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Vulcan Mind Link Analysis – Conclusion

Part 1| Part 2| Part 3| Part 4| Part 5

 After taking a closer look at the instances where the touch telepathic abilities of Vulcans are mentioned and or used during TOS and TMP I wanted to sum up the results in one last post on the subject.

The first time the Vulcan Mind Meld is used occurs in the first season episode “Dagger Of The Mind” (S1E11 in production order). Here Spock melds with Dr. Gelder to find out what happened to him. During the series there are a number of occasions when Spock has to meld with someone or something. It is always a last resort and only if there is no better way to solve the problem or handle miscommunication (remember the Horta?).

It took me by surprise to realize that the first Mind Meld with Jim only happens in season three. Episode 56 to be precisely. In “Spectre Of The Gun” Spock melds with the entire crew to convince their minds that what happens to them is not real, in order to save their lives. At first this doesn’t seem to be that much of an indicator for intimacy, but looking at the reactions of the other crew members it does prove interesting. While Scotty and McCoy freeze and seem terrified by having another mind in their head, Jim is comfortable and doesn’t display any signs of distress.

The second time Spock melds with Jim is in “The Paradise Syndrome” where he has to find Jim’s buried memories of his real self, due to a serious case of amnesia. It’s an intense scene and probably a much deeper meld than the first time, not only because of the duration of the contact, but also because Jim’s distress is visibly bleeding into Spock.

After everything is said and done Spock compliments the captain: “His mind. He is an extremely dynamic individual”. Which tells us that he delved deep enough to get a good look at Jim’s innermost thoughts, his mind, maybe even what constitutes as Katra in Vulcans. There is a reason for one of the five principles of Vulcan philosophy to be privacy. If you possess the ability to look that deeply into someone else’s mind, be the intentions as they may, you have to honor the privacy of each individual for society to work.

But I think it can be established that from this (admittedly otherwise whacky) episode that Spock knew Jim’s mind and, as we see a bit further down, is able to recognize it by a mere touch alone.

The third time happens in “Requiem for Methuselah”, which in itself is a very special episode and famous for McCoy’s often quoted dialogue with Spock. It’s one of my personal favourites for its portrayal of love and the different facets that make up this complex emotion. In Methuselah we see Flint’s obsession with his creation. Rayna, who never saw another living being before and develops an innocent crush for our charming captain. Jim himself is manipulated into caring for Rayna, but he still likes her. In the original post I called it infatuation on his side and I think that still makes sense, because I don’t think love can grow over one afternoon. And then, of course, there is Spock. Who is the only one to show love as a selfless want for the wellbeing of another person. Because when Jim is heartbroken over Rayna’s death, he makes him forget her. And that is a VERY IMPORTANT point here! Spock is Vulcan. He is INSANELY private and he still deletes Jim’s memory of the android, although every Vulcan principle tells him not to. He does it, because he is helpless otherwise, doesn’t know how to make Jim feel better.

Ironically, this is where he proves Bones wrong, only minutes after the doctor left Jim’s quarters.

The last instance in the Original Series concludes the third season in “Turnabout Intruder”. This episode is another personal favourite, because not only does Spock recognizes Jim’s mind IN AN INSTANT, when everything else tells him that this has to be a fraught, but he also holds Jim’s hand for almost two minutes, while he protects him. And we all know how casual Vulcans are when it comes to hand-holding *insert sarcasm here*.

What did I take from those reoccurring mind melds throughout the series?

I think by the time the 5-year mission ended those two had an unacknowledged mind link. A link that established itself without conscious decision, something that’s NEVER supposed to happen. However, since Spock is not only repeatedly exposed to Jim’s mind, but also progressively comfortable with this kind of intimacy I regard this as a possibility.

And Gene Roddenberry, ever the helpful cheerleading ghost that he is, practically hand-delivered me the arguments for this theory in the novelization of the Motion Picture Movie.

The very first thing the reader of the novel gets to see, before the author’s note, before anything, is the prologue, which happens to be Spock saying goodbye to Jim. Why is he saying goodbye? Because he is about to pass the trials of Kolinahr that will “purge all his remaining emotions”. Spock never intends to go back to earth at this point.

Now let’s take a step back here and ignore Spock calling Jim his T’hy’la for a moment (I know it’s hard), because I sure know that my favourite question of all time always resurfaces at this part: Why?

WHY?!? Why would Spock try to purge all emotion? Why did he come back to Vulcan after the five-year mission? Why would he return to a place that he left because he couldn’t stand how it made him feel? Why give up an extraordinary career? WHY WOULD HE EVER LEAVE THE SIDE OF NOT ONLY HIS TWO BEST FRIENDS, BUT ALSO OF THE PEOPLE THAT BECAME HIS FAMILY?

It will forever remain an enigma because Gene decided to be a horrible tease about it.

The fact is: We just don’t know and are left to speculate.

But there is this little something that doesn’t quite leave me alone and that I want to present. The only hint we are ever given regarding Spock’s decision is this tiny, seemingly unimportant remark:

Spock was in pain. Now the reader can either choose to interpret this as: “The raging war between his two halves finally takes its toll” or “Why does it hurt so much to be in the company of humans/one specific human”. In my understanding it’s a bit of both. Yes, of course Spock’s human half had to fight all its life to not be squashed by its overbearing Vulcan counterpart, but this is something Spock is actually used to. He even says so himself in “The Enemy Within”.

Which leaves us with option Nr. 2. Spock is canonically in possession of an extremely sensitive mind, which seems to be the nature of all Vulcans, hence the extensive mental shielding they are taught from an early age. When applying the afore-mentioned theory of an unacknowledged mind link the entire situation could not only drain, but actually be painful to Spock, if he is not aware of it. WHICH HE IS NOT.

The exact same moment: POV Jim on earth (above) and POV Spock on Vulcan (below).

As is shown in the book. The second Spock has to open his mind for master T’sai he is hit by Jim’s thoughts, and I mean HIT. It’s apparent form Spock’s reaction that this comes completely out of the blue. He isn’t even sure if they are Jim’s thoughts for a second, before he recognizes them and that’s the thing that trips me up. At this point Spock is more sursprised than the reader to realized the connection. I mean how can that even be possible? To be this close to someone without noticing?

It’s highly probable that Spock repressed his human half so completely, even before running away to Vulcan, that the link to Jim and all the emotions bleeding through were buried with it. Maybe he felt too close to him thanks to the link and it scared him or the bleed-through began to throw him off balance.

But in order to finally achieve the state of total logic he HAD TO open his mind entirely. So in this moment he had to let go and not even a heartbeat later he hears Jim thinking about him.

At this point the unacknowledged mind link theory can be addressed as canon, because when Jim wishes to speak to Spock and Spock can hear him 10.6 light years away, it can’t be anything BUT a mind link. Again, Vulcans are TOUCH telepaths, so reading minds while touching? Check. Reading the mood of a room? Check. Melding with someone over the distance of a few meters or through a wall? Check. Hearing someone entire systems away? Nope. It doesn’t usually happen, if we are not talking about something like hundreds of telepaths dying (The Immunity Syndrome) or the appearance of a powerful entity a.k.a Vger. And Jim is neither. This is a completely singular occurrence. As far as I know it never happens again between two regular(-ish) people.

I will be mad at the movie for not including this particular dialogue into the triumvirate-scene after Spock comes back on board as long as I live. Spock admits to being able to hear Jim’s thoughts and it’s a shame that we don’t get the captain’s thoughts on this revelation. BUT we get Bones, which is better still.

Bones is not surprised, not even the slightest, that those two have a connection between them. His medical knowledge throws me a bit though. Not because I don’t think it’s plausible, but because this is the only instance we ever hear of a connection like that.

But “telepathic rapport between Vulcan and human only in cases of EXTRAORDINARILY close friendship”? This line is gold. Those two are so close to each other that they know each other’s thoughts, they can sense the other one blind. They risked their lives time and time again to save each other. So yeah…extraordinarily close is how I would coin them too. Hence my undying love for the term T’hy’la, that Gene generously gifted us with. Friend. Brother. Lover. There is no “or” in between those words, it’s not “choose the correct meaning” it’s all three of them, together forming one untranslatable word and friend is only a third of the concept.

Also: Bones is still pissed about how Spock denies even the tiniest display of friendship towards Jim, which makes for an interesting discussion about what happened after the Five-Year-Mission to split the trio up.

So, to sum this up:

During the Five-Year-Mission Spock has to meld with Jim more than once (at least four times are documented).

The melds increase in intensity up to the point where Spock alters Jim’s memory.

At the end Spock can tell Jim’s mind by a simple probe. He knows him “better than anyone in the universe” he “knows his thoughts” (Jim’s words)

There is an established mind link between them that neither know about. 

The link seems to be the root of the pain that drives Spock to Mt. Seleya to pursue Kolinahr.

Spock can hear Jim’s thoughts from 10.6 LIGHTYEARS away, when he finally opens his mind for the first time after three years. (I like to stress this, because it’s absolutely unique.)

Bones is not even fazed by this revelation, maybe because he suspected it ever since “Turnabout Intruder” when Spock was the only one to believe “Janice Lester’s” story.

“It was common knowledge that telepathic rapport between Vulcan and human was possible only in cases of extraordinarily close friendship.”  - official medical assessment.

Your honor, I rest my case.

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