therefore, it is expected that every person shall do his duty in upholding logic and eradicating emotion.
The standard instruction in logical behavior will teach you many techniques useful for developing and maintaining the controlled personality. The following instructions have been found useful in the acquisition of these skills.
When at all possible, avoid or withdraw from situations which will place your emotional control in jeopardy. When this is not possible:
Keep in mind these Basic Ideas
You are not an infant.
You are not a savage or a predator.
To give in to emotion never improves a situation; it can only create greater difficulties.
Each instance of successful control makes the practice easier; any lapse makes future control more difficult.
Civilization depends upon your logic and emotional control. You must not fail.
Use these Basic Techniques
Check first impulse to emotional action.
Control physical reactions such as tears, laughter, trembling, etc. Breathe deeply; keep your hands at your sides or behind your back, or turn away; use pain control when necessary.
Mentally repeat the Basic Ideas.
Concentrate on positive action which will improve the situation.
If no positive action can be taken, divert the mind from dwelling upon thoughts which will produce undesirable reactions. Count to ten, repeat the multiplication table, verbalize your personal strength, etc.
Emotions cause premature, uncontrolled release of physical energy, which must be suppressed until it can be channeled into constructive activity or released in an acceptable manner, such as extra calisthenics.
Specific Emotions
In addition to the Basic Ideas and Basic Techniques, the following specific dangers must be remembered in dealing with emotions.
Anger—Those who succumb to this most illogical of behaviors often injure persons or objects. They may be so gauche as to shout or use abusive language. Therefore, confine your words to statements of fact and do not raise your voice.
Grief—You must not give in to tears. Remember your age, your responsibilities, and your duties.
Fear—Remember that you are a Vulcan. There is never any cause to demonstrate such a weakness.
Love—Care must be taken to avoid showing this emotion by words, and especially by touch. It is best to avoid touching other persons entirely except for specific, acceptable reasons.
Happiness—This is a much overrated emotional state, which leads to such unsophisticated behavior as laughter. This is undignified and unacceptable. A silent smile may be permitted on rare occasion, but never laughter. However, when you are engaged in subduing all the emotions, the temptation to indulge in this state will greatly diminish.
(TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: You bet your pointed ears, it will.)
Mr. Spock's ears meet the requirements set by the Cat Fanciers Society of America for the Abyssinian breed of feline. The Abyssinian cat is said to be a direct descendent of the Kaffir cat of Egypt, one of the first cats on this planet.
Courtesy of Sandy Deckinger
Note: With the help and guidance of Open Doors, we digitized the first volume of Spockanalia and imported it to AO3, which you can view here. In order to meet AO3's terms of service, some of the content was edited or removed. The full version of the zine is preserved on this blog. The masterpost is here.
Spockanalia #1: A Proposed Model of the Vulcan Heart
By Sandra Deckinger
Art by Sherna Comerford and Kathy Bushman
(Part of a seminar report on E-T biology given at the Federated Planets Academy on 21-19-2368, by Lieutenant Sandra Deckinger, R.N.)
I would like to propose a six-chambered model for the Vulcan heart. Please refer to your diagram slides, as I explain this model of the circulatory pattern and give my reasons for its unusual features.
As in the human, oxygenated blood enters the heart from the superiour and inferiour vena cavae into the right atrium. From the atrium, the blood passes into the right ventricle. Both the atrium and the ventricle are much larger than in the human, because they must be more muscular to handle a greater blood volume.
From the ventricle, the blood goes via two pulmonary arteries to the lungs. The lungs are much larger than ours, and can take on more oxygen. They have greater expansion than human lungs, because the respiratory muscles are larger as an adaption to the heavier gravity. More oxygen is taken into the body because the greater lung expansion leads to greater negative pressure in the lungs, and this in turn increases the amount of oxygen pulled into the body.
From the lungs, the blood goes back to the heart via two pulmonary veins. Here, each vein enters into a separate left atrium. The blood flows into the ventricles from the atria, and then is pumped to the body through the aortae. The double system allows the heart to handle a very high blood volume.
Vulcans require a larger heart than humans because their blood is more dilute, and must therefore flow at a higher rate than ours does. Having a double left-sided heart would decrease blood pressure, and result in an almost undetectable pulse at the extremities. A low blood-pressure would also decrease blood flow to peripheral areas, and this would result in an inability to tolerate cold.
It has been said that the Vulcan heart rate is about 250 beats per minute. A heart beating that quickly needs more oxygen than a human heart beating at 80. This would certainly require a very rapid respiration or an oxygen carrier of greater efficiency than hemoglobin, or both.
The next paper will discuss this problem, and the physiologically related one of the carbon dioxide feedback system, which is one of the regulators of the respiratory rate.
Are there any questions?
A proposed six-chambered model of the Vulcan heart (from a sketch by Sandy Deckinger)
Note: With the help and guidance of Open Doors, we digitized the first volume of Spockanalia and imported it to AO3, which you can view here. In order to meet AO3's terms of service, some of the content was edited or removed. The full version of the zine is preserved on this blog. The masterpost is here.
