Besides the Klingons, the Romulans are one of the most recognizable and iconic antagonists in the entire world. Star trek franchise. These distant cousins of the Vulcans have been around since the first television show came out in the 1960s, and their popularity remains strong decades later. The Romulans represent a chilling and highly methodical enemy who poses a great threat to intergalactic peace and stability.
Audiences have been exposed to a great deal of content revolving around this sinister breed, but there’s a lot they don’t yet know about their origins, culture, and makeup. Here are ten facts that coincidentally Star trek Fans may be interested in learning about the Romulans and why they are such a fundamental part of the franchise.
10 His Badge
The popular Romulan insignia remains one of the most recognizable in the Star trek universe, but few really understand the meaning behind it. While some had theorized that it symbolizes the concepts of Romulan might and predatory force, the reality is much more complex, dating back thousands of years in Vulcan history.
At that time, Vulcan Surak attempted to reform his violent race into pacifists who relied on logic to suppress emotions and produce greater prosperity. A small faction rejected this teaching and fled to become the Romulan Star Empire. Surak referred to these outcasts as “those who march under the wings of the Raptor,” a description the Romulans stole in bulk and applied to their now-famous insignia.
9 They weren’t always hostile
The Romulans have a long history of hostilities with the Federation, beginning shortly before the United Federation of Planets was established. Seeing that the peace initiatives were being drafted by humans, the Andorians and Tellarites made them mistrust what would happen if their combined force continued to grow.
After failing to destabilize the Alpha Quadrant, the Romulans engaged in war with Starfleet, only to be isolated for a long time. They broke this isolation shortly after revealing themselves to Captain Kirk and his crew of the Enterprise, at which point they maintained an embassy on Earth for diplomatic purposes. This, however, lasted only a blink of an eye.
8 They are biologically different from Vulcans
Many Star trek fans know that Vulcans and Romulans are essentially “cousins” to each other, but despite all their physical similarities and shared origins, the two are unique to each other. In fact, the differences are so vast that their genetic physiology precludes cross-medical treatment in many circumstances.
Star Trek: The Next Generation he doubled this in the season 3 episode “The Enemy,” when Dr. Beverly Crusher was unable to treat Romulan’s injuries, despite her vast knowledge of Vulcan biology. Ironically, the Klingon officer Worf possessed a genetic similarity that would have allowed the treatment.
7 Xenophobic to some extent
Romulan xenophobia is well documented, but it seems to have more to do with preserving culture than genuine hatred of other races. Still, they believed they were the dominant species in the galaxy and would not pass up any opportunity to subjugate the weaker worlds they despised.
The Romulan Star Empire had little trouble allowing genetically mixed individuals at the top echelon of its government. For example, Tasha Yar gave birth to a half human / Romulan named Sela, who became a high ranking military officer. Similarly, Commodore Oh was held in high regard as a member of Zhat Vash, despite her Vulcan / Romulan lineage.
6 No gender inequality
Like the Cardassian Union, the Romulan Star Empire didn’t seem to care much about gender roles. Men and women had the freedom to follow their career choices, with no barriers or stereotypes standing in their way. It was not uncommon to see women in command of spaceships, or as members of Tal Shiar’s dreaded secret police.
Cultural pride and a National Socialist view of politics is what drove much of the Romulan Empire’s ambitions, and it didn’t much care for drawing lines in the sand. For a Romulan, the rise of the Star Empire was a shared goal that everyone could participate in.
5 They abandoned violence in favor of duplicity
The Romulans who rejected the enlightenment movement based on Surak’s logic did not continue to retain the same bloodthirsty instincts as their Vulcan cousins. They also realized the self-destruction of giving in to primary and basic emotions and thoughts. As such, they devised their own method of progressing intellectually.
The Romulans replaced furious aggression and violent behavior with a disciplined and structured mindset built largely on duplicity and even betrayal. This allowed them to control not only their own population with an iron fist, but also to turn that deceptive nature outward, against other species such as the Federation and the Vulcans. The notorious Commander Tomalak exemplified this quality.
4 They were eugenicists
As horrible as it may sound, the Romulans practiced eugenics as a means of keeping their race pure and free from flaws. They believed that the disabled and handicapped were a waste of resources and this attitude was not limited to adults only.
Children born less than perfect were summarily eliminated; Another facet of their culture links them to Hitler’s Third Reich in the 1930s and 1940s. Such a horrible practice was deemed efficient and “logical” for the Romulan Star Empire, but the cultural and moral costs would undoubtedly be too high to factor. .
3 Their names
Star Trek: Picard It gave the audience more intriguing bits of information about Romulan culture that may have been missed. The episode “The Impossible Box” revealed that Romulans actually use three names, each depending on who they are addressing at any given time.
Outsiders would be given a unique name compared to what the Romulans used among family members. They also used a third name for those with whom they shared a romantic bond, suggesting that Romulan passions run much deeper than many humans might have expected.
2 A tale of two origins
The Romulan race was created for the original Star trek TV series in rather strange circumstances. Freelance writer Paul Schneider was primarily responsible for his original beginnings and the foundation of his world in ancient terrestrial Roman culture. According to the bonus Blu-Ray material from season 1, his idea revolved around a “what-if” scenario in which the Romans managed to survive and eventually achieve space travel.
While this would eventually evolve into a mix of Roman elitism and National Socialism, Roddenberry originally intended for the Romulans to represent Mao Zedong’s totalitarian Chinese communism. The former works much better for Star trek format, even if it will always be strange for an alien race to reference Roman mythology.
one No telepathic abilities
To date, there has been little or no mention of Romulans possessing the same type of telepathic abilities as native Vulcans. Subsequent material has led to several different explanations for this, all of which come to the same conclusion. The most prominent theory is that the Romulans left Surak’s enlightenment long before they had a chance to hone their mental powers.
As such, Romulans do not care about mental fusions or other forms of telepathy in the same way that Vulcans do. It’s a good thing, given how treacherous and cruel Romulans can be when they extract information or infiltrate foreign governments.
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